Can I organise an event as a Junior Engineer at my company?
I am excited to share the success of the recent frontend event at our office. Earlier this year, a senior frontend engineer proposed to invite a frontend community event at our office, and I enthusiastically joined to bring this vision to life. Today, I am thrilled to share this success story with you!
Around March and April, we began contacting various frontend communities to offer our office as a venue for their upcoming events. Following a productive meeting with a representative from JavaScript London, they visited our office and were highly impressed with our location and available space!
Our 6th-floor open space has a capacity for up to 100 attendees, making it an ideal setting to host an event for such a vibrant community of JavaScript enthusiasts.
Now, it’s time to dive into the preparations. We discussed the logistics, including the necessary steps to reserve the date, as well as determining the quantity of food and drinks to procure. Additionally, we were fortunate to have a senior frontend engineer express their interest in delivering a talk at the event, and they eagerly joined the initiative!
Overall, the organisational process proceeded smoothly. The team from the HR department and the security team from the building assisted us in extending the office hours until 20:30 on the event day.
With all the arrangements in place, we set the refreshments to begin at 17:30, followed by two speakers presenting for 20 minutes each, with a 10-minute Q&A session. The presentations were scheduled to start at 18:30, and afterwards, everyone would have the opportunity to join us at the pub (though we understand that only some are inclined to do so).
As the event week approached, we placed orders for various pizzas, including options for vegans and those with gluten-free dietary preferences. We also secured drinks, plates, napkins, printed informative signs to guide attendees to the event space, restrooms, and a small cloakroom.
As the day of the event dawned, nervous excitement filled the air! Would the pizzas and drinks be enough for our anticipated 140 attendees when our space could only accommodate 100? Could we organise everything in time for the 5:30 start?
Our schedules were already brimming with meetings, so we set up the 80 chairs in the event space after lunch. Fortunately, our engineer manager dropped by to lend a hand and offer encouragement.
With time ticking away, we had only one working lift capable of carrying eight people at a time. We wondered how long it would take to transport everyone upstairs. Well, I’m an optimist. I believed that everything would work out, and it did!
Before 5:30, nearly ten individuals joined us to help with the final preparations. Members of JavaScript London and our colleagues chipped in to assist. Tasks included organising the 25 pizzas and drinks, fetching glasses from the 4th-floor kitchen, and ensuring the water jar was filled. Oh, and the bins — let’s “borrow” one from the 5th floor. The people on the 5th floor looked at me carrying that huge bin with my manager, asking, “Are you okay?”
With everything seemingly in order, could I finally relax? As people began to arrive and engage in conversations without any complaints, it was clear that the event was off to a great start. All we needed now was a glass of wine to enjoy the fantastic event we had worked so diligently to organise.
For me, as a junior engineer, this experience was nothing short of incredible. I’m grateful for the opportunity to complete this event, and I look forward to more exciting ventures in the future.
To answer the title: YES! Make it happen!
Talk to your manager about your intentions, and go for it! 🚀
