It’s the Sunday following Data:Scotland conference for 2024 and I’m still thinking about what a great day it was. From a personal perspective, I was involved as a speaker and volunteer so it was a very full day.
Volunteering
Volunteering is great, you get to meet loads of people and you do make a big difference to the smooth running of the day. I worked on the registration desk, which is something I do most years and I was room monitor for 4 amazing sessions.
- Johan Ludwig Bratas: An introduction to Snowflake – the data cloud
- Brian Bønk: Know the game you are in and you will not win
- Chris Webb: Power BI Coplilot Deep Dive
- Jamie McLaughlin: Don’t serve the data, serve the business
Speaking
I was on first thing with my talk which was called: The Individual Contributor – How to progress your career without going into management. I have to say I was absolutely gobsmacked to have a full room, not only that but we had to turn away some people due to fire regulations. I genuinely expected only a smattering of attendees so I’m very grateful to everyone who came. And I hope it was of some value.
For those who missed it, I have made a very abridged version and stuck it on my YouTube channel. For the video, I’ve focussed on the specifics of going from an associate to a mid level engineer. I plan to follow up with another on making the next transition to senior engineer, and what is required.
Colleagues old and new
I met loads of colleagues and friends, old and new and always enjoy a catchup. Lunch was fantastic so well done to the organisers and the venue. Those of us who were speaking attended a dinner on the Thursday night, and it was a welcome opportunity to catch up, and for some of them to try haggis on a pizza for the first time.
Data:Scotland conference 2025
I’ll be back in 2025 in whatever capacity I’m needed. I’m sure they will be looking for volunteers so if you think you’d like to do this and have any questions, please feel free to message me on LinkedIn.
Photos
Photo credits: Mikey Bronowski
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