It's a big world out there.

In recent years there seems to be an ever increasing number of conferences, seminars and working group meetings all bidding for our attendance. Not only do we need to decide which of these events are of value to us both personally and professionally, but we need to be persuasive of our managersJfunders to let us attend. This can in itself be a challenge as we try to justify the costs and juggle what is probably our most valuable commodity, time, while still attempting to actually have a life outside of work. One of the questions we face is does the end result (knowledge, information, contacts etc) merit our time, energy, and the cost involved in the participation.