Developers love to hack, but software engineering as a profession can actually be quite mundane. A hackathon can help remind you why you love programming.
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Developers love to hack, but software engineering as a profession can actually be quite mundane. We attend hours of meetings, give status reports, fix bugs, maintain legacy software, and work on less-than-exciting projects. Not all of us are out there changing the world and building the next hottest new technology.
To satisfy our desire to build, we participate in hackathons, where the primary goal is simply to build something cool. We hack it together, so to speak. Smart companies regularly host internal hackathons, and that’s where some of their best ideas are generated. Sometimes a company will sponsor a public-facing hackathon as well, in which anyone can participate. Winners of these hackathons are often rewarded with prize money, swag, and the respect of their peers.
I recently came across this pretty awesome Ethereum Hackathon Survival Guide from ConsenSys (the company that makes Web3 tools such as Infura, MetaMask, Truffle, and Diligence). The guide covers workflows, prepping for a Web3 hackathon, best practices, Ethereum resources to have with you during the hackathon, etc.
It’s a thorough guide. And it got me thinking about my own past hackathon experiences. I haven’t actually participated in any public hackathons yet (having kids will do that to you), but I’ve done plenty of company-wide hackathons over the last nine years of my career.
For those looking to make the most of their next hackathon, read the above guide for Web3 hackathon tips — and then, in addition to that, here are my words of advice.
Hackathons are a great time to explore something new. When choosing a project for your next hackathon, don’t just do what you already do every day at work. Find something new! Hackathons are a time to branch out and get out of your comfort zone.
Is there a framework, library, or API you’ve been dying to try out? Do you have a harebrained idea that you just haven’t had time to start building? Is there a problem that’s been nagging you and keeping you up at night? Is there something you’d like to simplify, either in your personal life or at work? These can all serve as inspiration when brainstorming topic ideas.
