Conference Tips

One of the most important things to do, especially as a grad student, is to network. Although, the word ‘networking’ makes it sound so cold and dull. Instead, talk to people you find interesting! As a grad student who will be attending the SER annual meeting for the fourth time and having talked to people I consider to be epidemiology celebrities (as who I was more nervous to talk to than I would be talking to Beyonce), no one has even so much given me a bad vibe for having approached them. Although attending talks and reading posters is important, meeting people face to face is the one thing you can do at a conference that you can’t do from your office. So if you see someone interesting at the conference, don’t be afraid, chat them up!