Cryptocurrency Education for the Students of 2019!
With the recent advances in technology, never has there been a more exciting year to head off to university than 2019. Equally, never has there been a more important year to apply technological advances to your field of study!
In the last ten years, the world has changed in so many ways and the list of industries that are embracing new technology such as cryptocurrency and blockchain technology is ever growing! There is now a demand for employees that not only possess specialist work skills, but that also have an educational and working knowledge within these fields.
And so, as you begin your university journey, it is important that regardless of what course you have chosen, you recognise the advances in technology today and how they will potentially impact your career! The three years that it takes you to achieve your degree is not a lifetime away, before you know it you will be standing on that graduation stage along with all of your classmates, eager for an opportunity to come your way! However, if you want someone to open that career door for you, then you need to give them a reason to! What makes you so special?
Gone are the days when possessing a first-class honours degree was enough to secure your place on a top graduation programme, or any graduation programme for that matter. The world is smaller, more connected, more advanced and more competitive than ever before, opportunities do not come looking for you, you need to go out and fight for them with the best armour that you have!
It can’t be stressed enough, how essential it is that you use your study time wisely now and ensure that you familiarise yourself with what is happening in the ‘real world’, how businesses and technology is changing and how it is going to shape your future. This does not just apply to those that are studying computer science and app development, cryptocurrency and it’s technology is already having an impact on a wide range of industries including oil & gas, retail, health care, real estate, not for profit and marketing, ultimately it can be applied to any industry. However, for those, who have enrolled on courses such as business studies, marketing, business law, computer science, design and programming, you do not have time to waste, gaining knowledge and education in new technology is paramount! The crypto sector is already 10 years old and so if you don’t currently have an understanding of it, then it is vital that you start your cryptocurrency education journey now!
Applying Cryptocurrency Education to Academia
Cryptocurrency education will not only help you to stand in good stead for your future, it will also help to better equip you for your coursework. Regardless of what area you are studying, every course will entail assignments, exams and presentations, all of which, will require you to apply real-life examples and case studies to back up your work. Taking the time to educate yourself about what cryptocurrency is, how it works and what the benefits of a decentralised system are, will enable you to give some first-class business examples throughout your coursework work.This not only shows your ability to apply academia to current business trends and the global economy but also demonstrates that you are aware of the future and how it is unfolding!
Most degree courses require you to spend a period of time participating in an internship, which is a great opportunity for you to gain hands-on experience within your field of study, and to make an impression and contacts for the future! When weighing up your options for an internship placement, it’s important that you think about what it is exactly that you are looking to gain from the experience, rather than just what company name you have on your CV!
Working for a startup for example, such as an up and coming cryptocurrency company will give you the kind of work experience that you are unlikely to get anywhere else. Startups place a lot of responsibility on their employees and as an intern, you will be required to participate in real projects, be given real responsibility and be expected to work as hard as the rest of the team! You will not only gain first-hand business experience about how companies work and how departments collaborate together, but you will also gain solid blockchain knowledge and or cryptocurrency education — something that will set you up for an extremely bright future!
Working for a startup will also present you with a better opportunity to get to know everyone in the team, as it is likely that you will be required to work closely with the managers and directors of the company. This will give you the opportunity to make sound contacts for the future for that particular company and will also place you firmly in their minds as a ‘recommendation’ when similar companies within their network are looking to hire.
Research conducted by Glassdoor economic research showed that there were 1,775 unique blockchain-related positions being advertised in the US alone in August 2018, which was a 300 percent increase from the same time in the previous year. A search for ‘blockchain positions’ in the ‘UK’ in LinkedIn at the time of writing this brings up 1,060 new positions, many of which are within the cryptocurrency sector. As the industry continues to grow, we are set to see these numbers rise, more companies will form, more companies will be hiring and there will be a demand for talent. As with any businesses, those looking to hire for a position will always ask the contacts that they already have within the industry for a ‘recommendation’ of someone that possesses the skills needed along with the industry knowledge and awareness.
If you are a candidate that possesses the right skills, have spent some time interning within the industry and made a good impression — there is every chance that you will not only be offered that second-year internship or graduate position, but you will be in high demand for it!
If you start learning about cryptocurrency today and begin to apply what you learn out of university with what you learn in university, you will set yourself ahead of the game, helping to unlock those doors for your future.
How to start your Cryptocurrency Education Journey
The best place to start your cryptocurrency education is by reading up on the very basics until you gain an understanding of what the technology is, how it works and are able to familiarise yourself with the terms and acronyms used within the space. We are now starting to see more cryptocurrency education materials become available, however, the majority can still be a little complex and are often written in technical terms.
That is why we created B21 Life, our free cryptocurrency education app, which has been designed so that users can learn about cryptocurrency at their own pace and while on the go. The short lessons can be read while on the bus to class, you can practice your crypto jargon while waiting in the lecture hall, read up on the top news stories while on a study break, and learn fun and interesting facts while waiting on your Costa Coffee or Gregg’s vegan sausage roll!
Not only will B21 Life help you to get to grips with the crypto space, but it might also ignite ideas in your mind for your essays, exam case studies, presentations and even the dreaded dissertation.
In our next blog, we will take a look at some of the most common positions and career paths that are currently in demand within the cryptocurrency and blockchain sectors.
