If you belong to an organization which pays for your professional memberships, consider yourself lucky, but not all of us are so graciously fated. And there are a lot of professional groups out there, more than 1 for every profession, including:

• AIAA
• IEEE
• SWE
• ASME
• ACEC

A few years ago, when I was still a Rocket Student, I was the chair of the AIAA student branch. After graduating and starting work with my current employer, I was sent to a conference which included professional membership dues. This year I didn’t get sent to that conference, and so my membership renewal wasn’t paid by my company.

All of which brings me around to my current dilemma: Now that dues are coming out of my own pocket, what real benefit has my membership given me?

Sure, I get the magazine which I read on my lunch break; sure I make it most months to the local chapters meetings, but is it really worth my money?

One could easily argue that there is a sense of camaraderie involved with being a part of such groups. Another good reason is that it helps you keep up on current on events and trends in the industry.

As I lick the envelope containing my credit card information, I reflect on my own reason for continuing on with my professional organization: I’m still a new engineer, the education I got in school really only opened the door into the engineering world. There are still a lot of people, places, companies, technologies, and ideas that I haven’t seen or heard of yet. New or veteran, this industry moves too quickly for me, or anyone else, to risk falling behind. If I want to stay relevant, I’m going to need the knowledge and contacts these groups provide.

Here’s to one more year of magazines, conference invites, and not feeling guilty while staring at a letter on my desk.

Are you in a professional organization or still on the fence about joining? Which one? What have the benefits been? Drop a quick comment below and let’s discuss.