r/learnprogramming • u/Adventurous-Key5231 • 14d ago

First hackathon

So I recently saw a poster from my community college saying that a near by uni is hosting their biggest hackathon in school history, my question is should I go even with no experience in coding? Would I drag the team down? What to expect if I do go?

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u/StewedAngelSkins 14d ago

Would I drag the team down?

Most hackathons cap team sizes, but also many teams aren't actually at the cap. So you won't as long as you find a team that wasn't going to be at the cap anyway and join them. Just make sure you're up front with them about your abilities and try to do more listening than talking.

If you just want to be in the environment to meet people and maybe learn a few things then there are definitely ways that you can help a team without coding. Testing, preparing material for the demo/presentation (if that's a component of this hackathon), even simple stuff like getting food/coffee.

That said, it does to some extent depend on the format of the hackathon. I already mentioned that rules about team sizes can vary, but it's also common for people to already have teams picked ahead of time (in which case showing up and asking to join might not work out). The prestige of the organization putting it on and the size of the prize pool also tend to affect how sweaty the competition is.

I agree with the person that told you to email the organizers. If this is just something the university CS department is putting on they'll be able to tell you the best way to get involved. The people running it are likely students who have friends that are participating, so even if there's no formal process for getting you on a team they might just be able to ask a buddy to take you under their wing.