Blockchain leads top 10 in-demand job skills list: LinkedIn

If you are a blockchain developer looking for a job this year, chances are very good you’ll find one.

According to a new study by LinkedIn Learning, blockchain knowledge topped the list of the 10 most in-demand “hard skills” that companies are looking for in 2020.

That’s impressive, given blockchain skills weren’t even on a similar list by LinkedIn Learning last year. It means companies have been making a far bigger investment in the technology.

“For the first time this year, blockchain not only made the list of top skills, but topped it—highlighting an increasing awareness and demand for the wider applications of this skill,” the professional networking site’s subsidiary said in a blog post.

It added that the “small supply of professionals who have this skill are in high demand.”

The need for blockchain skills was so prolific this year, it beat out analytical reasoning, user experience—or UX—design, and even artificial intelligence. That suggests what’s hot and what’s not in the job market will continue to evolve rapidly, according to the post.

Creativity, persuasion, and collaboration were at the top of LinkedIn Learning’s “soft skills” list.

The top 10

It’s worth noting that four of the top five entries on the full list of “hard skills” were computing related. They were:

Blockchain
Cloud Computing
Analytical Reasoning
Artificial Intelligence
UX Design
Business Analysis
Affiliate Marketing
Sales
Scientific Computing
Video Production

LinkedIn Learning didn’t offer a firm definition of what a “blockchain” skill was. Presumably, it referred to anything in the field, including developers and engineers.

LinkedIn said it created the list using data from its network of over 660 million professionals and 20 million job listings. Only cities with 100,000 LinkedIn members were included, the firm said.