How a Hackathon Helps You Become a Better Developer
It’s Hacktober and that means you might have the opportunity to participate in some hackathons either virtually or in person this month.
Here at Okteto, we love Hackathons because they're a great way to build community. If you’re a newer developer, you may be wondering if participating is a good idea. We think so, and want to share with you some of the top reasons why you should participate in one or more hackathons this year.
Learn new skills
A hackathon is a great way to learn new skills and grow your current knowledge. Maybe you’ll get some experience in a coding language you’re not familiar with. Or, maybe you’ll get to try building a type of feature you’ve never worked on before. With hackathons, there’s a time constraint, which can actually help you learn how to figure things out quickly.
Networking
Whether you’re doing a hackathon through your employer, or through an outside company, there’s no doubt that networking is one of the great benefits. For internal hackathons, you can meet some people who are on a different team from you and learn more about the company. If you’re working on a hackathon through an external source, you can meet potential employers, friends, and future team members. Growing your network and community through participation will help you as you grow in your career.
Improve your resume
When you’re first starting out, growing your resume can feel difficult. Perhaps you went to school for software engineering, or attended a bootcamp and now you’re not sure what to do to get that first role. Participating in a hackathon can be a great choice because now you’re showing potential employers a real world example of your work. It’s a great project to talk through at job interviews, and can be helpful for getting your foot in the door.
What do you think? Will you be participating in any hackathons this month? If so, let us know which ones on Twitter so we can cheer you on!
Arsh Sharma
