Hackathons 101: Why Every Developer Should Consider Attending

As a full-stack developer and veteran of over 20 hackathons, I‘m convinced these events are one of the best ways to grow your skills, expand your network, and launch your ideas. In this guide, I‘ll share what hackathons are all about, why you should consider attending, and my top tips for making the most of the experience.

The Rise of the Hackathon

The term "hackathon" combines "hack" (exploratory programming) and "marathon" (an intensive event). The concept originated in the late 1990s as informal gatherings of developers working together on a common problem. But in recent years, hackathons have exploded in popularity and scale.

According to HackerEarth‘s Global Hackathon Report, the number of hackathons held worldwide increased by nearly 50% from 2016 to 2018. In 2018 alone, over 5,600 hackathons were organized with an estimated total of 400,000 participants. Major tech hubs like San Francisco, New York, and London lead the pack in number of events, but hackathons are rapidly spreading to smaller cities too.

Graph: HackerEarth

So what‘s driving this growth? Several factors:

• Increasing demand for developer talent. As Marc Andreessen famously said, "Software is eating the world." Every company is becoming a software company, and they‘re all competing for skilled coders. Hackathons are a key recruiting channel.

• Accessible, low-cost innovation. Hackathons bring together smart, motivated people and give them the time, space, and resources to create cutting-edge software and hardware prototypes in a matter of hours or days. Companies and organizations can spark major innovation on minimal budgets.

• The mainstreaming of hacker culture. As coding becomes an essential 21st century skill, programming is shedding its geeky stigma. Shows like Mr. Robot and Silicon Valley, movies like The Social Network, and celebrity developers have made hackathons seem glamorous and exciting.

• Growing ecosystem support. An entire ecosystem has sprung up around hackathons – organizations like Major League Hacking and hackathon.com, purpose-built venues, experienced organizers, corporate sponsorships, etc. It‘s never been easier to produce a high-quality hackathon.

The Anatomy of a Hackathon

While no two hackathons are exactly alike, most follow a common structure:

1. Opening ceremony – Organizers and sponsors welcome participants, share the event schedule and any rules or resources, and hype everyone up. Sometimes there‘s a keynote speaker or panel discussion.

2. Team formation and ideation – Individuals pitch ideas and form teams. Team sizes tend to range from 2-6 people, often a mix of developers, designers, and non-technical folks. The team agrees on an idea/problem to tackle.

3. Building and coding – The core of the hackathon. Teams have a set amount of time (typically 24-48 continuous hours) to bring their idea to life, coding, designing, testing, and debugging.

4. Demos and judging – Each team presents their project to the other participants, judges, and sponsors. Strict time limits keep things moving – usually 2-3 minutes per team. Judges select winners for various prize categories.

5. Closing and cleanup – Winners are announced, closing remarks are made, and everyone cleans up and heads home (or to the after-party). The best projects will be shared on social media and tech blogs after the event.

Of course, there‘s much variation across different types of hackathons. A 200-person hackathon run by a university will feel very different than an intimate 15-person civic hackathon organized by a local nonprofit. Let‘s break down some of the most common types:

• Student hackathons are usually open only to high school or college students, often affiliated with a specific school. These tend to be large-scale events focused on beginner-friendly education and mentorship. Example: PennApps

• General hackathons are open to all, typically with a unifying theme (healthcare, fintech, smart cities, etc.). The theme may be dictated by sponsors who provide proprietary tech and APIs. Example: TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathons

• Internal company hackathons are organized by companies for their own employees to spark innovation, explore new ideas, and encourage cross-team collaboration. Example: Facebook‘s internal hackathons

• Social good hackathons or "civic hackathons" aim to create solutions for the public good – tools to help communities, nonprofit organizations, or to further a cause. Example: Code for America‘s National Day of Civic Hacking

• Online hackathons are conducted virtually, with teams spread across the world working together via chat and video conferencing and submitting projects online. Example: DEV.to‘s Online CodeJam

Why Attend a Hackathon?

Now that you have a sense of what hackathons are all about, let‘s dive into some of the key reasons you should consider attending:

Expand Your Technical Skills

Hackathons provide an unparalleled opportunity to learn and practice new programming languages, frameworks, APIs, and tools in a hands-on, high-intensity environment. You‘ll get exposure to cutting-edge tech and guidance from skilled mentors.

Let‘s say you‘re interested in learning machine learning. You could watch video lectures and read tutorials on your own – or you could join a hackathon, form a team with experienced ML developers, and build a real ML-powered application in a weekend.

In a HackerEarth survey of over 16,000 student developers, 64% said the primary reason they attend hackathons is to improve their coding skills. Hackathons force you to learn quickly, make decisions under pressure, and fix bugs creatively. You‘ll come away with powerful new technical skills every time.

Develop Soft Skills

In addition to boosting your technical abilities, hackathons are crash courses in essential soft skills like teamwork, communication, project management, and pitching ideas.

When you‘re working under a tight deadline with a group of people you just met, you learn very quickly how to:

• Break up a complex problem into manageable parts
• Delegate tasks and trust your teammates
• Communicate clearly about what you‘re doing and what you need
• Manage your time and avoid distractions
• Handle the stress of unexpected bugs and roadblocks
• Make hard decisions and compromises
• Present your work confidently and compellingly

These skills are just as important as raw technical chops when it comes to getting hired and succeeding in your career. Hackathons are fantastic training grounds.

Build Your Portfolio and Online Presence

There‘s no better way to show off your skills to potential employers than a robust portfolio of projects. But coming up with compelling side project ideas on your own can be challenging. Hackathons provide both the prompts and the time pressure to actually bring an idea to life.

Some of my favorite projects in my portfolio came out of hackathons:

• A gesture-controlled smart mirror for trying on virtual clothes, built at a fashion tech hackathon
• An AI-powered chatbot for anxiety support, created at a mental health hackathon
• A gamified mobile app for learning sign language, the winning project from a diversity and inclusion hackathon

Hackathon projects demonstrate your passion for your craft, your ability to execute quickly, and your experience working on a team. Many recruiters specifically look for hackathons on resumes. A strong showing at a selective hackathon can set you apart from the pack.

Plus, hackathons provide perfect fodder for your social media presence and online writing. Major hackathons often get press coverage, and event organizers are always looking for attendees to blog or tweet about their experience.

Writing a post-event recap or posting photos of your team on LinkedIn and Twitter is an easy way to show your involvement in the developer community and start building a memorable personal brand. This visibility can lead to exciting opportunities down the line.

Network and Find Mentors

Some of my strongest relationships in the developer community have come from hackathons. These events bring together programmers of all skill levels and backgrounds united by a passion for building cool things.

You‘ll meet prestigious VCs, experienced developers from major tech companies, rising stars from top computer science programs, and inspiring nonprofit and community leaders. The hectic, sleepless, adrenaline-fueled nature of hackathons forges deep bonds quickly.

These connections can be incredibly valuable as you navigate your programming career. You‘ll find mentors to give you guidance and feedback, peers to keep you motivated and accountable, and maybe even future co-founders or employers.

Even if you don‘t stay in close touch with your hackathon contacts, you never know when your paths might cross again. I‘ve received job interview opportunities years later thanks to someone I met and impressed at a hackathon.

Push Your Boundaries

Hackathons will push you out of your comfort zone – and that‘s a good thing. It‘s easy to stagnate and fall into ruts as a programmer, especially if you‘re learning on your own. Hackathons shake up your routine and force you to stretch your skills and step into new roles.

Maybe you‘ve never worked with a designer before, or you‘ve never tried deploying a machine learning model, or you‘ve never presented to a room of 100 people. Hackathons provide a safe environment to experiment, fail, and grow.

The time constraint forces you to be decisive, prune your idea down to the essentials, and push through uncertainty. You‘ll be amazed at how much you can accomplish when you‘re free of your usual overthinking and procrastination.

After a few hackathons, you‘ll feel far more confident taking on ambitious projects at work or in your own ventures. You‘ll have proved to yourself that you‘re capable of much more than you realized.

Tips for Hackathon Success

Convinced you should give a hackathon a try? Here are my top tips for making the most of the experience:

1. Do your research. Not all hackathons are created equal. Look for events with an interesting theme/challenge, skilled organizers, and a track record of successful past events. Some are more competitive, some are more beginner-friendly. Find the right fit for your goals and experience level.

2. Come prepared. While hackathons are learning experiences, you‘ll have a much better time if you have some foundation in the relevant languages and tools. Invest time beforehand in getting your development environment set up and working through some online tutorials. You don‘t want to waste hours of the event on configuration.

3. Think ahead about ideas. While you‘ll do the core ideation at the event itself, it can be helpful to start brainstorming potential problems and solutions beforehand. Think about the hackathon‘s theme and sponsors, and come ready to pitch. The earlier you can get your team aligned on an idea, the more time you‘ll have to actually build.

4. Don‘t try to do too much. The most common mistake I see at hackathons is teams trying to build way too much in the allotted time. You‘re not going to create a polished, fully-featured application in 24 hours. Narrow your scope ruthlessly and focus on doing a few things well.

5. Prioritize the demo. Ultimately, your project will be judged based on a 2-3 minute presentation, not on your code. Don‘t neglect the user-facing elements and overall user experience. Aim to have a clean, functional front-end UI and a compelling story. Practice your demo and make sure it flows smoothly.

6. Take care of yourself. It‘s easy to get caught up in the excitement and push yourself too hard. But you‘ll do your best work (and have more fun) if you take regular breaks, eat well, stay hydrated, and get at least a few hours of sleep. Hackathons are marathons, not sprints.

Go Forth and Hack

Whether you‘re a coding newbie or a seasoned developer, I truly believe hackathons are one of the most high-impact ways to spend a weekend. You‘ll grow your skills, build cool projects, make new friends, and maybe even catch the eye of your dream employer.

So what are you waiting for? Find an upcoming hackathon near you, grab a team, and get ready to build something amazing. Trust me – you won‘t regret diving in and giving it your all. Happy hacking!