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Inspiration

We noticed that many students possess valuable skills but lack an easy way to offer them to their peers. Whether it’s help with a resume, event photography, design work, or lab tutoring, opportunities are often scattered and informal. PeerGig was created to centralize and streamline this process for students.

What it does

Students can post gigs they need help with—like designing a poster, coding help, or editing essays.

Other students can browse gigs and apply based on their interests and skills.

Posters can view applicants, accept or reject them, and once accepted, initiate in-app communication.

Fully responsive and tailored for both desktop and mobile campus users.

How we built it

Frontend: React + Tailwind CSS (Vite)

Backend: Express.js, MongoDB (Mongoose)

Authentication: JWT-based secure login with college ID/email

File Upload: Resume upload via multer, stored in a secure folder

Real-time Communication (WIP): Implemented via Socket.IO for post-acceptance chat

Challenges we ran into

Managing real-time chat between users and ensuring the correct socket rooms were joined.

Handling multiple user types (poster vs applicant) and conditional rendering based on status.

Resume upload flow with authorization headers.

Debugging deployment issues with Render and frontend-backend CORS handling.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Building a full-stack MVP with authentication, CRUD operations, real-time elements, and responsive design.

Creating a clean user experience for both job posters and gig seekers.

Deploying a working version on Render with persistent data.

What we learned

How to implement secure authentication and role-based access

Structuring a full-stack freelance platform with bidirectional workflows

Working with Socket.IO for real-time features

Handling dynamic forms and conditional UI logic efficiently

What's next for PeerGig

💬 Polished chat system with persistent message history

🏷️ Skill-based filtering and AI-suggested tags for gigs

📊 Dashboard analytics for students to track earnings and reviews

🪪 Verified badge system based on resume and previous gigs

🌐 Expansion to multiple campuses with admin moderation tools

Built With

• express.js
• firebase
• git
• github
• javascript
• jwt
• mongodb
• multer
• node.js
• react
• render
• socket.io
• tailwind
• vite