As some of you may know from looking at the Region D newsletter, almost 60% of the region membership is collegiate as opposed to 40% professional. This means that as people graduate from college, they are NOT renewing their SWE membership to be a professional member. While I like to say that collegiates are the heart of SWE, they are definitely not the voice. Most of the policy and decision making is done at the professional level. It is so important that young professionals get involved in this process!! Who can better represent the collegiate voice than those who were recently in those shoes? The first year after graduation, the membership fee is only $20- this is the same that you paid as a collegiate!! Why not give it a trial run and see how you fit in? The second year after graduation, this fee rises to $50, and the third year it rises to the full $100 professional membership fee. These reduced rates are only available if your membership does not lapse in the year following graduation.
So how do you get the most out of your Professional SWE membership? GET INVOLVED! Run for a section or region officer position, join a regional or a national committee, chair a committee- there are COUNTLESS ways!! I know that I have a big problem with getting lazy and not wanting to go to events and meetings, but if I volunteer to be involved in those things I am always so glad that I was a part of them.
What good does a Professional SWE membership do for you? The entire goal of SWE is to enrich the lives of women engineers. They do this through professional development meetings and workshops, through various social activities, through volunteer events, through public policy agendas- SWE is working for you!! All that you will get out of a professional membership is exactly what you got out of your collegiate memberships, my favorite of which is beautiful SWEsters to share experiences with.
What has SWE done for you?
