Wave of Web3 Infrastructure Recruitment: Talent Strategy Evolution Viewed Through Distributed Ledger

Let Me Recall What Happened in 2008...

Reviewing the past three market cycles, I've noticed a striking similarity in talent mobility patterns during technological revolutions. The wave of layoffs in Wall Street after the 2008 financial crisis starkly contrasts with the contraction of Web3 infrastructure companies during the 2022 crypto winter. Essentially, the current recovery trend in Infura recruitment and Alchemy recruitment reminds me of the early development phase of the Ethereum ecosystem in 2015.

Strategically speaking, the competition for talent in the distributed ledger technology stack has reached a fever pitch. According to the latest data from MyJob.one, positions in the infrastructure category now account for a record high of 37%, far exceeding those in DeFi and NFT sectors. This naturally makes me ponder: Is this sustainable technological evolution, or a harbinger of another market bubble?

Cyclical Characteristics of Infrastructure Development

After 12 years of deep involvement in traditional finance, I've witnessed the entire process of clearing system reconstruction post-2008. Now, in the Web3 infrastructure field, I see a similar script unfolding:

1. Crisis Period (2022): Project contraction, with RPC service providers cutting staff by 30-50%
2. Tech Consolidation Period (2023): Breakthroughs in foundational technologies like ZK-proof
3. Reconstruction and Expansion Period (2024): QuickNode recruitment scale increases by 140% year-on-year

This cyclical pattern mirrors the payment system revolution I experienced during 2012-2014 at Morgan Stanley. Back then, we often said: "Build infrastructure during bear markets, build applications during bull markets." Now, the $250,000 annual salary offered for API engineers by Moralis recruitment is a modern interpretation of this principle.

Strategic Shift in Institutional Talent Demand

The Evolution from General to Specialized

During the 2017 ICO boom, a Solidity developer could work on all projects indiscriminately. Today, from the perspective of MyJob.one's recruitment team, specialization has reached astonishing levels:

• Infura recruitment: Emphasizes AWS Lambda and distributed systems experience
• Alchemy recruitment: Requires candidates with backgrounds in traditional CDN optimization
• QuickNode recruitment: Prefers candidates with experience in financial-grade settlement systems

This trend toward specialization reminds me of Wall Street's frenzied pursuit of "quantitative compound talent" in 2009. At Goldman Sachs, I was involved in a project where we spent millions to recruit a genius from MIT who was equally adept at stochastic calculus and TCP/IP protocols.

Cyclical Sensitivity in Compensation Structures

Fascinatingly, the compensation structure for current infrastructure positions shows distinct defensive characteristics:

This shift confirms the view of my former partner, now Moralis recruitment head David: "We're looking for builders who can weather cycles, not speculators."

Value Investment Analysis of Technology Stacks

If we apply Warren Buffett's value investment framework to the current Web3 infrastructure talent market, we find:

1. Competitive Moat Effect: Accumulating node operation experience requires 5-7 years
2. Management Quality: CTOs who've experienced full cycles are more favored
3. Margin of Safety: The demand elasticity coefficient for RPC service developers is only 0.3

This explains why candidates with traditional cloud computing backgrounds receive an average of 7.2 interview requests on the MyJob.one platform. Just as FIX protocol experts saw their value multiply after 2008, history tends to repeat similar scripts across different domains.

Strategic Advice for Job Seekers

Based on 12 years of cross-cycle recruitment experience, my advice for those seeking to enter the Web3 infrastructure field is:

Long-term Mindset

Rather than chasing hot frameworks, focus on mastering:

• Distributed Ledger fundamentals
• Engineering implementation of consensus algorithms like Tendermint
• Automated operations for large-scale node clusters

Building Compound Capabilities

During my time at Morgan Stanley, I found that the most promising candidates typically possessed:

1. 70% depth in core technical expertise
2. 20% breadth in adjacent field knowledge
3. 10% business acumen

For example, engineers applying to Alchemy recruitment who also understand gas fee optimization and user experience design see their success rate triple.

Key Predictions for the Next Three Years

Standing at this point in 2024, I believe:

1. Infura recruitment will reach its cyclical peak in Q1 2025
2. Rewards for ZK-Rollup-related positions will maintain premium status for over 36 months
3. The importance of AWS certification for QuickNode recruitment will decrease by 30%

These insights stem from my observation of three complete cycles. Just as I predicted the mobile payment wave in 2010, the construction of Web3 infrastructure is only entering its mid-stage development.