What do you think about attending testing conferences? Do you pay from your own pocket to attend testing conferences?

Lately I am debating if I should attend a testing conference...or not. Do you go to these conferences? I guess the big 'test' for somebody who wants to attend is if they're willing to pay from their own pocket the few thousands required to attend a full conference.

I'm more interested in the opinion of those who pay themselves to attend these conferences. Did you get good value for the money? What are your impressions after attending? Would you go again?

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Permalink Reply by Jane Fraser on July 29, 2009 at 10:29pm: Well I don't pay out of my own pocket, but I work really hard to convince upper management to keep this in the budget. For Stareast, i used points to cover the airfare & my company covered the hotel and food. (speaking at the event that covered the conference fees.) I think Star(east/west) is well worth the cost. Lots of good info, networking, and basis re-energizing.
Last Starwest we had 2 people, this year 4.
one of the biggest wins was the networking, entering discussions outside the sessions, listening to how others do it really made these worth while.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by James Christie on July 30, 2009 at 6:54pm: I've been to a few at my own expense. When I worked for for a big consultancy as a test manager and consultant I never went to a single conference. I would have been absolutely astonished to be offered the chance. There was always too much pressure to keep expenses down. There was little training and little chance to learn new things. We had tough targets for the billable hours we had to clock up each year, and attending a conference was not only expensive it would mean unproductive time that would be very difficult to make up later.

It's much easier to justify going to conferences at my own expense. If I think I will benefit and the cost isn't extortionate then I will go. Even if business is tough (as it is at the moment) I'd still expect to go to a couple a year. However, EuroSTAR is off the agenda for this year; just too expensive to justify. Maybe next year? I hope so. Conferences are a great way to meet people, and I do find there is valuable stuff to learn, and not just from the formal sessions. You learn a lot from chatting to people. Life was just far too insular when I was an employee. I've learned far more since I became self-employed.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Matthew Heusser on July 30, 2009 at 7:05pm: I absolutely recommend conferences in three general categories:

1) Peer. Non-commercial, typically free, you just pay for hotel and travel. Very intense sharing and people are willing to let their hair down a bit,

2) Regional. You see sessions, powerpoint, etc, but there's a good chance that some of the people you meet you will be able to have coffee with in a couple weeks. A good chance to meet people you will actually see again.

3) /big/ - stareast, eurostar, etc. Harder to keep in touch with people and lots of powerpoint, but these also attract some of the best minds in the industry - you just haveto know who to hang out with! :-)

Usually, it's possible to get to #1 or #2 very cheaply. If you don't have a local testing outlet, starting one is a /great/ way to boost your reputation.

(PS: To quote Kaner "Conferences are for conferring" - powerpoint-driven-lecture is generally a terrible way to convey information. When I go to a conference, I look for the interesting conversations and try to be present; I don't feel obligated to "learn" in a lecture session ...); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mark Crowther on August 2, 2009 at 12:48pm: I always try to go to conferences but never seem to make it to them in the end due to work pressure :{

The BCS SIGiST and the UK Test Mangement Forum (TMF) are always good, TMF is free most of the year. I've not been to any Star conferences yet as I'm not willing to pay such a high price, let's see if my employer will do instead.

Mostly the conferences are paid for by my employer as part of my role which is good but I would/do pay up to £100 for a conference that is going to help me really learn, i.e. one that isn't commerically focused. Too often these are all geared to presenting products and services that are from organisations that are in bed with each other making it essentially worthless to attend unless you want to buy off them.

BCS SIGiST and TMF are a lot more about the testing community getting together and sharing ideas, hence why they are well worth the <£100 they cost to attend.

Mark.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Georgia Motoc on August 3, 2009 at 5:40pm: I have some homework to do now, identifying the testing conferences I can go to without breaking the bank.

I think the big conference organizers ask for so much money because they count on corporations to pay the attending fee; they probably don't care about 'regular' people attending, otherwise they would be considerate with the amount of money they're asking.

On the other side, organizing such a big event is a great deal of work and so asking for this money only seems normal.

The toughest thing is to choose which conference you want to attend out of the multitude that are out there and then not be sorry you attended if your expectations were not met.

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Matthew Heusser on August 3, 2009 at 8:01pm: Georgia -

You're in TORONTO? Have you looked into TASSQ?

http://www.tassq.org/

I know at one point they had a one-or-two day conference around $100/day.

--heusser; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Anne-Marie Charrett on August 3, 2009 at 7:54pm: Hi Georgia,

I pay for all my own conferences, so I try to make it worth while. I've been to a few 'big' conferences and have been disappointed by the lack of standard in some of the talks. I think if you are paying for it, you are far more critical of the content,

The benefit for me is the networking.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Linda Wilkinson on August 4, 2009 at 5:37pm: I have paid for conferences or training out of my own pocket, and no, I would not do so again. I love to travel and it's too difficult to sacrifice that money for business purposes. If my company wants me to continue to learn and grow their capabilities, they need to be willing to invest in that growth.

That said, I was sorely tempted by CAST this year. My company's travel budget was cut to zero and I really, really wanted to go. But I'm vacationing in New Orleans this year, and I couldn't afford to do both.

I do strongly believe that conferences, especially the large ones that attract top minds in our field, are a good value. First, I invariably meet new and interesting people. Second, I have never come away without at least the germs of a few ideas I can use in my own work environment. And third, it shakes me out of whatever rut I might be in and gets me thinking in new directions. In other words, it provides some excitement and inspiration that you can only get when you're actually THERE, in the thick of things.

So I'd say that if your own financial situation allows it, conferences are a good investment. If, like me, it would require you to sacrifice something important to you, I'd say no. Fortunately, many conferences make some of their papers and videos available at no cost after the conferences themselves, and many of speakers are accessible people who participate in forums or have blogs available if you'd like to interact with them personally. It's not the same as "being there", but it"s a good alternative if money is tight....

- Linda; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Michael Bolton on August 6, 2009 at 2:17pm: If you have a good story to tell and can demonstrate that you'll tell it well, most conference organizers would be eager for you to present, at which point your conference admission is complimentary. Depending on the conference and on the volume of work you're presenting, you may get your travel and accommodation paid for, or you may be paid an honorarium that allows you to take some money home. Volunteering at some conferences can get you in for free, too.

There are some conferences and workshops (in particular AYE, CAST, and peer conferences) for which I have been happy to pay fees and/or travel expenses out of my own pocket. I'm self-employed. As a function of what I earn, I spend more on training and professional development than any business that I've encountered would spend. It's been highly worthwhile to me in terms of learning and of developing community. Those things come close behind paying rent and supporting family in terms of personal priorities. Some touristy travel (including bringing the family to Holland and Spain on a couple of occasions, and participating in Irish music sessions all over the world) comes with it.

---Michael B.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Matthew Heusser on August 6, 2009 at 2:32pm: For what it's worth, there's this dude, Mike Kelly, who sent himself to six (6) peer conferences a few years back - might have been 2005, might have been 2006. I believe he had to take unpaid time off to do it and took a substantial out-of-pocket cash hit. (Like "Gee, Honey, we could go on a 10-day cruise together this year, but, naahhh, I'm going to go to some peer conferences!")

Then Mike goes independent consultant, where he does well, and becomes President of the Association for Software Testing.

Today, he's director of test at a VC-funded startup with, as a understand it, some kind of stock option compensation on top of a generous salary.

He didn't view the conferences as an expense; he viewed them as an investment. And I can't fault the guy for it.

Just sayin'. Your mileage may vary.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Linda Wilkinson on August 6, 2009 at 6:02pm: Independents need to play by different rules; every meeting and contact is a potential future client.

Generally, such "investment" at the expense of one's family or personal interests does not yield significant financial benefit to someone who is not self-employed and could cause strife or unhappiness in their personal lives. If it is not a sacrifice of some kind, I think it's great to spend some dough on conferences. If you have to "give something up", then I think there are other ways to keep up with the field.

I'd also say that becoming a speaker is more than just having a story to tell and telling it well. Most conferences have an underlying "message" or point of view and you need to be an adherent to that point of view. In addition, anyone who doesn't believe there are some politics involved is naive. Who you know is as important as what you know. This isn't necessarily Totally Evil, it's just reality. If you're interested in becoming a speaker at some conference, it would behoove you to get to know and build some relationships with others involved in said conference or organization. Going another route is not impossible, but it's more difficult.

- Linda; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Anne-Marie Charrett on August 6, 2009 at 5:48pm: I knew I should have invited you over to Ireland when you were in London....; ▶ Reply to This