Getting started with Smart Contract Development

Basic understanding of web2: HTML/CSS/JAVASCRIPT among other programming languages
Have an interest in blockchain technology: understand general basics of blockchain technology itself, and how it works(immutability, public ledger), blockchain use-cases like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others from cryptocurrencies, Decentralized finance, NFTs, Metaverse among others
characteristics of blockchain
- immutable
- traceability
- privacy protection
- independence
learn the different blockchain networks: Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, Solana, Stacks, Celo, among others
get started with smart contract development: smart contract development language(Rust, Solidity, or Clarity)
For beginners, it's advisable to pick Ethereum blockchain development as it has many use cases, a lot of learning resources free & paid online and there are a lot of EVM compatible chains that you can work with or build on.

get basics of solidity programming language
start writing smart contracts, compiling and deploying using solidity on IDEs like Remix
write different smart contract use-cases like ERC20 contract, ERC20 Fungible Token & EIP-721: NFT standard
use libraries and frameworks like Hardhat, Truffle and write tests of the contracts you’re writing
- Node.js/NPM - Runs JavaScript
- Hardhat - Useful framework
- Hardhat - Typescript Support
- MetaMask - Your Ethereum wallet
- Ganache - Your localhost blockchain
- Web3.Js - Connects sites to blockchain
- EtherScan - check transactions
attend boot camps that teach smart contract development or get resources online. Also constantly follow the different blockchain networks as they constantly hold hackathons and training for people interested in smart contract development.
Writing secure Smart contract
Auditing Smart Contracts: Certik