Short: My friend Anna went on her first conference and offered to give a recap for the blog. Engage in her wonderfully conversational, engaging and crisp writing style and get a free tip on your next book purchase on top.

When I attended my first academic conference last week, it had only been just over half a year since I successfully defended my master thesis. I was very (though not completely) new to the professional academic world. Not to forget that I am on the more introverted side of humankind and mostly sustain only a semi-solid level of self-confidence. So, naturally, I experienced major imposter syndrome – being aware that I may very well be the youngest and least experienced person there.

It turns out that academic conferences are equally strange and wonderful places. In a way it can feel like a very nerdy class field trip: Everyone is excited about (or at least content with) their own research, (more or less) eager to present it, and happy to meet colleagues (those that already have international colleagues). [I might be romanticising field trips.] And of course, everyone was excited about the free food and evening drinks (especially the latter).

There is much to be said about the process of application to conferences, financing, and trip preparation and organisation. While there are certain things I could add to those lists, I am not the most qualified (i.e., experienced) person to write about it.[1] Instead, I want to highlight my own personal, partly surprising, things I took away from the conference and do a fact-check with the expectations I had beforehand.

1. Expectation: Conferences are a crucial place for getting to know people and network.
   Fact: They are! But even more so, the most important thing I took from it is to have a great overview of the things other researchers are working on. Rather than reading about it in journals in the following years, I got to acquire a pretty solid overview of the state of the art and directions of current research.

2. Expectation: Conferences are a challenge that you somehow have to pass.
   Fact: Not at all. Gladly, it felt much more (and I do realise how cheesy this sounds) like a wonderful opportunity to introduce myself to others. Rather than having to prove myself, I had a chance to show others relevant to my field who I am and what I do in terms of research. It turned out to boost my confidence a LOT.

3. Expectation: It will be exhausting.
   Fact: True. It was really exhausting. This is partly due to my introversion, but also because everyone is busy listening to intense research presentations all day, networking and generally trying to be as present as possible. Mental note to myself for next time: Consider skipping a talk or two to be more present for the one that you do go to.

[Stay tuned to hear about future reflections on the conferences next year. My guess: the imposter syndrome won't really fade too much but the confidence will increase nonetheless. Or so I hope.]

[1] For these purposes, I recommend reading: Turner et al. 2022. “How to Conference”. In: Strategies for Navigating Graduate School and Beyond, ed. Lorentz, Kevin G. II, Daniel J. Mallinson, Julia Marin Hellwege. American Political Science Association.