Conference Ends

Quick last post about PyCon 2025.  I'm definitely headed back in the future.  The networking opportunity and genuine connections made at every table make it the best conference I have attended.

I just finished up my Data Structures class at Oregon State and am going to be taking the summer quarter off to concentrate on my job search.  

I'm also going to buckle into my portfolio and try to get a few finished projects online.  

PyCon inspiration

One thing going to PyCon did for me was to really inspire doing some work on my own.  

I'm taking a quarter off from classes at OSU and going to concentrate on my job search and building out a few small web apps for my portfolio.

Listening to so many people who got into using python through sheer luck is such a great motivator.  It reminds me that we can take the time we need to learn what we need.

There was also a very grounded sense of use around A.I. and the outlandish claims being made by the technocrats.  Everyone I met was very knowledgeable about how machine learning could help us, but never replace us.  

PyCon First Timer

It's been an interesting run since the pandemic started.  Hard to convince myself that large in person meetups are worth it, but PyCon was actually quite easy to dive into.  

My fellow attendees and the staff were helpful and full of pride for being there, creating an atmosphere full of acceptance and excitement.  I even signed up for a few volunteer shifts at the registration desk thanks to how good I felt.  

I'll get into specific talks I attended next week, but I'm still riding the high from the conference even now two weeks later.

PyCon US 2025

I attended PyCon in Pittsburgh PA this past week and it was a great time. Beyond all the great talks and speakers there was a huge sense of community that I came across the entire weekend. 

Comparing to other conferences I have attended PyCon really sticks out.  Every conversation I got to have over lunch or in the hallway was uplifting and really showcased the diversity of the language and the people using it.  

I also had a few "celebrity" encounters, breakfast with Bruce Eckel, a nice chat with Al Sweigart over OCR packages, and even got to say hello to Dawn Gibson-Wages and talk current state of the industry.

My next few posts will be about the conference in greater detail.