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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?"
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."
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.
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.
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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.
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.
In that case you've missed out on the whole real reason for going to them; the chance to meet up with and talk with other folks in your field. It's rare that a conference is truly worth it for the talks — there are exceptions, but they're really unusual — and it's better to read the proceedings in your own time, but being able to find out what's really going on, hear the latest gossip, associate a face and manner with someone you've corresponded with, and perhaps have a party too, well, that's all really worthwhile.
It's a primate thing I suspect, but while chimps go in for mutual grooming, researchers have conferences.
"Little does he know, but there is no 'I' in 'Idiot'!"
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.
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.
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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.
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!
This is the "Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges". It will be a very broad event, I suspect. That is why a researcher, like the AC here, will not find it very useful, but a Senior undergraduate would find it more interesting. (They have not yet delved deeply into a particular field.) That is exactly the reason that I think it would be good for the Ask Slashdot questioner to attend.
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That would be "substantially all conferences." Unless you're an invited speaker at a truly major conference, e.g., the after-lunch or after-dinner speaker, or maybe the keynote speaker opening the conference, you won't be getting any of your expenses paid by the conference. The economics don't support it: Most conferences are actually closer to workshops, in that a substantial fraction of the attendees are also presenting papers. Paying for each others' travel would only raise the conference registration fees to unacceptable levels, and guarantee that no non-presenter would be able to attend.
*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 *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.
I have got all my jobs after my PhD from people i meet at conferences. I didn't kiss arse, i was "me" both with respect to the social activities and the professional talks/work. I know my field so when i meet people I generally know what they have done, otherwise i just ask and we talk "shop". It is not hard to work out who will be a good boss and who will not, if what they work on is interesting or not. Also they quickly work out if you are going to be a good post doc or not.
Now when you apply for a position you are not just a name on a pile. It really makes a big difference.
The Grey Goo disaster happened 3 billion years ago. This rock is covered in self replicating machines!
No.
AC is completely right, but the answer is too short. Here is the long answer:
No, but as a professional computer scientist you need to go to conferences because it's part of your job.
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.
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On the social stuff make sure that you are dressed as best you can since you don't know how deep the "networking" may get.
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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.
No, but as a professional computer scientist you need to go to conferences because it's part of your job.
You're right too but your answer is too short. As a professional computer scientist you need to go to conferences because your employer is giving you an excuse to go on an all expenses jolly and skip off work for a few days.
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.
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.
So it's more like being stuck in a cheap hotel in the middle of a desert and paying twice as much for all your meals.
"I assumed blithely that there were no elves out there in the darkness"
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.)
>> 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.
And the next time you're in the 17th century, you can do science by yourself. For those of us in the 21st, science typically involves collaboration, and if you want to collaborate with the people who are at the top of your field then you need to actually talk to them. Conferences are a good place for doing this.
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No.
AC is completely right, but the answer is too short. Here is the long answer:
No, but as a professional computer scientist you need to go to conferences because it's part of your job.
What's a 'professional' computer scientist? PARC and Bell Labs are long gone, and I know of no places that actually employ people to do CS work these days. And as a student, I'd hardly call him a professional. It's not like he's getting paid..
mod insightful
Most card carrying Computer Scientists are actually Computer Practitioners, while the real Computer Scientists hide amongst the Mathematicians. You can only tell them apart by their haircuts.
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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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Almost every major software firm I've worked at has at least some computer scientists doing research. When I worked at Adobe for instance - they had quite a few.
There are plenty of science labs, just not among short-sighted, quarterly profit-focused companies. Find a tech company that's in it for the long haul, and there you'll find CS jobs. There are also many government labs that that actively seek CSs.
Says the unemployed socially inept man living in mommies basement.
You don't go to the conference to 'learn' anything about technology, but there is plenty of learning that goes on there.
You go to these conferences so you can meet other people in your field in a relaxed environment. Its kind of like making business deals on the golf course. You go out with random people you meet there, have a drink, get relaxed, find out what you have in common, make a connection with someone that may one day say 'hey, I know this guy who would be GREAT for that position'.
This is REAL social networking, and THAT is why you go.
You'll learn rather quickly that you're far more likely to get a job that you want because you know a guy already on the team than you are to get a job when you just submit your resume to HR.
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He's going to Utah. No drinking, no sex, strong religious message. It's kind of like your employer giving you an all expenses paid trip to a convent.
Let me reply with "Yes."
Here's why, it may not seem like much. But this is all shit you can put on your resume or CV or whatever you call it. If it's related to your field, people find it interesting that you use your free time to better yourself by going to conferences, or doing things to expand your knowledge. This is important stuff if you want to find a job, well anywhere these days. Unless of course you're at the top of your class. Then it really doesn't matter.
In my case, the 5 pages of public events/volunteer work/law seminars were very important to my employer, it showed that not only was I doing things on my own time. But I was doing things and accepting different PoV's on various legal issues.
Om, nomnomnom...
As a professional computer scientist you need to go to conferences because your employer is giving you an excuse to go on an all expenses jolly and skip off work for a few days.
You are correct. That is why companies don't send the employees to CS conferences. The employees need to work. Instead, they send the managers to the CS conferences, where they have a good time on the company tab, and come back having learned nothing because the conference was geared toward CS professionals, not managers.
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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.
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.)
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