Join Kick Start, a coding competition for all levels (2024)

Developers

Jun 21, 2022

[[read-time]] min read

Lizzie Sapiro Santor

Program Manager

Kick Start, one of Google’s Coding Competitions, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this season! Open to all skill levels, Kick Start gives beginner to advanced coders the chance to develop their skills and learn more about competitive programming through algorithmic and mathematical challenges designed by Google engineers.

Kick Start’s 2022 season is officially underway. Rounds take place throughout the year, so you can join in on the fun whenever it’s convenient for you. Check out the full schedule and register today.

Hone your skills with Coding Practice with Kick Start

In addition to Kick Start’s eight online rounds, we’re also hosting several Coding Practice with Kick Start rounds this season. These four-day sessions remove the time constraints and scoreboard, so you can take your time working through problems and get some extra practice without pressure. You’ll receive dedicated Googler support and detailed walkthrough videos to help you level up and prepare for the next Kick Start round. Our next Coding Practice with Kick Start round takes place from June 27 to July 1 — add the session to your calendar so you don’t miss out.

Still deciding if Kick Start is the right fit for you? We sat down with a few members of the team behind Coding Practice with Kick Start to learn more about the competition and why it’s valuable for coders of all levels.

Join Kick Start, a coding competition for all levels (2)

Brandon McCutchen, Campus Outreach Program Manager, Google

Brandon hosts events that connect college students with Google career opportunities — including bringing Coding Practice with Kick Start to various universities.

"Coding Practice with Kick Start is great for skill development and confidence because it exposes students to the types of questions they would see in a coding competition, a technical interview and ultimately in the real world of software engineering. I’ve seen over and over again that the more exposure a student has to solving technical problems, the more comfortable they get tackling them. Coding Practice with Kick Start gives them that exposure without any of the pressure. And after participating, students will always have those practice questions as a reference, which will hopefully help them approach interviews and coding competitions with confidence.

Kick Start in general is a tangible opportunity for students to grow their skills in a fun and exciting way. It provides incredible hands-on experience for students to actually code in a way that is meaningful for their development early in their computer science careers."

Join Kick Start, a coding competition for all levels (3)

Deeksha Kaurav, Software Engineer, Google

Deeksha is a software engineer on the Search Platforms team at Google, which helps developers build features for Search experiences. Deeksha is also a core member of the Kick Start team, creating problems for the Coding Practice with Kick Start sessions.

"Coding Practice with Kick Start is a great way to practice before participating in the Kick Start coding rounds. It gives you plenty of time to solve problems with constant support from Googlers throughout the session.

It’s really rewarding to be part of a team that helps developers across the world improve their coding skills. Kick Start helped me improve my own programming skills when I was in university, so I’m happy to pay that forward.

Coding competitions always pushed me to think outside the box, which has helped me in my career. They also provide a great platform to show and get rewarded for your programming skills. Some advice — always read the question and constraints carefully before jumping into the solution. There is something new to learn with every problem, so never leave them unsolved. And review the analysis on g.co/kickstart/archive for the problems you couldn’t solve."

And here’s what some of our participants had to say about their experiences:

“Coding Practice with Kick Start helped me learn about the different types of competitive programming problems. And since we had more time, I could work on fixing my common mistakes, like not reading the problem statement carefully on the first pass. The problem walkthroughs were also very helpful, and I’m glad I can revisit them when I have a little more time.”

“I really liked that Coding Practice with Kick Start gave me an entire week to complete problems at my own pace. It helped lower the barrier of entry for me, since I've never participated in an online coding competition before and I was hesitant to sign up at first. The introduction session also clearly explained the format of the official Kick Start rounds, giving me a good sense of what I was walking into and the types of problems I would need to solve.”

You can participate in any Coding Practice with Kick Start session and official Kick Start round — so why not give them all a try? Head to g.co/kickstart and register today. We hope you’ll join us June 27 - July 1 to kick start your coding competition journey!

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Join Kick Start, a coding competition for all levels (2024)

FAQs

How difficult is Google Kickstart? ›

Google Kickstart is all about speed and accuracy, focus on your speed rather than solving very tough problems and solve easy-medium problems as much as you can. Get familiar with Big-O notation and calculation of computation time.

How to crack Google coding competition? ›

How to Prepare for Google Coding Jam?
  1. Learn the Basics of any Programming Language. 6.2.
  2. Practice Data Structure. 6.3.
  3. Practice Algorithms.
Mar 27, 2024

What is the prize for winning Google kickstart? ›

The winner will receive $15,000, with smaller rewards for the runners-up. Google may approach top competitors for a chance to interview for a job at Google.

How do you win a coding competition? ›

Continuous practice and improvement are the pillars of success in programming competitions. By dedicating time to solving coding questions and participating in coding challenges, programmers can sharpen their skills, expand their knowledge, and ultimately gain a competitive edge.

Is Kickstart worth it? ›

Although Interview Kickstart is an excellent option for those with a significant background in tech and engineering, its courses are unlikely to prepare a total beginner for a career in either field. Students must have a certain education and experience baseline to benefit from Interview Kickstart's services.

Is Google kickstart discontinued? ›

According to the Coding Competitions site, Google Code Jam is being discontinued, as well as Kick Start.

Why is Google ending coding competitions? ›

But now, Google has laid off the staff who organized these long-running competitions. I asked Googlers the reason why these events have been canceled and one thing became clear: most of the program managers who worked on the coding competitions were recently let go in Google's historic job cuts.

Can I crack Google without competitive programming? ›

YES, there are a lot of people who cracked companies like Google without doing CP at all. And NO, it's not a necessity that you've to be very good at CP in order to get into Google (or any company for that matter). The companies only test your problem solving skills in the form of Data Structures and Algorithms.

What is the secret coding challenge from Google? ›

The Google Foobar challenge is a coding test administered by Google that consists of five levels and can be completed in either Python or Java. The challenge has been used to evaluate and recruit potential engineers for Google.

Does Google hire from Kickstart? ›

Students who want to one day intern or or receive full-time jobs at Google have a fantastic opportunity to start opening doors with Kickstart competitions. A Kickstart round (formerly known as APAC) is a 3-hour challenge in which contestants solve coding puzzles designed by Google engineers.

How many people participate in Google Kickstart? ›

Today, Kick Start has grown into a global competition with more than 110,000 participants, 8 rounds, and 32 Googler-created problems (that's 32 chances to grow your skills!).

Who is eligible for Google kickstart? ›

You may participate in a Contest if you are at least sixteen (16) years of age at the time you register for such Contest. You must be eighteen (18) years of age or older at the time of registration to be eligible to be contacted by a Google recruiter.

Which coding competition is best? ›

9 Best Coding Competitions To Participate In 2024
  1. 2024 New Year ICPC Online Challenge. ...
  2. Code/Art All-Girls Creative Coding Competitions. ...
  3. WWCode Days of Code Challenge 2024. ...
  4. Technovation Challenge 2024. ...
  5. Code Cup 2024. ...
  6. Congressional App Challenge. ...
  7. CodeChef Coding Competitions. ...
  8. American Computer Science League.
Feb 14, 2024

Who is the best competitive coder? ›

As of October 2023, Gennady is the highest-rated programmer on Codeforces, CodeChef, Topcoder, AtCoder and HackerRank.

Can you make money from coding competitions? ›

Participating in coding contests presents a unique and exciting way for web developers to showcase their skills, learn new techniques, and earn money. Moreover, excelling in these competitions can significantly boost your professional profile.

How hard is Google coding challenge? ›

Google coding Interview questions are pretty tough to crack without consistent practice. The questions span a wide range of topics and are challenging and specific to Google. With the help of our list consisting of Google Interview Questions, you can practice a vast collection of coding questions.

Is it very difficult to crack Google interview? ›

Google interviews can be tough and involve Google-specific questions covering a wide range of topics. But as long as your concepts are clear and skill sharpened, it's a more intellectually stimulating experience than an overwhelmingly daunting one.

How long is the Google kickstart? ›

Google Kickstart contests usually consist of four to five rounds, each round lasting approximately three hours. During each round, participants are presented with several algorithmic challenges, and they are given a specified time to solve them.

Is one year enough to crack Google? ›

One year interview preparation is sufficient for for cracking coding interviews at top companies like Google, Facebook etc. All you need to do is develop a systematic approach for the preparation. Divide your preparation into 3–4 steps including building concepts, practicing questions and mock interviews.

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