Like most people in IT, I belong to too many professional bodies. I am reminded of this every time another subscription invoice rolls in - mostly to the tune of £150 per year, or more. And each time I reach for the cheque book I ask myself the same question. Do I really need to belong to all these institutions, worthy though they may be ?
It’s a dilemma that I’m sure afflicts the majority of IT professionals. I’m equally certain that most aren’t sure whether they ought to continue shelling out or not. The problem is that membership of a professional body is both expected and respected in industry. It looks good on the c.v. It can also look good on the business card, since several institutions grant their members important-looking post nominals. But how many memberships is enough? As more and more Institutes of This and That spring up, one is given to wonder whether there is much benefit in spreading ones bets.
There is another issue, here, too. In recent times, some of the older professional bodies have been reformed, renamed and rebranded. With the make-over has come a new membership drive - the thrust of it aimed at almost anyone who works in or with IT. The long-standing barriers between designated professional groups are becoming blurred as a result. There used to be, for instance, a difference between engineers and computer professionals. Both groups now happily embrace IT workers of various varieties. Whilst many plausible arguments have been offered as to why this is A Very Good Thing, the not-so-casual observer cannot help but remark that the reasoning seems to have had more to do with the ungainly scrabble for bums on seats - and therefore cash in the bank - than the inevitable march of time and merging of skills.
To be fair, certain professional bodies have struggled to keep their doors open in the past and it would have been terrible to lose them since they provide a focal point as well as networking opportunities and, often, excellent free or very cheap lectures. I cease to feel so generous about others, especially those which sound very grand, charge a lot of money and offer few or no benefits to members. One, in particular, incurred my wrath by inviting me to join, on the one hand, and sending around a fait accompli email on the other. This explained that since the CEO and other officials needed a raise - ooh… and a classy PR company had been taken on to aid publicity - membership charges would now be set at not much short of £200 p.a. The likely impact of that particular double-whammy was clearly lost on the perpetrators.