Is Attending a CS Conference Worth the Time? 244
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?"
Depends (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
If your work gets published... (Score:2, Insightful)
...The least your campus can do is send you to the conference, all fees inclusive.
Re:Depends (Score:4, Insightful)
What it should come down to is this...
If you feel that after reviewing the schedule for the conference that it has topics that you would be interested in, you should seriously consider attending.
At a minimum, you will be able to network with prospective employers, as well as those who are in your particular field to see whether you actually have any intrest in proceeding down your chosen career path.
Depends... (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
What are you planning on doing next? (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Are you kidding? Go! (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:Are you kidding? Go! (Score:5, Insightful)
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!
Re:No. (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Better ways to invest $1k in your career (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Depends... (Score:4, Insightful)
This is incorrect for most of Computer Science.
Citeseer has rankings [psu.edu] of publication venues for CS. All the top venues are conferences. BTW, the same is not true for Electronic Engineering though - in EE, journals carry more weight. This is always a bone of contention in fields that span both CS and EE.
Of course there are also plenty of useless conferences in CS, where no-one will ever read your paper, and you won't meet anyone interesting if you attend. The impact rating serve as a rough guide to where is likely to be interesting, but they're no good for new venues.
My citation count is currently around 25,000 according to Google Scholar or 7000 according to Citeseer, which uses a different methodology. So I'm probably doing something right. But I'm not in the top 100 most cited authors, so this also shows that there must be an awful lot of publications appearing somewhere. Have to assume most of those are rarely read.
Re:Dude, go! (Score:5, Insightful)
This is the most sage comment thus far. I would add the following to it.
Every single successful academician that I know -- and I mean every single one -- went to lots of conferences when they were young. Most still go to conferences, but typically become more selective as they become more successful. Since I'm fortunate enough to have made it to upper-end institutions, that biases my sample, but the correlation is still 100%.
When I was young, my professor didn't have much of a travel budget. Hell, until I became the head of a lab, none of my supervisors had much of a travel budget. I typically was able to get funding, often just partial, for one domestic US conference per year. I like to travel, so I spent my own money, even going into debt, to attend one or two other conferences per year as well, usually one in Europe and one somewhere in the US. I got to meet many, many people. Giving presentations at these conferences was important in developing my communication skills. As a result, I now get four or five invitations to speak at international conferences per year.
And that's arguably the second most important reason for going to a conference, after networking. As a scientist, assuming you are thinking of the academic track, you have to sell yourself and your research. Only a very small handful of scientists ever do anything so remarkable that they become famous just for that one thing. Most of the rest become well-known because of hard work at becoming well-known. That includes doing good work, but it also, importantly, involves building a reputation for good work. Reputations are built upon interactions that display skill and knowledge. You, as a scientist, are building a brand -- of yourself. Being able to communicate well, and having the skill to do so, is a vital part of that. Attending conferences, with the necessary preparations, works on those skills.
Going to a conference to present work is not just taking a mini-vacation. Unless you want to waste your time and money. It involves writing a carefully-thought-out presentation, creating good slides or a poster, and practicing over and over again until you can do it in your sleep. You will find, at conferences, that most people do not do this, and the difference between a good presentation and a poor one is not just striking, but feeds back into all of the issues above, including reputation. You should reserve about a week to create your presentation, be it a slide or poster, and then several days to practice it. Give it to colleagues and friends, and tell them to be brutal. Take their feedback to heart. Re-write. Give another practice talk. Repeat.
Are conferences worthwhile? Absolutely. Will you see the results right away? Probably not.
Re:First! (Score:4, Insightful)
nice social concepts you got there buddy (Score:4, Insightful)
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.)
Re:nice social concepts you got there buddy (Score:2, Insightful)
Forgot to address this in my other comment:
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.
If you're doing it for the purpose of trying to get a contact "on the inside" to help you get hired, then yes, it absolutely is. If you went up, said hi, made an insightful comment just for the sake of making the comment, and then they were impressed and said "Hey, you seem bright - I'd like to talk to you more. Got a card?", then it's not ass kissing.
It's more about intent than actual actions.
Re:No. (Score:5, Insightful)
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..