Membership in professional associations?

[wtncffts]

How benificial is it to join professional associations? As an MA student, I didn't think it necessary to join any; actually, it never really even occured to me. As a PhD student, I assume it will pretty much be requisite to join at least the immediate domestic one, which in my case would be the Canadian Political Science Association. Should I also join APSA, the US equivalent? How about others, such as IPSA (International...) or PSA (in UK)? I will likely be doing work involving political institutions in all three states (i.e., Canada, US, UK), if that makes a difference. Any comments about the issue in general would be great; experiences from poli sci students would be especially welcome.

[robot_hamster]

If you're doing research, I think they provide extra opportunities to present one's work and to network since these groups often hold conferences.

[Eigen]

I had one reviewer for my NSF application specifically mention my long involvement in our major professional organization (American Chemical Society). I think how important this is depends on the field, in Chemistry there's absolutely no reason not to pay the $100 a year for membership.

[repatriate]

It's a form of signalling (on your CV), but the associations (at least in my field) offer discounted conference admission, travel funding, research awards, grants, and fellowships to members. Many of them have great listservs, too, where you can keep up with what people in your field are doing, ask for advice, and find job postings. Some of the major psych associations even use grad students as reviewers for some of their competitions, which is a great way to get reviewing experience before you are famous enough review for journals. Basically, I'd say the memberships are greatly beneficial. But I have no idea how well this generalizes to political science associations.

[runonsentence]

In English, PhDs join the MLA in part because most jobs are posted through the MLA website and most major in-person interviews are held at the MLA conference.

Most professional associations also include journal subscriptions with membership. Sure I can get College Composition and Communication electronically through the library, but it's a nice perk to have copies in my living room to thumb through.

[neuropsych76]

I think I joined about 5 during my undergrad mostly because of I attended difference conferences. As an undergrad, joining professional conferences didn't seem to have a whole lot of value outside of the conferences. Maybe that changes in grad school...

[MoJingly]

I'm a member of the Performing Arts Medicine Association, and it's been a great way for me to connect with other people working on similar projects. It's actually how I landed my job last summer. With my subscription, I get discounts to conferences and also get their quarterly journal. For $50/year, it's a no-brainer for me.

Plus, I find it encouraging and supportive to belong to something bigger.