The technology industry is booming in Colorado, touting the “third-highest tech-worker concentration” and ranking “sixth for average high-tech wage,” according to a report completed by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. With so many opportunities arising in the Centennial State, there has been a subsequent rise in technology meetups. PeerSource put together a list of five technology meetups geared towards developers that you do not want to miss.
1. Learn to Code Colorado
WHO are they?
“Learn to Code Colorado is an inclusive meetup for anyone, of any skill level, to come and learn more about software development,” the meetup’s co-organizer, Josh Couper, said.
“Every Wednesday is different. By adapting the needs of each session, we take an active learning approach and enable attendees to work through problems in groups and with instructors. From a full-time software developer to someone who can't even spell 'HTML', we have a place for you at Learn to Code,” he stressed.
WHAT do they enjoy doing together?
“One Saturday a month we host an all-day coding session. Most attendees leave this session with a website they built completely from scratch,” Couper shared.
He continued, “This is an incredibly fun and inclusive group to be a part of. We have individuals of all walks of life attend. And because of that, not only is this a great way for individuals to grow their network, but also an awesome opportunity to work through the basics of web development with a diverse group of people.”
WHEN do they meet?
Learn to Code Colorado meets every Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. at Galvanize Platte Street as well as one Saturday a month.
HOW can people learn more?
Find Learn to Code Colorado on meetup.com or contact Josh Couper, co-organizer of the meetup, at josh.couper@galvanize.com.
2. DenverScript
WHO are they?
DenverScript is a community of developers focused on JavaScript in downtown Denver. They discuss best practices, features coming to ECMAScript, application development, what's going on in the JS community and more.
WHAT do they enjoy doing together?
Garrett Dawson — co-organizer of the DenverScript meetup — said, “We have killer talks all the time, sometimes from notable ‘JS Celebz.’”
“We try to avoid discussing framework specific esoterica, and instead focus on widely applicable JavaScript topics — things anybody who touches JavaScript might benefit from learning. Also, we have beer and stand around talking afterwards,” he shared.
WHEN do they meet?
DenverScript meets once a month.
HOW can people learn more?
Find DenverScript on meetup.com and keep up with them on Twitter.
3. Full Stack
WHO are they?
Mike Pack, founder and organizer of Full Stack, said: “We are a group of technologists spanning the full development stack. Our interests are broad and our topics vary from meetup to meetup. With whatever we choose to discuss for a given meetup, we aim to find the key leaders in those respective domains.”
He continued: “Our topics vary, so the value we provide is beyond the depth of any one technology. Our members get exposure to tools, techniques and ideologies they wouldn’t have otherwise been interested in. Since our members often differ in professional experience and toolchains, our atmosphere is uniquely diverse and conducive to learning new approaches.”
WHAT do they enjoy doing together?
“We’ve had world-renown speakers including José Valim, creator of the Elixir programming language, as well as Aaron Patterson, Ruby and Rails core team member. We also have had Yehuda Katz, creator of Ember.js and TC39 board member.”
WHEN do they meet?
Full Stack meets quarterly. To keep the events interesting, they host them at different venues around town.
HOW can people learn more?
Find Full Stack on meetup.com and keep up with them on Twitter.
4. Denver UX
WHO are they?
"Denver UX is a group that helps technologists and designers understand their users better so they can make smart business and technology decisions,” the meetup’s organizer, Tyler Merry, said.
He added, “We are the largest and most generic software design group in Denver with designers, developers, and UX professionals.”
WHAT do they enjoy doing together?
“For enhancing knowledge, we do regular events with speakers and group discussions with the goal of sharing new techniques and best practices. We have regular happy hours that allow individuals to grow their network, find mentors and make friends. We have a Slack group with 1000+ members that promote community interaction between events,” Merry noted.
He went on to say, “I personally find a great deal of value in helping people start, change, and grow their career. We have put on several portfolio and resume review events that have led to new and better jobs.”
WHEN do they meet?
Denver UX meets once a month.
HOW can people learn more?
Find Denver UX on meetup.com or join the Denver UX Slack.
5. Colorado Technology Sales Roundtable
WHO are they?
Bob McNeil, organizer of Colorado Technology Sales Roundtable, spoke about his meetup. “The focus of our group is on professional development within the technology sales area — spanning IT services, Cloud, Software and Hardware. We focus on the technology sales niche,” he said.
The group is comprised of sales professionals, principally in the technology sector.
“We present speakers, panelists and content,” he commented, adding — “We consult with each other on career advice and to solve tactical sales issues.”
What will an attendee gain from this group? They “will be able to connect to dozens of other highly motivated sales professionals that can provide insights into the technology industry. The stronger your network in Colorado, the better your chances are.”
WHAT do they enjoy doing together?
“Our July 2018 event was a defining meetup for us. We combined forces with the Denver Hispanic Chamber to produce a panel discussion on Women and Minorities in Tech,” McNeil said.
“We had business leaders from the public, private and nonprofit sectors whose experience and insights provided were inter-generational. The content was powerful and the panelists were inspiring.”
WHEN do they meet?
Colorado Technology Sales Roundtable meets on the second Monday of each month in RiNo and is starting to branch out to Colorado Springs.
“We meet towards the start of the month, before sales people start feeling end-of-month or end-of-quarter or end-of-year deadline quota pressure,” the organizer commented.
HOW can people learn more?
Find Colorado Technology Sales Roundtable on meetup.com or contact Bob McNeil, organizer of the meetup, at bob.mcneil@coloradotechnologysales.com.
