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[mignon]

I have already committed to 2 conferences this year (my typical schedule)--but, for the first time ever, have only been funded for one.  Everyone in our department took a hit this year on conferences, but we are required to be "active scholars," which means publishing and presenting.  I'm also on some national boards and am supposed to go to the meetings . . . but on my own dime, I guess.  Since we're a one-income family, it's really going to be tough this year.

I'm wondering how many people pay for their own conferences.

[glowdart]

I always pay for at least part of each conference I attend, and our funding situation is bad enough that I usually only apply to one conference each year.  (We are not guaranteed any conference funding, although we usually get partial funding for one conference a year through a campus-wide competition for what pittance is available.)  So, I make it count by applying to the national conference, unless one of the regional ones is within a half-day drive. 

They like us to go to conferences, but consistently presenting at the national conference is worth more than consistently presenting at a pile of small conferences.  So, I play their game. 

[larryc]

I pay for a lot of my own professional travel. It isn't right, but you have to choose your battles and this doesn't look like a winner. What really helped for quite a few years was writing grants and including professional travel in the budget.

[history_grrrl]

OP, is there some kind of dean's fund you can dip into? My department allots $300 per person each year for conferences, which of course doesn't cover all conference costs, so I typically take the rest out of my professional development allowance (around $1,500 a year -- this is in Canadian dollars), which is also for books, association memberships, and whatever else. But last year I learned that our dean has a pot of travel money if you're presenting and have published something recently (or something like that), and that has helped a lot. There's also a fund to which we can apply for travel to international conferences where we're presenting. So you might just check around and see what else might be available. These things are not always widely known about, for some odd reason. (Well, maybe not so odd!)

[vardahilwen]

We have a yearly cap, which almost everyone exceeds, so a lot of us pay out of pocket (also, our costs are only covered if we're actually a presenter).  You just have to weigh the professional benefits against the costs.

Some people decide against going to a conference where they'd have to pay out of pocket if none of their stuff was accepted that year.  Others decide to go anyway, if there are important networking opportunities they don't want to miss out on, or just feel that they need to be a presence there. 

Many of my colleagues have mixed feelings about the importance of national conferences - some say that these conferences are so big that skipping them once in a while isn't going to be noticed, others feel that it's important to always show up, no matter what the expense.  Sometimes you can be a "bigger fish in a smaller pond" and attract more notice at a small regional conference.  It's all a matter of weighing the trade-offs.

[llanfair]

I used to apply for graduate-student travel grants, but graduating has put me in a cruel limbo: neither grad student nor tt faculty.  One of the uni's I do contract teaching for has travel $ for part-timers, so I apply for that; the other doesn't.  So I've combined the vacation and conference-travel budget, and pay for myself.  I look at it as part of the cost of beefing up my CV.

[cranefly]

None of my travel is funded by my department, but I've always, like LarryC points out, got grants that cover the travel.
Start writing!

[untenured]

In my early career, I almost always paid for travel.  Now, I almost never pay for travel.

When traveling, one needs to consider the benefit relative to the cost.  At conferences, I network constantly.  From before breakfast until that very last soda at the hotel bar, I'm meeting new people, seeking co-authors, learning about job openings, mentoring others, receiving mentorship, swapping tenure experiences, comparing teaching methods, and more.  I ain't shy.

So for me the right conference is worth paying a high cost.  Ask yourself the importance of the conference to your career and gauge that against expenses imposed.

This might be going beyond the original question, but thought it might help.

Untenured

[southerntransplant]

I never pay for my own conference travel. For domestic travel, I write it into the grant. My primary federal sponsor can get querulous if I do a lot of foreign travel on their dime, so I'll dip into my indirect return if need be.

[clean]

We do provide a reimbursement for travel, but if you exceed either the annual limit or the per conference limit, you are on your own.  Then there are the other 'maximums' that we dont pay for even if you are under your limit.  Transportation (domestic only) is ok if you use the state travel agent.  The hotel up to the daily limit.  Each meal has its own limit, and you d better have a receipt!  (no reimbursements for alcohol or even tips! and if you go over the limit for the meal, its on you.)

Oh, and if your conference is at a 'resort area', they are likely to cut you some more.  So stay away from Vegas!

[sinenomine]

We supposedly have a cap for conference travel, which I've exceeded every year with no issues ... until the current budget crisis.  Now travel reimbrsement is frozen.  I'm planning on two conferences this year, one very pricey overseas, and am saving up the money to do it.  At least I can write off the costs when I do my taxes.

[inthelab]

At least I can write off the costs when I do my taxes.

That's what I do when I travel.  I've paid out of pocket for the past 2 years.  My grants have to fund travel but sometimes I'd rather spend the grant funds on the lab.

[mignon]

I think the sciences fields can write conference expenses into grants, but I've never heard of anyone in an MLA field getting grant money for conferences--unless they're, say, the keynote speaker.  Or am I missing something, fellow humanists?

[llanfair]

At least I can write off the costs when I do my taxes.

Hmmm ... I wonder whether I can do that.  Must check out Canada Revenue's website.

[bibliothecula]

As an adjunct, I have no institutional funding. I pay my own way to all of my conferences (3-4 a year). And in the US, at least, you can write it all off as a business expense, as long as you are making at least a little bit from your scholarship, be it through teaching, royalties, or consulting.