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Ask HN: What would attract you to attend a 1day course on a tech of your choice?

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Ask HN: What would attract you to attend a 1day course on a tech of your choice?

#1
I'm going to be delivering a 1 day irl intro course to d3.js. I'm trying to put together a format and offering that will stand out.

Regardless of the tech, what would (or wouldn't) attract you to attend?

E.g. Credentials of the instructor? Supported time to work on a self-directed project? 1 on 1 time? Etc.

Re: Ask HN: What would attract you to attend a 1day course on a tech of your choice?

#2
(1) Instructor credibility - could be "fame," but could also be youtube videos where s/he appears to be a very good teacher.

(2) Opportunity for good in-person networking with industry professionals. This is what sets an in-person event apart from online learning.

(3) The opportunity to "finish a project" using the new tech, perhaps earn a cert, perhaps through free one-month membership into some expensive platform.

I attended a recent half-day tech course on a FAANG campus recently. Much of our time was spent creating various online accounts and doing other setup and configuration, which could easily have been done as "pre-work" at home. Other than the pizza, it was a sub-optimal day.

Re: Ask HN: What would attract you to attend a 1day course on a tech of your choice?

#6
It would have to be a subject that is incredibly niche such that I couldn't find resources to learn it online - OR where there would be a necessary physical component, such as a laboratory, justifying the need for attending on-site. D3.js meets neither of those criteria.

Re: Ask HN: What would attract you to attend a 1day course on a tech of your choice?

#7
I'm trying to put together a format and offering that will stand out.

Probably don’t.

Unless you have a lot of experience and then you probably would not.

Meet people’s expectations. They are the customers. Sure it is fine to exceed them. Here, that means they learn more, have a better time, and the pizza and coffee are above average.

Nobody builds a good reputation all at once.

Good luck.

Re: Ask HN: What would attract you to attend a 1day course on a tech of your choice?

#10
I have to go to 1 day training courses etc for work all the time. Different industry… but still… here’s what attracts me:

Networking opportunities.

Extremely good catering.

Free items such as pens, notepads and novel and niche items that are hard to come by.

Some kind of “certificate” to prove I attended that I can put in my continual professional development portfolio so that if I get audited by the council that issues my certificate to practice I can show I’ve done some learning stuff.

Being actually really relevant learning (ie, new technology that actually is a game changer - replaces old technology that has become outdated).

Having the opportunity to do something really cool that you cannot do under normal circumstance.

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