We’re in the top 20!
Why did Tampa Bay make the top 20 in CompTIA’s 2019 list of U.S. metros for technology jobs? One of the biggest reasons is the Tampa Bay tech community, who not only do their day jobs, but make outstanding contributions to the tech scene. They get involved in events where they share their knowledge, make connections and friends, and gather together to build strong tech, entrepreneur, and nerd communities. That’s why I do this every week: I put together a list of tech, entrepreneur, and nerd events to make sure that they can be found and you can attend them!
This weekly list is posted as a voluntary service to the Tampa tech community. With the notable exceptions of Tampa iOS Meetup and Coders, Creatives and Craft Beer — both of which I run — most of this information comes from Meetup.com, EventBrite,
Find out more about Tampa Bay’s status in the top 20 tech metros
You can find out more about Tampa Bay’s being one of the top 20 tech metros in the following places:
- From the source: The CompTIA Tech Town Index 2019
- Global Nerdy: The first in a series of articles on making Tampa Bay an even better place for techies to live, work, and play: Making Tampa Bay a better tech zone, part 1: We’re in the top 20, which is a good start!
- St. Pete Catalyst: Tampa-St. Pete debuts on CompTIA ‘Tech Town’ list
- Tampa Bay Times: Tampa Bay area named top 20 ‘Tech Towns’
- Tampa Bay Business Journal: Report: Tampa among best tech cities for IT jobs in the nation
Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be writing about ideas to help ensure that Tampa Bay stays in the top 20 on Global Nerdy. Be sure to check them out!
Monday, December 9
- Veterans Free Coworking Day @ Tampa Bay WaVE. 9:00AM
- Learn Cybersecurity Tampa — Daily Campus Tours – SecureSet Tampa @ SecureSet, 10:00 AM to 10:30 AM
- Tampa Bay Connections — Monday Referal Partners! @ Wright’s Gourmet House, 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
- GDG Suncoast — Flutter Study Jam * Building a CRUD app for iOS, Android w/Flutter & Firestore @ Florida Future Factory, 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
- Tech4Good Tampa — Design Workshop with Canva @ Suncoast Developers Guild, 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
- America’s TriviAddiction — ROOKIES SPORTS BAR – SPRING HILL – LIVE TEAM TRIVIA !!! @ 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
- Tampa JUG — Cloud Search and Distributed Search Theory @ Valpak Manufacturing Center, 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
- Cool ‘n Confident Toastmasters @ SPC – St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus, 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
- America’s TriviAddiction — 3 DAUGHTERS BREWING – ST. PETERSBURG – LIVE TEAM TRIVIA @ 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
- Brandon WordPress Meetup — TBA: Regular WordPress Meeting @ Bloomingdale Regional Public Library, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
- Learn Soldering Holiday Edition. Make a Christmas Tree or Menorah @ Tampa Hackerspace, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
- South Tampa Toastmasters HOLIDAY TOY DRIVE!!! BRING ‘EM NEXT TWO MONDAY NIGHTS! @ Unity of Tampa, 7:00 PM to 8:15 PM
- Tampa Bay Thinkers — What’s the role of the United States military? @ Carrollwood Cultural Center, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Tuesday, December 10
- Tampa Bay Connections — New Tampa Business Networking Lunch @ Glory Days Grill, 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
- Young Professionals of Tampa Bay Networking Group — Carrolwood Networking Lunch McAllisters Deli @ McAlister’s Deli, 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
- Westshore Toastmasters @ FIVE Labs, 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
- Tampa Bay Connections — A boring office party, except NOT BORING and NOT at Your Office AXE Throwing @ Stumpy’s Hatchet House, 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
- Weekly Open Make Night @ Tampa Hackerspace, 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM
- Their Eyes Were Watching Books – Classic Book Meetup — December Book Club @ Linger Lodge Restaurant & Bar, 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
- Florida Podcasters Association General Meeting!!! @ IHop, 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
- America’s TriviAddiction — WESTSHORE PIZZA – BELLEAIR BLUFFS – LIVE TEAM TRIVIA !!! @ 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
- West Pasco Toastmasters Club #2824 — Weekly Meeting @ West Pasco Board of Realtors, 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
- Game Club Tampa Meetup — Tuesday Nite Roleplayers (RPGs) [Full] @ Grand Arena of Mind Expansion, 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM
- Maker Magic: Holiday Luminaria with Lasers! @ Tampa Hackerspace West, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
- Code Katas — Let’s Do Some Fun Code Challenges! @ Bank OZK Innovations Lab, 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM
- Young Professionals of Tampa Bay Networking Group — Enchant – The World’s Largest Christmas Ice Maze (2nd chance!), 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
- Nerdbrew Events — Pints & Pixels @ Yard of Ale Soho, 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM
- Woodshop Safety (Members Only) @ Tampa Hackerspace, 7:15 PM to 10:15 PM
- America’s TriviAddiction — DAIQUIRI SHAK RAW BAR & GRILL – MADEIRA BEACH – LIVE TEAM TRIVIA @ 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Wednesday, December 11
On Wednesday, Computer Coach and High Tech Connect will host their holiday party at Brick House (where Dale Mabry meets the 275) from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.. Join them for one of the big tech community get-togethers, and help them out with their Toys for Tots campaign! They’re taking donations of new, unwrapped toys.
- Young Professionals of Tampa Bay Networking Group — Downtown St Pete Networking at the Hangar @ The Hangar Restaurant & Flight Lounge, 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM
- 1 Million Cups St. Pete — Edit Gecko / FORGE Tampa Bay @ St. Petersburg Greenhouse, 9:00 AM
- 1 Million Cups Tampa — ANR Clinic / Cope Notes @ Entrepreneur Collaborative Center, 9:00 AM
- Tampa Bay WaVE — Open/FREE Coworking for Women Tech Entrepreneurs @ FirstWaVE Venture Center, 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM
- Commercial Real Estate for Startups with Kostas Stoilas @ Entrepreneur Collaborative Center, 10:00 AM to 11:15 AM
- Tampa Bay Connections — Ybor Networking @ Bernini of Ybor, 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
- Young Professionals of Tampa Bay Networking Group — Brandon Business Professionals @ Carrabba’s, 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
- A Woman’s Leadership Advantage @ Ernst & Young, 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM
- Business to Business Networking Group — B2B Networking Event @ Carrabba’s Italian Grill, 12:00 PM to 1:15 PM
- Find Clients and Generate Business Leads @ New Tampa Regional Library, 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM
- Learn Cybersecurity Tampa — Capture the Flag – Beginners and Professionals! @ SecureSet, 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
- High Tech Connect — December Tech Fest – Holiday Party @ Brick House Tavern + Tap, 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM
- Entrepreneur Social Club @ NOVA 535, 6:00 PM
- Tampa Bay Full Stack Meetup — Getting Out of a Bad Relationship – How you can rebound with NoSQL @ ClearlyAgile, 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
- Tampa Bay Inventors Council — Special Inventors meeting on December 11th, meet Louis Foreman of Edison Nation @ 2149 University Square Mall, 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM
- Board Games and Card Games in Sarasota & Bradenton — Open Game Night at Table Talk SRQ @ Table Talk SRQ Board Game Cafe, 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
- Tampa Business Club/Networking After Hours — Sunset ROOFTOP Business Networking Social @ the current hotel, 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
- GDG SunCoast — Flutter Interact: Viewing Party – Followup meeting for Flutter Study Jam @ Florida Future Factory, 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
- Tampa Artificial Intelligence Meetup — Study Group Meeting @ Town ‘N Country Regional Public Library, 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
- America’s TriviAddiction — 3 DAUGHTERS BREWING – ST. PETE – SPECIAL STAR WARS THEMED TRIVIA !!! @ 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
- Introduction to Fusion 360 @ Tampa Hackerspace, 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM
- The Suncoast Linux Users Group — SLUG – Tampa @ New HDR Location, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
- Geekocracy! — Book Club – Watchmen and The Ocean At the End of the Lane @ Joe’s New York Diner, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
- Pen Turning Class (Day 1 of 2) @ Tampa Hackerspace West, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
- Suncoast Developers Guild — Open Code @ Suncoast Developers Guild, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Thursday, December 12
- Tampa Bay Professionals (IT, Sales, HR & more) — Dale Carnegie High Impact Presentations Training 2-Day Meetup – ALL PROS – @ Presidents Plaza – Dale Carnegie Training, Thursday, 8:00 AM to Friday, 5:00 PM
- Tampa Bay Connections — MELLOW MUSHROOM THURSDAY’S NETWORKING LUNCH @ Mellow Mushroom, 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
- Tampa Bay Data Science Group — Almost Winter Solstice Party with Pythons! @ Nielsen, 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
- Brandon and Seffner area D&D, Pathfinder, and Starfinder — 1st ed AD&D Dwimmermount Campaign. @ 405 Mahogany Dr, 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM
- America’s TriviAddiction — CRESCENT OAKS COUNTRY CLUB – TARPON SPRINGS – LIVE TEAM TRIVIA !!! @
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM - America’s TriviAddiction — CAPTAIN’S CORNER – BROOKSVILLE – LIVE TEAM TRIVIA !!! @ 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
- America’s TriviAddiction — BAYSCAPE BISTRO AT HERITAGE ISLES – NEW TAMPA – LIVE TEAM TRIVIA !!! @ 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
- Books, Brews and Bags! — December – Before and Again @ Crooked Thumb Brewery, 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM
- Introduction to 3D Printing with MatterControl and the Rostock (Members Only) @ Tampa Hackerspace, 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
- CoderNight — Individual Challenges & Holiday White Elephant Gift Exchange @ Callyo, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Friday, December 13
- Lean Coffee for All Things Agile (Waters Location) @ Panera Bread, 7:30 AM to 8:30 AM
- Lean Coffee for All Things Agile (St Petersburg / Tyrone) @ Panera, 7:30 AM to 8:30 AM
- Tampa Bay Connections — Friday Business Introductions @ McAlister’s Deli, 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
- Tampa Business Club/Networking After Hours — ALL WHITE&RED HOLIDAY PARTY @ Franklin Manor, 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM
- Cards Against Humanity – Tampa Bay and Lakeland — 4th Annual Ugly Sweater Soirée @ 7:00 PM to 11:59 PM
- Pen Turning Class (Day 2) @ Tampa Hackerspace West, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
- Young Professionals of Tampa Bay Networking Group — Holiday Lights in the Florida Botanical Gardens @ 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Saturday, December 14
- Sisters in Technology — Holiday Sisters in Tech Brunch @ 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM
- R-Ladies Tampa — R-Ladies Tampa Holiday Potluck and Beginner Tidyverse Skills<3 @ Entrepreneur Collaborative Center, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
- Tampa Community Connect — Global Azure AI Bootcamp @ Keiser University, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
- Hack The Box Meetup: Tampa @ 11:30 AM to 4:00 PM
- Game Club Tampa Meetup — Learn how to role-play (RPG) @ Grand Arena of Mind Expansion, 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM
- Nerd Night Out — NNO Book Club: The Royal Art of Poison @ Costanera Peruvian Cuisine, 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
- Laser Cutter Orientation @ Tampa Hackerspace, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
- Cards Against Humanity – Tampa Bay and Lakeland — Lakeland SantaCon (shared public event) @ Saturday, 6:00 PM to Sunday, 2:00 AM
- Tampa Streamers Holly Jolly Winter Meetup, Powered by Twitch @ The Bricks, 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
- Nerd Night Out — KARAOKE NIGHT! @ Fat Cat Tavern, Saturday, 8:30 PM to Sunday, 12:30 PM
Sunday, December 15
- Family Open Make Day @ Tampa Hackerspace, 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
- St. Petersburg Board Game Night 3RD SUNDAY Game Night @ Overflow Brewing Company, 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM
- Make a Keepsake Box (GSWCF) @ Tampa Hackerspace, 3:00 PM to 5:30 PM
- Tampa Bay Young Professionals Group — Busch Gardens Christmas Town @ 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM
- Sew What? (Textile Arts & Crafts) @ Tampa Hackerspace, 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Do you have an upcoming event that you’d like to see on this list?
If you know of an upcoming event that you think should appear on this list, please let me know!
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