Zend, MySQL, Java, etc conference prices = :(
you know. i love tech conferences. really. i like the meet-n-greets, breakfast buffets, seminars, key-notes, workshops, after-conference parties, and whatnot. plus, typically, there’s traveling involved, which i also love. there is so much going on and so many interactions. even sitting in a seminar, you can sit there and tweet the entire event with other tweeps and share experiences both in-room and online. i do have one complaint about them though. their prices are almost universally too high.
i’ve been to a handful of these conferences. not a *lot* of them - just a handful - but enough, i feel, to have a fair understanding of them and their goings on. enough to write this blog entry about them. enough to comfortably say to those that have asked that, yes, think they are worth the time commitment, cost, and [often] temporary separation from family because of the travel. i’ve been to enough of them to be able to comfortably say that a truly interested person, no matter their skill level or experience, can glean some really useful info out of them that will make them a more valuable asset to their given field. in fact, i feel perfectly comfortable in saying that if someone didn’t get anything useful and valuable out of these, that said went into it with the wrong mindset or preconceived notion on what to expect. either that, or they were trying too hard at the evenings’ rockstar jam sessions or meet-n-greets that are often open bar.
really, the cost of these conferences are so high though! i mean, i understand that they cost a lot of money to organize and that the organizers need to recoup their expenses, plus make a little on the top to make it worth their while. i do understand all that. no worries there. noted, appreciated, and even accounted for during the “consideration” stage of this post. even so, taking all of that into consideration, i still stand by my complaint. the cost of these seems higher than they should be. especially during these trying economic times.
i mean, it’s hard enough to get a lot of companies interested enough in footing the bill for one or two of these during the best of peaks in profit. i know a lot of companies that take the stance that, if their employees love what they do so much, then they should keep current “enough” on their own time. that even paying for non-specific r&d, during company hours, is too much for an employee to ask for. imagine getting one of those types of companies to agree to the expense involved with paying for a conference! no way! that’s like a double-whammy to the employer. not only are they being asked to open the coffers for the experience, but also to let you actually take the time to attend the sessions with little-to-no interruptions. no work getting done during that week, no sir. then there are people, like me, that understand the company they work for - often a small start up - just isn’t in a position of pay for such an event.
imagine me, or someone like me, considering paying for the conference them self. for most people that consideration quickly comes to a halt when they start to crunch the numbers. here’s a run down of some pricing for a few web-technology specific conferences [note that pricing shown is approximate. if anyone has actual pricing, i’d love a comment clarifying]:
$1500 - mysql 2009 - santa clara, california
$1500 - zendcon 2009 - san jose, california
$2000 - java one - san francisco, california
and those are just the sticker prices for attendance. that does not include lodging, nourishment, travel, nor extraneous entertainment expenses. factor in the other stuff, just mentioned, and you are looking at an absolute minimum cost of approximately $2500 which makes 2 assimptions: [1] that you have to travel to go, which is most likely the case, and [2] that you go on the ultra-cheap! more likely, the cost would be nearer the $3000+ price tag. i know i don’t have the annual personal budget balanced well enough to spring that a few times a year. if you do, feel happy about that [and let me know your secrets]. In my geographic area, there is one notable exception to this, but I’ll write a separate blog about that as this one is getting too long for you internet-attention-span types.
so, going back to my original complaint: these extremely valuable tools cost too much for a ton of people. i’m sure that the brains behind these organizations could storm-up a viable method for reducing the price to a level that would make it more accessible, but, to-date, i don’t think there’s been the motivation to try. maybe they will find a necessity in giving it a go during these fiscally challenged times.
