How Important Is It To Belong To A Professional Society In Computational Biology?

Question

[Manuel Corpas]

It is clear that in Computational Biology there are certain organisations, societies and the like, global and regional, that intend to cater the needs for conferences, networking and scientific exchange, proper of any scientific community.

However, the benefits of joining a society are still elusive. In an American setting it seems that there is this culture of supporting your own community by joining your society. In Europe it does not seem to have any value attached in one's CV to belong or form part of a society, other than anecdotal. Other regions in the world may be somewhere in between.

I would like to ask people what they think their perception of belonging to a professional society is, whether this should be something that should be encouraged in settings where this is not so valued and what their expectations are.

Answer 1

[User 59]

This is a very interesting question. I think today, and especially in a modern field like bioinformatics, the idea of belonging to a professional society is almost quaint.

Having once been a bench scientist, the only reasons I could ever ascertain to belonging to a society were that

1. They might pay your fees to go to a conference if they fund this kind of thing
2. You might get reduced conference fees for certain conferences
3. You get a little ribbon on your badge to let everyone know at the conference you're a member

Certainly, from my current position - I have never felt that belonging to a professional body distinguished my CV or resume from any other candidate. As someone who hires, it would not make a jot of difference to me if you were a member of a society or not.

I would go so far as to suggest that even the networking aspects of a society are largely oversold in the wake of the professional relationships I build over Twitter, LinkedIn or FriendFeed. Whether or not I am a member of a professional organisation would not have any bearing on which conferences I attended, or who I spoke to at them.

Answer 2

[Neilfws]

The sole benefit that I have gained from my two experiences with society membership was a discounted rate for conference registration. For the remainder of my subscription, I received no information via email or any other means apart from a reminder to renew (in one case, nothing in the other case).

I'd agree with Daniel, above; the "informal" connections that I've made via online social networks have been far more valuable to me than any formal society.

[Mndoci]

I have to agree with Neil. I have gained a lot more from informal social networks. In the end societies are about networking and certain, usually unimportant, membership benefits and there are better ways to network now.

Answer 3

[Istvan Albert]

I think the benefits of being in a professional society do not readily lend themselves to quantification.

The positives are more about personal fulfillment, a sense of belonging, better understanding of the field and building interpersonal relationships that in the end may strongly shape one's future.

Answer 4

[Yuri]

From the practical point of view, I heard when you apply for a green card in US as extraordinary/outstanding scientist, being a member of professional societies gives you some additional "points".

Another example. AACR (The American Association for Cancer Research) became to large, that it accepts papers/posters for a conference only from its members. If you are not, you have to find a full member to be a "sponsor" for your paper.

As for many societies, members usually get early event notices (I get them by e-mail all the time anyway), some free publications (sometime just another junk), fee reduction (do you care if your lab is paying? :).