Dave,
A little late responding, as I have been busy at various customers
doing my third i5/OS upgrade this week.
COMMON is certainly worth the cost of the conference on the
education alone. There are sessions for almost everything you are thinking
or not thinking of doing on your iSeries. While most of the sessions are
programmer oriented, and when you break down the attendees there are
probably more programmers than everyone else, so that is fair. But there is
always at least 2 or 3 sessions an hour that I want to go to as a System
Administrator. I have been going to COMMON since 1989, and I can truly say
that I learn just as much now as I have learned then.
With each new release there is so much more functions and
functionality, that you never get a chance to explore things at your shop.
The sessions give you great insight into what's happening, and how to
implement these new features and function. You also have the vendor expo
where you can learn about new vendor packages and see the new IBM hardware.
How often do you get to talk to the guy who is responsible for an IBM
product and ask him/her questions about why? I have found the IBMers to be
very straight forward as well while at COMMON.
Then there is the networking capability, that can't even be measured
in dollars. This is where the value of COMMON goes right off the scale.
You make friends with IBMers, Speakers, and industry experts who are willing
to talk one on one and in groups. Sometimes I truly think that the
education that I get out of the classroom is equal to if not more than what
I get inside the classroom. In CUDs and in the halls you can talk with the
speakers and they are always happy to assist you, give you their email
address for following up with, and discuss issues that you may have. Also
at CUDs sometimes you hear others discussing an issue that you don't
presently have, but it seems 2 months later you are faced with that same
situation and remember the conversation at the table.
Most new people don't take part as much as they should in the
networking aspect of COMMON, but I have found everyone to be exceptionally
friendly. Everyone remembers their first COMMON, and is always willing to
help someone else out. Volunteering is also a great way to get introduced
to people, and learn the ins and outs of the organization. Make sure they
go to the first timers session, and the first times social. Trevor does a
great job telling everyone about the conference.
Don't forget the value of the LABs as well. As a System Admin you
might not have a sandbox to play in, but the Labs can give you hands-on
experience in implementing new technology, or even reinforce the lecture
class that you had just previously attended.
I think that I have gotten a lot out of COMMON both technically and
professionally over the years, and it's always an exciting first day meeting
old friends and catching up. As I look at my cell phone, I am amazed at how
many phone numbers of industry experts that I have in there. All of them
willing to take a call and answer a question.
I have said for some time, don't look at the cost to attend the
conference, look at the value that you receive in making an investment in
yourself. COMMON increases my knowledge, so that I have more to offer my
customers and that in turn increases the number of hours that I can bill out
in a year.
COMMON isn't just for newbies either, most of the people that I
write the iSeries System Admin and other Technical Certifications with are
at the conference both speaking and attending sessions.
Pete
Pete Massiello
iTech Solutions
http://www.itechsol.com
-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Dave Odom
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2009 3:29 PM
To: midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: A user/admin asks if COMMON is worth it
This came from an application admin/system admin on a vendor's forum. What
should I tell her? The vendor, of course, has their own yearly big confab
but this person actually looks like they might like to look into the real
world. What say you all?
I would like to have some feedback from anyone who has attended the
COMMON conference. Is it worth attending if someone wants to learn
more about iSeries operations/programming/administration? I went to
the website to see what type of sessions were being offered for the
COMMON Annual Conference and Exposition in April, but couldn't find
descriptions or even a list of any of the sessions being offered.
midrange.com
