How to Become a Blockchain and Solidity Developer | The complete roadmap 2023
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Learning to become a Smart Contract and Blockchain Developer can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be!
Just set aside some time each week, and get cracking on any of the tutorials and pieces of content below. Don't be afraid to ask a ton of questions, and don't feel imposter syndrome! Just by reading this article, you are already a welcomed member of the blockchain community.
If anytime you get stuck, feel free to refer to this document on how to get unstuck in the blockchain space. It applies to everything in open source!
In any case, let's go ahead and get started!
Additionally, I have a video on how to become a blockchain engineer you can check out for more information!
Helpful Tools
But BEFORE I give you the list, you need to know about these 3 resources.
These are helpful Q&A sites that you can ask questions to, and will make your life much better when going through these resources. Anyways, here are the top 10!
Top 10 Smart Contract & Solidity Developer Learning Resources
1. Learn Blockchain, Solidity, and Full Stack Web3 Development with JavaScript – 32-Hour Course
My latest invention. If you get through this videos, you will be a master, guaranteed.
Ideally, this is for engineers who want every drop of knowledge I have acquired about blockchain development over the past 3 years. It covers all the fundamentals of solidity, and uses the exact same cutting edge tools as billion dollar defi giants like Aave, Synthetix, and Uniswap.
Ideally, this is for engineers with a bit of javascript experience, but if you don't have any, we'll give you a ton of refreshers along the way. This course is for anyone with any level of coding experience, even none!
Additionally, we have a ton of optional front end and full stack tutorials. These will teach you how to build powerful apps and websites that use the smart contracts and blockchain applications you've made for ANY user!
This is the most dense blockchain tutorial ever created.
2. Cryptozombies
For the longest time, Cryptozombies has been one of the go-to courses for learning blockchain & solidity. This gamified platform brings you step-by-step through solidity programming as you build your zombie army!
This course has a wonderful user interface that's fun for people of any age, and is one of the most approachable content on this list. The Cryptozombies team does a tremendous job showing NFTs, inheritance, and everything you'd need in basic solidity.
3. Solidity by Example
A more minimal approach to learning web3, this site is for people who already have some familiarity with software engineering.
This site and YouTube channel have just the fundamental information, so you can jump into coding!
4. Solidity, Blockchain, and Smart Contract Course – Beginner to Expert Python Tutorial
This is the most watched blockchain developer course of all time, and for good reason! It breaks down everything you need to know about blockchain development - so you can begin your career on the right foot.
It goes through all the basics at the start, and then gets deeper and deeper into more advanced concepts like upgradeability, efficient testing, full stack development, and more. It's a project-based learning resource, so at the end of each "lesson", you'll have a full project you can show off on your GitHub!
Ideally it's for engineers who have a little bit of python in their back pocket, but freecodecamp has a remedy for that as well!
A lot of information is packed into this course, so don't do it all in one go! Remember to take breaks, and jump into the GitHub discussions and ask questions, or on Stack Overflow!
5. Alchemy University
Put on by the Alchemy team, Alchemy University is a javascript-focused education site, created in partnership with some of the best educators I've ever interacted with.
I used to have a group called Chainshot on my list, as they have always been underrated, but Alchemy recently acquired them to make this amazing site!
6. Consensys Bootcamp
This is another boot camp that just always knocks it out of the park.
The Consensys team is one of the teams that has been around from basically the start of this whole thing. They consistently deliver on bringing in some of the best in the space to give guest lectures to the students, have top quality content, and are another boot camp that I highly recommend to anyone looking to get into this space with a hands-on learning approach, and a team to guide them.
7. Ivan On Tech / Moralis
Ivan on Tech and his team at Moralis have just about everything.
Moralis Academy | Blockchain courses
Moralis | A tool designed for end-to-end Dapp building
The Moralis team helps engineers do and learn everything under the sun regarding full-stack development in blockchain. The focus a little less on solidity and smart contract implementations, but they focus a lot on user experience so once you build your smart contracts, others can interact with them. Moralis is a must know tool for people looking to do anything in the blockchain space for full stack.
8. Ethernaut
One of the harder pieces in this space is Ethernaut. You need a bit of a javascript background, but trudging your way through this course will teach you a lot of the ins and outs and "gotchas" of solidity, and is one of the quickest ways to become "advanced" in the ways of solidity.
This was created by the Openzeppelin team, who are top auditors and security researchers in the blockchain space, and they make contracts for people to fork into their own projects. Anyone in the blockchain space worth their "salt" knows who Openzeppelin is and how to work with their tools!
9. The Ethereum Org List
What better way to learn about web3 and Ethereum than from the community itself!
The Ethereum org website is JAM packed with content, tutorials, and submissions from around the globe, in exactly the manner you'd expect. You can find just about anything here to learn and grow.
10. useWeb3
useWeb3, like the Ethereum org website, is dedicated to being a living document of updated courses and content to teach people how to build in the blockchain space.
This open sourced project is constantly updated, and really any of the projects listed on their site is worthwhile for you to check and and put to the test!
11. Dapp University
YouTube university strikes again! Gregory has been making top quality content in the blockchain space for years now, and continues to do so. With a focus on both solidity / smart contracts and full stack development, taking his videos and his more hands-on bootcamp will for sure turn you into a "blockchain master".
He has tons of videos on his youtube that can help you learn just about anything in this space, as well as a paid for bootcamp with him and his team.
12. There are so many!!
Ok, so I fibbed, this article has way more than just 10! Here is a list of different places to get started learning solidity, smart contracts, and blockchain. It doesn't matter where you go, pick one, and go!
EatTheBlocks
Chainlink Bootcamp
Patrick Collins (That's me!)
Austin Griffith
Nader Dabit
Remix with Learn ETH Plugin
And so much more.
Well, as always, be sure to follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Medium, and GitHub, and I hope to see you in the community!
Learning to become a Smart Contract and Blockchain Developer can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be!
Just set aside some time each week, and get cracking on any of the tutorials and pieces of content below. Don't be afraid to ask a ton of questions, and don't feel imposter syndrome! Just by reading this article, you are already a welcomed member of the blockchain community.
If anytime you get stuck, feel free to refer to this document on how to get unstuck in the blockchain space. It applies to everything in open source!
In any case, let's go ahead and get started!
Additionally, I have a video on how to become a blockchain engineer you can check out for more information!
Helpful Tools
But BEFORE I give you the list, you need to know about these 3 resources.
These are helpful Q&A sites that you can ask questions to, and will make your life much better when going through these resources. Anyways, here are the top 10!
Top 10 Smart Contract & Solidity Developer Learning Resources
1. Learn Blockchain, Solidity, and Full Stack Web3 Development with JavaScript – 32-Hour Course
My latest invention. If you get through this videos, you will be a master, guaranteed.
Ideally, this is for engineers who want every drop of knowledge I have acquired about blockchain development over the past 3 years. It covers all the fundamentals of solidity, and uses the exact same cutting edge tools as billion dollar defi giants like Aave, Synthetix, and Uniswap.
Ideally, this is for engineers with a bit of javascript experience, but if you don't have any, we'll give you a ton of refreshers along the way. This course is for anyone with any level of coding experience, even none!
Additionally, we have a ton of optional front end and full stack tutorials. These will teach you how to build powerful apps and websites that use the smart contracts and blockchain applications you've made for ANY user!
This is the most dense blockchain tutorial ever created.
2. Cryptozombies
For the longest time, Cryptozombies has been one of the go-to courses for learning blockchain & solidity. This gamified platform brings you step-by-step through solidity programming as you build your zombie army!
This course has a wonderful user interface that's fun for people of any age, and is one of the most approachable content on this list. The Cryptozombies team does a tremendous job showing NFTs, inheritance, and everything you'd need in basic solidity.
3. Solidity by Example
A more minimal approach to learning web3, this site is for people who already have some familiarity with software engineering.
This site and YouTube channel have just the fundamental information, so you can jump into coding!
4. Solidity, Blockchain, and Smart Contract Course – Beginner to Expert Python Tutorial
This is the most watched blockchain developer course of all time, and for good reason! It breaks down everything you need to know about blockchain development - so you can begin your career on the right foot.
It goes through all the basics at the start, and then gets deeper and deeper into more advanced concepts like upgradeability, efficient testing, full stack development, and more. It's a project-based learning resource, so at the end of each "lesson", you'll have a full project you can show off on your GitHub!
Ideally it's for engineers who have a little bit of python in their back pocket, but freecodecamp has a remedy for that as well!
A lot of information is packed into this course, so don't do it all in one go! Remember to take breaks, and jump into the GitHub discussions and ask questions, or on Stack Overflow!
5. Alchemy University
Put on by the Alchemy team, Alchemy University is a javascript-focused education site, created in partnership with some of the best educators I've ever interacted with.
I used to have a group called Chainshot on my list, as they have always been underrated, but Alchemy recently acquired them to make this amazing site!
6. Consensys Bootcamp
This is another boot camp that just always knocks it out of the park.
The Consensys team is one of the teams that has been around from basically the start of this whole thing. They consistently deliver on bringing in some of the best in the space to give guest lectures to the students, have top quality content, and are another boot camp that I highly recommend to anyone looking to get into this space with a hands-on learning approach, and a team to guide them.
7. Ivan On Tech / Moralis
Ivan on Tech and his team at Moralis have just about everything.
Moralis Academy | Blockchain courses
Moralis | A tool designed for end-to-end Dapp building
The Moralis team helps engineers do and learn everything under the sun regarding full-stack development in blockchain. The focus a little less on solidity and smart contract implementations, but they focus a lot on user experience so once you build your smart contracts, others can interact with them. Moralis is a must know tool for people looking to do anything in the blockchain space for full stack.
8. Ethernaut
One of the harder pieces in this space is Ethernaut. You need a bit of a javascript background, but trudging your way through this course will teach you a lot of the ins and outs and "gotchas" of solidity, and is one of the quickest ways to become "advanced" in the ways of solidity.
This was created by the Openzeppelin team, who are top auditors and security researchers in the blockchain space, and they make contracts for people to fork into their own projects. Anyone in the blockchain space worth their "salt" knows who Openzeppelin is and how to work with their tools!
9. The Ethereum Org List
What better way to learn about web3 and Ethereum than from the community itself!
The Ethereum org website is JAM packed with content, tutorials, and submissions from around the globe, in exactly the manner you'd expect. You can find just about anything here to learn and grow.
10. useWeb3
useWeb3, like the Ethereum org website, is dedicated to being a living document of updated courses and content to teach people how to build in the blockchain space.
This open sourced project is constantly updated, and really any of the projects listed on their site is worthwhile for you to check and and put to the test!
11. Dapp University
YouTube university strikes again! Gregory has been making top quality content in the blockchain space for years now, and continues to do so. With a focus on both solidity / smart contracts and full stack development, taking his videos and his more hands-on bootcamp will for sure turn you into a "blockchain master".
He has tons of videos on his youtube that can help you learn just about anything in this space, as well as a paid for bootcamp with him and his team.
12. There are so many!!
Ok, so I fibbed, this article has way more than just 10! Here is a list of different places to get started learning solidity, smart contracts, and blockchain. It doesn't matter where you go, pick one, and go!
EatTheBlocks
Chainlink Bootcamp
Patrick Collins (That's me!)
Austin Griffith
Nader Dabit
Remix with Learn ETH Plugin
And so much more.
Well, as always, be sure to follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Medium, and GitHub, and I hope to see you in the community!