- Don't expect management to care about your development, growth, or personal well being. The selling point that the organization is essentially "flat" really means that everyone is a glorified intern
- Every year the conference is metaphorically burned down to the ground in terms of its format, vendors, sponsors, participating companies, and staff. So don't expect to use last year as a baseline to improve upon. **Chances are if you run into someone who has been a part of the conference in the past they will not be happy to meet you.
- Action is rewarded more than thought. Countless times you see poor decisions being made and continued with just because they are quicker and have inertia behind them.
- Be ready to make decisions based on vanity instead of data
- Don't expect to enjoy the actual conferences. If you are doing it to get better access or insight in the conference itself then be a volunteer
Overall, expect to be worked to the max the entire time at Techweek. If you have a plan on why you are working there, make sure you document that, read it at least once a month and be selfish about what you want in order to make this opportunity worth it. Otherwise, if you do not have a clear idea about what you want to do after Techweek, I wouldn't work there.