Why you should attend Conferences?
Let me tell you my story on how conferences has improved my professional life.
I was a fresher in a small company of 8 people. My manager wanted to explore node.js and it’s possibilities. When I joined I didn’t knew anything about JavaScript. I had some basic experience in python. Being a new comer it was hard to find resources and and none of the co-workers had prior knowledge of JavaScript.
I felt Programming is hard and I don’t know anything about programming. In my quest to learn, I started attending meetups. I used to ask them all kind of questions like looping, async await, Promises, es6 classes. I like to thank this guy Ramana Venkata who has taken an extra step and mentored me.
Fast forward now, I started speaking at conferences and helping new comers/freshers at my spare time.
So here are the list of things I have gained by attending conferences.
Meeting Influencers
In my first conference I met kiran. He’s gifted with excellent skills breaking down complex topics and explain them in layman terms.
Meeting your influencers directly and asking them about opinions on frameworks or libraries or asking them about tips on solving problems gives you the feeling of satisfaction and boosts your morale
Networking Opportunities
You will be meeting many new people who may become lifetime friends. When I usually enter a conference, I don’t know anyone. But by the end of conference I will be chilling with a group of people.
Bouncing off ideas
For budding entrepreneurs conferences can be a test bed for their growing ideas. You can find many users for feedback about your product.
If you are a developer, there might be some grey areas in your day to day where you are stuck or need help in understanding some stuff. You can take this opportunity of conferences and connect with people and discuss your problems.
Career Opportunities
Many companies invest in conferences to find the right talent and make connections which helps them in their hiring process. You never know you can land a dream job just by interacting with people and making contacts.
Learning to pitch your ideas
Conference organizers usually provides few slots for lightning talks. It’s your chance to share the super tricks you find in your daily workflow. You may think it’s small, but there will be people who like what you share.
You can also learn how people pitch their ideas while they are presenting and it can help you when you go back to your boss to pitch something you want to bring in for the betterment of the company.
Meeting your idols
In one of my conferences I got an opportunity to meet Siddharth Kshetrapal Who I feel the best guy related to React. I asked him about the changes in react ecosystem and got some feedback for patterns in react
Wrap Up
Many people try to save their income, but one of the best path for success in career is investing in yourself to learn new skills and prepared for the latest trends.
“If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first four hours sharpening the axe.”
If you agree with above quote from Abraham Lincoln, then start investing in yourself.
React India 2019 is happening in Goa from September 26 to September 28. Its lineup of international speakers is nothing like I have ever seen before and I feel it’s worthy investment for the future. You can buy tickets from the link below.
If you liked this post, then please do give me a few 👏 and please feel free to comment below. Cheers!
