Jobs that don't let (or help) developers go to conferences that appear to be of little immediate or long-term business value.

$1500 ticket prices and employers that won't pay unless it's directly related to the work you do?

I see--thank you!

I was thinking of this more from the independent consultant's perspective, not the FTE viewpoint.

Oh yeah, that's one thing I miss from being independent. "Conference"? You mean "tax deduction"!