While professional societies may seem like just another line on your resume, involving yourself in national events can be promising. Most professional organizations hold conferences, lectures, networking events and career fairs, yet seldom do students reap all the benefits they pay for. 

There are many professional organizations to choose from that offer impactful opportunities and vary in cost and benefits. For aerospace students or anyone remotely interested in the industry, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a dominating organization. Not only do they hold several conferences throughout the year, but they do networking events based on regions of the United States. In addition to in-person networking, there is also remote networking on distribution lists and mentoring programs. AIAA also holds student design competitions to get students involved with real and necessary work. 

There are so many benefits beyond just being a part of another organization. This past January, I attended AIAA SciTech and, to my surprise, much of the conference was geared toward engaging students and new professionals. There was a mentoring session where we got to talk to professionals one on one, many social events and even an exposition hall filled with recruiters from aerospace companies. They were accepting resumés and encouraging students to reach out with jobs they were applying to. Some in attendance were Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northop Grumman, Axient and Ball Aerospace, among many others. 

AIAA also offers scholarships for attending conferences and networking events around the country. They also hold regional student paper conferences for students to write papers about their research or design projects and compete for cash prizes. 

There are so many opportunities to join an organization or professional society within the college. You can view a full list of organizations, some college-wide and some department specific.