Whether it's software, hardware, or art, we've all heard that making projects in our own time can help our resumes/portfolios stand out. Not to mention, it can actually be fun and certainly provides valuable experience. But how can one stay motivated and get the most out of personal projects?
(This post is focused on software projects since that's what I'm familiar with, but I think this advice can apply to most types of projects).
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| Maybe Speed Button Game is not my proudest work... |
Find Contests
Not only do contests provide motivation through deadlines and $$$, but they can also make it easier for you to come up with an idea since they usually have a theme or other restrictions.
Being part of a contest community can make it easier to get help and be inspired, and receiving any accolades from such contests can help give your project credibility. So where can you find such contests?
DevPost - Tons of online and in-person Hackathons ranging from a couple days to a few months. Includes a beginner-friendly search filter and you can contact people about forming a team!
Hackaday - Various (usually) hardware/software combined contests; keep an eye out for the huge yearly Hackaday Prize.
Kaggle - For data science/AI-oriented contests.
Hackster - Hosts a couple very large contests at a time, and for some of them, you can submit an idea to receive free hardware - on the condition that you actually use the hardware to make your project (that's pretty good motivation).
Major League Hacking - Student-focused hackathon league, usually the hackathons are only a couple days long.
Your City/University - Search for local contests in any field and you might just get perks like meeting people in person and free food. In fact, Alberta has a surprisingly great hackathon scene!
Of course, there are many other communities and companies that also run contests, many of which you can find through search engines, newsletters, or other methods.
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| Local Hackathons are the best! |
Add Onto an Existing Thing
Often, creating something from scratch can seem daunting, and can also be unnecessary. Instead, consider what small add-ons or automations may be useful and/or novel. This could include things like:
Open Source Contributions - There are many lists of open-source projects, like this one, where you might be able to find software you'd like to add new features to.
Integrations or Plugins - You could make a useful automation, browser add-on, API visualization/tool, or integration with some software you use like Notion or VS Code. There are a lot of intuitive guides out there!
Twist on an existing project - Use an online template or an existing simple project like a Todo list and add something like customizable push notifications or friend sharing.
Do it With Others
If you find the right people to work on something with, it can add a sense of accountability, camaraderie, and mutual learning. A successful group project is always impressive and shows non-technical skills as well. Of course, it's easier said than done, and sometimes you just have to try - even if it doesn't work out every time.
Clubs - There are plenty of campus clubs such as TechStart, Engineering clubs, Code the Change, Game Development Club, and more which have recruitment times throughout the year when you can submit an interest form to join.
Online Communities - Find a Discord server or forum of something you're interested in and you might find some like-minded people to work with! Sometimes a niche technology or topic you're into could be a point of connection with people you meet in the future.
I hope that this blog post has given you some food for thought about some ways to make summer projects fun and rewarding. Though it may seem like a long process and a difficult learning curve, I'm certain you won't regret creating a cool thing.
Let me know your thoughts and questions down below!
Ana
big fan of Fartknight
ReplyDeleteThank you 🙏
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