5 Tips for Tech Networking Events and Meetups — 2019 Edition
Set a frequency, try many groups, start talking, ask questions, and get coffee.
1. Decide How Often to Go
In Portland, OR, where I live, there are often one or two dozen tech events per week. I love meeting people, hearing others going through similar software joys and sorrows, and nerding out together.
I would happily go to one event per day, and I’ve been there. But there’s more to life. So I loosely aim for two to three events per month. And if you don’t gravitate towards networking, all the more reason to set a target frequency.
2. Try at Least Ten Different Groups
There’s a wide range of vibes across meetups, so try like ten before deciding meetups are not for you. Although my focus has been AWS/MERN/MEVN-ish, I’ve had good conversations at Erlang and Machine Learning meetups.
There are several themes of tech meetups:
- Languages or frameworks like JavaScript or React Native
- Job fields like DevOps or Data Science
- Code schools like Alchemy Code Labs or PDX Code Guild
- Companies or providers like Google or AWS
