Google’s Coding Competitions You Can Consider

Want to grow your coding skills, meet like-minded developers, or join the virtual coding community? If yes, then Google’s Coding Competitions can help you. Google’s Coding Competitions are designed by the engineers at Google and these coding challenges are conducted by the organization every year to assess the coders around the world. It is a great way to showcase your programming skills and problem-solving skills at the international level. This is great news for all the programming enthusiasts that this year also Google is going to conduct these competitions.

Note: The listed coding competitions have been closed by Google. We’ll update our article if Google initiates any new coding competitions in the future.

The most popular among all competitions are Hash Code, Code Jam, and Kick Start. Let’s take a look at each of the competition in detail:

1. Hash Code

Hash Code is one of the most famous coding challenges organized by Google every year, for students and professionals. Owing to the current pandemic situation, Hash Code 2021 is going to be a virtual event. This is a team event where you have to make a small team of 2-4 coders from wherever you would like, along with your virtual hub. In this challenge, the team tries to solve a real Google engineering problem through an Online Qualification round. All the teams will compete together virtually in locally coordinated Hash Code Hubs and the top teams from this round will compete for the virtual World Finals. In the qualification round, each team gets four hours to provide an optimized solution to the problem using programming language and other tools of their choice.  In the virtual World Finals, all the teams will code together to solve another challenge and compete for cash prizes.

2. Code Jam

Code Jam is another famous coding challenge organized by Google every year. It is Google’s longest global coding competition where coders from all over the world take part and test their coding skills. There are three online-hosted rounds before the Annual Code Jam World Finals which is held at an international Google office every year. In each round, the participants have to solve challenging algorithmic puzzles within a limited timeframe. In the end, only 25 participants will compete for cash prizes and the coveted championship title at the annual Code Jam World Finals.

3. Kick Start

Kick Start, formerly known as APAC is again one of Google’s famous coding competitions held every year where coders around the world take part and get a chance to enhance their coding skills. There are online-hosted rounds held regularly throughout the year. Each round is open to all and there is no pre-qualification needed. So, you can participate in one or all of them. Each round is of three-hour which has a variety of algorithmic and mathematical problems. Taking part in anyone round gives a taste of the skill set required for a carrier at Google. After each round, you can check your global rankings and performance analysis of that particular round.

If you are at the beginner level in the world of programming or coding; Google Kick Start is the best option available to you. As mentioned above Google Kick Start consists of online coding challenges hosted throughout the year to help you in getting better acquainted with coding competitions and enhance your programming/coding skills.

How to Prepare for these Google’s Coding Challenges?

Here are some preparation tips for you:

• Get yourself familiarized with the platforms by visiting the FAQ section for each challenge.
• Choose at least one programming language like C++, Java, or Python and get familiarize with it.
• Refresh your knowledge about fundamental algorithms and data structures like Graphs, Stacks, Queues, Lists, etc.
• Must utilize the resources provided by Google to prepare for these competitions.
• Do time-bound practice with the past year’s problems.
• The most important tip is to keep working on your testing skills like catching bugs, creating tests, building edge cases, etc.

Hence, if you really wanted to get a flavor of the kinds of problems that engineers at Google have to deal with. You must try to participate in one or all of these coding challenges. All these three competitions organized by Google are equally important for participants of all skill levels. It is going to be a lifelong experience for you and you will learn a lot. If you are aspiring to get a job at Google, these coding challenges can help you in a great way. There are chances that you may be contacted by Google for a direct interview if performed well in these coding challenges!