So Why Bother at All?
by Dr. William T. Cousins, ASME Senior Vice President, Member Affairs

The age-old question is always there, why be an active member of your professional society? Do you listen to the person who is not involved, who tells you there is no benefit… or do you listen to the person who is involved, who has first-hand experience as to the career-developing activities, the networking and the professional well-being available through active participation? Look at it another way… if you want to be a millionaire, do you take the poor person or the millionaire out to lunch? Some say, "Why bother? Let the millionaire buy his own lunch," and I say… "So stay poor!"

ASME International is geared towards many technical fields. If you are an active member, you will benefit your career by the experiences in which you will be involved. Whether the benefit is meeting other people and developing contacts, practicing speaking skills, performing training activities, developing budgets, assembling a strategic plan, or one of the multitude of other career-enhancing activities, they are all available. The common misconception among those individuals who have never been actively involved is that it does not provide them or their company a benefit. Is practicing speaking skills not a benefit to the company the next time you stand before the customer and present results? Does networking with other individuals that work in your area of expertise not help you the next time you have an issue to solve and need advice? Does staying on the top of technology transfer and staying in touch with other industries and critical developments in engineering not enhance your ability to contribute to your company? Certainly all these are benefits that help both your career and your company's success and it would be foolish to think otherwise.

Looking back over my years of active involvement in ASME, I can say that I have had opportunities for personal growth that never existed within the framework of my normal job. I can also say that the involvement has provided me with experiences and other opportunities that I would not otherwise have had. In addition, the mentoring and involvement with other engineers have helped me solve problems many, many times, when I've called upon colleagues across the country for technical advice. Those who have not been actively involved have not experienced this. So then, why do you insist upon listening to those who tell you why being an active member is not worth your time? And I say again… "So stay poor!"

The members of ASME International are very serious about living ASME's mission "to promote and enhance the technical competency and professional well-being of our members, and through quality programs and activities in mechanical engineering, better enable its practitioners to contribute to the well-being of humankind." They represent the best that the profession has to offer. Many times, early career engineers do not see the full benefit of active membership (notice I say "active" membership) and how improved their career and the profession will be as a result of what they do with ASME in the areas of education, technology transfer, codes and standards, conferences, publishing and public policy development - globally and locally. The work and the culture of ASME is a reflection of values and behaviors with which responsible, caring and successful professionals are proud to be associated. Bringing the good work of the Society to our communities requires a continuing influx of creative, talented, energetic volunteers. The value of the time spent makes a significant difference in the real issues that affect our communities, profession, industries, employers and careers. It's hard for me to understand why there are engineers who do not see the benefits of active participation in their professional society. Typically, these are the ones that are out of date in five years and do not keep up on the technology in their field. Too bad…. I guess to those I say, "Why bother? So stay poor!"

ASME International is working to bring the benefits of active membership and participation to as many engineers as possible. This helps us to expand the work of the Society and have a greater effect on our communities, our industries, our membership, and the technology growth of our world. Our goal is to carry out more continuing education programs, more technical lectures, and more events that will help further the capability of the engineering community. So ask yourself once again, "Do I want to be poor?" Get involved in this expansion and enhance your background, expand your experiences, build your career… don't be poor. I personally owe much of my career success to my membership in ASME International and to my participation in many of its programs. Whether you are an active member or a member who is not quite involved, if you think about it and you are honest with yourself, you must have similar goals as I to move your career forward, to further your involvement in technology, to build your own network of colleagues and friends, and be a greater contributor to both your employer and your community.