Pro's for doing these contests are:

1. keeping your creativity flowing, use it or lose it.
2. Improve your skills, could be speed, program you want to work on learning.
3. Self improvement

Con's for the contests are (from someone who has done two different sites)

hourly rate can be as little as .01 thats right one penny an hour. I did my first contest the rate was $50.00-$5.00 commission= 45.00. I spent a good 3 hrs on the original design, they asked for three changes in the middle of the contest, 3 more hours, after I won, the whole design changed...colors, text... 15 hours of changes. 2. Some sites want you to do work for as low as 7.00 (not an hour, a project) 3. Briefs are not clear, don't contain viable information on the project and can change in the middle of the contest, because they weren't clear. Example: Design a notebook cover ($200), I spent hours and submitted three designs, 3 hrs after I submitted my design, the brief changed and said, design the wrap, the cover is brown craft paper. Another I designed for the site, said it was to scary for children, the brief did not give an age category, it said "people", my ten year old cousins thought it was hilarious. 4. The client can pull a project at any time and ask for refunds. 5.I made it into the finals on several projects, made changes... then the other designers started copying my work and won. 6.Many designers are using clip art, stealing other peoples work, and leaving messages on the clarification boards to "look at my work" if you are trying to read comments left by the client you have to sift through the trash. 7. You are competing with 100-1000 of people, clients really can't handle that many choices.

I thought it would be a good way to get some clients, but why would they want to hire you at a decent wage when they can get 40 hours of work for $20.00?

Pro's for doing these contests are:

1. keeping your creativity flowing, use it or lose it.
2. Improve your skills, could be speed, program you want to work on learning.
3. Self improvement

Con's for the contests are (from someone who has done two different sites)

1. hourly rate can be as little as .01 - that's right one penny an hour. I did my first contest the rate was $50.00-$5.00 commission= 45.00. I spent a good 3 hrs on the original design, they asked for three changes in the middle of the contest, 3 more hours, after I won, the whole design changed...colors, text... 15 hours of changes.
2. Some sites want you to do work for as low as 7.00 (not an hour, a project)
3. Briefs are not clear, don't contain viable information on the project and can change in the middle of the contest, because they weren't clear. Example: Design a notebook cover ($200), I spent hours and submitted three designs, 3 hrs after I submitted my design, the brief changed and said, design the wrap, the cover is brown craft paper. Another I designed for the site, said it was to scary for children, the brief did not give an age category, it said "people", my ten year old cousins thought it was hilarious.
4. The client can pull a project at any time and ask for refunds. 5.I made it into the finals on several projects, made changes... then the other designers started copying my work and won. 6.Many designers are using clip art, stealing other peoples work, and leaving messages on the clarification boards to "look at my work" if you are trying to read comments left by the client you have to sift through the trash.
5. You are competing with 100-1000 of people, clients really can't handle that many choices.

I thought it would be a good way to get some clients, but why would they want to hire you at a decent wage when they can get 40 hours of work for $20.00?