It’s almost that time of year again!
AWS re:Invent is right around the corner, with this year’s annual premier learning event taking place in fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada, from December 2nd – 6th.
The five-day conference from AWS promises a jam-packed event. Expect new product launches, demos, and behind-the-scenes insights to help professionals and businesses within the community stay on the cutting edge of the latest technology advancements and capitalize on transformative innovations like generative AI, analytics, and cloud operations. That means whether you’re a full-time professional, an AWS contractor, a technical project manager, or a business or IT decision-maker, you can’t afford to miss this!
Just take a look at some of the exciting speakers already confirmed:
- Matt Garman, CEO, AWS
- Peter DeSantis, SVP, Utility Computing, AWS
- Dr. Werner Vogels, CTO, Amazon.com
- Dr. Ruba Borno, VP, Global Specialist & Partner Organization, AWS
- Dr. Swami Sivasubramanian, VP, Data and AI, AWS
The event offers a wide range of experiences to help attendees become more proficient in many areas of AWS, with the option to personalize your conference by following learning tracks that focus on the topics you’re most interested in and the skill level that’s right for you. Whether it’s prominent keynotes by AWS leaders, smaller innovation talks by community disrupters, or interactive working sessions led by AWS experts, there really is something for everyone!
That includes virtual attendees, too. If you’re like the 71% of respondents in the Jefferson Frank Careers and Hiring Guide: AWS Edition that would like to attend an online event, you’ll be excited to learn that keynotes and innovation talks will be viewable via livestream and some breakout sessions will be available on-demand, meaning you can bring the bright lights of Vegas to your home office or workspace. Oh, and did we mention you can join online for free? Just make sure you’ve registered in advance (which you can do right here).
That said, much of the event’s breakout content is highly interactive and designed for in-person participation and hands-on learning, meaning you’ll always get the most value by attending re:Invent in person. Plus, you’ll get the chance to unwind and let loose at re:Play—the end-of-event celebration dubbed ‘the greatest party in tech’, featuring a wide range of fun activities, scrumptious food, and even a headline set from the American rock giants Weezer!
Registration is still open, with full conference passes available for $2,099 here.
The latest hiring insights from the AWS ecosystem
Which re:Invent sessions are right for you?
With so much to do and see at re:Invent, it’s essential to plan ahead—and you can use the official agenda to begin creating your perfect schedule today.
But with five busy days (and nights!) ahead of you, you’ll want to ensure your time is spent in the sessions best suited to your skill level, learning style, and areas of interest. So, we’ve broken down what to expect from each session type to make planning a little easier:
- Breakout sessions are hour-long, lecture-style sessions focused on educational topics. They take place in traditional breakout rooms or on quiet session stages and may offer a group Q&A with the session leader(s) if time permits.
- Workshops last two hours and encourage attendees to engage in peer-to-peer learning within an immersive experience. It’s a hands-on, collaborative session where participants work together in small groups to tackle problems using AWS solutions.
- Builders’ sessions are one-hour, interactive sessions where AWS experts guide participants in developing AWS solutions hands-on. With easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions from leading figures in the community, expect a practical learning experience from the comfort of your own laptop.
- Lightning talks are concise, 20-minute talks (the clue’s in the name!) hosted in the Expo Hall, and cover topics like customer case studies, service demos, and offerings from AWS Partners.
- Code talks are live coding demonstrations offering a close look at AWS in action. These interactive sessions allow for real-time questions and engagement, tailored to smaller groups for a more intimate learning experience.
- Chalk talks begin with a short lecture from AWS experts, followed by an in-depth, discussion-based Q&A. These one-hour sessions frequently feature whiteboard teaching to dive into complex technical topics and solve architecture challenges in real-time.
Our 3 top tips for AWS re:Invent 2024
As the only global recruitment agency dedicated solely to AWS technology, re:Invent 2024 isn’t our first rodeo! Over our many years being among all the excitement first-hand, we’ve picked up a few handy tips to ensure attendees always get the most out of what this unmissable event has to offer.
Book sessions in advance
There’s nothing worse than finding the perfect session for you and discovering that it’s already fully booked—and this happens more often than you might think!
To avoid disappointment, ensure you book your sessions in advance of the conference, especially if they’re expected to be popular.
The AWS Events app can be particularly useful here, and it’s available to download for free on iOS and Android. It offers a quick and convenient way to explore the agenda, book sessions, and create a personalized daily plan (with other bonuses including venue maps, surprise content, and real-time event notifications!).
If sessions are already fully booked, don’t give up all hope straight away. Instead, look out for overflow rooms. These rooms have large screens and headphones to help you tune into sessions from a different room, with some even showing multiple sessions across different screens to make session hopping a breeze!
Network, network, network
We don’t need to tell you that events and networking go hand in hand.
Every year, re:Invent brings together professionals, decision-makers, and partners from across the global AWS community, making the event nothing short of a networker’s paradise.
Even if networking isn’t your thing, there are too many opportunities to pass up across the five days. So whether you’re looking to expand your career outlook, learn new insights, find new business, or simply connect with your peers, don’t be afraid to talk to as many people as possible!
Better yet, AWS has made networking at re:Invent easier than ever before, thanks to PeerTalk. The intuitive platform uses AWS AI/ML services to transform how attendees connect across the event, suggesting potential connections based on topics of interests to help facilitate more meaningful connections. Available through the aforementioned AWS Events app, PeerTalk even enables you to search, filter, and chat 1:1 or in groups in designated PeerTalk spaces across the re:Invent campus!
Chat to us
Finally, why not catch us while you’re in Vegas?
As leading AWS talent experts, we work within the ecosystem to help find, train and deploy leading tech specialists with businesses around the world. So whether you’re looking to upskill your existing cloud team, or find the perfect contract or permanent hire to supercharge your projects, we can help.
Some of our team members who’ll be there include:
- Lee Chant – Global Head of Contract
- Anna Whitehand – Vice President
- Austin Muller – Associate Vice President
- Virginia Sheynkman-Haggas – SVP Alliances & Customer Solutions
- Steve Rea – SVP Customer Solutions
You can book time with us in advance now, so why not put 20-30 minutes aside one day to chat about any challenges we can help with in the coming 12 months? We hope to see you there—Viva Las Vegas!
