Why Should You Do Competitive Programming?

Competitive programming is a mind sport, where people compete against each other to solve some programming questions/logic with an efficient approach and within a time constraint. The goal of competitive programming is to write code to solve a problem within a given timeframe. There are mainly mathematical and logical problems in coding competitions based on Number Theory, Graph Theory, P&C (Permutation and Combination), Games, Geometry, etc. 

Competitive programming is the best way to master your analytical thinking, and logical thinking and improve your coding skills. It is now being considered by many tech giants like Google and Facebook. Google organizes many coding competitions every year like- Google Hashcode. Similarly, Facebook organizes the Meta Hacker Cup annually.  

Here are some of the most popular competitive programming platforms – Codeforces, GeeksforGeeks, CodeChef, Spoj, HackerEarth, etc. These platforms organize coding contests on a weekly basis. By participating in these contests, you not only improve your thinking ability but also get a chance to win exciting prizes and various career opportunities. These contests help you in time management effectively. As you have to solve a particular challenge within a given time also competitive programming is all about solving a challenge efficiently and in the least time. Thousands of other participants are solving the same problem simultaneously, hence the time to solve the problem becomes the deciding factor.

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Why Competitive Programming?

Why Should I Do CP? This is one of the questions that students generally have. So here, we have listed several reasons for doing competitive programming.

1. Mental Agility and Quick Thinking

Competitive programming is all about solving problems in a given time constraint. By practicing competitive programming, you start thinking quickly and within the given timeframe and this improves your mental agility and helps enhance your thinking ability. Competitive programming is all about solving a challenge in an efficient way and that too within the least possible time. So, this gives you a habit of thinking of solutions quickly and improving your quick thinking.

This also improves the code quality and helps us write efficient code. It also develops a deep understanding of Data Structures and Algorithms.  The competitive coding environment requires you to think analytically and logically in order to get an efficient and least complex algorithm for a problem and by practicing this we can improve our logical and analytical thinking. 

2. Competitive Spirit

Competitive programming can be fun for those who enjoy the thrill of competition. It can be an exhilarating experience for those who love to take part in competitions. Solving challenging problems that too within a timeframe boosts confidence and a sense of accomplishment. It also enhances focus and concentration. In Competitive programming, we usually get ‘Hard’ level problems, and having a competitive spirit helps us to not lose effort without solving the problem. In competitive programming contests, there are usually more than 10K participants (be it: Codeforces, CodeChef, or other platforms), and competing amongst such a huge number of participants, gives you the motivation to do better. This helps you perform well under pressure and also enhances your skills. This improves problem-solving ability.

3. Career Prospect

Competitive programming is very important when it comes to technical interviews for software engineering-related jobs. Many tech giants use competitive programming contests as a medium of recruitment. Companies like Google, ServiceNow, Atlassian, etc. have technical interviews based on competitive programming problems. People having decent competitive programming profiles are considered to be logically and analytically more advanced and hence it helps you grab a good job. Companies use competitive programming as their selection criterion so as to test the logical and analytical thinking of candidates. A good competitive programming profile helps you build a strong resume and increase the chances of resume shortlisting. It directly demonstrates your problem-solving and technical skills. Participating in contests gives you an idea of questions that might be asked in technical interviews.

4. Learning Opportunity

In Competitive programming, we get a wide range of variety of problems and various arithmetic concepts. Competitive programming exposes various data structures and algorithms which help us better understand the complexity of problems. Practicing Competitive Programming on a regular basis keeps you up-to-date with complex data structures and advanced algorithms. There are so many learning opportunities in competitive programming. From the data structures, and algorithms to time management. When you are constantly involved in competitive programming, you grow mentally, your logical reasoning gets better and your time management is improved. Thus you get a good learning opportunity in competitive programming. And you can enhance your knowledge by regularly practicing competitive programming.

5. Personal Growth as a Programmer

Competitive programming is one of the best ways to grow as a programmer. It helps you get a command over problem-solving, as you’ve to solve challenging problems within a time limit. Problems are based on a wide range of data structures and different algorithms, so by constant practice, you get a hold on this part as well. Also, many times there are some hidden errors in your code or in your colleague’s code, that you find and fix. And this practice improves your debugging skills, which is the most underrated yet useful practice. You learn to manage your time, as you solve a challenge within a time limit. It boosts your confidence and this is how competitive programming grows you as a programmer.

6. Networking

One of the most rewarding advantages of competitive programming is the network you build in it. Participating in various coding contests gives you a chance to be a part of communities with like-minded people. Here in these communities, you get various important resources and guidance from experts. These communities also help you get so many opportunities like referrals, job-opening information, mentorship, etc. Community members help you grow, there you feel competition that pushes you to keep putting in the effort. Most of the decent competitive programmers, for example, Experts in CodeForces or CM in Codeforces or more, these people are already in some big tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Adobe, and high-frequency trading(HFTs) companies. And having a community of such minds gives you so much exposure that helps you think out of the box. 

Competitive programming provides you with a community or network that helps you think straight off. Even if you are not from a decent college, with the help of this community, you can grow more than the other college grads.

7. Prizes

Competitive programming can be so much rewarding for programmers. Many tech giants host coding competitions having exclusive prizes which contain goodies, cash prizes, scholarships, paid courses, etc. and along with this these companies offer jobs and internships based on the performance in the competitions. For example, Meta organizes HackerCup every year and offers many gifts and jobs based on the performance in the rounds of HackerCup. Similarly, Google organizes HashCode. and to the top performers, Google gives a chance for an interview with Google. 
Many other contests are being hosted by various coding platform which offers too many gifts and goodies to the participants according to their performance. Another example is One of the prestigious coding competitions in ICPC, which offers gifts like laptops, mobile phones, and travel to other countries.

Conclusion

Competitive programming is challenging. Many find it difficult and boring but it is the most rewarding activity. It helps you improve your logical, and analytical thinking, your problem-solving ability, and your coding practice. In CP, we have to solve difficult problems based on a wide range of data structures using various advanced algorithms, so this helps you learn DSA (data structures and algorithms) in the most practical way. Coding practices improve debugging skills. And this helps, improve time management as we get to solve problems within a time limit. 
Competitive programming is actually very much rewarding. It has the power to get you into some tech giant or land a decent company. So, you must give it a try.

FAQs – Competitive Programming

Q1. Why You Should Do Competitive Programming?

Answer:

There are many reasons to do Competitive programming but the major ones are:

• Mental Agility and Quick Thinking
• Competitive Spirit
• Career Prospect
• Learning opportunity
• Personal growth as a programmer
• Networking
• Prizes

Q2. How can I get started with competitive programming?

Answer:

You can start with any CP platform such as Codeforces, Codechef, etc., and start solving questions according to your difficulty level and start giving contests. After contests, try to up-solve the contests and get the maximum out of a contest.

Q3. Where can I learn the concepts from?

Answer:

You can search for any particular topic on GeeksForGeeks and or refer to the following link.

Q4. What are the challenges of competitive programming?

Answer:

There are the following challenges that you might face during the competitive programming journey –

• The competition can be intense: Thousands of participants take part in contests, and competing amongst them can be challenging.
• The difficulty level of a problem can be high: During contests, you will find many problems, some of those might be easy, medium and some might be hard to tackle. 
• Pressure: There can be a pressure of time because ultimately it is a game of time and efficiency.