Academy experiences — how learning the Interchain can lead to growth and success
Approaching its one year anniversary, the Interchain Developer Academy has already helped 400+ developers learn to work with Cosmos SDK, IBC, and CosmJS, boosting their ability to seek careers in the Interchain. With the fourth cohort starting soon, we reached out to invite some of our graduates to introduce themselves and talk about their experiences on the course and in web3 generally.
Serdar Turkmenafsar started 2023 studying the Interchain — three months later he was working on the IBC team
The Interchain Developer Academy is more than just a training program: it’s part of a systematic drive to bring devs and employers in the Ecosystem together, and provides graduates with a chance to impress where it counts as new roles become available.
To kick off this series of short interviews with Academy alumni we’re talking to Serdar Turkmenafsar, proof of the immediate impact that participation in the Academy program can have.
- Please introduce yourself!
I’m Serdar, a developer currently based in Istanbul, Turkey. Before my current job at the Interchain Foundation, I was a CosmWasm developer in Secret Network, helping maintain secret-toolkit and produce tutorials and proof of concept applications.
- How did you get started in software development?
My journey started in Secret Network, working independently part time and with other activities on the side. Before that, I had some data analytics experience from university. Things started to pick up when I became one of the main contributors of secret-toolkit (a smart contract sdk for Secret Network).
I think everyone can create their own path in web3. There are so many different communities working in so many different ways. I think it’s about finding a technology you’re passionate about and doing your best to learn about and contribute to that community.
- Tell us about your shift into web3.
I decided to enter web3 during the 2020–2021 bullrun (and started with purchasing Bitcoin and then Ethereum!). Eventually I discovered Cosmos, and I really liked its utility, but before I went through the Interchain Developer Academy I only knew about how to write smart contracts and not my own blockchains, or how to use IBC.
- How was your experience with the Interchain Developer Academy? And how do you see it affecting you moving forward?
My experience with the Academy was extremely positive. I’ve learned so much about IBC and the CosmosSDK in such a short period of time. It allowed me to branch out of Secret Network and explore work in other places in the ecosystem, and it led directly to a full-time job offer at the Interchain Foundation, which I was delighted to accept!
I believe creating custom blockchains is a timeless use-case. Combined with IBC, the vision made a lot of sense to me, so I decided to develop in this community. I think this experience has and will continue to change my career for the better in multiple ways. I’m a more mature developer now, which opens up new opportunities, and better paying jobs. The skills taught in the Academy are always going to be valuable as long as cryptocurrencies exist.
Serdar also recently participated in a livestream with Cryptocito and representatives of two Interchain Ecosystem contributors — check it out here!
- How do you stay up-to-date on the latest developments and trends in blockchain and web3?
I follow all primary sources of information on social media such as Reddit, and Twitter. For more technical details, I join dev calls of various communities in Discord. Another way that works for me is to be working on proof of concept material actively.
- Have you experimented independently running a blockchain-based app, or collaborating with other devs on interesting projects?
Yes, I’ve tried experimenting with creating a proof of concept app. The idea was to use the new PrepareProposal/ProcessProposal features introduced in the new Cosmos SDK version (0.47) to create an oracle. Unfortunately, I found this difficult at the time and the project was not successful since Ignite CLI didn’t support this version of the SDK, 0.47 wasn’t released yet, and the person I wanted to collab with was occupied. Finding allies to work with is definitely a good move if you can. The Academy is a great networking opportunity too.
- How do you see the state of web3, both for 2023 and looking further into the future?
Generally good. I feel like the world is becoming more multipolar (less dollar centric). In such an environment, web3’s neutral infrastructure should become more valuable. I’m excited by freedom finance, being able to move value freely without censorship or hassle. Being able to build innovative products without needing to be a part of a large financial organization.
On the other hand, there are some challenges facing the industry today. The number of scammers; the lack of regulation, and ambiguity in what there is; and the general lack of user friendliness for mass adoption and key management. If these can be addressed, things will go even better.
- So, what plans do you have for your next steps?
I’m now the DevRel engineer in the IBC team at the Interchain Foundation. Although I’d love to get hired as a developer, most of my past experience is with CosmWasm at the moment. I think this is a great opportunity for me to produce proof of concept and tutorial material for IBC, and use this to gain more experience. I eventually want to transition to a dev position again, but for now I’m looking forward to continuing my work at the IBC, and improving my knowledge of the Interchain.
Thanks to Serdar for talking to us! And if you want to make contact with him directly, you can find him on Twitter as @srdtrk.
The Interchain Developer Academy is designed for web2 devs with three or more years experience who want to transition into web3, and for web3 devs interested in working within the Interchain Ecosystem. Applications to join the new cohort are open until May 8th. If you want to explore a new world of coding, register for the screening test now!
About B9Lab
B9Lab have trained over 17,000 people in more than 160 countries about multiple blockchain protocols, and have been tasked by the Interchain Foundation to run the Interchain Developer Academy. They are passionate about technology adoption, getting new developers into web3, and helping blockchain ecosystems to thrive.
