Comments on: I like to go to other people’s conferences

By: Monica

Monica — Thu, 08 May 2014 02:02:02 +0000

In reply to Laura.

Laura,
Thanks for your reply! I appreciate the resources and will check them out. I’ve shared 168 hours with all my friends and co-workers – it’s made a huge difference in how I plan my week and is helping many of them as well. I really enjoy your blog! 🙂

By: Laura

Laura — Thu, 08 May 2014 01:50:15 +0000

In reply to Monica.

@Monica – thanks for your comment! I attended the American Society of Journalists and Authors convention. I haven’t attended too many others, though I’ve heard good things about Freelance Success. I may be attending the Asian American Journalists Association conference this summer — you don’t have to be Asian to go.

By: Monica

Monica — Wed, 07 May 2014 23:45:12 +0000

Before attending BlogHer a few years ago (NYC was my first! I also lugged around a heavy bag wondering what was I doing? ha!), I had only attended academic conferences. As I’m in the midst of writing my dissertation, reading your post sparked the idea that attending a writing conference might be an interesting experience. Could you share the name of the conference you attended and/or any you recommend? Thank you! 🙂

By: Ana

Ana — Wed, 07 May 2014 16:47:33 +0000

I’ve never had the opportunity to go to conferences in other fields (it would be a fairly pricey endeavor, unless they were completely going to pay for me to travel/stay/attend…unlikely for me!) but it sounds like a great way to gain insight into various work cultures!
I honestly find conferences in my field an overwhelming & exhausting requirement. The conferences last several days, have MULTIPLE simultaneous sessions necessitating ridiculous scheduling for attendees, and always run over the weekend so you miss minimum work time and maximum family time. I’d love to go to a smaller more focused conference but haven’t yet had the chance.

By: Cloud

Cloud — Wed, 07 May 2014 04:46:53 +0000

Hmmm, I don’t think I’ve ever been to a conference in a field completely unrelated to mine, but the nature of my work has sent me to different types of conferences, and it is interesting to compare how welcome I feel as a woman, what the general vibe is, and things like that across conferences in different fields. One thing I luckily realized quite early in my career was that a conference- or even just a session at a larger conference- that focuses on a field you’re interested in can give you a pretty quick way to gauge if that field is a good fit. I ruled out one area of study because I frankly thought all of the people at the conference I attended were jerks and I didn’t want to spend my career with people like them. I haven’t succeeded in completely avoiding that particular type of jerk, but I think I’ve done better in the field I landed in than I would have in the field I originally considered.