Which professional associations should i join

Career support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Career support for HDR students. Employers Place a job ad. Attend a careers fair. Hold an employer information session. Promote your brand. Contact us Meet our team. Engage with your industry and grow your professional network. What is a professional association? Potential benefits of joining a professional association Joining a relevant industry association as a student member is the first step in your professional development.

They can include: free or heavily discounted membership as a student events, conferences, and opportunities for networking and professional development research on areas of practice, quality and innovation interest or focus groups specialising in specific areas of the industry regular journals and other publications for subscription access to current salary information based on surveys conducted by the association, and advice on workplace agreements.

Professional association websites This selection of professional associations are grouped according to relevant areas of study and industries, and sub-divided for high interest fields. Agriculture and Environment. Entry Level Business Professionals of America BPA is dedicated to developing student leaders pursuing careers in business management, IT, finance, accounting, office administration, and related career fields.

Association of Sewing and Design Professional ASDP is dedicated to supporting individuals engaged in sewing and design related businesses.

Jewelers of America JA was founded by jewelers for jewelers, with a desire to advance the professionalism and ethics of the jewelry industry.

Landscaping National Association of Landscape Professionals NALP is the national trade association representing an industry of nearly 1 million professionals. By Jesal Shethna.

Benefits of Joining a Professional Organization — Given the number of responsibilities we have to juggle daily, joining a professional association is unlikely to be among your top priorities. Which businessperson, after all, has the time for more meetings and activities after spending a whole day on them? But thinking this way may cause you to miss the various benefits a professional association membership can get you.

There are many numbers of associations that label themselves as a professional organization or body. Most of them are usually charitable or nonprofit organizations that seek to further the importance of a specific profession and their members. Many associations dedicate themselves to the interest of the members, to a point of being registered trade unions, like the United Steelworkers in the US. Others could be societies that purely function to standardize, unify, monitor quality, promote research, further education, along with updating the skills of practicing professionals.

A major role of a few organizations is to control the awarding of professional qualification certificates, and even issuing the license of practice. Yet others take up a more disciplinary role for members in that particular profession for maintaining ethical standards. However, this is not really true, and the honors bestowed upon individuals may be given for several reason. Also, we often hear people complaining about competence of a practicing individual in the profession, to the professional organization, unaware of the fact that the power, leave alone the eagerness of the association to mediate in such a case, is greatly limited.

It will be unwise to preempt the role of a professional association sans investigating its constitution carefully. While each organization has its own advantages, most associations offer some of the following common benefits. There are also listserv subscriptions that notify you via emails about all special activities and upcoming events that are usually not open to the general audience.

Some features have a variety of topics like advancing your career , running a business , or enhancing your technical expertise. When you join a professional association, you can deepen your existing business relationships and forge new contacts regularly.

The networking is usually not restricted to the exchange of business cards. You can attend periodic meetings, be an active member in a subcommittee, or take up a more prominent role.

You can make lasting ties with other professionals in your trade having common interests or similar concerns. The relationships are mostly rich, and an ongoing source of ideas and inspiration. Professions like nursing require accredited and ongoing education to retain the license. In several careers, training and certification on the mastery of some particular skill, helps members to increase their earnings.

Professional associations often offer these courses free of cost or for a subsidized fee for their members and do the work to establish the acceptance of continuing education credits by the licensing board. Newsletters and journals published by the association give an opportunity to members to polish their communication skills and learn about the advances in their field. Access to research material and industry information is another reason behind joining professional associations.

Many professional organizations offer members to upgrade or refresh their knowledge of trade and business expertise or acquire new skills in workshops, seminars, conferences, and even online courses. The typical subject matters may run the gamut from funding of small businesses to tax tips, and advice on recruitment and employee management. You can always find helpful information in blogs or video posts and even association newsletters that arrive in your inbox.

It is always beneficial to your career if you take a few minutes to catch up on the latest healthcare news and industry developments. The world of healthcare is constantly in flux, and being able to stay ahead of changes and new regulations can help you manage the uncertainty. Getting involved in politics and policymaking, in general, is not something that appeals to most of us. Being a part of an organization that will represent your best interests is one way to ensure your voice is heard.

Whether the advocacy needs to occur at the federal, state, or local level, there is strength in numbers when trying to affect change. Your membership in a professional organization will also look good on your resume.

It demonstrates that you are actively seeking to improve your career and can put you a leg up on your competition for a new job. Most associations also have resources to help you with professional development and tips for crafting a winning resume. Plus, the professional network you have spent time developing will be there for you to provide support, recommendations, and even an extra set of eyes to proofread a resume for you.

For a comprehensive list of nursing organizations, click here. Granted, making a commitment to join a professional organization can seem a bit daunting.