PyconUS is a conference that has a multitude of activities and events for python users of all skills and interest.

It would be physically impossible to do it all. So this is my reflection about doing a little bit of each.

A good way to learn is to learn by doing, and there are lots of opportunities to do such at PyconUS. The tutorial I took provided an insight of building a RAG, the learning experience was enjoyable and having a chance to program in a group is always an interesting experience.

This is a good day to bring your laptop.

There are Summits, think about them like a big all day thing with a group of people who are just as interested in that thing as you are.

I chose the education summit to learn how other educators were using and working with python.

This also led to an opportunity to provide a talk, where I got to connect with other educators and build new connections. You can participate with this talk by cloning this git repo here

Sponsor Presentations are a great chance to hear about what is happening in the Industry at large.

Along with learning their tools, software and meeting other people who are also interested in that specific thing that you are too.

And there are talks, this year, there were Charlas, in Spanish about Python.

An AI track, and beyond just here are llms, but how people leverage science, tools and components that users of python can make use of.

There was a security track, with much to learn it's important to stay aware, understanding how to make something actionable for other people is a key component and learning how people secure certain things, their techniques and best practices really can improve not only your understanding but improve your own skills and awareness.

So how do you make decisions with so many choices?

You're probably thinking I want to do them all. But I'm here to offer a different perspective.

One big thing, each day.

One smaller thing each day.

The conference hall is massive and moving about it requires time, with multiple levels one has to sort of think about how much ping pong you want to do on your feet.

Using the pyconus app I was able to add events to my calendar, and plan what made the most sense. I had the room, and the time this let me plan when I had to walk across the conference hall, this is an important consideration for me. It also gave me to go and enjoy parts of the local community.

Mind you there are also many more things to do at pyconUS - that we haven't covered yet.

There are still open spaces and lightning talks, and keynotes! Oh don't forget Sprints.

After the Education summit I learned about other events that were interesting to me, because I wanted to connect with this specific group of people. Choosing one big and one small let me also plan enough time to also be present in those spaces.

I also planned break times, this allowed me to have time to wind down and reflect about what I learned.

These times were important, because they also let me re-assess what else might be announced at either an open space or a lightning talk.

Bringing your laptop on these days in my experience made no sense.

Because it was more about connecting with people, next time I wont lug it around.

I often found that I did not want to immediately use a laptop after a talk, additionally I was missing a cable for my preferred keyboard so that also added to the perceived cost of using a computer.

By Sunday I was pretty physically tired, so I took a slow morning and came down for lunch and stayed through the remainder, hearing a talk about music and python, hearing Rachell and Tim's keynote, Steering Council Panel, PSF Update and closing.

Which leads me to Sprints, sprints is a great experience because it provides some of the interfacing to help bring people together to solve a problem.

So I want to talk a little about that problem, contributing to something can take some time, and understanding of how you are solving the problem together.

Your computer has components that ultimately you have to put together, and you may not have used those components before, and they might or might not be included on your computer.

Sprints was an excellent time to get real help from people specifically about that. This is important because it helps build confidence in being able to complete the task.

What's the task? Well it's making sure the things you need are installed, and that they work.

When those things happen it lets us shift our mental thinking to solving a different problem one collaboratively and a key point of what Rachell and Time mentioned in their talk.

Sprints also gives some flexibility in giving a space for you to go while you're waiting for your transportation.

Would I go to pycon again ? yes. Should you? Yes.