The IEEE - Is the membership worth it?

drunken_munky52

Is joining the IEEE worth it for undergraduate engineering students? Does he membership provide the different tools and knowledge such a student may require for a project?

pljudge321

Main benefit would be access to ieeexplore, very useful for getting information, have you checked if your college has a membership already, it is rather expensive.

Turbulent Bill

drunken_munky52 wrote: »

Is joining the IEEE worth it for undergraduate engineering students? Does he membership provide the different tools and knowledge such a student may require for a project?

I don't think you need to join as an undergrad - textbooks should cover most of your requirements. However IEEE Xplore is really useful for project work, and if your college doesn't have access then student membership might help. From memory student membership only gives limited Xplore access, but it's better than nothing.

mikhail

It depends on what you want to do. If you have a very clear picture of what you want to do after college, it'll provide access to webinars and literature on the subject. If you're not so totally focussed, your college library and departmental subscriptions probably cover more than you could need. I think there's a mentor programme, though I've no idea if it's suitable for an undergrad. Certainly, there's a lot of career advice and that sort of thing, which may be more revelent to you than the generic stuff your college careers people will know. Student membership is something like €25, so it might be worth a punt. Getting Spectrum magazine delivered to your home may be worth that on its own - reading it regularly will give you an edge over most undergraduates in terms of breath of knowledge and may help you decide what you want to do.

Anyway, I'd say it's worth a punt for a year - but take full advantage of it.

gubbie

(This is actually an Engineers Ireland question... read the header a bit too quickly!)

I'm unemployed and looking for a job since April and have gotten a few letters asking me to pay the €127 fees. I don't really have the money for this and was wondering is it worth paying if I don't have a job? Should I ring them and explain my situation?

When I was an undergrad member I used to go along to some of the meetings in Clyde Road but now I don't live in Dublin.

drunken_munky52

But specifically would it be worth it for accessing other people's research papers or other under/post graduate projects, etc?

mikhail

drunken_munky52 wrote: »

But specifically would it be worth it for accessing other people's research papers or other under/post graduate projects, etc?

Your university probably has access to their online archives. If so, individual membership wouldn't give you anything extra. If not, then yes.