Hear it from our alumni developers
" If you have ever felt FOMO from all the zk moon math talk, just take RareSkills zk bootcamp."
If you have ever felt FOMO from all the zk moon math talk, just take RareSkills zk bootcamp. Yes, they have published superb free public reading materials, but you will learn much better with live, well-paced customized lessons, and the 1:1 homework feedback. Even if you do not have concrete plans to use zk in your professional work, the zk bootcamp will help you achieve a much deeper understanding and appreciation of the EVM ecosystem in general. Take the dive.
"Don't think, join immediately."
This ZK Bootcamp has been the best introduction to ZK I've found so far. It has given me the exact blend of theory and practical experience that I was looking for. The assignments were well thought out and helped cement the core concepts of every class. Overall I'd highly recommend this course to anyone who has been trying to get into ZK and has been getting bamboozled by its apparent complexity. The community was very good. I think it was very competitive, and it kept me on my toes and pushed me to complete the course to a satisfiable level. There were many days where I felt like lagging a little, but I did not give up because my classmates were doing well and I wanted to be amongst them. Secondly, I think the biggest push, or the biggest thing that helped cement the concepts in my mind, or the assignments and the one to one chats I got to have with Jeffrey, I think that was the best part, because that added an extra layer of accountability. Plus, it also ensured me and put me at ease that the things that I was understanding were actually correct, and I was not mistaking something with the guest. So overall, it was a really nice experience. The community was helpful. Jeffrey was always available to answer your questions, and he clearly admitted that you do not need to know a lot of things to know ZK, and he kept us on a very specific path to break into ZK. And for that path, I think he was the best instructor that I could have asked for. Thanks. So personally speaking, I was able to join zkSync right out of the bootcamp. zkSync is one of the leading ZK roll ups, the leading L2 scaling solution for Ethereum. And although technically I was not hired for my ZK skills, but the knowledge that I had had a very great impact on the hiring decision. I have a background in smart contract security, so they hired me for that as well, as I did have a very clear understanding of whatever I knew in ZK, so it helped my case and they hired me in this company. Now, I have been learning a lot about the industry level ZK and the background that I've had in the boot camp has helped me grasp the concepts very well. And I would also say that it has helped me gain recognition as someone who knows a bit of ZK. And it has helped me get into communities with other ZK enthusiasts, people who are working on really cool ZK stuff, and I get to interact with them, I hang out with them and bounce ideas off of each other. And lastly, I would say that if you are someone who is looking to get into ZK, for whatever reason, the best thing is that the entire course of the bootcamp has been open sourced and available to the public. You can simply just go and read it. But if you value the instructor's time, if you value Jeffrey's time, then I’d say take the course. No doubts. It's the best thing that you can do right now. Thank you.
Rahul Saxena
Protocol Security Engineer
" I highly recommend the bootcamp for anyone who wants to get started with zk proofs."
Zero knowledge proofs are hands down the most difficult topic to master in web3. The RareSkills zk bootcamp is a 9 weeks hands-on program that covers everything. Basic Math concepts to implementation details of real-world zk protocols. Thanks to tons of practical exercises, Jeffrey’s easily understandable explanations and his one-on-one support, I developed a fundamental understanding of the topic and was able to implement Groth16 from scratch at the end of the course.
Bernhard Mueller
Smart Contract Auditor | Consensys
"It's like well structured it covers all necessary topics."
Not my first attempt to dig into ZK thing but with RareSkills. It was my first successful attempt. The rest of the things like old materials that they have on YouTube have marks and signs. Of course they didn't provide me more programmers experience, I'd say. So it was more like math related rather than programming related. In RareSkills. It's both sides. You have no math to the programming, which is great, because I am a programmer, I'm a software engineer for many years. Definitely can recommend to do all homework as fast as you can. Otherwise it's way too hard to catch up with the course. Although it's like well structured it covers all necessary topics. So for me it was great.
Evgenii Danilenko
Core Developer
" I joined the RareSkills Zero Knowledge Bootcamp to delve deeper into cryptography, specifically to use zero-knowledge proofs to verify computation. "
Overall, my experience with RareSkills was really great. I thought the material was paced very well. I really enjoyed that we had the pre-course material to ensure everyone was on the same page when they started. I found Jeff to be a knowledgeable teacher and always willing to answer students' questions, including my own. I also really liked the opportunities to help each other out via the Slack channel. The entire Slack experience was really nice as well. So, yeah, I would definitely recommend it to anyone. Honestly, it exceeded my expectations. I felt there would be a lot less live content and opportunity for interactive learning than there was, so I was pleasantly surprised by that. RareSkills Bootcamp impacted my career in two main ways. First and foremost, during my day job, it makes me a lot more confident in discussing these types of topics. There are a number of ZKP use cases, especially in Layer 2 networks in Ethereum. So, working in web3 infrastructure, it’s definitely valuable in every regard. And then, the second piece of that is that it’s helped me explore other cryptography topics, get deeper on zero-knowledge proofs, and even things outside of that, by enhancing my ability to read academic papers and things like that. This hopefully will eventually culminate in me founding my own company, as this was actually partly another impetus for me joining this, as I’m looking at applications of cryptography to certain other industries. To someone considering joining it, I would say just go for it. Zero-knowledge proofs are such a nascent thing that it’s going to be really hard to cobble together your own learnings from blog posts and things like that. I mean, even the excellent ones provided in RareSkills' ZKP book, it’s going to be really helpful for you to have Jeff walk you through it, to be able to talk to your classmates. It just helps it stick and it really helps give you the confidence in your experience, whereas doing it yourself maybe you have some doubts, no one else has looked at your work, that type of thing. It’s definitely a good way to learn with confidence.
Josh Quintel
Lead Product Manager, Infura MetaRPC
" 5 months ago i decided to specialize in web3. To do it i joined the Rareskills solidity bootcamp. "
Learning at RareSkills was an awesome experience. Jeffrey is the instructor I learned from, has a really deep knowledge of web3 technologies like solidity or zero knowledge proofs. One-on-one reviews with him were really helpful. More-over i’ve met amazing classmates, they always did their best to help me and were really kind. Next week i will start my new job as a web3 security auditor. Learning solidity and solidity security at RareSkills helped me to obtain this work for sure.
Madigan
Web3 Security Auditor
" Rareskills Bootcamp taught me the skills to implement a crypto research paper in Python. For me, that was the most exciting part and the real nugget that I came away with. "
Hey, I’m Sam. I just finished the RareSkills ZK Bootcamp, and it's not only about a Groth16 proof system from start to finish, but it really taught me the skills and a bit of experience to implement a crypto research paper in Python. For me, that was the most exciting part, and the real nugget that I came away with. The cohorts as well, such a high caliber, the people, their experience, and just the motivation behind everyone in the course, brings me up higher and I think everyone else up as well. It’s very exciting, and I can’t recommend it enough. Thanks!
Sam Polgar
Cryptography Researcher & Engineer
Sismo
" Overall, I would highly recommend this program to anyone looking to take their skills to the next level. "
I recently completed the Advanced Solidity program, and I wanted to share my thoughts on the program with you. To begin with, I must say that I was thoroughly impressed with the program. Despite having five years of experience in Blockchain, I learned a great deal from it. The program covered a range of topics, including EVM bytecode, security, testing, mutation, assembly, and optimization, to name a few. What I particularly loved about the program was its emphasis on real-world applications. We identified and addressed security issues that could potentially occur in smart contracts, making the program all the more practical and relevant. Overall, I would highly recommend this program to anyone looking to take their skills to the next level. The team behind it is incredibly knowledgeable, and they have a great way of making learning fun and engaging. Thank you for equipping me with the necessary skills, and I look forward to applying what I've learned in my future endeavors.
Adam Boudjemaa
Blockchain Technical Lead | Co-Authored ERC-3643 Standard
" I joined the bootcamp because i wanted to extend my Solidity knowledge and I couldn’t find a suitable advanced content elsewhere. "
I have joined the web3 a couple of years ago. I joined the bootcamp because I wanted to extend my Solidity knowledge and I couldn’t find a suitable advanced content elsewhere. My learning experience was great and I think that the materials exceeded my expectations. Because I learnt a lot about solidity which I didn’t know it exists. I prefer the content like this, like in notion, not just some videos to watch over and over again. The sessions with my mentor also , he was very skilled and he helped me a lot. It was a positive impact. I already used the knowledge from the Solidity bootcamp, I even will participate in the ZK Bootcamp next. So those advanced solidity knowledge were very very helpful. I find the course page, I read it and I like realized that that’s what I need exactly in that moment of my career.
Vladimir Trifonov
Blockchain Developer
"In a world of interesting courses, choose one that is challenging, in-depth, cutting-edge, with amazing support."
Having reached the end of the lectures for the RareSkills ZK bootcamp, I wanted to wax lyrical about the quality of the course. In a world of interesting courses, choose one that is challenging, in-depth, cutting-edge, with amazing support. Thanks to Jeffrey Scholz, Gayantha De Zoysa and all those at RareSkills for putting together such a great series of lectures and supporting materials. It was great meeting you IRL as well!
Dr. Jason Ridgway-Taylor
Senior Blockchain Engineer
Marigold
" Don't be afraid to get stuck! The community and 1-on1's help a lot in the learning journey"
I joined solidity bootcamp because I wanted to learn solidity and smart contract development for evm chains. I would lie if I didn't say the course was challenging. There's a ton of stuff to go through and coding assigment to complete for each module. Don't be afraid to get stuck though - the community and 1:1s help a lot in the learning journey. I'd say the bootcamp provides you with a foundation to build upon, i.e if you want to work as a smart contract dev you'd probably need to learn defi and nft protocols, if you're more geared towards security you'd need to learn common vulnerabilities and be able to write PoCs. I'm thinking of going into security full-time but not 100% convinced yet so I'm studying nft protocols currently. It will help both as a dev and security researcher if I actually decide to make the switch. Same is with the course -- you can't go wrong learning fundamentals.
Emil
Blockchain Developer
" Rareskills is the best investment I’ve made so far. "
Rareskills is the best investment I’ve made so far. I was surrounded by people who love to learn. I was directly mentored, skill-wise and career-wise, by instructors from big tech companies. And, I was able to nearly 10X what I was making just two years ago thanks to the bootcamp’s job interview prep, and their network and reputation. The bootcamp itself was a grueling cycle of studying tough concepts and complicated systems, and then implementing what we had learned through a mini-project. It really helped that there were weekly guided discussions with other students and the instructor wherein you can help each other understand the topics for that week so you don’t fall behind too much. As a freelancer for most of my career, I felt that the 1-on-1 weekly code reviews was the most valuable part of the bootcamp — especially since the instructor, Jeffrey Scholz, is a former Yahoo Senior Software Engineering Manager. The insights and advice given about how I code and my problem solving approach really helped me develop not just as a Solidity developer, but as a Software developer in general. Besides the code reviews, there were also supplementary web3 career consultation sessions with Koyuki Nakamori, the Head of Engineering at Ava Labs. Her insider knowledge of what web3 companies are looking for, what the job interviews were going to be like and how to prepare, and what exactly to expect once hired were instrumental to the job hunting part that came after the bootcamp. Rareskills’ help extends all the way to job interview preparation through interview practice sessions with Gayantha De Zoysa, the Head of Growth for Rareskills. The sessions helped me gain confidence, know what to avoid doing and what to aim to do during the interviews. The culmination of my experience at Rareskills was when I had finally received a job offer for $80,000 a year. For someone living in a third world country, this was huge compared to what developers typically get paid for locally, which is literally almost 10 times less. If you’re a talented yet underpaid developer working in a third world country, this could be a great way to enter the Western job market.
Cyan Pascual
Solidity Engineer
"I would highly recommend this course for any one who wants to foray in to the domain of zero knowledge."
Hi I joined ZK bootcamp and was really insightful to clear out various key concepts associated with zero knowledge at a fundamental level and i would highly recommend this course for any one who wants to foray in to the domain of zero knowledge. Overall learning was pin pointed. In classroom learning was to focused and jeff would come back to core points if we did mistakes. On Community note its simply vibrant It helped me understand zk and zk associated cryptography in depth. It surely sharpened my skills in domains and help me understand zk related security issues also in depth. Yes its a must for those entering zk
Harsh Patel
Head of Security
" I landed a great job as a Solidity Engineer before even finishing my final assignment. "
This course delivers on its promises! I landed a great job as a Solidity Engineer before even finishing my final assignment. I felt confident during each of my interviews and had a portfolio of unique and impressive projects to showcase. The amount of learning packed into 4 months is incredible and I now have far more knowledge and experience than the "4 months" of Solidity implies. The curriculum is a good balance of theory and practical knowledge and provides a solid basis for a familiarity with Solidity, the EVM, and smart contract security that most beginner developers couldn't claim. The progression was logical, and each week the assignments were just challenging enough to frustrate but ultimately always doable. I felt a sense of pride for each project I completed that I've never felt during "code-along" style courses. Often the course work inspired me to experiment with ideas of my own. The weekly meetings and code reviews are invaluable. I cannot emphasize enough how useful it was to have so many opportunities to have my questions answered, or to receive feedback on ways to improve my Solidity code. Beyond even the technical aspect, it was great to have someone knowledgeable to talk to about my career and get help with everything from my resume to the interview process. I would recommend this course to any developers who are interested in making the transition to web 3 and are prepared to put in a few months of hard work to get there. I have seen for myself that the material, projects, and coaching here are enough to get you hired if you're willing to put in the effort.
Josh Robar
Blockchain Developer
Big Head Club
" With Rareskills expertise I was able to fast track my way to acquiring the necessary skills to become not only an employable solidity developer but one who is above the curve. "
For those of you who are looking to land a job as a Solidity developer, but are struggling to find the correct path to follow. I wanted to take a moment to highlight a program I undertook that not only enabled me to acquire an expert level of understanding about Solidity and the EVM, but also provided me with connections that allowed me to land a job at a prominent DeFi startup, all within 6 months. The RareSkills Solidity Bootcamp provides a dedicated learning environment to pursue becoming a solidity developer with a curriculum put together by industry experts who have years of experience in the field. With such a fast-growing space, it was often a doubt in my mind whether the materials I was self-studying were relevant. However, with their expertise I was able to fast track my way to acquiring the necessary skills to become not only an employable solidity developer but one who is above the curve. The 1:1 sitdowns with industry experts such as Jeffrey Scholz, an ex-yahoo engineer who is a technical advisor for startups and VC firms with over half a billion dollars in assets, and Koyuki N., the Director of Market Intelligence at Avalanche, also provided a wealth of insight into not just technical skills but also soft skills that are arguably just as important. Being that the program is highly selective, you will only meet people who are just as passionate, if not more so, about the blockchain field. Which vastly helps you stay motivated to keep learning and looking into new concepts you would not have otherwise considered on your own. In my cohort, I met Jesper Kristensen, a Blockchain Entrepreneur and previous head of research at a blockchain research firm who is a cofounder at the DeFi protocol where I now work. If you were like me and don’t know the next step to continuing your solidity development journey, I would highly recommend you give this program a shot. As it definitely overshot my expectations!
Suthan Somadeva
Solidity Developer
" It's awesome to know how things work under the hood and Rareskills helped me achieve that. "
I joined a web3 company about a year ago and had to write some Solidity contracts as part of the job. I quickly realised how important it is to really understand how the EVM and Solidity works if you wanted to deploy real production grade contracts for users. I wanted a structured learning program which went really deep into the weeds and found Rareskills! The course really exceeded my expectations. Each module pointed you to great resources you should learn from + had difficult assignment questions you could only solve if you understood the resources really well. Each week also had a call with the instructor and all the others in your class which was super fun. I really enjoyed discussing what I learnt and clarifying my questions with all the other students. The weekly 1-1 calls with the instructor was great too! Your code gets properly reviewed. It's awesome to know how things work under the hood and Rareskills helped me achieve that. I can notice security issues, understand audit reports, write and debug yul, think of gas optimisation and a lot more quite easily. The confidence of knowing things a lot deeper like this is quite nice. Be prepared to put in a significant amount of work and time into the course though. The modules are not easy. But thats what makes it fun!
Harikrishnan Shaji
Blockchain Developer
Glo Dollar
" I joined Rareskills because I wanted to take my web 3 knowledge to the next level. "
I joined Rareskills because I wanted to take my web 3 knowledge to the next level. I stumbled upon some of Jeffrey’s content in the Udemy courses and Medium articles and couldn’t hold myself back. My overall experience in Rareskills has been unparalleled by anything I’ve experienced before. Personally I thrive in small group instructions and discussion and of course, that’s followed up by the one-on one code reviews. I’ve never found a problem that I couldn’t tackle with the instructors. Fantastic experience from the beginning to the end. Attending the bootcamp has connected me with ideas and people and the sense of community I never though possible. Whether that be some of the instructors and their networks that were reached out to, or that be like super advanced concepts and things I wanted to explore afterwards and just great people to follow up with after the bootcamp and have lively discussions with.
Michael Burke
Smart Contract Developer
" I go through pretty much any contract or protocol with ease "
The thought of studying Solidity engineering for 5 months was daunting, but the time spent was very focused and brought up a lot of information I would have missed had I done the journey on my own. Having completed the program, I know my hard work is rewarded when I go through pretty much any contract or protocol with ease, having all the foundational knowledge that the program has equipped me with.
Adeel Hasan
Self-employed Software Developer
" The Rareskills community alone is worth the cost of the course. Filled with smart contract & ZK enthusiasts, there is always someone around to give guidance if you are stuck with any of the assignments. "
The zero-knowledge course offered by Rareskills is one of the most comprehensive learning resources I have ever experienced when it comes to understanding zero-knowledge proofs. The instructors put great effort into ensuring you understand the fundamentals required to work with ZK without having to spend countless hours on the underlying mathematics. Rareskills focuses on the need-to-know to get your off the ground running. In addition to the actual instruction, the Rareskills community alone is worth the cost of the course. Filled with smart contract & ZK enthusiasts, there is always someone around to give guidance if you are stuck with any of the assignments. If you are interested in furthering you knowledge with ZK proofs, I cannot think of a better option than Rareskills.
0xAlighieri
ZK Engineer
" A well-thought-out, up-to-date and relevant curriculum that covers every aspect of web3 development (testing, security, development, best practices) "
This is a great example of what a BootCamp should be. A well-thought-out, up-to-date and relevant curriculum that covers every aspect of web3 development (testing, security, development, best practices). Fascinating discussions. Blockchain concepts that felt like black magic are crystal clear now thanks to Jeff’s mentoring. I’m a software engineer with over 6 years of experience, and in my opinion, the course is certainly not entry-level. Assignments were increasingly challenging, although nothing that couldn’t be solved after some time. The mentors were always helpful when I or other students got stuck during those assignments. Unlike other SWE fields, Blockchain is still fairly new and information is scarce, so having a place that collects everything that I needed to be able to land a job was a huge time-saver, not to mention the connections that were made in the process. I encourage anyone pursuing a web3 career to seriously consider RareSkills Web3 development Bootcamp.
Himad Mouhtar
Solidity Developer
" The most valuable part is weekly coaching calls which helps you a lot to go through any roadblocks. "
Bootcamp puts you in a place where you have to write a lot of code. So there's no way for you not to get good even midway through. On the other hand, the theoretical support is really good - instead of trying to bite more than they could chew, they just provide relevant resources. The most valuable part is weekly coaching calls which helps you a lot to go through any roadblocks. So this is a must-have for anyone looking for serious education in Solidity.
Sergey Tsvetkov
Solidity Developer
" From mastering low-level Huff and Yul complex contract implementations to exploring the intricacies of elliptic curves. "
Excited to share that I've completed RareSkills Advanced Solidity Bootcamp! 🎓 Over the past 6 months. I've embarked on an incredible journey diving deep into the world of advanced blockchain development. From mastering low-level Huff and Yul complex contract implementations to exploring the intricacies of elliptic curves. Even after just 2 months it affected how I am writing production contracts. RareSkills was just what I needed – focused learning tailored to my tight schedule. While blockchain learning materials are available online, I found that when it comes to advanced learning, having a structured program like RareSkills made all the difference. Their curriculum not only provided depth but also ensured that I stayed on track with my learning goals. What made my experience even more special was the intimate cohort size. My bootcamp cohort consisted of just four students, including myself. This small group dynamic fostered a collaborative and personalized learning environment, allowing for in-depth discussions. And to top it off, I had the pleasure of being instructed by none other than Jeffrey Scholz, the founder of RareSkills. His expertise, passion, and dedication to our learning journey were truly inspiring. As Shaun T famously said in the Insanity workout, "dig deeper," and that's precisely the ethos instilled in RareSkills' bootcamp. It's about pushing beyond limits, embracing challenges, and unlocking your full potential.
Josip Medic
Senior Software Engineer
