Professional Organizations

Professional organizations provide members more security in their field. The organizations lobby for its members, and may have high ranking contacts in government. These organizations advocate for its members, and try to get policies passed the benefit their field.

I'm an elementary education major, so I have quite a few possibilities when it comes to my professional organizations. A big one is the LFA or Learning First Alliance. They are an organizations comprised of 16 member organizations such as the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association.

Another organization is Education for Change. They advocate for every child to have free public education.

The benefits of joining these groups greatly outweighs the costs. For some, you may have membership fees or other joining costs. But those costs pale in comparison to the effort and advocation that your organization does for you.