zlacker

>>alexkr+(OP)
I participated in a few hackathons early in my career. I quickly realized that I wasn't benefitting at all from participating in them. In fact, they were a great way to fall behind in the work I actually needed to get done. Those organizing the hackathons on the other hand...

I'm not at all surprised that people are trying to program young teenage minds to think hackathons are a good pathway to advancing one's tech skills / career. Nor am I surprised to hear all of the sketchy behavior surrounding this organization and their leadership. It all fits very nicely together.

>>tinfoi+av
Hackathons can be fun. And I think that people should try and do one or two when they are in college (ideally run by a university, not a shady 3rd party). The microsoft puzzle challenge (idk if that still exists) is also great. These are fun, give you a bit of networking, probably wont get you a job. Your university work gets you a job.