Professional society discounts for unemployed? 1

[msucog]

Does anyone know of discounts for membership dues, conference fees, CEU costs, etc etc through ASCE or other professional societies for those of us that are unemployed (or even those that are financially strapped since many others have seen pay reductions or other layoffs within their household)? As we all know, the costs to simply maintain our membership and professional affiliation can be quite expensive much less the costs of trying to attend a conference or update our reference bookshelf. I would hope that our society and other groups would extend a helping hand (ie. discounts during this turbulent time) to avoid having the profession take a step backward due to a massive lack of participation from members that cannot financially support the cause/movement. Any thoughts and/or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Ryan Coggins, P.E., S.I.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/ryancoggins

 

[greenone]

SWE (Society of Women Engineers)does offer a reduced membership rate for the unemployed:

http://societyofwomenengineers.swe.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=276

 

[GregLocock]

I'd have thought the cost of the operation would outweigh the reduced subscription costs for many of us.

Cheers

Greg Locock

I rarely exceed 1.79 x 10^12 furlongs per fortnight

 

[photoengineer]

I just got an e-mail from the ASME that they are waiving the fee for unemployed people.

I haven't found the ASME or other professional societies to be beneficial, so I don't plan on renewing. (I'm employed right now so my dues would not be waived.)

Cedar Bluff Engineering

http://cedarbluffengineering.webs.com

 

[DTGT2002]

ACI has waived membership fees and provided various online resources for those between jobs. Not positive on reduced fees for those underemployed, but it can't hurt to ask!

 

[greenone]

SWE actually does have men as members-come join us, see what it's like to be in the minority in the room at an engineering conference!

 

[casseopeia]

msucog, a star for you for asking the question. It never occurred to me to ask, but now I will

"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"

 

[msucog]

Yes, it didn't occur to me until I realized that several of my memberships/certifications had expired but I could not rationalize paying dues for all of them at this time due to the "significant" cost during a period of unemployment. Then I began to wonder what the end-result would be on the societies themselves if a large portion of those unemployed simply could not justify paying the dues.

Thank you for the responses.

Ryan Coggins, P.E., S.I.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/ryancoggins