The Ultimate Web3 Learning Roadmap
Guide to kickstarting your Web3 career
Web3 is a field that's expanding constantly and accommodating new professionals and developers every day, if you want to get started with Web3 this guide will show you, and help you get started.
What is Web3? Chances are if you're reading this article, you already have some sort of idea of what Web3 is, if you need more in-depth details on what our article on web3 transition would be helpful.
Enough talk, you want to be a Web3 Engineer what do you start learning first?
Web Fundamentals
We are jumping right in, to get into Web3, you must at least know what it means to develop Web2 applications, at least on a surface level. JavaScript being the main language to learn, it is advisable to learn HTML first.
Although JavaScript is mostly considered a web development language, that has drastically changed over the years, you can build anything you so wish with JavaScript, including Web3 applications.
As a total beginner in the new world, you're about to get into, you will have to start with JavaScript and get familiar with basic concepts.
Where to learn
When you google "js tutorial" you are going to be bombarded with several sites, videos, and many more, but here are some proven ones that are beginner-friendly
W3schools: When it comes to providing the best possible tutorials, what makes it a favorite is its structured syllabus, making it easy for learners to go at a structured pace. Check out their JS tutorial.
FreeCodeCamp: Freecodecamp offers a web fundamentals course that you can easily take that will quickly brief you through the basics of HTML and CSS, you will learn and code at the same time, and you can start with web fundamentals before moving to Javascript. Freecodecamp also offers a full JavaScript course, the best part? You get certified. Another perk of learning with freecodecamp is their learn & do approach, for everything you solve a fun and tasking quiz. Start JS with FreeCodeCamp.
Blockchain Fundamentals
After you are well grounded in the concepts of web development, you need to start taking a look at the core of Web3 fundamentals; Blockchain.
Blockchain powers Web3, it's a people-powered database, that cannot be altered without the consensus of everyone on the network, it's the foundation of the decentralized internet that, again, is a major concept of Web3.
Because of the implementation of Blockchain, we have seen major innovations in the world of Web3, which includes Cryptocurrency, NFTs, DeFi, and dApps.
Where to learn
FreeCodeCamp: Freecodecamp is another great place to start your blockchain journey, unlike web development, blockchain tutorial isn't as saturated. Freecodecamp still teaches the fundamentals and even gets your hands dirty with some smart contracts development with JavaScript.
Coursera: You might have to bring out some bucks for this, when it comes to professional education, you can trust Coursera to deliver you top-grade tutorials that will take you from beginner to intermediate in no time. You might need to dive deeper into more complex blockchain development practices, so check out Coursera's Blockchain catalog.
Ethereum
Now that you are familiar with the concepts of web development, and the technology that drives the whole Web3 ecosystem, the next thing is to understand what Ethereum is.
Ethereum is a blockchain network unlike no other, it pioneered the way for third-party developers to directly work on the chain and create a whole lot of decentralized apps that we know of, smart contracts, tokens, and more.
Ethereum isn't the only blockchain that supports this, we have the Solana network, Binance Smart Chain, and more, but once you are done with Ethereum, you will be put in a perfect position to understand all of the others.
To learn about Ethereum, you have to start with smart contracts, smart contracts are programs that run on the Ethereum chain and can carry countless of operations on the network as well. This article will give you more details about what smart contracts are.
Solidity
After your journey exploring the world of smart contracts, you will have heard about this programming language. Solidity is a programming language developed and maintained by Ethereum.org and it's the primary language for creating smart contracts on the Ethereum chain.
Don't fret, you've learned JavaScript, so picking up solidity will not be as complicated as you might think.
Where to learn
FreeCodeCamp: When it comes to detailed tutorials, you can always trust freecodecamp. There's a comprehensive free handbook on Solidity that you can pick up and will take you from beginner to intermediate upon completion. You can check out the Solidity handbook and start learning.
Udemy: Udemy is a great education hub, and there are great Solidity courses that you can take, The majority of them are paid, but it's a very good option if you are looking to get certified too. Take a look at Udemy's course catalog.
Connection and Integration
Now that you have learned about smart contracts, to properly use them you have to learn how to connect with the Ethereum network and carry out some mind-blowing tasks. By this time, you can almost call yourself a Web3 engineer, exciting, isn't it?
There are two Javascript Libraries that you must know to successfully develop with Ethereum; Ether.js and Web3.js
To successfully connect to the Ethereum network you have to use Ether.js, you can also carry out some wallet operations to as well. Web3.js has similar usage, and internal functions that allow interaction with Etherem's nodes.
Where to learn
- Youtube: There are of course multiple sites offering articles that walk you through creating several things with Ether and Web3.js, it is better you start with a crash course, and this course from dApp University on Youtube is the best. There's another one on Web3.js.
What happens next?
Now that you're well on your way to becoming a professional Web3 engineer, what do you do after learning the basics? Get your hands dirty; the only way you'll learn real-world use, and possibly get yourself ready to be employed you have to build projects.
The next thing would be to join as many communities as you can, Web3 & blockchain-focused, that way as you build you get to showcase what you know and your knowledge progress, you never know who's watching.
Follow this blog for more Web3 resources.