On a recent episode of the Base Layer podcast, Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov explained why web3 seems like such an “alien concept” compared to web2. Not only does web3 represent a fundamental shift in how societies form agreements based on cryptographic truth instead of trust in corporate counterparties; the burgeoning industry is brimming with new concepts and terminology.
At the same time, web3 is expanding so rapidly that there is an insatiable demand for talent. At Chainlink Labs, developer advocate Zak Ayesh is part of the effort to demystify web3 by creating educational content and telling the story of his own career move from automotive mechanical engineer to self-taught smart contract developer.
Most recently, he began producing a Blockchain Basics educational series on Chainlink’s official YouTube channel. Each video breaks down a fundamental web3 concept in five minutes or less, making it easy for web2 developers and anyone interested in learning about blockchain to bulk up their knowledge base.
“There are more developers entering or interested in web3 and smart contracts than I have ever seen before,” Ayesh told Chainlink Today. “But they’re having a tough time navigating all the concepts, terminology, and jargon. I wanted to give new developers a clear overview and starting point for the many terms and concepts they may encounter going forward.”
Ayesh said his goal is to answer important questions – such as “What is a blockchain hash?” – that developers may be afraid to ask. “I think people are scared to ask questions in general and don’t want to seem like a newbie,” he said, describing imposter syndrome as a common trap that many developers, including himself, fall into. “I hope this series helps people feel less intimidated.”
Currently, Ayesh is releasing a new video every two weeks, with plans to answer every practical blockchain question and eventually create more in-depth primers focused on smart contract development.
He believes that as blockchains become more ingrained in society, most developers will need to have at least a general understanding of what they are and how they work. Beyond that, Ayesh is passionate about motivating new talent to make their own contributions in an industry that never sleeps.
“In web3, everyone is new and any application has the ability to dramatically impact how we interact on the internet,” he said. “Web3 touches so many subjects that you can’t help but learn many different things from distributed systems to game theory, governance mechanisms, and cryptography. It’s a never-ending university degree and I love how it has expanded my knowledge of the world.”
“Of course,” he added, “I would love to see as many of those developers come over to Chainlink Labs as possible.”
Chainlink Labs, the remote-first global company developing web3’s leading oracle network, has grown to hundreds of team members in 34 countries over just the past few years and was recently ranked number one on FlexJobs’ list of Top 25 Companies That Hire for Work-From-Anywhere Jobs.
“Oracles are one of the most important pieces of infrastructure for powering decentralized applications, and this comes with a lot of interesting and impactful problems to solve,” Ayesh said. “We’re hiring like crazy right now, looking for passionate and talented individuals that want to help power the future, so please apply if you’re interested.”
Apply for a job at Chainlink Labs here.
Find Zak Ayesh on Twitter and subscribe to the official Chainlink YouTube channel to catch the latest videos in his Blockchain Basics series.