Due paying member of audio related organizations?

[Phiz]

I'm not sure what forum this belongs in, but here goes.

I'd like to hear from people who currently or previously have been a dues paying member of an audio related organization and how much value you got from the membership. I'm thinking of organizations like AES (Audio Engineering Society), the Recording Academy, some sort of relevant union, or maybe even IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) for the folks doing DIY stuff -- that isn't meant to be a comprehensive list. Perhaps there are even some regional organizations.

I'm curious about such organizations as an avenue to learning new stuff, making connections, and generally advancing my skills and opportunities.

[drumsound]

I used to be member of the Recording Academy, but I've let my membership lapse. I didn't feel I was getting anything out of it besides being able to vote on a bunch of music I didn't care about anyway. Being 2 hours from Chicago I never seemed to be able to go to any of the local events so it just seemed pointless.

[spomer]

hey,

i just joined AES a few months back and the ammount of technical knowledge that is available to you in that organization is mind boggling. If you are looking to advance your technical proficiency in regard to audio, acoustics, etc... I would say drop the $65 to join and attend a few meetings and download all the journals. If you find after a year it isnt what you are looking for, at least you can meet some people and get some different perspectives at some of the meetings. Also, Society of Broadcast Engineers is another organiztaion that I belong too that is very technical oriented and often times has split seminars (at least around here) with AES. They also provide Audio Engineering Certifications if you are looking to get into audio engineering on a radio/broadcast level. If you have any other questions about these organizations feel free to PM me

JWS

[Girl Toes]

i joined a bucn of those things when I was a student, never paid dues, they've never stopped sending me junk.

[cvanwinkle]

AES, SMPTE, CAS, MPSE are ones to think of (some have some heafty qualifications however).

As for AES, I found the University/Audio Program from which I graduated on their educational list.

I landed my internship by contacting a regional AES section (Vienna) president

I found my current job on a job board on a regional AES section's (Pacific Northwest) website.

I could have done all of these without being a member, but dues I'm sure trickle down some small percentage to help maintain these things that have been so vital in my career.

Maybe its been Karma?

[The Scum]

While I was in school, I was a member of the IEEE and ACM (Association for computing machinery, sorta the computer based cousin of the IEEE). Student dues were something like $20 a year.

Both were fairly active on campus, and some of the activities were cool. It also broke down some of the hierarchy between different geade levels, the faculty, etc.

They're both very general organizations, because those fields are rather broad. If you've got specific interests, there may be a subdivision that specializes in that.

If you're not in school, or not in a program where either of those organizations apply, I'm not sure if it's really worth the membership fees. They both publish journals...the IEEE publish a fairly slick one called Spectrum, thats a survey of all EE topics. There's usually something worth reading, but it's usually not all that detailed. If you've got a specialty, there's probably a corresponding journal with a name like "IEEE transactions on _____" that covers it. Those journals are academic papers, and very dry if you're not immersed in that field. They'll make a great basis if you need to publish for a Masters/PhD.

When I got out of school, I let my memberships lapse, because I wasn't in an environment where it made much of a difference.

If you want something with good DIY info, subscribe to Make or Nuts & Volts.

After school, I was working for an audio manufacturer, so I joined the AES. Keep in mind that the body of the AES is manufacturers, not recording engineers. Their journal is also pretty dry, with very scientific approaches to everything audio related (audio related standardization, psychoacoustics, etc).

However, it's probably worth joining the AES if you plan on attending the AES confrence. You hear a lot about the trade show, but the real meat of the conference is paper reviews, workshops, etc. If you've got a specialty, there's probably a paper presentation or roundtable for it. Not to mention that the industry is fairly well represented there...you can meet a lot of people, check job listings, etc.

Byron Jacquot