In the current market environment, the volatility and uncertainty of the global economy have led to a slowdown in corporate growth and even a wave of layoffs. Many industries have reduced their recruitment needs, and job seekers are facing fierce market competition.
In this context, although the Crypto market is also in a bear market, the explosive emergence of Web3 applications still maintains an endless demand for talent.
As lawyers in the crypto industry, Shao's team frequently encounters inquiries from web3 job seekers in their daily work.
While job seekers are attracted by the unique working model and high salaries of the Web3 industry, they are also worried about the potential risks in the industry.
Let’s talk about today, whether to join a web3 company or a web2 company, how job seekers should make the choice?
Author: Lawyer Shao Shiwei
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Which job seekers will pay attention to web3-related jobs?
Compared with traditional industries, web3 is still relatively unfamiliar to most job seekers. According to the consultation content at work, we can see that job seekers who are interested in the web3 field include but are not limited to the following types:
For example, technical positions, operations positions, product managers, and other positions that are needed in both web2 and web3 industries. When job seekers browse recruitment websites, they will see that web3 positions have higher salaries than such positions in web2.
Some job seekers are already cryptocurrency players. For example, a friend who consulted me about the risks of starting a web3 business used to be a programmer at a large company. He made millions of dollars in a year by speculating in meme coins as a hobby, so he quit his job and decided to start a business in the crypto field.
Compared with traditional office work, some job seekers prefer flexible office work. When they look for jobs on job search websites, they will see a large number of web3 jobs that accept remote and part-time work;
Some job seekers consider web3 jobs for more realistic reasons: the competition for web2 positions is too fierce, and after comprehensively considering the salary and benefits, the only offers they are willing to accept are those related to the web3 field.
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What issues do job seekers care about before joining a web3 company?
For web2 professionals, whether they actively or passively choose the web3 industry, or enter the web3 field as a job seeker or entrepreneur, according to the consulting cases of Shao Lawyer’s team, the issues they generally care about include but are not limited to the following:
What kind of contract should I sign with the company/platform? What about my social security?
Is the business of my company/platform safe? If not, are there any legal risks associated with my work?
The salary payment method is to issue virtual currency/platform tokens. Are there any risks for me?
What kind of web3 recruitment platform is reliable? What pitfalls do job seekers often encounter when looking for a job?
Faced with attractive salary for overseas web3 positions, would you consider it?
What advice or experience can lawyers share for newcomers in the web3 workplace?
Which web3 positions or skills will be more promising in the future? How should I plan my career in advance?
…
In recent months, after answering hundreds of web3 job consultations, we found that when consultants consult lawyers, in addition to wanting to understand the relevant legal risks, they also want our understanding of the web3 industry to help them judge: based on their own actual situation, how should they make more appropriate choices now and in the future.
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Web3 or web2 job, how should job seekers choose?
Many web3 project owners or actual controllers are not in China, especially for projects that are prohibited such as issuing coins and opening exchanges. However, due to operational and labor cost considerations, a large number of employees will work in the mainland. For employees, how can they judge the legal risks of the web3 job they are applying for in China, and if there are risks, should they choose to join or give up?
Personally, I think job seekers need to understand what type of company or platform they are choosing, what areas the business covers, what business the job seekers need to engage in, what the core work content is, and what the domestic legal evaluation of the business operated by the company/platform is. After understanding clearly and foreseeing the worst results, make a choice, so as not to leave possible regrets and remorse in the future.
Why do we emphasize understanding the company? Because most of the risks to employees come from the company and the project. If the worst-case scenario happens - the web3 project involves criminal offenses, then employees working in the country will naturally be implicated.
In the case of criminal risks, it is often the case that the company's core employees and management will be asked to assist in the investigation, and may even be detained. Based on the principle that the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility, generally speaking, people above the level of department head face greater criminal risks or pressure from public security organs, while grassroots staff face relatively lower legal risks. However, this division of responsibility is not absolute. The key is to look at the degree of participation and knowledge of employees as company staff in specific projects.
For example, a job seeker consulted us before. His job was as a researcher. His job content was to collect as much market information as possible for the projects that the platform planned to invest in and issue research reports. However, he was recently told that his leader wanted him to transfer to another department. The business content of this department involved the issuance of coins. He himself knew that the issuance of coins was prohibited in China, so he was worried about whether he would face legal risks.
After answering his legal questions, we asked him why he still seemed confused about how to make a decision after understanding the legal risks. He said that he actually had a job in web2 recently, but compared to this job, the salary was not satisfactory to him. This is the issue of personal choice mentioned above.
Another example is the issue of wages and social security . Whether or not social security is paid, and the amount of payment will be directly linked to the local settlement policy, medical insurance, related social welfare, etc. However, employers in the web3 industry may be overseas and cannot sign labor contracts with job seekers in the name of the platform, pay social security, and even pay wages in virtual currency.
Many job seekers will consult about labor law issues, but it is not limited to this. A web3 practitioner once consulted us about the frozen bank card issue. He is an employee of the exchange and his salary is paid monthly in USDT. However, he lives in China, so he has to exchange his salary into legal currency through OTC transactions every month. However, one day, he found that his bank card was frozen by the bank. After asking the bank, the staff replied that the bank believed that he received fixed transfers from different people every month, and the bank believed that this was abnormal, so it froze his account. This brought great inconvenience to his life. But even so, he did not want to leave the industry and position he was engaged in.
We can see that job seekers consider far more than just legal issues when consulting; they are more concerned with weighing the ratio of benefits to risks.
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Last words
Job hunting in Web3 is full of unknowns and opportunities. It may bring higher salaries, more flexible working methods, and simpler and more efficient interpersonal relationships in the workplace, but it is also accompanied by potential legal risks.
As for whether to choose a Web2 or Web3 job, it is not only a choice of the job content itself, but also a value judgment on one's future career development and a choice of risk preference.
I hope that all job seekers can make more suitable career choices based on their own actual conditions after comprehensively understanding all risks.
🌟🌟🌟Interactive topics
When applying for a web3 position, if the company is unwilling to sign a labor contract, will you give up the high-paying offer because it is not protected by labor laws?
If the company provides two forms of salary payment in the offer: the first is to pay only in RMB, and the second is to pay only in USDT. If converted into RMB, the amount of the second is twice that of the first (but the bank card will be frozen if you pay U, and if you unfortunately receive stolen money, you may even be suspected of money laundering crimes such as aiding and abetting, concealing the crime), what would you choose?
Leave your opinions in the comments section!
