Pramatr Blog

Nearly a year ago, I posted a question on Spring Forum entitled, “am I working for the wrong companies or is it just not that common to attend conferences?”. I’ve worked as a developer for over six years and as yet I’ve never had the opportunity to attend a single conference. I thought I might be alone in this, but I’ve spoken to a large number of developers who are in exactly the same position, some of whom have worked in the industry far longer than I have.

Having worked for small companies in the past, I can fully understand the problems associated with sending developers to conferences. Sending one developer doesn’t cost a vast amount of money, but if all your developers want to go the money really does start to mount up. After the issue of cost, you then have to factor in the lost development time, not only for the conference but travelling to and from the event as well. The various costs to the business can soon become very prohibitive.

Back in January of this year, I decided that I would make sure I attended a conference this year, and decided I would just pay for it myself. I wanted to see if conferences really are worth the money. After months of discussing it on Spring Forums, I had the pleasure of attending SpringOne in June. The conference, hotel, travel and other costs came in at around £800 (€1200 or US$1600) in total. I also decided to take a weeks holiday from work to make the most of my trip.

The whole trip turned out to be a great experience. I met up with a number of people I had chatted to on various forums, and also lots of other random developers I met in the hotel. We discussed all aspects of software development late into the night, and I also learnt a great deal about a whole range of subjects. We traded lots of horror stories, and I also got to hear about the new exciting projects people were working on. It was great to meet like minded people who were willing to share information and take part in interesting discussions!

Once the conference started, it was a packed three days of presentations and discussions. There were a wide array of presentations running, so there wasn’t a single time I found myself with nothing to do. The conference demanded various levels of ability, so I was able to attend both beginners and advanced presentations as required. I heard a huge amount of information from experts in their field. I was able to chat to numerous developers who’s articles and books I had read, and had the opportunity to find out more about the subject from the original author.

So the big question, was it all worth it? Was it really worth the £800 price tag? As an experience, I’d have to say yes, I really had a great time! I learnt a huge amount both inside and outside of the conference. I learnt about new techniques and technologies, some of which I put directly into use when I returned from the conference. I met a great bunch of people, and I heard some really interesting discussions and insights. I met a number of well known speakers and authors, and got to ask some of the questions that came into my head when I originally read their book(s). The benefits of attending the conference have been numerous, both for me personally but also in my day-to-day work. I came back from the conference with lots of ideas and enthusiasm to try them out. I genuinely learnt a great deal in a short space of time.

So would I do it again? This is a much harder question to answer. I would love to attend another conference, and I may indeed try to attend another next year (QCon, JavaPolis, SpringOne). The two biggest problems are obviously the cost of the event and the use of holidays. If your company is willing to pay for the event and/or let you have time off to go, then it’s obviously worth going. Personally, I’d jump at the chance. As a one off experience, I could justify paying for the conference and taking the holidays, but as a regular event it’s much harder to justify.

Parleys does a great job of sharing lots of presentations, some of which I actually attended. JavaOne and SpringOne also allow you to view and download the presentation slides. Eight hundred pounds might possibly be better spent attending training sessions or achieving certification. The various forums out there, allow you to have regular contact with a huge number of developers from all over the world. Most authors have mailing lists where you can discuss the book with them and with other readers. Lots of the conference experiences can be achieved in some way without actually even attending. However, for me it’s just not the same as being there.

If you still can’t persuade your company to pay for you to attend a conference, there are a few of ways to potentially reducing the cost. Some JUGs have discounted entry to conferences and are also allocated a number of free passes. It might be worth checking your local area to see if there is a JUG near you. Lots of the conferences have an early bird discount as well, so if you book straight away you can save yourself some money. I also collected quite a number of business cards from other attendees, so it’s a great place to get some free publicity for your company. If your boss still isn’t convinced, work really hard and become a Java champion or better yet a conference speaker. That should get you free entry to lots of conferences .

Failing that, if you really want to attend a conference, you might just have to put your hand in your pocket and pay for it yourself. In my humble opinion, it didn’t feel like money down the drain, it was more an investment in myself.