Hackathons are for beginners
By: Tim Fogarty
Tags: Hacking, Software, Programming, Coding, Hackathons

3. Hackathons are cheap

Food, drink, and snacks are all free for the weekend! You don’t need to pay for accommodation. Some events even organize transport or (if you’re lucky) offer some travel reimbursements. Travel is really the only cost for hackathons. If there’s one near you, great! If you have to travel a bit, book travel well in advance and try to find out if there’s a coach to the hackathon that could pick you up. If you need to travel, it’s definitely worth the investment. Also, likelihood is you’re going to walk away with some cool free t-shirts, stickers, or prizes.

You shouldn’t be scared of hackathons

People ask me all sorts of things about their first hackathon. They’re often worried about whether or not they’ll fit in. Fact is you don’t have to be a coding master to take part and have a good time. Here’s my FAQ:

What if I don’t know how to code?

No problem! I didn’t know much about coding when I went to my first hackathon either. And I’ve seen complete beginners at every hackathon I’ve been to since. If you’ve never coded before, it’s a great opportunity to spend a weekend learning. You’ll be surrounded by experienced coders, willing to help you out. Coding can look pretty difficult, but actually it’s easy to get started. You can go here and begin right now if you’d like.

If you already have some experience, you’ll fit into a team no problem. Your team will help teach you some new things and give you tasks to complete so you can build a project together.

Will I annoy people if I ask them questions?

You’re not going to annoy anybody! These events are wholly centred around learning and having fun. You’re meant to go and ask questions. Everybody will be willing to listen to your questions and help you learn new things. There will also be mentors from some top companies who are there to listen to questions and help you out.

If you can’t find somebody to help you out, go ask the volunteers. If they can’t help you themselves, they’ll help find you somebody who can.

What if I don’t know anybody there?

Not to worry! You’ll meet people when you get there. Everybody’s very friendly. A lot of people go to hackathons without teams. So it’s perfectly normal to go around to people, tell them you’re looking for a team, and ask if you can help out.

Hackathons will often run team-matching sessions at the start to help you meet people. And you can often join a facebook group for the event beforehand and post there to find potential teammates.

Protip: Invite your friends to come to the hackathon too! That way you’re guaranteed to have at least one familiar face.

What if I don’t have an idea?

That’s normal. Most people don’t have an idea before they get to the event. But once you start talking to other people, you might come up with something. You can also work with somebody else on their idea if you like it. And there will be prizes at the event which might help give you some ideas. Don’t worry about it, you’ll find something to work on.

Where can I sleep?

Sometimes the organizers will have put aside a quiet, dark room you can get some rest. If that’s the case, there are usually two rooms separated by gender. Due to venue restrictions, sometimes you’re going to have to grab some sleep on a sofa or on the ground beside your table. Either way, you should bring a sleeping bag and maybe a pillow to the event. Sleeping at hackathons isn’t always the most comfortable arrangement, but it’s worth it for the experience.

Will there be food?

Yep! Your meals for the weekend will be free and there’ll be plenty of snacks and drinks.

What if I don’t want to present my hack?

You might think your hack isn’t impressive enough to present. or you might think it won’t win a prize so why bother? Don’t be silly. Hackathons aren’t about winning prizes. And they aren’t about showing off. They’re about learning and playing with technology. There is absolutely no reason not to share what you’ve been working on for the weekend. Even if your hack doesn’t work or you couldn’t finish it, people like hearing about what you tried to do, what challenges you faced, what technology you used, and what you learned.

Great! How can I get involved?

Check out the MLH website for a list of upcoming student hackathons in the US, Europe, Canada, and Mexico. Hack Club also maintains a list of high school hackathons which you can check out here. If you’re yearning for more info, check out all these articles.

But most importantly, find a hackathon near you and go to it.

Only starting to learn to code? Read How to learn to code.

Happy hacking!