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?"

Comments

appy for travel funding

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Re:Depends

[mad_clown]

I'm not in CS, but I agree with MrEricSir. Not only is presenting at a conference a big confidence booster, but it can also open up a lot of doors for you if you impress the right folks with your presentation. I watched a colleague present a paper at a conference last year only to seem him be approached afterwards by no less than three different people giving him contact information for potential job opportunities in the non-profit international law sector.

Again, that's a pretty long way from CS, but it's probably more common than you think.

Find the money and go to Utah. Maybe try to find a pertinent mailing list and see if there are other people who're in a similar boat who'd like to split the cost of a room with you. Depending on how big the conference is, it might be fairly easy to find someone.