GDC is run by awful people.
ngl it seems more like a game expo now. it used to really only be about jobs and development practices, but it seems that as time as gone by, more and more games are being shown/played there, making it a sort of mini-e3 (according to what i heard)
that said though, theres still quite a lot of serious discussion and seminars. its just behind a big-ass paywall, meaning only pros/people with a decent income can go. student pass gives you only a subset of these seminars, though they also are the most popular ones