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6 yrs ago I was working as a FW engineer, trying to break into #AndroidDev. I was also aggressively paying back student loans, during a time my husband & I affectionately refer to as "Austerity"
The rules of Austerity were pretty basic: Only spend money on rent, absolute bare-minimum groceries, & student loans 
I was teaching myself Android & going to every local meetup possible, but I wanted desperately to level up my Android learning & networking.
At the time, the only Android conference was a week-long deal in the Bay Area. Travel, accommodations and admission were WAAAY out of my budget.
But I REALLY WANTED THIS, and where there's a will there's a way!!
I used Twitter to convince the conf organizers to let me attend for free in exchange for me volunteering before and during the event. I paid for the flight with points accrued during business travel for my job at the time.
I spend $197.94 TOTAL for SIX NIGHTS in a San Francisco hostel. 
Mind you, the conference hotel was charging more than $200 PER NIGHT.
Mind you, the conference hotel was charging more than $200 PER NIGHT.
Breakfast was included w/ my hostel (bagels & cream cheese), lunch was included w/ the conference. I spent $20 for a week's worth of dinners (loaf of bread, jar of peanut butter, bananas). Had a couple "splurge" meals at Chipotle & the Pinecrest Diner.
I took public transit everywhere. I spent $14.15 on souvenirs; most of which was $12 for one Trolley day pass.
The entire experience cost me less than $400. For travel, almost a week of room & board in SF, and a 4 day technical conference.
It was an incredible week of working, intense networking, learning, and taking notes on a lot of talks that were frankly over my head at the time.
Looking back, $400 is a shockingly low sum for all that I got. But at the same time, it was an astounding amount to spend at that moment, when we were sending every LITERAL PENNY to our student loans.
Sharing all of this for 2 reasons.
First: There are always a million ways you can hustle, or sacrifice, or do both, to get what you want out of life for less money. I worked SO HARD to get to this conference, and in the end it was SO worth it
First: There are always a million ways you can hustle, or sacrifice, or do both, to get what you want out of life for less money. I worked SO HARD to get to this conference, and in the end it was SO worth it
Second: Sometimes a person can do all the hustling and sacrificing possible, but things still might be out of their price range. With all the money that gets thrown around in tech on the daily, this one can be easy to forget. Please don't forget this.
And, I guess a bonus Third: Please be prepared when you give a conference talk. Don't give a 15min talk for a 40min time slot. Respect your audience. They've likely spent a lot of time and money to hear you speak.
Here I am on Day 1 of the conference, ready to be a professional Android developer! 
Proud to say I landed my first gig 2 months after the conf.
Proud to say I landed my first gig 2 months after the conf.
