Programming Contests - Worthwhile for Real Life?

Ustaad asks: "We are running some sort of a club in our University which has members who are interested in programming and related stuff. With many sites like TopCoder and Valladolid Online Judge providing heavy machinery practice equipments to programmers, the level of competition in programming contests like ACM ICPC have gone really high. However, we are finding it really difficult to motivate new entries to join our club. There are few key questions that we face from our members. Firstly, how important are these programming contest techniques for solving the real-world industrial problems? Secondly, Do employers really care about the achievements in programming contests while recruiting? And thirdly, what other advantages does one gain by venturing into these contests?"

Comments

I think I see the problem

[MarkusQ]

We are running some sort of a club in our University which has members who are interested in programming and related stuff...However, we are finding it really difficult to motivate new entries to join our club.

I think I see your problem. Try saying: "Programming kicks butt. There is nothing that matches the creative rush of a good code frenzy short of godhood. You get to litterly feel like you can do anything. Programming is what people have dreamed of for eons--giving orders to inanimate objects and having them obey you without question. I feel sorry for anybody who doesn't learn to control the power that programming gives us. We meet on Thursdays. Wanna join?"

-- MarkusQ