Hi HN, I write this at what I see as a pivotal moment in my life. I'm graduating with a degree in CS this year and really want to find a gig in the blockchain space. The irreverence towards established practices and institutions, along with the fact that there is apt room for new ideas has really drawn me towards it. I'm working on projects in solidity and working on some blog posts based on the higher level concepts behind blockchain technology, to prepare to apply to companies in the next few months.

However, given that this is blockchain there are quite a few "underlying protocols" that different companies work with. For example, some companies work solely on the ethereum technology stack, others work with both bitcoin and ethereum, while exchanges deal with many different protocols. It seems to me that in this highly political and sometimes controversial space, where I decide to work could be viewed as a political decision. For example, if I decide to work for an ethereum startup, it could turn out that some other coin becomes the dominant programmable blockchain, and I'm left with irrelevant skills.

As someone trying to position themselves long term to work in this space, which route would you recommend so that I pick up blockchain-related skills that would be of use with many or any of the underlying protocols that will be around in, say, five years?