How to seize opportunities in Web3? What qualifications do the eight key roles, including developers, metaverse architects, and gamers, need to possess?

Original Title: "What Jobs and Personal Opportunities Are Available in Web3.0?"

Written by: Fenbushi Capital

Although Web3.0 contains richer semantics, from an industry perspective, Web3.0 refers to:

1. Network operations will be conducted in a more decentralized manner.

2. User digital identities, assets, and data are owned by individuals.

3. The deconstruction and reconstruction of centralized organizational structures.

Web3.0 workers can break free from geographical barriers and seek more diverse development. Those who are capable will work more, earn more, and enjoy flexible employment. The book "The Sovereign Individual" mentioned this organizational structure, which is akin to the Hollywood project model—directors, actors, lighting technicians, cameramen, sound engineers, and costume designers come together for a project and go their separate ways once the project is completed. Based on these characteristics of Web3.0, what job opportunities will individuals gain in the future? This article will discuss this topic in conjunction with the current industry situation.

First, let's take a look at the composition of Web3. According to Coinbase's classification, Web3 can be roughly divided into four layers: Protocol Layer, Infrastructure / Category Primitives, User Case Layer, and Access Layer. From bottom to top, the lowest layer is the Protocol Layer, which is the underlying architecture of blockchain, upon which all products and services are built, mainly represented by public chains and layer two solutions. The second layer is the Infrastructure / Category Primitives, composed of interoperable modules, each corresponding to specific functions, with smart contracts being one of its manifestations. The third layer is the User Case Layer, which includes more front-end applications: games, social networking, DeFi, NFTs, etc. The top layer is the Access Layer, which serves as the gateway for users to access Web3, primarily represented by wallets and dashboards.

This image is from Coinbase, link: https://blog.coinbase.com/a-simple-guide-to-the-web3-stack-785240e557f0

This article mainly categorizes jobs into four major categories: Maintainers, Creators, Creators, and Participants. Each type of job will serve the corresponding Web3 stack mentioned above. Network operators around the world are the cornerstone of Web3.0's underlying architecture, ensuring the normal operation of multiple networks, generally serving the Protocol Layer. Creators are the strongest brains of the application layer (smart contract layer & user case layer), continuously injecting new vitality into the industry. Creators rely on UGC platforms in the user case layer to create content, converting it into digital assets for monetization. Finally, participants can enjoy the early development dividends of Web3 through tools in the access layer while also receiving rewards for their contributions to the ecosystem.

Job Category: Maintainers

1. Network Maintainers

Whether in the era of POW or POS, network operations will be conducted through more distributed devices/nodes. Network maintainers are best represented by Bitcoin miners, Ethereum miners, and Filecoin miners. They bear the important responsibility of maintaining the security and fairness of the infrastructure and will play a role in the next generation of the internet, the Internet of Things, edge computing, and 5G.

Requirements:

1. Node operators need to have physical devices that meet the requirements.

2. Node operators need to be very familiar with the network they maintain.

Job Category: Creators

The birth of a project requires developers, product designers, UI designers, market value managers, business development, community administrators, and other roles. Here, they are all categorized under creators. Theoretically, flexible employment applies to these roles.

2. Developers

As the projects in hand gradually improve, non-core developers have the opportunity to transition to the development of the next project. Many people wear multiple hats. For example, the development teams of projects like Realms and Crypts and Caverns in the Loot ecosystem overlap.

Requirements: Full of creativity, quick-thinking, energetic, and possessing rich development experience.

3. Community Administrators (Moderators)

Community Administrators, abbreviated as MOD, are an essential profession in Web3.0. NFT, GameFi, DeFi, and DAO projects all require personnel to manage communities. MODs are usually the most active community members, but it is also possible for projects to recruit through outsourcing. MODs have the opportunity to participate in early team profit-sharing, making it one of the most competitive professions in the industry.

Requirements: Strong interest in a particular project, extensive connections, and industry resources.

Job Category: Creators

4. Artists

Since the development of NFTs, hundreds of artists and studios, such as Beeples, Yuga Labs, and Fang Lijun, have released NFT works. Among them, NFTs released by top artists and celebrities are particularly favored. NFTs have provided artists with new monetization methods, bypassing traditional galleries and auction houses.

Requirements: Professional skills in painting and design, and better if they have industry recognition.

5. Metaverse Architects

With the development of virtual world projects like Sandbox, Decentraland, and Crypto Voxel, the demand for real-world companies to build virtual headquarters has been increasing. Metaverse architects have also become a cutting-edge profession.

Requirements: Skills in UI, modeling, and painting, as well as familiarity with different ecological construction models.

6. Game Designers

Projects like Sandbox, Decentraland, and Crypto Voxel are essentially UGC platforms. Game designers on these platforms can not only create their own NFTs but also participate in designing maps, levels, and battle modes within the platform, owning their voxel games.

Requirements: Experience in voxel design and game production.

Job Category: Participants

7. Gamers

In some blockchain gaming sectors, gold farmers and gold farming guilds have become a very important part of the ecosystem. Due to the different classifications of blockchain games, some lean towards pay-to-win, while others focus on gameplay, resulting in diverse gamer demographics. Axie Infinity players need to purchase relatively expensive game assets to farm gold, so guilds provide funding while players contribute effort, becoming an early P2E model. In Sandbox and Skyweaver, only smooth-operating, experienced players can earn gold farming rewards.

Requirements: In pay-to-win games, players need to have a budget for purchasing game assets; in non-pay-to-win games, players need to possess excellent gaming skills.

8. DeFi/CeFi Miners

DeFi/CeFi miners refer to those who flexibly allocate funds to DeFi protocols/centralized exchanges to earn returns. They often have insights into DeFi product models and security, and can quickly identify the most profitable new protocols, commonly known as "mining the head." The behavior of DeFi/CeFi miners has far exceeded personal investment nature, requiring systematic research and keen industry intuition.

Requirements: A certain scale of funds and expertise in DeFi/CeFi.

In summary, talents with professional skills, language proficiency, and agile thinking will have a competitive advantage in Web3.0. From an entrepreneurial perspective, excellent talents need to break free from the traditional web2.0 mindset to develop new products, possess charisma to gain the support of the majority, and integrate resources to expand ecological construction. If ordinary people cannot become "specialized" talents like entrepreneurs, that is also acceptable; those who focus can capture their own opportunities through their ability to discover, perceive, and analyze projects.