Despite all the online chatter around Bitcoin, mastering the cryptocurrency’s intricacies won’t necessarily translate into new job opportunities.  

Only 1,695 technology-related job postings have mentioned Bitcoin over the past 12 months, according to Burning Glass, which collects and analyzes millions of job postings from across the country. Moreover, the database predicts that Bitcoin-related jobs will decline 12.9 percent over the next two years. Even in industries such as retail and finance, only a few hundred jobs currently ask for Bitcoin-related skills. 

However, those few jobs asking for Bitcoin-related skills pay well, with median salaries of $104,019. Moreover, the majority (82.7 percent) of those jobs only ask for a bachelor’s degree, meaning you won’t need advanced degrees to potentially work with the most famous example of cryptocurrency.  

Another thing to note: Even if companies don’t seem very interested in Bitcoin-related skills, they’re very interested in blockchain, the technology that supports cryptocurrency. Over the past 12 months, companies have posted some 20,384 jobs involving blockchain skills, and projected growth is 24.6 percent over the next two years. The median salary for blockchain skills is also pretty high, at $98,944. The technical, scientific, finance, and insurance industries have all posted thousands of jobs related to blockchain. 

Last summer, Stack Overflow asked nearly 700 software developers about their opinions on blockchain. Although 38.56 percent said that blockchain was “all hype,” a majority (61.44 percent) said it was a “game changer.” There’s also room for the technology to grow, audience-wise: only 23.53 percent of developers said they’d worked with blockchain in the past, versus the 76.47 percent who had never interacted with the technology. 

Of course, it all comes down to usage. In the public’s mind, blockchain might be linked tightly with cryptocurrency, but the technology is potentially applicable to everything from “smart contracting” to cybersecurity. If you’re interested in learning more, experts advise exploring online courses such as Udacity and Coursera, as well as specific sites such as Bitcoin.org; staying aware of new developments in this rapidly evolving field is key to success.