I did a handful of hackathons before I transitioned from hobbyist coder to professional coder. There were a ton of benefits to me personally. I got to see a t

I did a handful of hackathons before I transitioned from hobbyist coder to professional coder. There were a ton of benefits to me personally. I got to see a ton of different working styles and tech stacks. I got exposed to a lot of the more “playful” side of the technologist’s Internet. I got to see what it took to rapidly stand up a winning “demo,” while it being completely obvious to us (the winners) that we didn’t have the best idea OR best implementation of an idea. Most of all, though, it was really fun to meet technologists from all walks of life and party with them, drinking too much alcohol and caffeine in a high-pressure environment. It made for a great way to bond with a bunch of people when I was otherwise just a disconnected hobbyist. I think the tone of the hackathon is really important. I’ve only ever done non-profit based hackathons: art, civics, etc. where the central task is on the order of “what cool or fun thing can we do to make the world more beautiful, more fun, or just better?” Also, it’s an excuse for people to try out ideas and stacks that they weren’t otherwise willing to give themselves time to explore.