I'm heading to a coding conference in a few days! And unlike some past events I've been to, this time I'm doing a bit of preparatory thinking/planning to help me make the most out of attending. I've set 3 goals I'd like to accomplish during the two-day conference:

ONE From all the people I meet, I will meet 3 people to exchange contact details with in stay in contact with after the event has finished. These may be people who I can learn from, or share my own experience with. But I want to leave with at least three new solid connections that I can build upon.

How will I do this?

• Get clear on what I do & what I want so that I can clearly share this with other people
• Actually ask for people's contact details! Sounds obvious, but I don't always do it.

TWO I plan to get some practice speaking technically and bearing my expertise. I'm in the habit of minimizing my skills and knowledge, especially when it comes to talking about technical topics. This needs to stop!

How will I do this?

• Make an effort to talk to people! No hiding in my mobile or laptop. Works well with goal number one 😄
• No more "I'm just learning ABC" or "I think you can maybe, possibly, sort of, kind of try XYZ to fix that…maybe" etc. If I know it, no need to pretend I don't. I AM A DEVELOPER!

THREE I'm going to document the talks and take notes about what I learn throughout the course of the two days. I want to be able to remember what I learned after the fact, so it can't be in one ear and out the other. I'd like it to stick!

How will I do this?

• Take comprehensive notes throughout the talks
• Recap the information in a different format (i.e. blog or this podcast) so that I revisit the information several times. Forge those neural pathways every way I can.

How To Go To Conferences (Financially)

Since Financial Independence is a big goal in my life (not to mention a topic of this podcast), I also wanted to share some tips/ideas about how to attend conferences without attacking the wallet too much:

• Ask your employer if they will pay for your ticket, or at least give you the day off as a "development day" (or whatever they want to call it without taking from your vacation days)
• Check for corporate sponsors who might be offering scholarships
• Volunteer to help at the conference in exchange for free admission. If they don't explicitly offer this opportunity on the conference website, contact the organizers directly and ask if you can offer your services. While there, take advantage of the network of people in attendance, and definitely listen in on some presentations if you have the chance.
• If none of these free or discounted options are possible, and if you can afford the price of admission without making any serious sacrifices, then don't hesitate to invest in yourself and just buy a ticket. If you'll genuinely get value out of the experience, it's probably worth it.
• Redeem travel rewards for flights & accommodations if the conference is not near where you live. I got my flight for free!
• Stay with family or friends if you have them wherever the conference is taking place.
• Look at inexpensive options to get accommodations, like Couchsurfing or shared rentals on Airbnb. If there's a way to connect with other conference attendees ahead of time, see if there's anyone who's looking to split the cost of accommodations.

Follow along with me at the conference on my new startovercoder Instagram!

Thoughts on this episode? Leave a comment at startovercoder.com/067 or tweet me @startovercoder.