It saves you money, and it's probably why most people do it. At most cons volunteering for X number of hours gets you a free badge. Putting in X number of hours in addition to that gets you free crash space in a hotel room, usually over crowded, but often not terrible.

It's not a bad way to go to cons you couldn't afford otherwise. Volunteer for early shifts if you can, you can get most of your hours knocked out before all the good events happen that way, some cons will even let you volunteer on the Thursday night before.

Ask to work at registration, you'll get to see everybody

Shit's pretty cash. You get to meet lots of new people and hang out with staff, who usually turn out to be pretty decent. Depending on where you work, there's all sorts of perks, like I have a full collection of the badges from Otakon for the past six years from working registration. Eventually, it's possible to become staff, and then you get things like free everything and the chance to meet the VIPs.

The only downside to volunteering a con is that once you've done it, you'll never be able to go back to just attending. It's so weird being at a con when you're not working, because it feels like there's nothing to do for long stretches of time.

>>2714274
>you'll never be able to go back to just attending

I'm a bit afraid of that happening, but want to get more involved. I'll be flying out of state by myself, so it works since I need a medium to meet people.

>>2714452
It doesn't mean you won't enjoy cons anymore. You will just feel like you want to do more. I say go for it, it's always good to try out new things.

Staffing helps with costs, definitely, if you don't mind dedicating hours of your day to helping out with a department. I've never gophered, but I've staffed security, con ops, cosplay, guest relations, and I've been a department head a few times... THAT tends to be the most stressful, but I still enjoy doing it.

Honestly, pick a department that you LIKE instead of signing up to be a gopher. Often times, you can get your room comped, food provided. All you have to do is show and do your job. :3

I like doing security because you get to socialize and hang out (except when assigned to watch doors), and still do your job as long as you keep an eye out. Cosplay is my personal favorite because I get to cosplay and it's fun seeing everyone's costumes. Judging is the best. <3

Worst would be con ops. A lot of cons like to stick ops in a random hotel room somewhere, and you don't get to see much of the con. Mad props to anyone who prefers this.

>>2714630
>Worst would be con ops. A lot of cons like to stick ops in a random hotel room somewhere, and you don't get to see much of the con. Mad props to anyone who prefers this.

What does someone in con ops actually do for the con?

>>2715416
Con Ops is the nerve center of a con. They're the last line of defense when things go wrong, and they're the glue holding all of the rest of it together. They're vital, but it doesn't mean their job doesn't suck hard.

>>2715662
Sadly, I think I may be cut out for this (like event planning and anal-retentive detail shit), but I'll just not offer my services. Since the con I'm volunteering at is small, I'd rather do registration. Gophering doesn't sound bad, either, since I'll need to move around a lot. Bump for a surprisingly helpful thread.

Volunteering saves a lot of money. I has to volunteered for the first time last year. Although I enjoyed alot,some of the people at conventions are just fucking assholes. I had to work as sercurity at a small convention in my area and it pretty much gave all the guys to fuck with me because i'm a girl.
But,that's really the only thing that killed it for me. Other than that,I'd totally do it again.