Written by: Peggy, Jack

If you've browsed job forums, listened to Web3 podcasts, or attended a "Blockchain + Career" sharing session, you've likely come across these keywords: "industry growth period, considerable income, remote work, flat management, young teams."

Web3 is becoming a "new frontier" in the job-seeking imagination of young people. Over the past two years, more and more graduates have begun to attempt to "go on-chain." It's not just those with technical and financial backgrounds; even those from marketing, operations, design, content, and product sectors are starting to package their resumes and throw them into this seemingly flexible and avant-garde industry.

However, amidst the excitement, opportunities and misunderstandings coexist. On one side, project teams are shouting "we need people," while newcomers are crying "we can't get in." Behind the seemingly open entrance lies a recruitment logic that is still taking shape.

To clarify this issue, in June 2025, BlockBeats and Bitget jointly launched an in-depth interview and survey within the crypto community, collecting information on career choices, recruitment paths, and job preferences from both job seekers and employers, with a total of 71 valid questionnaires returned. Additionally, interviews were conducted with various roles, including students, practitioners, HR professionals, well-known headhunters in the industry, and heads of job-seeking platforms.

Based on the cross-validation of quantitative and qualitative data, this article attempts to review what has happened in Web3 job seeking over the past two years from the dual perspectives of recruitment and job seeking: Who is entering, who is hiring, and who is staying? And a more realistic question: Does a newcomer with zero experience really have a chance to break through in this "decentralized" career jungle?

I. From Testing the Waters to Influx: What Changes Have Occurred in Web3 Job Seeking Over the Past Two Years?

Over the past two years, the Web3 job-seeking ecosystem has quietly transformed from "welcoming all" to "carefully selecting." This industry, once seen as a cutting-edge experimental field, is gradually becoming a realistic choice for more and more outstanding graduates.

Today, Web3 is no longer just the exclusive domain of geeks and speculators; a wave of elite talent is actively diving in.

(A) From Small Circles to "985 + Ivy League": Who is Entering Web3?

"Is this position still hiring?"

Kitty has become accustomed to this question. As the head of a Web3 recruitment platform, she receives numerous resumes from university students every week. Resumes from Tsinghua, Peking University, Fudan, and top U.S. universities, with competition experience and investment banking internships… the quality of these resumes is completely different from two years ago when "anyone willing to come could get a job."

As a deep participant in Web3 recruitment, Kitty clearly feels that the industry is undergoing a structural change in job seekers. If early participants were mostly tech-obsessed geeks or sharp-eyed speculators, today's job seekers resemble top students attracted by the concept of "the next era."

According to a survey conducted by BlockBeats, nearly 80% (80.5%) of respondents participating in the Web3 job-seeking questionnaire come from 985/211 and ordinary first-tier universities, with 36.6% from 985/211 and a staggering 43.9% from ordinary first-tier institutions; additionally, 7.3% of job seekers have overseas educational backgrounds, while only 12.2% come from vocational or other schools. Among them, nearly 80% (78.05%) of respondents expressed a willingness to consider Web3 as their first job. This data indicates that Web3 is transitioning from a "small circle" to a "mainstream choice," attracting more and more highly educated talent to actively enter.

From a professional background perspective, this group of highly educated job seekers is not lacking in options. The survey by BlockBeats shows that among respondents participating in the Web3 job-seeking questionnaire, 46.34% come from computer and information technology-related majors, and 21.95% have backgrounds in finance and business. They originally had opportunities to enter more stable traditional industries and possess competitiveness for mainstream industries such as large corporations, brokerages, and banks.

(B) A More Realistic Choice: Why Are Newcomers Coming to Web3?

Why are these "elites," who could have taken a more stable path, actively choosing to dive into a more volatile and less defined field? This is not a blind speculation but a rational shift under real pressure. To understand their choices, we must look back at what the "traditional path" they were supposed to take looks like today.

Batty is a 2025 graduate with a complete financial background, including a 985 master's degree, investment banking internship, and passing CFA Level 3. Following the "standard path," she originally thought she could at least secure a decent and stable job. However, by the end of the 2024 autumn recruitment season, she only received one offer for a bank back-office position, with a monthly salary of less than ten thousand.

This was far from her expectations. So, she chose not to start immediately and began frequently searching on social media for keywords like "Web3 jobs" and "how to enter Web3 with zero experience," trying to find a "detour that might lead to the future."

Her story is not unique. For many young people with financial backgrounds, Web3 is no longer just a concept but a real escape from "involution."

Between 2022 and 2024, the traditional financial industry underwent a profound adjustment period. Positions once seen as "golden jobs" in finance are losing their former luster, with the industry overall showing a severe trend of job reductions, declining salaries, and intensified competition.

This trend is particularly evident in the employment of fresh graduates. Leading brokerages that once massively absorbed graduates opened only a few hundred positions in the 2024 autumn recruitment, and the entire IB front market had only about 500 job openings, far less than the recruitment volume of a single institution in 2022. Companies like CITIC Securities and GF Securities have been reported to lay off thousands of employees, shattering the stability myth of financial "golden jobs."

While job openings are shrinking, the entry barriers are continuously rising. "High education + prestigious school background + multiple internships" has become the basic configuration, with CFA certificates, programming skills, macro vision, English writing, and investment research frameworks gradually becoming "entry tickets." Job seekers are rushing into the "employment competition" to stand out.

More and more students are caught up in fierce job competition, but high investment does not necessarily yield returns. According to salary data, in 2024, the starting salary for grassroots employees in state-owned banks in first-tier cities is mostly concentrated in the range of 7,000–10,000 yuan, with year-end bonuses only around 20,000–30,000 yuan; in non-first-tier cities, it can be as low as 5,000 yuan. "After deducting social insurance and housing fund, and paying rent and transportation, there's hardly anything left," said a graduate who joined a state-owned bank.

Faced with the contraction of the traditional financial sector, many finance graduates are turning their attention to Web2, hoping to find new opportunities in the internet industry. But this path is not easy either. On one hand, internet giants have significantly reduced hiring after the layoffs in 2022-2023, making job competition equally fierce; on the other hand, transitioning from finance to the internet requires bridging skill gaps and understanding the industry, making job seeking no easier than before.

Since both the mainstream paths in finance and large corporations are difficult to navigate, the question arises: Why haven't these young people chosen the equally popular and seemingly more promising AI industry?

After all, AI is one of the hottest trends right now. A certain book has launched a top intern program offering 3,500 yuan/day, and a certain universe's TopSeed project is attracting countless students from Tsinghua, Peking University, and Ivy League backgrounds with a daily salary of 2,000 yuan. On social media, "AI rise" has almost become a consensus, as if just hopping on this train would lead to a certain future.

But the reality is not that simple. Whether from a technical or non-technical background, establishing a foothold in the AI industry is not easy.

For non-technical job seekers, AI is almost a closed threshold. Without a foundation in algorithms or engineering experience, the most they can do is content operations, data labeling, or model management, which are not only highly competitive with limited growth potential but also easily replaced by automation tools. Unlike Web3, which can break through through community, content, and operations.

Even for those with technical backgrounds, it is not easy. Core positions are highly concentrated in top companies and research institutions, almost defaulting to a PhD degree or experience in algorithm competitions. Many job seekers, even if they enter the field, can only handle marginal tasks like model fine-tuning, parameter adjustment, and bug fixing, lacking creative space. A job seeker looking for Web3 opportunities candidly stated, "Big companies are indeed working on AI, but the work is not very innovative; a lot of it is just fine-tuning, and you still have to work 996, which is not interesting."

In the rapid development of AI, where job structures have not yet overflowed, the industry is indeed full of imagination, but that does not mean there is a place for ordinary people. It is a "trend," but not necessarily an "opportunity."

(C) What’s So Good About Web3?

As traditional paths become crowded or even blocked, some people begin to turn to those new worlds that have not yet been fully defined. Web3 is such a choice. Compared to traditional finance and internet giants, some "atypical characteristics" of Web3 are attracting more and more job seekers: high salaries and remote work.

According to a survey conducted by BlockBeats targeting Web3 job seekers, high salaries and remote work are indeed key factors for most respondents wanting to enter the Web3 industry. 82.93% of respondents believe that Web3 has great salary potential, and 73.17% value its abundant remote work opportunities.

This phenomenon stands in stark contrast to the tightening of salaries in traditional industries. Web3 projects often provide immediate high returns. According to Web3 Career salary statistics, as of June 2025, even entry-level positions generally have annual salaries of no less than $50,000, approximately 350,000 yuan (based on an exchange rate of 1 USD ≈ 7.15 CNY).

Data Source: Web3 Career, June 2025 statistics

The image shows the global salary range for non-technical positions (top image) and technical positions (bottom image) in Web3 at different experience levels.

Although the salary levels in Asia are relatively low, for job seekers with excellent English skills, "geographic arbitrage" becomes possible—earning income in the European and American markets while enjoying a relatively low cost of living domestically.

Data Source: Web3 Career, June 2025 statistics

The image shows the average annual salary situation for non-technical positions (top image) and technical positions (bottom image) in Web3 by region.

More critically, the Web3 industry offers a "non-involution" work environment compared to traditional large corporations. Many practitioners who have transitioned from traditional internet companies to Web3 have mentioned a significant reduction in work intensity. A product manager who moved from a large corporation to Web3 stated, "I came to Web3 purely for the money + the work pressure at large corporations was too exhausting."

Image source: Crypto community. In the current context where "high-pressure overtime and 35-year anxiety" have become the norm in Web2 large corporations, such a working style is almost utopian.

At the same time, the remote work model offered by Web3 has also become a major highlight attracting students.

According to a research report by Metarficial, 53.39% of Web3 jobs are fully remote, 25.08% adopt a hybrid work model, and positions that require long-term office attendance account for only about 12.01%, significantly lower than in traditional finance and internet industries.

BlockBeats' survey targeting employers also shows that online remote work has become the mainstream collaboration method for most Web3 teams. In the context of globalized teams and project-driven dynamics, remote work not only saves commuting time but also grants young job seekers more autonomy in their work pace and living space.

Joseph, a recent graduate working in data analysis at Bitget's operations center, stated that as a typical introvert, remote work allows her to efficiently connect with various departments from home, reducing commuting stress and actually enhancing her work efficiency and comfort. Ricardo, also a recent graduate at Bitget, shares a similar experience; he dislikes spending time commuting, and the work pace in Web3 fits his lifestyle perfectly—even if he occasionally needs to post tweets after work, it is merely a small task since he is already deeply involved in the on-chain ecosystem.

In addition, BlockBeats' survey of Web3 job seekers found that 82.93% of respondents believe Web3 represents innovation and the forefront of technology. At the same time, they instinctively compare Web3 to the early mobile internet era. "They often make such comparisons to me, thinking that the current Web3 is like the state of the early mobile internet 10 or 12 years ago," recalled a headhunter.

In the eyes of these students, Web3 is still in a stage of "not yet structured, not yet monopolized by giants," where underlying technologies have initially matured, infrastructure is gradually improving, but truly scalable user applications have yet to emerge—this precisely constitutes the biggest opportunity window.

It is this "imagined growth period" that drives a large number of talents with Web2 backgrounds to enter this field, as they generally believe: now is the best time to "restart a successful path."

II. Newcomer Breakthrough Guide: Web3, which seems "hard to enter," is actually in great need of talent

Although the Web3 industry continues to attract a large influx of newcomers, the reality of the "landing rate" (successful entry into the industry) is not optimistic. "Web3 is not friendly to newcomers," is the most direct feeling of many job seekers. Interestingly, in stark contrast to the newcomers' difficulty in finding jobs, project teams are also shouting that they "cannot find suitable candidates."

Blogger Web3 Hamburger Cat revealed that trading platforms and project teams generally face recruitment difficulties, to the extent that they are willing to pay headhunter fees of 20% of the annual salary. Based on the generally high salaries in Web3, this means that the cost of onboarding can often reach 50,000 to 60,000 yuan or even more. Yet, even so, the recruitment cycle often drags on for months.

This presents a contradictory phenomenon: on one hand, newcomers to Web3 find it hard to enter the industry, while on the other hand, recruiters also struggle to find suitable talent. The root of the problem is not the lack of ability among job seekers, but rather the absence of an effective talent system.

(A) Why Does Your Resume Sink Without a Trace?

1. Lack of Recruitment Infrastructure

"I don't even know where to send my resume," is the first problem countless newcomers encounter when job seeking in Web3.

In the traditional internet era, recruitment systems represented by platforms like LinkedIn and Boss Zhipin have long matured: job positions are highly standardized, interview processes are relatively fixed, and job seekers have clear submission channels.

However, in the Web3 industry, similar infrastructure has yet to be established. Although there are some specialized recruitment websites on the market, the vast majority of job information is still scattered across X (formerly Twitter), Telegram groups, Notion pages, or Google Forms; the recruitment processes of different projects vary widely, and evaluation criteria differ from person to person; many teams do not even have dedicated HR personnel, let alone a systematic recruitment mechanism.

"The recruitment in this industry has never been formal," Kitty (the head of a recruitment platform) bluntly stated. Compared to the mature recruitment processes and HR mechanisms of Web2, the human resource allocation of most Web3 projects can be described as "chaotic."

The situations she encounters include: some teams do not have dedicated HR; interviewers may be "jack-of-all-trades" responsible for recruitment, finance, and community operations; some HR personnel even eliminate all candidates with Web2 experience simply because the boss said, "We want Web3 native people."

"Many newcomers' resumes sink without a trace, not because HR intentionally ignores them, but due to the lack of a systematic mechanism," Kitty explained, which puts job seekers and recruiters in a long-term state of "missing each other." This non-standardized recruitment ecosystem is a microcosm of the "barbaric growth" of the Web3 industry.

2. The Ineffectiveness of Educational Advantages and the Experience Paradox

In addition, the prestigious degrees that hold advantages in the traditional job market do not fully apply in the Web3 field; even a master's degree from a QS top 20 university may not guarantee an internship opportunity. The core of this contradiction lies in the fact that recruiters need talent that can "hit the ground running," while newcomers generally lack verifiable "hands-on experience."

BlockBeats' survey targeting employers shows that the expectations for newcomers in the Web3 industry are not "degree first," but rather place greater emphasis on practical skills and understanding. Among the interviewed employers, nearly 70% (68.97%) hope that newcomers possess in-depth industry understanding or actual project experience, which means that "being knowledgeable" is often more competitive than "coming from a good school." Additionally, 51.72% of employers value English proficiency, reflecting the international communication environment of the industry; while 44.83% of employers have expectations for educational backgrounds, this is not the majority.

This data further confirms the Web3 industry's stringent requirement for newcomers to prioritize "experience." However, in practice, this seems to fall into a paradox: how can newcomers without experience gain "experience" in this industry?

Faced with such dilemmas, many newcomers have turned their attention to "job intermediaries." Starting in the second half of 2023, a large number of Web3 training institutions have emerged in the market, promoting "job guarantees," "zero-based career transitions," and "simulated project experience" as selling points, attempting to fill the gaps in "experience thresholds" and "entry paths."

It is understood that these training institutions charge between 15,000 to 30,000 yuan, essentially allowing job seekers to exchange money for a "professional identity." However, this model quickly reveals problems in reality:

· Course content is severely outdated. Many training institutions are still stuck in the 2021 DeFi boom, and the teaching content has not kept pace with industry rhythms, becoming disconnected from current market hotspots and actual demands. CoinGecko data shows that there are currently over 20,000 active Web3 projects distributed across more than 20 subfields, with hot topics updating on a weekly basis, making traditional systematic learning paths difficult to adapt;

· "Project experience" may involve fabrication. Multiple students have reported that the so-called practical projects are merely basic operations like AMA and community management discussed by instructors in groups, ultimately fabricating project experiences through synthesized images or "packaged resumes";

· The so-called "job guarantee" often turns into "selling internships." Some institutions' promised employment services are merely sending resumes on behalf of students, and the so-called "good news" often just means obtaining an unpaid or low-paid internship opportunity.

AMA: An abbreviation for "Ask Me Anything," in the Web3 context, is an activity format where project members engage in open Q&A with the community through channels like Twitter Spaces. It can be understood as a form of live interaction, but only with audio.

Interestingly, the audience for such training is not lacking in educational background: 985 undergraduates, National University of Singapore master's graduates, and those with investment banking backgrounds are all included. They often do not lack ability but are unsure how to explore this opaque and feedback-deficient industry path.

"They just want to change careers but genuinely don't know how to do it; they are unwilling to dive in themselves and spend time and energy exploring that uncertainty. They think, I'll just pay a bit of money, and you give me a certain path," said a job-seeking observer.

(B) Which Positions Are Easier for Newcomers to Break Into

Before discussing how to enter Web3, we must first understand: What positions are truly lacking in the market? And which positions are most open to newcomers?

According to BlockBeats' survey targeting employers, operations and BD (Business Development) are currently the most concentrated recruitment needs, with 86.21% of surveyed employers indicating they are hiring or have sought newcomers in this direction; followed by technical positions at 51.72%; and research positions at 48.28%, ranking third.

1. Non-Technical Positions: Operations and BD

Among all non-technical positions, operations and BD are widely regarded as "essential needs." Regardless of how niche a Web3 project may be or how streamlined the team is, these two roles are necessary to connect with the market, integrate resources, and drive growth. As headhunter Kevin stated, "Positions that can bring direct output are the most scarce."

For this reason, these roles have become the first landing point for many newcomers. According to BlockBeats' survey of job seekers, 46.88% prefer BD/marketing and other "external growth" directions, while another 40.63% favor community operations and content creation roles, which are "user engagement" positions. This indicates that within non-technical paths, "growth" and "community" remain the most favored job tracks.

However, the popularity of these positions does not guarantee stable development. Newcomers should be cautious, as operations and BD roles generally exhibit the characteristic of "easy to enter, difficult to retain."

Snow originally worked in administration at a state-owned enterprise, and in mid-2023, she decided to "go all in on Web3." She joined a startup focused on RWA (Real World Assets on-chain) as an operations and community manager, stating, "I have to handle content, activities, and community myself every day." Although she adapted quickly, three months later, she was informed of a "team restructuring and non-renewal of her contract."

"I didn't make a mistake; I was just optimized," she said calmly. "Later, I learned that they were actually looking for someone who could write content and also drive growth." This was her first realization that while some positions may be in high demand, the turnover rate can also be very high.

Snow's experience is not an isolated case but rather a microcosm of the Web3 job market. While non-technical positions are relatively easy to enter, they require a high level of comprehensive ability. Roles in operations and BD not only need traditional marketing skills but also require a deep understanding of blockchain technology, familiarity with various DeFi protocols, mastery of unique community operation rules, as well as a keen market sense and strong resource integration capabilities.

2. Technical Positions: Accumulating On-Chain Experience

In contrast, technical positions present a structural contradiction of "hot at both ends, cold in the middle."

On one hand, high-end technical roles are in long-term short supply: positions such as cryptography experts, ZK engineers, security architects, and on-chain auditors heavily rely on PhD-level education or years of on-chain development experience, and most talents have already engaged in entrepreneurship or infrastructure development. As one practitioner put it, "Those who truly understand on-chain logic have all gone into entrepreneurship."

On the other hand, entry-level "Web2 transition" technical positions (such as front-end development, wallet integration, etc.) have already become fiercely competitive. These positions do not require extensive on-chain experience, attracting a large influx of traditional internet engineers, leading to increasingly fierce competition.

For newcomers, the core challenge is: how to find their entry point between these two extremes?

In fact, many Web3 projects still have a certain demand for developers who "have development skills and understand on-chain interaction logic," especially in daily development tasks such as contract interactions and oracle calls. Such "versatile" talents are not extremely scarce, but stable supply is insufficient. The key accumulation needed to enter this level is actual on-chain experience. For example, learning basic contract languages, reading documentation of open-source projects, and participating in real project collaborations.

Therefore, for newcomers hoping to enter Web3 through technical roles, rather than competing for qualifications in peripheral positions, it is better to seek on-chain practical opportunities early on. By participating in Hackathons, open-source projects, and collaborative development, they can accumulate "on-chain sensitivity" and carve out their own space between the overly crowded and overly high-end roles.

(III) The Correct Way to Successfully Enter the Circle

1. Dare to Get Involved: Starting is More Important than "Having Experience"

Many newcomers entering Web3 often find themselves in a common dilemma: not knowing how to participate.

They worry about their lack of experience and hesitate to take the initiative, hoping instead for a traditional path—submitting resumes, waiting for interviews, and being "hired."

However, this mindset may be fundamentally flawed. In fact, when we truly step into the recruitment scene, we find a significant contrast: many project teams show unexpected patience and goodwill towards "potential newcomers."

BlockBeats' survey targeting employers also shows that compared to experience, employers value the ability to learn quickly and self-drive more. In a recruitment priority scoring, "quick learning and self-drive" scored 3.41, higher than "understanding basic Web3 concepts" at 2.14 and "English proficiency" at 1.79, while "having some industry experience" ranked last at only 1.41.

Behind this is a pragmatic and efficient hiring logic: on one hand, Web3 projects are generally small and fast-paced, leaving little room to train from scratch; on the other hand, they are willing to seek "trainable talent" through "low-cost trial and error," akin to scratching off a potential lottery ticket.

As one project leader candidly stated, "We are not against bringing in newcomers, but they need to show me their enthusiasm. You have to take a few steps yourself to let me know you are serious."

This principle applies not only to project teams but also holds true in campus recruitment at trading platforms. In 2025, Bitget received over 10,000 resumes and ultimately hired 28 graduates, nearly half of whom had no systematic Web3 background. What they shared was not a mature resume but a signal of being "trustworthy and worth cultivating."

"We always believe that potential is more important than experience," emphasized Bitget HR, noting that the team particularly focuses on growth willingness, self-drive, and plasticity during the screening process, which is why many "zero-experience" newcomers can successfully enter.

This also means: you do not need a "job" to start taking action. Many who successfully enter the circle do not begin by submitting resumes but by actively participating and accumulating experience:

· If you want to do operations, you can first choose a project you are interested in, become active in their Discord group, and proactively apply to be a MOD (Moderator), gaining practical insights into the industry rhythm;

· If you want to create content, you can find a KOL or author you like, communicate proactively, express your views, and even a high-quality comment could be a starting point;

· If you want to work in tech, you can start with languages like Solidity or Rust, try writing based on online tutorials, and understand their contracts through open-source project documentation. Additionally, participate in industry Hackathons, team up with like-minded individuals to practice, and then discuss ideas with projects you are interested in.

This reflects the reality of the Web3 hiring mechanism: there is no certain path, but ample space to "give it a try." Rather than waiting to be "ready," it is better to start moving. Accumulating trust through action is always more realistic than waiting for the perfect path.

In summary: Experience is important, but "willingness to take the first step" is even more important.

2. Being Seen: Get Out There and Network Actively

If the first issue addresses the question of "whether to take action," then this section addresses "where to take action"—the answer is: among people.

The Web3 industry has a characteristic that is starkly different from traditional industries: there is no job-seeking system to speak of. There are no unified recruitment websites, no standardized interview processes, and many projects do not even have HR. In this situation, the industry has begun to revert to the most primitive talent matching methods: internal referrals and personal introductions.

"We do not post job ads," one project leader stated directly. "Who is reliable and capable, we bring them in to try. It mainly relies on referrals; two or three people can quickly fill the positions."

It may sound informal, but many positions are filled this way. Especially for early-stage projects, with few people and a fast pace, rather than spending time sifting through resumes, it is better to find someone "who knows who they are," even if they are not perfect, they can start working immediately.

For them, "reliable" and "trustworthy" take precedence over "good education" and "extensive experience." It is not that they do not consider backgrounds, but they do not have time to infer "whether this person can handle the job" from their background.

Thus, the core logic of finding a job in Web3 is quite simple: you need to first appear in their line of sight. You want others to think of you when they have a need—this is the hiring logic in this industry.

For students, the most stable way to "be seen" is to join the university blockchain association (hereinafter referred to as the chain association).

On one hand, the chain association helps new members overcome the knowledge gap in blockchain basics through public courses and internal lectures, and understand how the industry operates; on the other hand, it continuously connects alumni resources and collaborative projects, providing members with internship, part-time, or volunteer opportunities.

In addition, many chain associations also hold public events for the industry, such as organizing AMAs, co-hosting offline meetups, or participating in Hackathon preparations. These activities not only allow members to engage with project teams and practitioners earlier but also, in an intangible way, establish the chain association's "trust endorsement" in the industry.

"We are not specifically focused on recruitment, but project teams often come to ask if we have any recommended candidates," said one chain association organizer. "So we have a group where we bring project teams and students together; if someone needs talent, they can directly post job information in the group, and students can reach out to HR to chat."

Some recruitment events in the industry also directly connect with chain associations; for example, Bitget's overseas campus recruitment for 2024-2025 held offline presentations at several overseas target universities.

For project teams, this mechanism significantly reduces screening costs; for students, it also provides a relatively safe testing ground. Many people's first Web3 experience often starts from the chain association.

If your school does not have a chain association, there is no need to worry. Most associations' activities are open to all students and often provide similar student subsidies, so keep an eye on relevant information.

In addition to chain associations, participating in offline events is also an important way to build industry connections.

"We prefer to go to offline events to make a face-to-face impression; it's really hard to remember people online," one project team member admitted. "Judging a person by their resume or avatar is too abstract; trust is very important in Web3, and you must establish offline connections." Compared to traditional recruitment processes, this is closer to a fateful recruitment approach. "Many people have just met a few times at events, and when a vacancy arises, they directly ask if you want to give it a try."

This is not a game of exchanging one interaction for one offer, but rather a process of being remembered, recognized, and trusted through multiple participations and conversations.

In addition to traditional blockchain associations and offline events, there are also some platforms and projects in the industry actively building "bridges" to provide newcomers lacking connections with more structured entry points that they can proactively follow. For example, Bitget has launched the Blockchain4Youth public welfare program, which offers systematic industry guidance for newcomers through various means, including: establishing scholarships in collaboration with the University of Zurich to support students in deeply engaging with Web3 research and project practice; and launching the #Web3 Insider video series in partnership with the Web3 career platform Bondex (equivalent to LinkedIn in the Web3 industry), focusing on job introductions and career path clarifications to help newcomers better understand industry demands and possible entry methods.

In the current landscape where the industry lacks recruitment infrastructure, paying attention to such resources can provide newcomers without a network with clearer pathways to entry.

It is worth noting that socializing does not equate to being a social butterfly; proactive networking does not mean that introverted individuals have no opportunities. In the Web3 field, the following methods are also effective:

· Small-Scale Deep Connections: Rather than meeting 20 people at an event, it is better to establish deep connections with 3-5 individuals who truly resonate with you. Introverts often excel in one-on-one deep conversations, which is the best way to build trust.

· High-Density Community Participation: Focus on 2-3 high-quality small circles or communities and become an active contributor within them, which is more effective than a scattergun approach to networking. In small circles, your professional abilities are more likely to be seen and remembered.

· Content as a Substitute for Small Talk: By writing technical blogs, sharing project retrospectives, and publishing thought summaries, you can allow your professional abilities to "find" the right people. Many introverted technical experts have built strong personal brands through continuous content output.

In summary, recruitment in Web3 often revolves around "who among the people I know can do this job" rather than "who is applying." This is a byproduct of the "lack of standardized recruitment mechanisms," but it also emphasizes the importance of connections.

You do not necessarily have to appear outstanding, but you must be trusted, at least to be "known."

Under this logic, proactively stepping out, making yourself visible, and building trust become essential courses for job hunting in Web3. Whether through blockchain associations, offline events, or online content output, the key is to continuously appear in the industry's line of sight and become someone "they can think of."

3. Staying: Proactivity and Communication/Collaboration Skills

If "entering the circle" relies on being seen, then "staying" relies on being trusted. And what truly earns trust is not the qualifications on a resume, but whether one can demonstrate proactivity and communication/collaboration skills in their work.

BlockBeats' survey of employers shows that 96.55% of recruiters value "proactivity/execution ability" the most, while 62.07% value "communication and writing skills." In other words, whether a newcomer can push things forward on their own and explain complex issues clearly is more important than whether they are a "veteran in the crypto space." In actual projects, qualifications are no longer the decisive factor; rather, the ability to quickly enter a "deliverable and collaborative" work state is the standard for measuring retention value.

As one project founder candidly stated, "I don't care how many meme projects you've worked on; what matters is whether you can articulate your thoughts clearly."

In decentralized, flat Web3 teams, the ability to express oneself equates to the ability to acquire resources. Ricardo, a campus recruit in Bitget's marketing department, confirmed this: "My mentor told me when I joined that I could propose any ideas, and as long as they were reasonable, I would be given resources to push them forward." This means that the prerequisite for promoting an idea is your ability to persuade others accurately and clearly.

In Joseph's view, who works in data analysis at Bitget, effective communication can even become an accelerator for problem-solving. Once, when faced with a complex issue, he directly pulled a colleague into a voice conversation, who then brought in upstream collaborators, ultimately facilitating a meeting with seven participants, "Everyone was very willing to work together to clarify things." This ability to proactively connect and coordinate among multiple parties is becoming the cornerstone of collaboration in flat organizations.

This capability also directly impacts the recruitment process. One interviewer revealed, "I will ask some questions you can't answer, not to test your knowledge, but to see how you organize your language. If you are not organized, I will guide you to say first, second, third. If you still can't articulate clearly, we probably won't continue the conversation." In his view, structured expression is not only a communication skill but also a reflection of execution awareness—someone who can break down problems clearly and advance tasks in an orderly manner is often the one who can stay.

In the fast-paced Web3 projects, expressiveness, logical reasoning, and collaborative awareness are no longer just added bonuses; they are "infrastructure-level capabilities." They determine whether a person can truly keep up with the industry's pace and whether they can continuously create value within a team.

What Platform to Choose as a Starting Point for Career Development?

For newcomers eager to enter Web3, the first step in career choice is not "Am I suited for operations or content?" but rather "Which type of organization should I start with?" In this industry, where standard career paths have yet to be established, the choice of platform often determines the speed, direction, and even risk tolerance of growth.

Unlike the standard process of "submitting resumes, starting work, and waiting for promotions" in traditional industries, the entry methods in Web3 are often more non-standardized, unequal, and even carry a degree of chaos and randomness. The real issue newcomers face is not "which company to choose," but "which entry method to select."

According to research data from BlockBeats, 75% of job seekers view centralized trading platforms as their preferred starting point, 56.25% choose to join project teams or startups, and another 56.25% opt to engage with research institutions or venture capital platforms.

Faced with these significantly different entry paths, we conducted in-depth interviews and comparisons of the two most typical directions: trading platforms and project teams, attempting to restore the real ecology within them and provide job seekers with a more valuable career map.

These two paths each have their pros and cons and cater to job seekers with different backgrounds, skill sets, and preferences.

(1) Project Teams: Not Afraid of "Doing Menial Tasks," Approaching the Core through Internships and Part-Time Work

Most Web3 project teams are early-stage startups with small organizational sizes and short decision-making chains. Due to the lack of systematic training systems, these teams are generally not very "hiring," but they are very willing to "utilize talent"—as long as you can get started immediately and solve problems, it does not matter whether your role is part-time, remote, or an internship.

This "exchanging delivery for trust" logic in hiring is quite common among Web3 project teams. For them, hiring the wrong person is very costly; rather than "training from scratch," it is better to "trial and error at low cost" to discover trainable talent.

Lynn is a core member of a Web3 startup project, with only five full-time and three part-time members, so small that they even forgo an office. She candidly stated, "We actually don't hire much because it's hard for us to survive." Yet, even so, she still recruited some interns through friends' recommendations to handle operations or technical work, earning between $500 and $1,000 a month for a few hours of work each day. This budget is even higher than some traditional internships, and it is remote and "easy," but she does not feel it is generous. "I only care about results; as long as you can deliver, it's worth it to me," she said with a smile.

This arrangement is significant for project teams because it is cost-effective, light on burden, and can be withdrawn at any time. If an intern performs exceptionally, the team essentially "strikes gold"; if not suitable, they can quickly cut their losses without incurring sunk costs. In a context where project lifecycles are generally short and cash flow is highly uncertain, such arrangements mitigate the risk of excessive labor costs while providing a margin for error.

Of course, for newcomers, this path is full of uncertainties: you might be the "person doing the most critical tasks," or you might just be a "filler doing menial work." But it is undeniable that it is one of the few opportunities to be "directly seen."

More importantly, it is one of the rare windows to get close to the founders and directly understand product and market decisions. You will participate in actual business, grasp the rhythm of community operations, and may even get involved in fundraising and ecosystem collaboration processes, gaining a density of growth that far exceeds traditional internship experiences.

However, it is not suitable for everyone: there is no training plan, no promotion pathway, and everything relies on self-exploration. Today you may be leading growth strategies, but tomorrow you might be "optimized" due to team restructuring. But for those willing to exchange practical experience for knowledge, who can accept volatility and are not afraid to start from scratch, this is one of the paths in the Web3 industry that truly allows you to "get into the front line."

(2) Trading Platforms as "New-Type Large Enterprises": Mechanized Training and Stable Growth Pathways

If project teams represent a high-risk, high-reward "free fight," then centralized trading platforms offer a more "standardized" entry method.

Compared to the common mechanisms of personal referrals and community recommendations in project teams, the recruitment channels of trading platforms are more open and transparent, with fixed processes and clear nodes, providing newcomers with a clearer entry path. For example, Bitget regularly posts its campus recruitment and internship positions on its official website, LinkedIn, social media, and internal networks of target universities. Allen, who previously worked at a large Web2 company, directly applied for an AI product position at Bitget after seeing the recruitment post on LinkedIn and received an interview invitation within a few days.

In addition to clear channels, the supply of positions is much richer than the outside world might imagine. By the end of 2024, a leading trading platform opened over 500 positions simultaneously in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, covering multiple functional modules such as product, operations, growth, risk control, and security. Another newly established trading platform also completed a core team expansion of nearly a hundred people in a short period. "If you don't reach this scale, you basically can't get things moving," said a recruitment leader in the industry.

This intense recruitment demand is driven by the high-density operational structure that platform organizations must undertake: they need to serve global users while dealing with complex technical operations, ecosystem development, and regulatory compliance. To ensure the efficient operation of this system, most trading platforms establish dedicated HR teams, build clear hierarchical systems, and strengthen cross-departmental collaboration mechanisms. Compared to the loosely organized and resource-limited project teams, trading platforms have a more solid organizational foundation that can "accommodate newcomers and support growth."

Bitget's campus recruitment is a microcosm of this structured mechanism. In 2025, its campus recruitment program received over 10,000 resumes, ultimately hiring only 28 graduates, who entered various core business modules such as technology, product, regional growth, global branding, and global operations, almost covering the entire main chain of crypto business.

What is more friendly for newcomers is that, compared to the "must be ready to go" hiring logic of many project teams, trading platforms provide a more forgiving growth space and a clearer support system. A significant portion of this batch of newcomers had not previously worked directly in Web3-related roles, but with clear communication skills, curiosity about the industry, and a willingness to learn, they still secured job offers.

After joining the team, newcomers will undergo onboarding training covering industry knowledge, job skills, and cultural concepts; each person is assigned a direct mentor, while HRBP regularly tracks performance and development needs, supporting horizontal job rotation and cross-departmental attempts. This mechanism not only helps newcomers quickly identify their roles but also ensures they have a relatively clear development path in an uncertain industry.

In practice, this mechanism has also shown positive results.

Hazel, a campus recruit in Bitget's Branding department, shared that while participating in Bitget's large marketing project "Bitget Anti-Scam Month," the team provided an SOP framework and resource coordination support from creative planning to execution, allowing her to lead the entire campaign within three months. Another campus recruit, Joseph, also mentioned that during the data dashboard construction project, his mentor accompanied him throughout, addressing business challenges and teaching him step-by-step how to break down problems and review processes, enabling him to independently support operational data needs within a few months of joining.

Of course, the trading platform path is not without its shortcomings. Compared to the "versatile" and "core close contact" of project teams, trading platforms have more detailed functional divisions and more mature processes. This means that in certain positions, personal expression space and innovation flexibility may be limited; for newcomers eager to lead products and frequently experiment, growth speed may be constrained.

Who is it suitable for? Those who hope to receive systematic training, need stable cash flow, and plan to stay in the industry for the long term. Especially for job seekers who wish to start from understanding the overall industry and "grow slowly" within a stable structure, trading platforms are a trustworthy starting point.

In summary, there is no standard answer to how to enter Web3, only more suitable entry points.

· If you desire to learn quickly, get close to the core of the industry, and are willing to take on uncertainty, project teams may be your training ground;

· If you hope to start steadily, have systematic support, and possess long-term plans, trading platforms may be more suitable as your first stop.

What truly matters is whether you can accumulate trust through action and establish your position through output—platforms are merely pathways; growth still depends on yourself.

Conclusion: It’s Not About Finding a Web3 Job, But About Finding Ways to Create Value

As we reflect on the entirety of this in-depth research, a clear picture emerges: Web3 is not just an emerging industry; it is an experimental ground that is redefining "career" itself. Here, traditional job-seeking logic is overturned, and new ways of creating value are emerging.

For everyone involved, the true meaning of job hunting in Web3 lies not in finding a "Web3 job," but in learning a new way of working, thinking, and living. At its core, it is a shift from "adapting to the world" to "creating the world."

In this process, you will discover:

The best job is not found, but created;

The best opportunities are not waited for, but made;

The best future is not planned, but the result of action.

Web3 is not the end, but a starting point. It teaches us how to seek certainty in uncertainty, identify opportunities in change, and establish order in chaos.

The long river of history continually reveals: in the tides of change, it is often not those who embrace change that perish, but those who cling to old ways and resist transformation.

The dividends of the era will eventually pass, but the ability to embrace change will become your timeless foundational asset. Regardless of how Web3 evolves in the future, those who dare to act, continue to learn, and keep creating will always find their place in the next cycle.

Note: The individuals mentioned in this article are all pseudonyms.

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