Are you a city transplant? New-to-the-field? Or a seasoned pro? Maybe you just want to know what all the fuss is about? If you’re a programmer (or considering it as a career), Meetups are an excellent way to learn, build relationships and have some fun with fellow programmers.“But I can do all of that online,” you might say. Yes, you can, but you can’t beat the power of an actual face-to-face interaction with other human beings. And who knows? You might just make a few new friends, or connect with a future employer. While this is by no means a comprehensive list (new Meetups spring up all the time!) there’s sure to be a group that will interest you and help you take your career to a whole new level.

Programming Meetups in St. Louis you should know

For those considering it as a career or just looking to learn more:

Saint Louis Savvy Coders was founded in January 2016 and according to their page is for “anyone with a desire to get to know others who are just getting started exploring the world of programming should join.” They are also open to those with experience in programming as a vocation or for fun who would like to share their knowledge with others who are learning about what a career in programming might look like.

For Ladies Only:

CoderGirl (connected to LaunchCode St. Louis) is an all-women Meetup that is open to women of all skills levels to explore topics in programming and technology, learn, create and network with other like-minded ladies.Girl Develop It (part of the international Girl Develop It organization) encourages women with or without experience in programming to learn and develop their ideas in a forum for where women can be at ease asking questions and learning at their own pace.

For Big Data & Machine Learners:

St. Louis Machine Learning & Data Science is open to anyone, of any skill or background with an interest in Data Science and topics such as big data, statistics and AI (just to name a few of the topics they cover.) The group blends discussions with recent trends in academia with practical applications and hands-on coding.Saint Louis Big Data Meetup is open to people interested in learning more and contributing what they may already know about Big Data in the St. Louis region. They provide members with opportunities to learn, share and help drive the big data field forward in the region.

For the Language Lovers:

Saint Louis C/C++ Meetup is open to anyone interested in or using the C++ programming language. They welcome any level of expertise.St. Louis JAVA Users Group (or JUG) has been around since 2009 and holds meetups once a month (with the exception of December.)STL Python is for people interested in Python. Seasoned pro? Just curious? No problem. This group of Pythonistas will welcome you.STLRUBY is open to anyone with an interest in Ruby. Join them as they talk, hack and drink over some good old fashioned code talk.St. Louis Clojure Meetup is for developers who are looking to learn or discuss Clojure or ClojureScript and is newbie friendly.St. Louis Perl Mongers welcomes Perl Programmers who are looking for a group where they can learn, solve problems and become better programmers.

For the Framework Fanatics:

ember STL Meetup is for Ember.js (the JavaScript MVC framework) front end developers and enthusiasts who are looking to learn and hack their way with a Meetup group focused on providing great content and a good community.ARCH RAILS is for people of any experience level interested in learning about application development using Ruby on Rails. They welcome all backgrounds: software developers, front-end developers, designers and business people who want to see what Rails can do and how to work with Rails developers.

For Database Devotees:

Saint Louis MongoDB User Group is for users of the non-relational, open source, document-oriented database MongoDB.

For the App-Creating Crowd:

The St. Louis iOS Developers Group encourages its members to discuss development tips, tricks, and hacks in a no-pressure environment where they can learn and show off what they’ve done with like-minded peers.West Side Mobile Developers (“The MOB”) welcomes developers from all platforms who are looking to learn, network and connect with other app developers of all experience levels in a west St. Louis County location.