Lately, metaverse development projects have become the new big thing in the tech world. In 2021, the global metaverse market was valued at $51.6bn, estimated to hit $1.3 trln with a registered CAGR of 44.5% from 2022 to 2030. Accordingly, the demand for skillful developers for metaverse solutions creation has risen.
Thus, many entrepreneurs face the hiring challenge, as it’s getting harder to find available top metaverse developers with realistic wage expectations. In addition, it’s vital to know if a specialist is actually the right fit for your project.
As a professional metaverse development company, we deal with the creators of immersive worlds all the time. Thus, we would be glad to share our experience and tell you about the metaverse developer job position and how to fill it most efficiently. So, let’s jump right to the point.
Difference Between a Traditional and Metaverse Developer
As you might know, there’s no way that a traditional developer is qualified to create metaverses. Even if a specialist has broad experience building immersive worlds like VR/AR applications or games, metaverse projects are more complex and require specific skills. Thus, building a metaverse for developers of an old school can be too challenging to deal with.
For example, many traditional software engineers are adjusted to perform software development for Web 2.0 projects like websites, mobile/desktop applications, etc. In order to do this, developers learn and use such programming languages as PHP, Ruby, Python, JavaScript, and the like. Even though some of these languages might be useful for metaverse development, it’s still not enough to work on Web3 projects.
Thus, you are welcome to explore the list of skills required for metaverse developers.
Metaverse Developer Skills
Extensive knowledge of programming languages. In addition to standard programming languages mentioned above (especially Python), the metaverse developer language set should include C#, C++, SQL, Rust, and others for VR/AR and blockchain development capabilities. Knowing them all is unnecessary, but the more a specialist masters, the more functional your metaverse will be.
Solid tech stack. Practical experience of working with specific metaverse developer tools as well as AR/VR platforms like Meta Quest or Hololens are strengths of any reliable specialist. Most projects require the use of Unreal Engine and the Unity metaverse solutions for development tasks. Additionally, there are several 3D modeling software for content creation, like 3ds Max, ZBrush, and Blender, which are usually important to apply.
Blockchain expertise. Blockchain technology is a foundation of metaverse security and financial systems. So, specialists developing a metaverse should know how it works as well as how to implement it in a virtual world. Depending on a project's complexity, blockchain integration can be performed with specific plugins or insertion in a code during the from-scratch development.
Specific soft skills. Soft skills for metaverse developers are essential since such complex project execution takes efficient teamwork. Thus, strong communication and collaboration skills are a must for your specialists. Also, the skill set must contain robust time management, troubleshooting mastery, and patience since this job requires overcoming challenges and solving coding riddles.
What to Consider While Choosing Metaverse Developers
Do you know what factors indicate that a particular metaverse developer would be a great fit for your project? In fact, there are several standard criteria that any specialist must correspond to. However, it’s better to dive deeper and explore the meaning behind traditional requirements for metaverse software developers.
Relevant Experience and Beyond
Metaverses are usually the next-level internet worlds with complex infrastructure. Thus, the development process consists of various aspects that specialists must deal with. Aside from blockchain, there are other vital components of any metaverse like smart contract development, NFTs implementation, building a world’s logic, as well as the creation of mechanics to provide an advanced user experience.
Also, the years spent on metaverse development aren’t the key indicator of a specialist’s proficiency. Since metaverse projects began to pop up massively just a couple of years ago, you may not find a developer with over 10 years of experience. Instead, it’s better to review each candidate from a broad perspective. For example, if a specialist has worked as a software engineer for years, delivered dozens of projects successfully, and then retrained to a metaverse developer, they may still meet your requirements.
Portfolio & Recommendations
In order to find out the true level of qualification, HR specialists follow the traditional practice of requesting examples of candidates’ work. Even though reliable developers work under the NDA and can’t share inner processes, providing you with public information shouldn’t be a problem. For example, when a project is successfully released, metaverse developers can showcase the final result and describe their responsibilities, challenges, as well as achieved goals.
Of course, any case and statement in a resume must be proven. In order to ensure the information a candidate provides, HR specialists contact colleagues and supervisors of a developer from previous workplaces. It’s a great way to discover how a metaverse developer did their job from a technical perspective and ensure their soft skills.
Personal Interest
In addition to the competence in doing the job at a high level, specialists perform even better when they are passionate about their position. Thus, once you’ve ensured that a candidate has excellent soft and hard skills, the last stage is determining if it’s their calling or simply a way to make a living.
Still, it’s usually not enough to get a positive answer to the question, “do you like your job?”. A specialist who’s enthusiastic about the industry they are working in can tell you that they pay attention to the related activities even in their spare time. For example, they may share their own projects or participate in debates on GitHub. Also, they may create metaverse development tutorials for personal YouTube channels or read articles on media platforms like HBR.
Metaverse Developers by Project Type
Even the most skillful specialist can complicate project execution if they don't understand the industry. Thus, it’s better to make time for searching for a metaverse developer with expertise in a particular field. This way, you’ll get a product that meets specific business and user needs.
Real Estate Metaverse Developers
It’s not surprising that many industries from the physical world are moving to the metaverse, including real estate. The thing is not only in being part of a trend but also in applying modern technologies to improve the user experience and broaden horizons for business. Thus, a metaverse real estate developer can create an incredible world with various opportunities.
For instance, the real estate metaverse is suitable for making deals without bureaucracy with next-level comfort. Clients can visit a company’s metaverse from any location. In a professionally developed virtual world, users can have immersive tours of objects in the form of 3D walkthroughs or presentations. Clients can even get the interior design visualization to make better decisions before a renovation. Finally, it’s possible to complete the deal by purchasing specific NFTs or transferring cryptocurrency.
Metaverse Marketplace Developers
In order to enter the metaverse with your products, it’s not necessary to build an enormous world with complex infrastructure. Depending on your business domain, you may provide users with a specific metaverse marketplace, a place that’s giving an online showcase. However, such projects still take much work — from developing a metaverse space to branded NFT assets.
Thus, you can realize this project in multiple ways. For example, sell NFT art like digital paintings, exclusive videos, in-game assets, etc. For metaverse developers in this project, the main goal is to create a reliable blockchain-based platform with a high level of security as well as an outstanding user experience. Specialists must ensure the quality of multiple details, such as proper NFT/crypto wallet implementation, setting up storage systems, and the like.
Metaverse Game Developers
Blockchain-based games have disrupted the crypto and gaming worlds, forming the new field called GameFi (gaming and finance). Recently, in Q1 of 2022, blockchain games hit a 2000% growth compared to the previous year. These numbers make up 52% of the general blockchain activity. Accordingly, the demand for hiring blockchain (and metaverse, specifically) game developers is multiplying.
Thus, you can build immersive gaming worlds that will draw various target audiences — from the younger generation to crypto enthusiasts and investors. In case you are working with a professional metaverse game developer, you can get any kind of game you find the most profitable and promising. It can be a play-to-earn game or a game with NFT/token rewards. Also, there are multiple genres that good specialists can bring to life, such as PVP, action games, simulators, etc.
E-Commerce Metaverse Developers
The metaverse technology has become a fresh opportunity for e-commerce companies to extend their businesses to an alternative world for humans, and this market is projected to grow. Companies like Amazon and Alibaba Group are already working on entering the metaverse by creating their own solutions.
Considering that a custom metaverse can become an additional store in a virtual world, it usually offers almost the same capabilities. From any location, clients can enter your virtual shop as avatars, try on and buy clothes, accessories, furniture, and other products for the physical or metaverse world. In case you consider customer experience vital for your business, then your metaverse developer can create virtual sales managers or specific mechanics for people to do this job.
Metaverse Developers for Non-Commercial Projects
Even if you currently aren’t planning to develop your commercial metaverse solution, you can opt for a project targeted at the inner development of your company. Then, metaverse app developers can create custom solutions for improving a company’s business processes.
For example, it can be a metaverse with a virtual workspace. Your specialists could connect from different locations to have meetings and collaborate with colleagues in a specific room or lab. In addition, you could have an R&D center in a metaverse that doesn’t require a physical department, paying rent for a separate building, and real-world equipment. Instead, your employees can conduct experiments and design prototypes in a virtual world of extended capabilities.
Where to Hire a Metaverse Developer for Your Project
Traditionally, entrepreneurs have 3 options to find and hire metaverse developers for their team. Yet, each takes a different amount of resources and gives a specific result. Let’s consider what to expect from these ways.
1. Job Search Platforms
Looking for metaverse developers, some entrepreneurs automatically opt for hiring specialists to form in-house teams. But what does this choice entail? On the bright side, you get a relatively stable team you can rely on for a long-term partnership. There also should be fewer security concerns due to making the NDA with each specialist.
However, keeping an in-house metaverse development team may be costly. When hiring specialists for a company, you need to pay a monthly full-time salary, social packages, and perks. At the same time, the HR process is costly itself. Additionally, developers usually need powerful equipment to work with advanced software efficiently.
2. Freelance Platform
In fact, finding freelancers for large-scale projects is becoming unwelcome. Despite the benefits of partnering with freelance developers, like reduced costs, per-hour payment, and a fast hiring process, it's still risky for a company to engage such specialists.
First of all, freelance specialists tend to execute several projects at once, so they may be defocused. In addition, this type of commitment usually implies limited responsibility for the result since a project can work at first glance, but testers can find plenty of bugs later. Accordingly, there’s a slight chance that a freelancer would agree to fix all the errors.
3. Reliable Partner
Outsourcing services are the golden mean between freelance and in-house options. Working with an outsourcing company, you get a reliable partner with the opportunity to hire dedicated metaverse developers, outsource critical tasks, or even full-stack development. There are usually several business models to choose from, from paying for times & materials to making a beneficial agreement on your terms.
The other good part about opting for a reliable partner is that you don’t need to spend resources on a lengthy hiring process since a professional company has its HR departments and selects the best specialists for your project. Also, metaverse development companies are responsible for providing their employees with decent wages, social packages, and equipment.
Hire Dedicated Metaverse Developers at Program-Ace
Starting a large-scale project like metaverse development is easier with a team of reliable specialists on your board. In order to avoid a costly and time-consuming hiring process, you are welcome to rely on Program-Ace — a leading software development outsourcing company. With our resources and proficient metaverse developers, your project will skyrocket to the top of the market. At the same time, you rule the process and collaborate on the most favorable terms for your company.
Contact us to find out about professional metaverse development services and get estimations.
