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I realize that this might be an unpopular opinion but I am open to having a discussion.
It's fairly well known that they're problematic at best, in that they epitomize the practices of an industry obsessed with exploiting younger workers, crunch time, and gender imbalance.
Unpopular opinion? Nah. It's fairly well known that they're problematic at best, in that they epitomize the practices of an industry obsessed with exploiting younger workers, crunch time, and gender imbalance.
There is no perfect singular deterministic test which can gauge an individuals success.
The best we can do is measure people on the contributions they can make. Use the level of impact those contributions make.
This leads into building teams. You can't take the best engineers and build an all star team. Teams are made up of different levels and types of contributions.
When a team is looking to hire people, chemistry is the most important part.
In game design circles the equivalent of a hackathon is called a game jam. They are almost universal and are seen as an excellent opportunity to both try out ideas and socialise with other people that you wouldn't normally get an opportunity to work with.
> Almost everyone that attends says they are exhausted by the end [...]
Same is true of the gym. That's not an argument against.
> [...] you tend to consume unhealthy food & beverages in the process.
That's a function of planning. When we run such events we provide healthy food (fruit, primarily) for free. But we also have pizza, as we do at all of our other social events. That is more of a function of group events than of hackathons per se.
I think your concern for the well-being of hackathon participants is admirable, and if you ran such an event I think you would do it very well. Have you considered organising something?
I worked for a company which runs one a year, and I honestly look forward to it. Having a chance to cut loose and show what you can do is a welcome change from the daily grind.
It also lets you show stuff that honestly you are more interested in, and maybe, you can get a product out of it - which means, you get to work on what you actually enjoy. As a way to influence a business to show what is possible, there isn't a lot better.
I think they have their place. Just not as a BAU thing.
I think they are a great way to have a break from regular development. I love 'em I worked for a company which runs one a year, and I honestly look forward to it. Having a chance to cut loose and show what you can do is a welcome change from the daily grind. It also lets you show stuff that honestly you are more interested in, and maybe, you can get a product out of it - which means, you get to work on what you actua…
People tend to compete in hackathons not for the prizes/job. They do it because you can spend a small amount of time producing something tangible which you can understand and be proud of. They are rewarding, intellectually stimulating, and fun. In game design circles the equivalent of a hackathon is called a game jam. They are almost universal and are seen as an excellent opportunity to both try out ideas and sociali…
I could be wrong but that's just how I feel about it.
Lastly, if I were to organize a hackathon. I think the the first I would do would be making it at least a week long instead of 2-3 days. In addition, I would make it required to not allow participants to stay more than 8 hours each day. After all when I think of hackathons, I think it's a time to tinker with technology and come up with something cool. NOT staying up for 3 days straight to win some prize.
I think they are a great way to have a break from regular development. I love 'em I worked for a company which runs one a year, and I honestly look forward to it. Having a chance to cut loose and show what you can do is a welcome change from the daily grind. It also lets you show stuff that honestly you are more interested in, and maybe, you can get a product out of it - which means, you get to work on what you actua…
I totally see your point and understand that it's good to break away from work every now and then to work on a fun project idea. The problem I have with these hackathons though is that I feel companies get to promote the culture of working late hours and staying up to build an app. I know this is only 2-3 days most of the time but it often feels like companies treating developers as if we are machines and benchmarkin…
I think that is a company culture thing, and not a hackathon thing though.
I don't even expect to see much of a correlation between company culture like that and hackathons. Or even in which direction the correlation would be if there was one.
But, I'm in New Zealand, and we have a different culture. So, it could be just that.