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Is Attending a CS Conference Worth the Time?
An Anonymous Coward writes"Hello Slashdot readers, I am a CS student nearing graduation and i had a couple of questions. One of my professors is recommending submitting a paper to the CCSC (consortium of computing sciences in colleges) in Utah this year for a chance to have my work published in a journal. I realize the value in having thesis work published but i don't really have the money to travel to Utah and stay for two nights. So i guess i am wondering, has anyone ever attended a conference of this nature and if so was it worth the time and money?"
No.
The main reason to attend these things is to meet people. This can either help you get a job or help find professors to partner with in the next stage of your education.
If you have no interest in either, then the only reason to go is out of your own curiosity.
There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
Yes of course it's worth it.
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apply for travel funding? i got a small travel grant from the royal sociaty in london to travel to a physics conference, they must have similar organisations in the US?
conferences are a great way to find out if what you are doing is worth anything, and for seeing what other people are doing thats similar to you, great place to meet people and learn new things.
...The least your campus can do is send you to the conference, all fees inclusive.
It's really difficult to say.
We don't know what the thesis is about, how good it is, where you want to go from here (do you want to continue with academic work etc.)
Not really easy to give a simple answer.
I've been to a few such conferences. The trips were paid for by the university so I took them as unofficial perks to alleviate the low researcher pay.
Didn't find them useful, though. There are easier ways to pick up the proceedings.
Usually it is good to go and present your work at a conference. For some of the bigger conferences sometimes conference issued travel grants are available. There are also a lot of other possibilities in trying to obtain some form of external funding to travel to a conference. On the other hand it is also in the interest of your college to have their work presented and not very uncommon to sponsor you.
Unless you're going to grad school, a publication probably won't help your CV very much. Maybe some exceptions, such as if you've done some original work in a specialized field that you hope to work in, but that's usually for grad students too.
BTW, a conference publication isn't considered a "journal" publication, and doesn't confer the same status. Conferences are where the work gets done: people present developing ideas and get feedback on them.
As someone already mentioned, the main reason to go is to meet people. If you're shy, it probably won't do any good. If you're outgoing, you can make some useful connections. But unless someone happens to have a hot job tip, those connections are something that have to be cultivated by going to the same conference year after year and talking to those same people again and again.
Unless you want to go (you don't sound like it), tell your prof you can't afford it. If s/he really wants you to go, let them find the money for it.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
I've yet to attend a conference that I thought worthwhile outside of keeping up social appearances. So it depends on the value that you place on your peer group.
You don't say which graduation you are approaching, so I'll guess it's an undergrad. If you are going to continue with graduate work, or otherwise as a researcher, then it's worth it to gain credibility. It's not unknown for people to prefix a paper presentation with "By the way, I'm looking for a doctoral supervisor." This may be one of the best ways to arrange to do your graduate work in your preferred area, since you are talking to a self-selecting audience.
If, on the other hand, you want to make some money and have a career (i.e. not work in academia), you're probably not missing much by not going. You might still submit if your professor has funding to send you. Or, if the professor in question was going to attend this conference anyhow, then you could ask if he/she would be willing to present it in your place. A published paper might look good on your CV right out of school; at least it would give the interviewer something to talk with you about.
The most important part of a conference is the social event. You get to know interesting people who potentially work for interesting companies (although I'm not quite sure about the event you're supposed to go to). You also get to learn that other people "in the field" are really as smart or stupid as you are, which will make you more comfortable with the environment, or it will drive you away from it. Either way, you get to know if you would like to stay in academia.
We routinely try to make our students' theses into publications at decent venues, and then send them there. We usually pay for the trip and the conference fee too. If that's not possible at your group, check if there's some kind of travel grant for the conference where you can apply.
Fight hunger. Filet a politician and send him to a 3rd world country of your choice.
You can write them off. So a conference in Vegas is like a half-price party weekend. That's assuming you make a lot of money, which you don't.
If you mod me down the terrorists will have won
Ready for the reason to go... NETWORKING you would be amazed at the job offers you can get while attending anything like this. While I was in the Air Force I attended a few of our major IT conferences, and all these were for the most part was talking with the higher ups about job opportunities when you get out. Trust me go it's worth it.
What's not to like about a Counter Strike conference?
Maybe I'll go read the rest of the summary now.
I second all those that said YES for networking reasons. If you want to continue working/researching in CS, you should absolutely get in contact with as many people as you can that share interests and physically interact with them in all sorts of ways. Internet is not the only way you know. ;)
As for job opportunities, same thing. it's one big job interview out there..
Also, don't fill up all your available time when you'll be there, take time to get comfortable with the surroundings, and make some business/contact cards.
... then it's important. If you're not, then it's a waste of time unless you're going to treat it like vacation.
If you get the chance to go to a big, fancy conference in an area that actually interests and inspires you, then you should definitely take it. I went to SIGGRAPH as an undergrad when I was vaguely interested in computer graphics (before starting grad school in the same field) and it was an awesome experience, both the technical presentations AND the social aspect. I hung out with old classmates, new classmates, and went to parties at swanky clubs exclusively for the conference attendees (none of those regular-people riff-raff)... It definitely solidified my interest in graphics and grad school.
Honestly, though, this CCSC conference looks kind of boring. Is it education related? I can hardly tell. I'd worry that it is too vague/too general and if you went, you'd risk not actually being interested in anything anyone said. Make sure you care at least a little bit about what the conference is actually about, and then yes! Go and meet people and have a good time! The point of a conference is to meet people interested in the same stuff as you.
Additional point: If you intend to apply to grad school, having work published anywhere helps these days.
I usually don't have to add comments to items on /., as usually the right answer or comment is already there. But, in this case, it's not.
I am one of the decision-makers on hiring at my company, as VC-funded startup. (If you like, come interview; we're profitable and hiring). Having a publication is a very good thing for *your entire life*, and it's often something you only get a chance to do young. Yes, when you're young, the cost seems high. But, relative to your future income, it is a drop in the bucket. Lost weekend, $500 flight, $300 hotel... Borrow it from a 30- or 40- something who trusts you, and pay it back over a year.
Why is it such a good thing? It's irrelevant who you meet there. Maybe you'll get lucky, but, it's not likely. The value is in company you share by being a published author. Software company decision-makers often went to CS grad school, and like to hire people who they can relate to! They will have pubs, you will have a pub. Simple as that.
The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much.
I would say yes. I attended a consortium/symposium hosted by my university and it was an amazing experience. Granted I'm only a Bachelors student and a lot of the stuff was over my head but the networking potential (and seeking/finding the right prof to do a Masters/Ph.D under) is definitely worth it. Also, see if you can get a travel grant/subsidy. A lot of universities will have them for their students to travel to slightly lessen the costs, it may be most expenses or just a subsidy but even $100 goes a long way. Check your scholarship/finance office, grad studies office, and even with your prof or department head.
The conference n Utah will be awesome!
First there's the Mormon hookers. They're great! You get them for at least 2 for the price of 1 compared to Nevada - they're Mormon so women are used to not being the only one and they expect to be paid that way!
The parties. There's no coffee or alcohol; so it's just cocaine - cheap!
If you don't want hookers, there are the young girls on the street. Ever have the hots for a 16 - 17 year old? (Why not? Most girls are at their best at that age before they pork out!) Well, it's legal! Just marry them! Don't worry, it's not legal in any state but just say you're a Mormon and they marry you and fuck you brains out - gotta pump out those children!
Anyway, you gotta go to experience it!
Wait till you get a conference in LA and all those Scientologist broads! It's only good if you're into repressed homosexuals, though.
As I understood it you would only go there if you actually had something accepted and would speak there.
What kind of conference doesn't at least mostly pay the expenses for speakers? I'd seriously doubt the relevance of appearing at one that can't even afford this.
You could still try it, and in the worst case just say you can't afford it if you don't get the money. Of course that's a bit respectless, but I don't think they have a right to expect anything else if they don't cover expenses.
Hi, I think it depends on what do you want to do next. If going into academy, master's/PhD degree, then I would say that it helps a lot to have one article published. However, if you are thinking going enterprise, I think most of those people do not care much about publications. It also depends on the quality of your work. If it is something really good, I think it might be worth going. Have you asked the University or your advisor for funds to go? If your work is really good, I think the University would have no problem at all paying for your expenses.
Do you plan on staying in education? Do you have something to offer which really adds to your friend? If the answer is no, then no.
The other benefit is meeting prospective employers and peers. If you're good with meet and greets and have "in demand skills", then this may be a good foot in in the door. Otherwise, you're wasting time and money.
Please remember, most people in academia are completely disconnected from the "real world." For most of these people, "publish or perish" becomes ingrained. Outside of academia, its all too often a waste of time.
I rather play CS online...
Go. Write the paper. Use it as resume fodder. Meet people that you could see yourself working for. Sleep in your car.
I have never seen a student in CS paying for a conference from his own pocket. If your work is part of your professor projects, he surely has research funds that pay for this kind of things. Yes, it's very important to go to conferences, specially in CS. But I would never go if I had to pay by myself. Also, it is not true that you need to go to conferences before publishing in a journal. If your paper is really good you can directly submit to a journal related to the field of research. Even if it's not accepted, you'll get feedback from the reviewers to improve your paper, and then you can try another journal.
By the way, checkout the latest (2/25/2011) phd comic, it's about conference payment: http://www.phdcomics.com/
I'm not sure about your particular conference, but in general the organizers make tons of money with it. I work for a major automotive OEM and they always invite us to talk at conferences and offer a special discount fee. When I mention that our company policy is never give a talk and pay for admission (it is true, not made up), they promptly give us free entry. If your presence is highly wanted, they often end up paying the overnight as well. They rarely pay for travel cost, but that one is ok.
So my point is that if you have something really interesting to show and the conference is somehow "massaged by marketing" rather than purely scientific, there are good chances that you can get some financial help.
Regarding being worth your time there have been many answers by others, and I consider them great advices so I won't repeat that.
I'd like to add that wasting two days is a very small price to pay, regardless of how bad it could end up being.
Good luck with your decision.
I have to second ren-n-stimpy's comment as someone who did NOT take advantage of such an opportunity, and further second that this might be your only chance to publish. Do it!
http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1432
No.
Networking is the usual answer, but you get better luck in an average bar in a hi tech area. Cheaper, too (unless you pull the "press pass" stunt).
Need Mercedes parts ?
These sorts of things are only good for people who are really interested in the subject matter. Since you have to ask the question, you're not that interested and therefore it would just be a waste of time for you.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Not really. CounterStrike is sort of an old game.
If the prof is a co-author they get credit where it counts most for them. If you're at a research school, publications may be the primary metric for their performance, teaching and graduating students only count if they are a serious problem of if the research is sub-par. As such, get the prof to pay for the trip. If the prof won't/can't pay check with the school. Many schools have travel grants for students in just this sort of situation. Finally if all else fails and you really just don't want to go, but you've done the research, make the prof present it. You still get the author credit.
I realize the value in having thesis work published but i don't really have the money to travel to Utah and stay for two nights. So i guess i am wondering, has anyone ever attended a conference of this nature and if so was it worth the time and money?"
No offense to the submitter, but personally I'd rather have him work on this grammatical skills before he went to a conference.
a. what does s/he things these advantages are. Possibly, you can slip in a "what's in for me" type of question, even if in a more subtle form.
b. given that your dilemma is also related to your ability to pay, you can ask a second question on how s/he this this can be approached/solved.
I mean, you are closer to the professor than you are to /., s/he knows your circumstances better and can resonate better with them than /. crowd (even more so as you are posting the question as an AC, so the very chances that someone here would know you are an immense zero).
Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
*Did they publish the abstracts in advance? Usually you can get a feel if a conference is worth it based on the topics to be presented. If there are a few papers that look interesting, I would say it's worth it.
*Are there any speakers of note? I have found getting the perspective of folks that have remained in the career field for a while to be invaluable. I may not agree with everything they say/so, but a lot of times there are some insights that help with my research, or at least give me an idea of a sub-specialty NOT to pursue.
*Expanding on the networking comments above, a lot of times the other presenters are available before/after their talks. I've make a lot of good connections that have helped me from an academic/professional perspective up to collaboration on projects. As a student, my advice is to use the opportunity to get a deeper understanding of topic areas you are interested in, if possible.
*Experience presenting: I emphasize this with all of the younger folks on my team. The ability to articulate your research will directly translate into more opportunities for research, and in some cases translate into funding. This sounds like it might be an opportunity to get some practice. Not all great computer scientists have that ability.
OTOH, if none of the above apply, see if they will be publishing the proceedings and get a copy. It's probably cheaper.
"Hey, I know what we're gonna do today." -- Phineas Flynn
I just finished my Ph.D. Every prof I've ever known... ever... has paid at least some, and usually all, of the travel expenses a student of theirs incurs for travelling to a conference. Why isn't yours paying?
Other than that, I agree with what other people said. It is good as an experience and for meeting people.
I am a bit suspicious of this conference, though. Most serious academic conferences have a specific theme, be it graphics or databases or whatever. This conference seems to be themeless. It may be a second or third or fourth tier conference.
While it is difficult for faculty at many institutions to find funding to attend conferences, it is possible that funding possibilities exist for students at your institution. Be sure to exhaust all university travel grants before you spend any of your own money. If there isn't an official program, ask your department for funding directly.
Is it worth going? Here is some logic.
go_to_conference = false;
if( you want to be an academic ) // assuming you want a job
{
if( the conference has people going who have published *good* journal papers )
{
go_to_conference = true;
}
else if( you are presenting a piece of work you are genuinely proud of )
{
go_to_conference = true;
}
}
else
{
if( this is the only way to get the paper accepted/published in proceedings && the paper is good )
{
go_to_conference = true;
}
}
In my experience, some conferences are really good and you setup a lot of useful connections and potential collaborations. Others are a complete waste of time, organised by people who just want the kudos of organising a conference. It is difficult to know before you go though...
I *absolutely* advise you to go!
Why? In short: experience, connections, fun. Please read on.
I was in exactly the same spot one year ago - just finished my undergraduate thesis, was able to publish it as a paper at ICSE conference and had to decide if I wanted to go. Also, I had the same money problems: ICSE 2010 was in Cape Town, South Africa, the whole trip summed up to well over 2000$.
For the money $$$: try to get some funding. Both ACM and IEEE (I guess your conference is part of one of those, right?) have funding programs exactly for these situations - young people who'd like to go to a conference and can not afford it. Myself I got a funding for 1500$ by ACM SIGSOFT (Special Interest Group for Software Engineering). The rest I could convince my professor to pay. Also I'm sure your University has some funding program, so make sure to check that out. (Apply for funding at a lot of different places, it is a lot easier to get funding if those people know they only have to pay you some small amount instead of the whole trip.)
The conference itself was great. You get a real look into the world of CS research. This will help you a lot in your decision if this is actually your future path. Also, the younger you are when you attend a conference, the more it impresses people. (Last year I was one of only a hand full of undergrad students at ICSE, people were quite impressed that I got there.) ... After the conference I was for example contacted by a recruiter from Google who asked me for an interview. It didn't work out in the end, but still, I was very happy that this happened and it shows how things can work out if you are confident and have a bit of luck.
At a conference you can collect a lot of 'weak links' - those those are the ones that will help you get jobs, research positions, funding,
Even if no such connections work out in the end, I am of the opinion that publishing at and attending a conference is a very valuable addition to your CV. It might have nothing to do with your future job, but still - you did serious work, you presented it in front of a lot of people - it shows that you are committed!
Last but not least, attending a conference can be a lot of fun. Grab the interesting people you meet over the day and go get dinner with em, hang out, booze up. It will be really refreshing, and of course further improve your chances of gaining good contacts that might at some point in your career be very helpful.
At the very, very most submit your paper. You can still decide not to go, but at least you will know if your paper would have been accepted, and you get some professional feedback from important research heads.
Hope this helps out - best of luck, .f
Should you go, or should you submit a paper?
These events, while they can be expensive are worthwhile for all the reasons above. However, submitting a paper is quite a few steps away from paying for flights, accommodation etc.
If you think you meet the brief outlined in the call for papers - my advice is to submit one. Especially if you have work that is already done and can be easily adapted. You need to be accepted. Possibly edited, then approved etc etc before you actually worry about getting there. Only once your work gets you that far should you worry. If it looks positive, see what your professor can help with. If you are asked to present at a conference, I would suggest you do everything you can to get there (often your conference attendance is free for presenters), so take advantage of the opportunity to show what you know and how good you are.
Of course, if your paper is not accepted then you don't normally need to attend, and you're only out of pocket your time, so what's the worry?
BTW, a conference publication isn't considered a "journal" publication, and doesn't confer the same status.
In most of CS, conference publications are actually more prestigious than journals. Top conferences such as PLDI, OOPSLA/Splash, Usenix ATC, ICSE and so on are highly selective, difficult to get into, and look very good on your CV (if you're pursuing an academic career). By contrast, journal articles tend to be published almost as an afterthought, years after anybody still cared about the research in question.
My apologies if this was already mentioned, but if this is for academic purposes, and you're still in school, I'm almost certain there are channels you can take advantage of to get reimbursed fully from the university. I went to 2 of these during my undergrad, and the only stipulation was that I acknowledged my school in the paper and presentation. Submitting material is key though; if you were just wanting to go without "marketing" your school in some way through a research paper or whatnot, then it might be more difficult to get reimbursed.
I am an academic (professor) in computer science. I wouldn't bother if I were you. These things are only worth going to if someone is paying for you, and even then, for a non-mainstream conference like this, it's questionable.
I wouldn't bother, even if you are going to grad school. (that's the only time it could be feasibly of benefit, and then only of small likelihood)
Is a publication worth it to an undergraduate, even if it's only published in the conference proceedings? Absolutely, for several reasons:
(1) You have the experience of writing and formatting a technical article.
(2) You have the experience of presenting your technical work in front of an audience.
(3) You get to meet new people in a completely different venue, and can potentially network with future employers and faculty from different universities.
(4) You can have a lot of fun sightseeing or touring the town after hours.
Keep in mind that if you are thinking about going to graduate school, you'll want to submit your work to an archival journal after the conference, as conference proceedings don't count for much in the hard-line academic world. For someone at your level, however, it's still a good experience even if you take a job immediately after graduation.
However, having said all of that - you should not be paying your own expenses. If your professor is pushing you to attend, then he or she should be willing to pay for it. Some schools also set aside money for students in your situation; check with the Dean's office and see if you can apply for a travel stipend.
Nowadays, conference registration fees plus travel plus hotel room plus meals can easily hit a couple of thousand dollars. That's a lot of money for a student to pay out of pocket. Yes, going to a conference is worthwhile, but (in my opinion) not that worthwhile. If your work is really that good, you can get most of the benefit at a tiny fraction of the cost by submitting it directly to a journal.
Get a bus ticket. Stay in a cheap motel or a hostel. You can afford this. Meeting people is always worth it if you do a small amount of work to maintain your connections. Why pass up an opportunity in this economy?
Put aside this particular conference. Ask yourself: if you were going to spend a thousand bucks on improving your job prospects, what would be the best use of that money? It's unlikely that this particular 2-day talk-fest would be the answer (unless it's *very* exclusive and your prof. is pulling some strings to get you in). In my real-world experience, conferences are basically just jollies. People are there either as a "reward" or recognition of something, since it's cheaper than a pay rise and comes from the training budget not the salary/bonus budget - or as a bribe if they're disaffected or missed out on the last couple of days away from work. In a few months time nobody who attended that conference will remember you - unless you present your paper naked. Whereas if you spend the same money wisely on other self-promotions or personal-improvement schemes they will last a lot longer.
politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
Conferences are great to meet people. Chances are you'll be offered some interesting job. Sometimes though people get overenthousiastic (either that or you end up speaking with the marketing guy), and the offer fades away in project management heaven. Even so realistically in my opinion, going to conferences pays itself in the long run.
Man, everyone says that if you are going enterprise then you should not, but if you are going to the academy, you should. A little before I graduated I had a paper in a conference, even though I knew I was going to the enterprise. It was fun writing It, a learned a lot while doing it, presenting it was absurdly frightening, but the overall experience was really fun.
Also, you do not know what you are going to do in the future. After 5 years working for big companies, I got really tired from that and decided to go for a master's degree. Again, it was the same kind of fun. In just finishing my dissertation, and still working on papers, even though I'm back in a company. Why? because I do not know what I will be doing In five years.
As was said before, the money seems a lot now, but it is not. Just go, you really have nothing to lose!
Having a publication distinguishes you from the thousands of other CS folks. As others have said, it is a good thing that stays with you the rest of your career.
It won't get you a job in its own right (usually), but it will help.
As others have suggested, try and get University funding. Or family to help (if they're able).
It may not be the most exciting experience, but it will be helpful for your career. And, who knows, it may be exciting and you might make excellent connections.
Good luck! I hope your University helps you out!
If he is submitting a paper for submission and it is accepted, won't he have more chance of getting funding from somewhere?
America, Home of the Brave.
I have to agree. While professionally I'm not in the CS field, I am an engineer with a major corporation. There are several reasons for going to the conference, even if you have no interest in graduate and post graduate work. If you are interested in academics after your current degree, having an early record of work can only help.
My company has set several criteria for promotion to the 'Technical Specialist" ranks, those positions higher than senior engineering positions on technical track that parallel's management. One of them is to have a certain number of publications. So there's one reason. A second reason is the confidence building it can do. I got involved a long time ago when I ionly had my Bachelor's, and realized I fully understood what all the PhDs were talking about. One year, when one presenter couldn't attend I found myself presenting their paper, and answering questions about it as if it was my own. While it wasn't my purpose, that alone, my ability to read, understand, present and defend another's work on less than 24 hour notice got me a job offer.
Obviously you can meet other people, which can be good for professional and personal reasons. What may be more important is the contact with ideas. Not just the papers presented, but things the varous 'sponsors' are showing, and the ideas that get talked about in groups. If nothing else, you'll be on the cutting edge.
All that said, yes, it will cost you money. Plan ahead, use the internet. I attended a conference in southern California, from the midwest, and it cost me under $1000 for 5 days. I had a room in a quaint motel a block from the beach, walking distance to several places of interest. Getting away from the ice and snow of January alone was almost worth it. The ideas were more than worth it.
Yes. You should definitely go.
The whole point of a conference is to expose yourself to people and ideas that you would not otherwise encounter. Will all the papers be great? No. Can you learn something for all of them. Yes.
I've never seen a paper presented at a conference that I didn't learn from (although some were negative examples). The sort of people who don't get anything out of a conference are the same people who complain about being laid off and unable to find a job in their mid-thirties.
From an academic perspective it is absolutely worth to publish and to attend conferences.
The goals as a researcher are to get known and to announce your work.
In CS you don't submit your work to journals (as in Biology or Physics or Math) but you present your work at conferences. At conferences you meet other people and you also have a chance to discuss new strategies and new ideas. CS is a very open field and it is hard to get in contact with other people. Conferences are venues where you meet the people that you collaborate with.
One true fact is that conferences are not really worth it if you only go for the talks. Most talks are bad and it is sometimes hart to understand the speaker at all. Additionally you can read the papers after the conference anyway. But at conferences you have all these coffee breaks and the other opportunities to meet other great people in your field.
So you should see conferences as a possibility to meet a potential future advisor or collaborator.
Look, this is ./. It is not important whether you post first or not, whether you post soon or late. What's important is that your comment is thoughtfully pondered; describes in painful detail some personal habit of yours nobody else cares about; and demonstrates thorough knowledge of some technology or process that most people are happily oblivious about, and is completely offtopic. Bonus points if you start a flamewar with it.
Mostly harmless.
Sorry, I was in it for the science and not for the soap opera.
And how in the name of Jebuz you expected to get science from a conference? I mean, seriously, think about. You are in a conference. They talk papers. You listen. Do you think in that short, one-way process you would actually *get* the science? Seriously man...
You go there to see who's who, to expand your current (or future) professional network (which you should independently of whether you are in school or not.) To explore possible peers in research and prospective employers. All in all, to do what any person with half a brain does: to actively cultivate your career.
Conferences, like education, are what you make out of them. That you think professional network in a soap opera, that speaks more about your attitude than your intellectual acumen. You can pull that kind of stuff and come on top if you are of Dijkstra caliber. Are you? If not, you better double-check some of science notions you have.
That type attitude towards career networking does not make you smarter or more scientifically-inclined, not one bit. And if that's how you approach opportunities to cultivate your education and career, there is a good chance your professional future is going to be full of blunders, made in haste for holding emotional views that aren't even that intellectual to begin with.
While you didn't explicitly state it, many others pointed out how you can use a conference to "make connections" to get a job. The whole "networking" deal really annoys me because generally, you're not going to be having enough time talking to anyone to actually show them how knowledgeable you are - so it pretty much boils down to getting a job because you spent some time ass kissing before you apply for a position. I'm aware it's not how it works in the real world, but I think people should be hired based on their ability to do the job, not to suck up to someone.
So going after a presenter, introduce yourself and genuinely and intelligently comment on his/her presentation (while exchanging credentials) is ass-kissing? Nice socials skills you got there buddy.
There is ass-kissing, and there is professional networking. Smart people know the difference between the two. And then there are the others, neatly divided in two groups: a) those who ass kiss when doing professional networking, and b) those who can't maturely do professional networking and thus assume the act involves (and is equal to) ass kissing (an assumption typically based on inexperience, arrogance and/or social incompetence.)
Dude, go. Meet people. Have a good time.
You have nothing to lose by attending, nothing at all. If you find it to be a waste of time after you go, don't go again if you don't want to. Life is about your experiences - if you're at home doing whatever it is you do normally, that's 1 less thing for you.
>> Having a publication is a very good thing for *your entire life*
Well, there's also the small matter of the drugs and groupies, but mostly you should go for the resume building.
This.
I was part of a Joint publication for two CS papers my last year of college with the CCSC (though I remember the S being for Small Colleges, though that may have changed since 2001). My small college reimbursed all of our travel and room expenses.
At the time it was well worth the trip, we got to demo an OS
Background: I'm an assistant professor at a well known institute. I have about 30 publications, including several at CCSC regional conferences.
CCSC conferences are a good opportunity for you to get some sense for what scholarly dissemination of results is about. The biggest gripe is that the faculty there are usually full time educators and really don't know quality. In contrast, if you go to the top OS conference, security conference, etc. you'll meet people who invented a lot of the things you've taken for granted.
That being said, I would say that you should attend (as ask about travel grants / room sharing) if you can. In fact, you should really present the work or at least present a poster on the work. It's great experience regardless of your career path.
Utah is pretty cheap. Do creative things to save $$. You can always find a hotel to stay in that is much cheaper than the conference hotel only a few blocks away. Find someone to share the room with you. As a grad student and post-doc I prided myself on how little money I spent going to conferences. Sometimes I would sleep on friends' couches if they lived in the city. So scrounge up a little money and go.
As noted above by many others, the conference is your opportunity to make contacts. Talk to people. Important points:
1. Practice your presentation or poster explanation. Appear excited and interested in your work. Science & tech are interesting, but potential employers and collaborators are also looking for people who obviously understand their work and can communicate it well.
2. Listen to other people's talks, read peoples' posters. Of the ones you find interesting, ask the people questions about their work. ("Hello, Mr./Ms./Dr. _________, my name is _______. I saw your talk about __________. I was wondering if/how/when ___________.") People are happy when others are interested in what they do, and potential employers and collaborators are impressed by someone who can understand their work well enough to ask a good question. Often you will ask dumb questions. Don't worry. Move on to the next person, there are hundreds of them there. Keep asking questions.
Academic research has spawned an entire ecosystem of publications, theses, journals, conferences, grants etc. In my experience a lot of academic research is not really solving any real problems, and is merely one of the forces in this ecosystem. That is, professors get their tenure by the strength of their publications, students get their degrees, and professors are awarded research grants by national agencies like the NSA on the basis of publications. Once you become a strong player in the ecosystem, viz. an established professor/researcher, you are also awarded the opportunity to review publications and you continue to propagate the ecosystem. The factors that determine the acceptance of a paper by a journal or a conference often is what the ecosystem thinks is a good problem addressed and marketed well in the write-up. Often times the problem is artificial and may or may not have any bearing to the real world. The journal and conference organizers are another part of the ecosystem. Their role is to derive monetary benefit from the system, by having universities buy their published articles, and researchers attend their conferences.
That said, there may be some value to this kind of research. Even if 5% of research produces something of great worth, perhaps the remaining 95% was well worth (until we come up with a more efficient way of investing tax-payer money). There are several great inventions and innovations that are the products of academic research. Without it, areas like mathematics, where the immediate real world applications are not obvious would not have thrived. The process of doing research does teach some essential analytical reasoning, writing, and technical skills. And it does help propagate the ecosystem which is additionally tasked with university education.
If you intend is to enter into academic research as a student or otherwise, presenting, attending and network at such conferences would be worth it (though you have to be careful; there are many spurious and low grade conferences in existence).
Just my 2 cents.
Your department is expecting you to attend a conference where you're presenting at your own expense? Buddy, you are in the wrong department, or at least you have the wrong adviser. Your research sponsor and/or department should have the money to finance and registration expenses. If they don't, they you have to start asking why the hell not.
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Absolutely, do it, because of what the parent poster says.
Also consider that getting jobs straight out of university can be tricky for CS graduates. They do get jobs, but it's not always easy, oftentimes because it seems like everyone only wants to hire people with at least 3 years of experience (there was a story about hiring expectations yesterday I think). From an employer's perspective, it's very hard to know which CS graduates are better. You'll have a much easier time if something sets your CV apart from the rest when you graduate. It can be that you won some scholarship, or are an important contributor to some opensource project. A conference publication is one of those things that can set you apart. As an added bonus, as others have said, you might make useful connections there.
As for money, find out if your uni is willing to cover at least part of the expenses. I'm frankly bewildered by the idea that they'd expect you to pay for the entire thing out of your pocket, though I realize the USA might be different given that education is very expensive there. Still, it's likely the uni does have some funds for such cases, but you may have to be a bit pushy. Talk to your professor, see if he can put the pressure on someone to pay you. This is out of experience - I once attended a fairly expensive CS conference abroad (short notice on my paper being accepted, so the flight was expensive), and it took some pushiness by my professor to have me reimbursed.
I'm going to go with some practical travel advice here and let all the prior posters cover the why/why not you should go.
Being a student on a budget I'm sure you've heard the old fashioned technique of surviving on ramen noodles. Well there can be some travel equivalents.
For lodging you can try hostels or try Couch Surfing. (I use couchsurfing personally and have had some great experiences).
For travel you can sometimes find good deals if it's within your country via bus or rail. There are also ride shares if you're feeling ballsy (though I never have). There are also quite a few discount airlines depending on where you're at. I've used Spirit Air which wasn't too bad. I think there are some actually geared towards students but may require memberships.
If you can combine some of these things while seeing funding assistance as some of the prior posters mention - you can probably make this happen for free/close to free.
So if traveling is your thing - consider some practical, though maybe slightly unconventional options. Life is meant to be lived. :)
Worth the time and money? Depends I guess. I just got back from a week-long CS conference and I think it was definitely worth the time and money, but then I can well afford both. Some people have said that conferences are only for networking, ass-kissing etc. I think conferences CAN be valuable for meeting people and making making connections with others. This could help you professionally or academically in the future. But that isn't all. Personally I got a lot intellectually out of the conference I just attended. But I work in academia and have 3 degrees (2 graduate degrees). I met people I could see myself collaborating with in the future, and learned about areas of research I was not well-informed about. If you are an undergrad and not thinking about doing any graduate work, perhaps you could give it a miss. But if you are, or are thinking about doing graduate work I think it could definitely be good for you. You can also ask if there is a registration fee reduction for students or low-income cases.
First, beware that your prof will also likely have his name on your paper and that adds to his CV, so his/her answer if you should go is skewed. But most important don't forget that the money you spend on travel to the conference can be a business expense - if you get 1099 income from consulting/awards/or maybe TA'ing, then this is a legitimate expense, and if you drive to the conference you might actually come ahead since IRS car expenses are now at about 50 cents/mile.
If your professor is recommending you go to a conference, I presume their name is on the paper as a 2nd author. So it'll be to their benefit as well if you go to present it. They and/or your university dept will have money allocated to a travel budget precisely for this kind of thing, and will also know of other sources of funding for students to go to conferences.
So the answer is: you need to talk to your professor about money, tell them you'd need funding for the trip and ask if they know of any. Indeed, it's quite possible your professor will say "But of course the dept will pay the expenses!".
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... but if you can schedule a trip to a conference in Las Vegas at the same time as the AVN convention, it's well worth the experience.
Have gnu, will travel.
Go, if you are a Grad Student you will probably be able to get funding for this trip.
I know when I went to Japan for a conference, the only thing I payed out of pocket was train tickets (essentially bus tickets) to and from the event and personal expenses (site seeing, food, etc.).
Crash on a couch for free... http://www.couchsurfing.org/
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I suppose this comment is unlikely to be read, however a ray of my divine martian wisdom may be able to beat through the dust clouds of the mediocre posts above, and per chance enlighten the author of the above question. In short, what is the alternative? If you are considering going, then you probably _can_ go. How else would you better spend that money? How else would you better spend your time? From what it sounds like, you really have no choice but to submit, and try going. Or even try to submit to a higher tier conference. If the school doesn't pay for it, the conference will likely provide a partial scholarship for you. Booking flights on Southwest can be cheap (~$250) so this question is moot (i.e., you've probably already decided on submitting and going). Finally the best part of going to a conference is not the people you meet, that is a stack of business cards and foggy recollections, nor is it the 'experience', or any of the rest of that crap. Its actually the last thing you'd expect: being exposed to cutting edge new ideas. By constantly surrounding yourself with bleeding edge CS research, you stand a much better chance of coming up with interesting ideas that other people will want to hear about.
I think you should go. However, I think you should pay for it on your own by sucking a bunch of cocks outside the convention. That way you will meet people and they will all remember you!
... your professor will be disappointed if you don't. B-b
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I can not stress how important going to conferences are. Not only are they huge amounts of fun if you are the right personality type but you also meet people with similar scientific interest, exchange contacts and establish new connections. Those things in life are of considerable value, much more so than say having a good thesis (unless it is revolutionary or something).
I suggest you take the advice of a group of unqualified strangers over that of a professor who is familiar with your work and goals.
(By unqualified, I mean anyone can post here. Sometimes that's a good thing. But in this case, you don't know if the person telling you conferences are worthless is a veteran of the subject with experience of scores of conferences or someone who has never left their parents' basement.)
The question you should be asking is, how do I find the money to attend the conference my professor is recommending?
And the answer is, many places have a deposit on cans and bottles. At the least you can sell metal and glass for scrap.
I hate the word networking. It's just a sweet-sounding corporate-speak for whoring.
Gotta agree here. To be successful, I think you need to manage two things:
1. Maximizing preparedness for opportunities when they are presented to you. (education, experience, etc)
2. Maximizing exposure to opportunities. (networking)
In most cases, success is primarily luck. Lots of people are as capable as those that become wildly successful. Luck is what differentiates the crazy success stories. But you have to play the game to get lucky (2). And you have to be prepared to execute when the opportunity is presented (1).
These types of conferences are typically quite expensive (disclaimer: I've never been to this one so no direct experience) - typically because they expect that you're going to be charging off the exorbitant registration fee, hotel room, etc, to your boss. If you're attending it as a freelancer, the out of pocket costs can be pretty high, and as a college student? I would never have been able to afford it without tapping into Mom & Dad's bank account, and I wouldn't have wanted to ask them.
Can you submit your paper this journal (or others) without having to attend the conference? That might be a good compromise.
You can email the conference organizers and ask them if they accept volunteers, and what are the benefits. Often you will have the conference fee waived and even free accommodation and/or food. And the volunteering tasks (such as working at an information desk part-time) generally allow you to attend most of the events and to have plenty of time for networking as well. I've done this at a CS conference in Europe and it was worth it, and also a lot of fun.
Publishing is worthwhile, if the paper is good. Actually going to a minor conference is marginal. I've published a modest number of papers, but only once in my career did I actually go to a conference to present the thing.
(I sent a paper to the MIT Spam Conference a few years ago and forgot about it. Two days before the conference, somebody calls me up to ask if I was going. Turns out they accepted the paper and expected me to show up. I didn't. The paper was still published.)
You're only at the call for papers right? If you send in an abstract, you may or may not be accepted. If you are accepted, most universities and conferences have travel grants that you can apply for, especially if this is your first conference.
If you can't scrape together funding your PI will probably have to present it, but you'll still be a published scientist.
and if you do go, you'll get to meet a bunch of people with similar interests, talk to company reps and hear about the cutting edge 6mo before it comes out in journals.
Some confs allow student volunteers to attend "non-full" session when not working. Be prepared to talk to people, make contacts, and do all that networking stuff. If your not going to do that, I think your money would be better spent elsewhere.
I'm assuming you're an undergrad, otherwise you would know enough about going to conferences. As an undergrad, getting even one publication goes a LONG way towards getting into grad school. As noted by others, incremental work in computer science is published in conference proceedings. Some conferences are very prestigious and hard to get into, or focus on a very specific topic, others are more open to a wider range of topics and aren't as selective. Be careful of some of the "junk" conferences which seemingly only exist to get junk worked published in some form. Once you have a few publications, expect at least 1 junk conference spam email per day, such as "Your paper has been accepted to XXX" even though you didn't submit to anything. Aside from meeting people, going to conferences gives you a chance to see what other people are doing as they present it. You can ask questions and gather more insight out of it than just reading the same research on paper. You can go talk with people and discuss your ideas, and maybe find new collaborators.
I have yet to meet those people after being in various software jobs for 15 years.
The main reason to attend these things is to meet people
If conferences were good places to find a (new) job, do you really think employers would let their staff go - unless they were trying to get rid of them?
Further, if conferences were good places to network, make contacts, find leads and get yourself known they would be full of recruitment agents pimping for business. They'd also be full of managers trying the "pull" the best people to fill their vacancies.
In fact, most conferences are attended by workers who will not be missed for a few days or a week. That's why they're not chock-full of employers trying to spot talent - the talent already has a job and is far too valuable to let go for that period of time. Same reason recruiters don't attend: experience shows they can get better results in other ways.
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1) Publishing is a good thing. It brings serious cred.
2) On the other hand, what the heck is the CCSC? If you are a CS major and have actual research to publish, I'd shoot for a "real conference" by ACM, IEEE, SIGGRAPH, or the like.
3) Be prepared for potential paper rejection, because it is a fact of life.
4) If you want to go to a conference, make it one where you might meet faculty of graduate programs you are interested in, or possibly the kind of people in industry you want to be in.
5) Many conferences need student volunteers, a good thing to do to mix/mingle/learn even if you don't submit a paper.
6) Look for youth hostels (always found in major cities), or couchsurfing.org. Or try to split a room with someone, go to Kayak.com and look for the cheapest hotel in the area, Motel 6 or Super 8 is often under $50/night. Take a bus rather than plane, a great opportunity to catch up on reading/programming and cheaper.
Some conferences will reimburse you. Look for one for this conference. Look for student grants and scholarship. Ask around your department. Talk to your adviser. "Pass around the hat" in your department. Put an ad up on craigs list. Sell something. Get a credit card. Do something, anything BUT GO!. Even if you do not go into academia it looks *very* good on a resume.
putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
If you can get published it will help you land the job you want in the computer field.
1) It distinguishes you from a pack of other graduates.
2) You can network with people who can get you jobs.
3) The other people at the conference can broaden your experience base in the field.
4) If you get published, it a point of recognition which employers like noting when hiring and promoting top notch talent.
If you need to take a loan to do it, do it. It will pay itself back 10 fold in the long run.
Attending a conference (computer science or otherwise) doesn't mean much. You get to travel, stay at a fancy hotel (or a youth hostel if your university is poor) and present things. So what! There's that extra line on your CV.
It's worth it, though, if the people attending the conference are experts and you manage to discuss with them. Or if others see your work and build on it. Or if your work gets cited a lot as a result of attending the conference. Or if you manage to start an exciting joint research project. I've been to about 50 conferences so far and have published over 100 papers and the good ones are really worth it.
I'm not so sure about CCSC, though. Beyond that, I'm not a big fan of PhD conferences or sessions. If the work is good, everyone will want to hear it, so it'll be featured in the main conference anyway. If it isn't, having a special session won't help you.
He's going to Utah. No drinking, no sex, strong religious message.
A local radio station (rock/alternative) occasionally organizes ski trips to Utah. Experience tells me you are wrong on all three counts. About the only noteworthy thing was that at a club they didn't allow any slamming in the pit in front of the band. When a couple of guys started a sheriffs' deputy walked over and told them to stop. They said OK, he thanked them and walked away.
Sure its not the debauchery of vegas but that was of OK. It was a ski trip and being completely f'd up the next day would have been counterproductive.
Stay in SLC close to the TRAX (light rail) line. Then take TRAX to the Sandy Civic Center, then the 811 or 817 buses down to UVU. When the conference is over at the end of the day you can take the same bus back up. Your commute time will be longer than if you stayed in Utah Valley, but it will be cheaper and the TRAX line will give you access to downtown SLC - which is necessary if you want to have any real selection in bars/pubs. You should be able to find a cheap hotel close to TRAX.
Yes, the beer is watered down. I am sorry. If you are looking for a good bar, may I recommend Gracie's or Poplar (both downtown SLC).
I finished my CS PhD a few years ago. Your professor should be paying for you if you're presenting a paper where his name is a co-author. He should have the funds to pay for the whole trip. If that's not possible, each conference usually has a "student travel grant" that you can apply for. If that's still not the case, then conferences sometimes have "student volunteer grants" where you work as a student volunteer, handing out brochures and conference programs.
Here's a list of CS labs in the United States:
That's off the top of my head.
Disclaimer: I have a PhD doing research work at one of the above places.
If your main concern about attending the conference is a financial one, you should check with the conference organizers to see if they offer student travel and hotel support.
I'm a former academic who has attended tons of big and small conferences and workshops.
If you're going to industry, then go for the networking. If you're going into research, then go for the mind-expanding presentations and discussions. I remember being really jazzed after talking to people about research and listening to some great talks. If it's a multi-track conference, talk to someone who knows the presenters you should listen to--that's more important that trying to figure it out from the titles and abstracts. And don't be shy!
One thing though.... Not all conferences are equally good. I've never heard of CCSC. It might be good and I'm just ignorant. But if you're going to spend scarce dollars, you want to pick the best conference you can get your paper into, and perhaps not go at all if the best conference isn't worth your time and money.
I agree with what others said about getting funding. Our local CS student chapter had funding, the university had funding, and sometimes the conference will fund students.
No, they're not worth going to. Do it from the web.
My secret anti-spam word for this post was "commute"
You should definitely submit your paper to the conference. If it's selected, you can decide if you can go to read. In fact, if you're inclined to get the credit for having it read, you can accept the lecture spot and cancel it later, and you'll still get the paper printed into the conference journal. You could even have a friend who is attending read in your place, saving you the expense of going.
But getting a journal credit and a conference credit is key if you're going in academics and it helps on any CV/resume, so try to accomplish that and don't worry about whether to go physically so much.
As others have pointed out, being physically there comes down to whether there are people at the conference that you want to meet, or if there will be people at the conference who you think will want to meet you after you read your paper..
Some conferences are good, and some are mostly unfiltered junk. The junk conferences tend to have worse networking, less interesting content, and generally much less value. Good conferences are very important venues for scientific exchange, networking and hunting down new ideas and trends
Low quality conferences can either been more social, local events, or even money grabs by the organizers. I believe CCSC is a local "unfiltered" conference that is a social event, but not a really high-value scientific exchange meeting. Such lower profile meetings can be a useful warmup to bigger events.
If the prof suggests you to submit a conference paper, he should cover the costs of your trip, period. This is reasonable and here is how it works in the academia: prof's name is in the author list > he has one more publication in his CV and his current grant report > when he's applying for a grant in the future, better chance to get it. For any decent grant, conference expenses are a footnote. Thus it definitely makes sense for the prof to fly you there if a publication comes out as the result.
As for your own sake, do this of course (if the prof or university pays). This is fun, useful, you get to see what a conference is like, will listen to talks on diverse topics and get stunned by how littlle you know and understand yet, etc. This is a good item on your CV too, except you should not pay for it (disclaimer: I am from socialist Europe.)
17779 eligible voters in a district, 17779 'vote' as one. This is Russia.
+1 to that - I run an IT consultancy - when I see someone with a published paper on their CV I know that they've actually done something worth talking about, as opposed to just getting their coursework done. I would argue this will give you a strong competitive edge when looking for _any_ jobs when you graduate, not just restricted to academia.
That said - you should try to get the university to cover at least some of your costs.
Do a bit of math: how much did your studies cost over the last 20 or so years? how much salary will you make over the next 40 or so years?
Attending that conference would cost you less than 1000 dollars I'm sure, and if it can get you a career boost of 1%, you're looking at maybe 20 000 dollars more over the next 40 years. Not bad return on investment!
I doubt that your adviser would have brought it up if he or she did not think that you have a shot. If your paper is accepted, you probably will have to look in to scholarships, but regardless of what happens, you'll probably be able to travel to and attend the conference for free. But, the main thing that you would get out of a successful paper submission isn't the conference trip but the publication. Some slashdot readers seem to think that publications only matter if you want to go to grad school, but I think a publication is probably worth more if you want to go straight from college to a tech company.
Find the nearest University or college and ask if the student union there or dorm will allow you to stay there for a nominal cost. Or contact the CS dept. and ask some student to volunteer to host you. You agree to reciprocate to that student at your place. Call YMCA or some thing like that to stay for the two or three days when you will present your paper. When there is a will, there is a way. Same thinking for finding a ride to the city from your place by asking your school bulletin board to help you.
Definitely go, I went to an undergrad Physics conference and loved the experience. You should look into Couch surfing, I bet there are a lot of people who live in Utah willing to put you up.... They're generally pretty friendly in Utah, I should know, I live here.
Any papers accepted for presentation at a CCSC conference and publication in the CCSC Journal have been approved through a double-blind reviewing process. They will appear in the ACM Digital Library. By all means, submit your paper, learn from the reviews, and plan to attend and present if your paper is accepted. It's a good way to start an academic record while also providing an excellent networking opportunity. At least one author is required to register to attend and present the paper. Regional conferences of CCSC (the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges) are listed together with their conference information at www.ccsc.org. There is also a "Contact Us" link for obtaining further information. Each of the ten regional conferences runs Friday afternoon through Saturday noon in order to keep costs down for academics with limited (or no) travel budgets. Registration fees are low and include meals and a year's membership in the Consortium.
To find out more about the nature of CCSC conferences, look at papers from previous conferences either from ccsc.org or from the ACM Digital Library. Each issue of the Journal holds papers accepted for one or two regional conferences and the front matter should include the acceptance rate (typically 50-60%). The emphasis is more toward CS education.
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