Career advice \ stacker news ~bitcoin

992 sats \ 26 comments \ @TSW 5 Jul 2023 bitcoin

Hey everyone!

Just like many of you, I'm really excited about working in the Bitcoin ecosystem. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to land a job in that field just yet. But hey, I'm not giving up! I'll keep on trying until I make it happen.

In the meantime, I have to be honest—I'm not exactly thrilled about my current job. However, it does pay well, so that's a plus.

Here are the options I'm considering:

Ideally, I'd love to find a job directly related to Bitcoin. That's my top choice.
Alternatively, I could stick with my current job for now. It pays well, which means I can keep stacking sats until the next bull market takes off. Then, I could take a break and focus on finding a Bitcoin job.
Another option is to temporarily switch to a different job that I might enjoy more, even if it pays less. This would mean I won't be able to stack as many sats, but at least I'd be happier in my day-to-day work.

Honestly, waiting for about two years until the next market top while staying in a job I don't enjoy feels like a long time. Plus, there's no guarantee that the market will reach a new high or that it will be high enough for me to take a break.

I'm not really keen on looking for a job outside the Bitcoin industry, so finding motivation for a different role is a real challenge for me.

The thing is, I don't have any fellow Bitcoiners around me, so I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated!

Looking forward to your responses. Cheers!

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1083 sats \ 2 replies \ @handsome_latino 5 Jul 2023

I recommend the book "So Good They Can't Ignore You" by Cal Newport.

The problem with the BTC industry is that jobs are not that many, too many people want them, and hence you might be treated poorly (either by not working at the max of your capabilities, underpaid, or a company that goes under on the next bear market).

I worked on a BTC project for about 5x less of what I make today. In the end it was a smarter choice to just stack more sats.

Between 2 and 3, if 3 allows you to get closer to the BTC space then it's good.

Also, if you manage to stack a lot of sats, your net worth will inevitably be higher, so you can leverage this. I have a lot of expenses, and not making money (even with a lot of savings) feels bad.

Unless your cryptography, math, or your non-BTC related skills are top level (that can be proved via open source or persnoal projects) it might be hard to find a good job. But I don't know you, so to test the waters you can apply to all the bitcoin jobs in the industry (I did that last year).

I made it to a personal interview with André Neves for their Eng. Manager position at ZBD (already a good feat), but... he was utterly unimpressed. For comparisons, when I applied for a similar position at Ghost (the blogging platform), it went much better.

This is the advice I would give myself the 4 times that I quit to either do my own startup, continue my passions, or try to go all-in Bitcoin.

If I manage to stack enough and the next bull run allows me to live comfortably for some time, I will probably try my luck again in the BTC sphere.

50 sats \ 1 reply \ @TSW OP 6 Jul 2023

I've bought the book and will start reading it right away, thanks for the recommendation.

This has been constructive advice and offers a realistic overview of the chance of landing a job in the Bitcoin industry. For now I will just keep doing what I do and contribute on open source projects and talk to as many people as I can. Let's see what comes from that, but I'm not expecting too much.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @handsome_latino 6 Jul 2023

Great, hope it is of your taste. If you do, two of his others books (Deep Work and Digital Minimalism) are my favorites.

I read from the other posts that you're not a developer, and although it is true that developers get a closer touch with Bitcoin and the LN in some sense, I think the fact that Bitcoin and LN touch so many other aspects of daily life also opens some doors for exceptional people. I myself don't feel I am exceptional enough yet.

Thanks for the sats!

182 sats \ 1 reply \ @ek 5 Jul 2023

Alternatively, I could stick with my current job for now. It pays well, which means I can keep stacking sats until the next bull market takes off. Then, I could take a break and focus on finding a Bitcoin job.

I am not sure if a bull market is the right time to find a job in the bitcoin space. Isn't that went most people start to look for jobs in the space? However, that's probably also the time when most bitcoin companies are hiring ...

Maybe others have a better perspective on that. I just know the saying: bear markets are the time to build and bull markets are the time to scale

The only advice I have is how I got a job in the space (at SN): contribute to bitcoin open source projects of companies that you are interested in and they may notice you and offer you a job after some time :)

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @TSW OP 6 Jul 2023

It is hard to build when in a demanding fiat job and maintaining a family. I could take some time off after the next bull market when realizing some gains. That would allow me to spend more time in Bitcoin, increasing my chances of landing a job at that time.

114 sats \ 1 reply \ @nerd2ninja 5 Jul 2023

Two pieces of advice.

We are in the frontier era. You can not flee to a Citadel (except El Salvador) because they haven't been built yet. As such, you have to be the one to build it. Use the concept of networking to your advantage: #199991
Try to think in terms of purchasing power rather than straight FIAT amounts. You might make 3k a month, but if rent is 2k a month, is it still worth it?

50 sats \ 0 replies \ @TSW OP 5 Jul 2023

Thank you for the advice!

114 sats \ 1 reply \ @DandelionLightning 5 Jul 2023

I wish I had advice but all I can say is ‘ditto’. You sound like me. I make too much money to not work where I am but spend most of my mental energy on bitcoin. It’s like working two jobs most days and can be draining yet I can stack the most sats this way.

22 sats \ 0 replies \ @TSW OP 6 Jul 2023

I wish you good luck as well then!

110 sats \ 1 reply \ @stefano 5 Jul 2023

I would go definitely with option number two. That option permits you to stack sats as much as possible before the next big bull run. At that point you'd probably acquire enough financial independence to find out in a relaxed way your ideal bitcoin job. I'm on a similar path. Wish you the best of luck!!!

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @TSW OP 6 Jul 2023

I wish you good luck as well then!

110 sats \ 2 replies \ @BBitcoinUSA 5 Jul 2023

I’d say ditto as well, except they don’t pay me enough currently. Looking for more consulting work, or an entirely new job full time. What type of work do you do now / what skills could you transfer over into a Bitcoin related role? I’m deficient in the tech / programming department so I’ve written those opportunities off for me unfortunately

31 sats \ 1 reply \ @TSW OP 6 Jul 2023

Working in the medical field. Initially in the hospital and then commercial. Extensive experience in customer service and product management. I don't see many positions for those types of roles unfortunately.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @BBitcoinUSA 6 Jul 2023

I know what you mean, the vast majority of roles have heavy tech requirements, and the more customer facing roles all seem to require prior work experience in the industry

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @BTC_Bellzer 6 Jul 2023

Only semi on topic sorry, but a few years back I was in a job making decent money but was absolutely miserable, I had to leave for my own sanity. I've been bouncing around ever since trying to make ends meet but far less unhappy. I imagine there is a happy medium but I've yet to find it. Good luck in your efforts!

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @2bithits 6 Jul 2023

I'm in a similar boat. I think that a bull market will give me more time to learn some necessary skills to start contributing to bitcoin projects I'm interested in.

So, as they say with the "time preference" meme, better to keep stacking. At least till the halving or if this ETF gets approved & the price skyrockets. I find looking forward to something can help with the current boring job situation

100 sats \ 1 reply \ @OriginalSize 6 Jul 2023

I'd go for 2 or 3 with a slight favor towards the latter. If you're stacking you're ahead of the game. After that it's for me more important to do meaningful work that I enjoy versus getting rich.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @TSW OP 6 Jul 2023

I should have written in more detail what the difference between 2 and 3 would mean for my stack. But never did the calculation. If the bitcoin price remains at 30k until June 2025, I would only increase my stack by ~7% when I continue to stack as I do now. Likely the fiat price of bitcoin will increase, so I expect <5%. So, in that case, it makes sense to explore option 3.

100 sats \ 1 reply \ @aftermath 5 Jul 2023

My situation is pretty much like yours. I do not particularly dislike my current job but I would much rather prefer to work on Bitcoin full time. However, I'm not actively looking for a job in the industry yet.

Instead, I've recently decided to dedicate some of my spare time to contribute to open source projects (there are a lot of great ones out there) and to work on some personal ones (that I will hopefully be able to release soon), all related to Bitcoin and Lightning. So far it has been a lot of fun and I've learnt a lot as well.

I do recommend to start experimenting and playing with a full Bitcoin+Lightning node if you haven't yet, as it helps you understand how everything works in practice and to discover potential use cases or points to improve that no ones has found or cared to exploit/fix yet. If you can't land a job that focuses on Bitcoin, why don't you try creating it? :)

I'm also alone in this journey and doing anonymous contributions with one-time-use accounts didn't help much in that regard, so I decided I would make them all under the same nickname, which may help developing a "relationship" with other people in the space (the downside is you have to be really careful not to leak any personally identifiable information).

Also, joining development or node runners communities/chats has helped me relate to other bitcoiners and discuss many topics with them.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @TSW OP 6 Jul 2023

Those are good recommendations, thanks! I realized as well that being completely anonymous is a disadvantage. If I ever join a company, I will likely share my real name anyway, so that's what I use on BT and when contributing to FOSS projects.

I have been focussing on educating others around me and have neglected the node-running part up till now but that's something I have planned for the autumn/winter indoor season.

100 sats \ 1 reply \ @JesseJames 5 Jul 2023

If I were you I would pick option 2. Keep stacking now as much as you can afford, before ETF floods the market. On the side ALWAYS look for something that interests you. Maybe pick part time in the diff time zone so doesn't interfere much with your current (cash cow) job :-) Personally I'm always looking, one never know when you find a gem. You know what they say: Success = preparation + opportunity. So be prepared...!

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @TSW OP 6 Jul 2023

Thank you for the encouraging words!

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @carlosfandango 5 Jul 2023

Ditto on lots of levels. BTC is my side project which I hope to make my main project one day.

I would echo some of the other advice here that a bull run may not be the best time to step into the ecosystem full time, everyone gets very carried away and it’s hard not to be swept up.

10 sats \ 2 replies \ @mikhael28 6 Jul 2023

Lightning development is difficult. Get some work experience outside of Bitcoin space, and then try to get into lightning development. Otherwise, you won’t really be productive enough ti justify hiring.

100 sats \ 1 reply \ @mikhael28 6 Jul 2023

Aka learn to code

1 sat \ 0 replies \ @TSW OP 6 Jul 2023

Yeah, I'm not looking for a coding position, and I definitely realize that most of the opportunities lie there, especially with the smaller companies.