Road to Becoming Independent: Hackathons Earning
Earning money and becoming independent this is everyone’s dream, right?
From college days itself, we all dream of becoming independent.
To fulfill that dream, the best way is one where not only you can earn well, but at the same time your skills also develop.
You can build your own amazing portfolio, grab job and internship opportunities, and along with that, get many other benefits.
During my college time, I participated in more than 20 hackathons, and besides that, I also judged 10 + hackathons.
So today, I am going to tell you my complete journey how I started participating in hackathons from scratch when I didn’t even know anything about them,
and how I reached a point where I attended more than 20 hackathons, won prizes, developed skills, connected with amazing people, and got wonderful opportunities.
Along with that, I will also share some tips and tricks that will help you if you are a beginner.
My College Beginning
When I started college, I had no idea about hackathons.
In my first year of college, I focused only on my academics so that I could upgrade my stream.
In the beginning, I was given the Electronics and Communication (ECE) stream, but I did not want to stay in that field I wanted to move to IT or CSE.
So, in the first year I focused on my studies to get good grades and, based on a good CGPA, upgrade my stream.
Finally, in the second year, when my stream was upgraded to IT, I dedicated most of my time to learning DSA.
I learned DSA from scratch, understood it, practiced questions, and after that I finally got the chance to work on my development skills.
First Time Hearing about Hackathons
At that time, I first heard about hackathons actually, I came to know about them almost at the end of my second year.
I learned that hackathons are competitions where you are given a problem statement, and you have to solve it by creating a working product from scratch.
You must build a complete product within just 24 hours (though in some hackathons the time limit can be 36 or 48 hours).
During that time, you stay busy almost continuously coding, making presentations, connecting with people, and also taking part in fun activities.
So, hackathons looked very fascinating to me, and I was very eager to participate in them.
But the question was how to participate?
I had no idea which hackathons were available for me, where I could register, and, more importantly, how to make a team.
At that time, I didn’t have any friend circle interested in hackathons.
So whom should I join? How could I ask any team if they had space for one more member?
And most importantly, how would I even find out which teams were going and whom I should contact?
Because of all these doubts, I was unable to participate in hackathons.
Guidance from a Senior
To solve this, I finally went to one of my seniors and explained that I wanted to participat
not because I didn’t want to go, but because I had no team and no idea where to find hackathons or register for them.
He told me about five different platforms where I could:
- find good hackathons,
- register for them, and
- send joining requests to teams that had already registered.
If those teams accepted my request, then I could become part of their team and participate in that particular hackathon.
These platforms proved very helpful for me.
Platforms to Find Hackathons
The five platforms my senior told me about were:
Devfolio, Unstop, HackerEarth, Dare2Compete, and Devpost.
These are the most popular websites where you can find both online and offline hackathons.
From these websites, you can easily register for any hackathon and also find teams to collaborate with.
The best part is many hackathons listed there offer travel reimbursement, free food, swags, certificates, and cash prizes too.
So, I started exploring all those platforms one by one and checking out what kinds of hackathons were available.
My First Hackathon Experience
After going through many hackathons, I finally decided to participate in my first hackathon.
To be honest, I was very nervous.
I had no idea how things worked there, what kind of projects people made, or how the judges evaluated them.
But still, I thought “Let’s go once and see what happens.”
I went alone, without knowing anyone from the participants.
There, I met a few people who also didn’t have a team, and we decided to form one right there.
We started brainstorming ideas for the problem statement given to us.
After a few discussions, we finalized one idea and started building our project.
The First Night of Coding
The energy at the hackathon was completely different.
People were sitting in groups some coding, some designing, some preparing presentations.
Everyone was so focused, motivated, and passionate that it felt like a whole different world.
We kept working overnight, helping each other, searching errors, fixing bugs, and drinking coffee endlessly.
There were times when our code broke completely, but somehow we managed to fix it and move forward.
By morning, our project was ready.
We made a small presentation and showed it to the judges.
Even though we didn’t win, the satisfaction of completing our first hackathon was amazing.
That moment changed something inside me
I realized hackathons are not just about winning or losing; they’re about learning, teamwork, creativity, and networking.
What I Learned from My First Hackathon
After returning from that hackathon, I understood many things:
- What kind of projects generally win hackathons.
- How teams divide work efficiently.
- How important it is to make your project presentable and user-friendly.
- And most importantly, how to communicate your idea confidently to the judges.
That experience boosted my confidence, and I decided that I would keep participating again and again —
not for prizes, but to grow my skills and expand my connections.
Building Skills and Team
In the next few months, I learned frontend development and basic backend concepts.
I practiced small projects like portfolio websites, login pages, and API-based apps.
At the same time, I started finding teammates who were equally passionate.
We created a small circle where each of us focused on one skill
someone was strong in frontend, someone in backend, someone in design, and someone in presentation.
With this team, I participated in several hackathons.
Some we won, some we lost but every single time, we learned something new and improved.
From Participant to Mentor
After completing more than 20 hackathons, I reached a point where juniors started asking me for help.
They wanted to know how to prepare, how to present, and how to manage time during a 24-hour hackathon.
Later, I even got the opportunity to mentor and judge more than 10 hackathons.
It was an amazing feeling being on the other side, seeing how participants present their ideas and guiding them when they were stuck.
Tips for Beginners
If you’re someone who wants to start your hackathon journey, here are a few personal tips for you:
- Don’t wait for the perfect team start with whoever you find. Experience matters more than perfection.
- Focus on building, not just winning. Even a small working project teaches you a lot.
- Always make your project visually presentable design and clarity matter as much as the idea.
- Time management is everything. Divide work smartly from the start.
- Enjoy the process. Hackathons are full of fun, food, networking, and creativity.
Final Thoughts
Hackathons helped me build confidence, improve my technical skills, make strong connections, and create a portfolio that spoke for itself.
If you’re a student or someone who wants to explore opportunities beyond regular academics, hackathons can change your life.
They teach you teamwork, leadership, communication, and how to perform under pressure.
More than anything, they help you believe you can create something amazing from scratch.