Professional Organizations
A professional organization also known as a professional body or a professional association or professional society or a professional association refers to the nonprofit organization that seeks to further a particular career/profession, individuals’ interests that are engaged in that specific profession and also the interest of the public (Santiago, 2016). People argue that the professional organizations membership charges are very high. However, these organizations offer many benefits to their members and especially to students who join them. Some of the benefits that they provide to their students members include helping them find jobs, mentoring, networking, professional development, and networking (MonsterCollege, 2016). In my chosen field of Economics, there are different professional organizations that students can join. Therefore, this paper aims to identify some of the professional organizations in Economics.
• American Economic Association (AEA)
The AEA (American Economic Association) refers to a professional society in the economics. The organization has its headquarters in Nashville. Besides providing career services such as training, networking and professional development, AEA also encourages economic research particularly the statistical and historical study of the actual status of industrial life, encourages perfect freedom in economic discussion and helps in the publication on economic subjects. Through the encouragement of various studies in the economic field, AEA helps in providing updates in the economic profession. The organization has yearly meetings for its members popularly known as AEA Annual Meeting and also offers different discounts to its members such as the Continuing Education Program Discount that is offered to students who join the organization while they are continuing with their studies (Aeaweb.org, 2016).
• American Society of Health Economists (ASHEcon)
The American Society of Health Economists or as popularly known as ASHEcon is a professional body that seeks to promote excellence in health research in the U.S. Apart from providing career services to its members such as training, networking, and professional development, ASHEcon also offers a forum for developing ideas and empirical outcomes of economic research. The American Society of Health Economists (ASHEcon) has biennial meetings or conferences, which are the only premier health economics conferences in the United States. These meetings offer a forum for developing ideas and empirical outcomes of health economics studies to be discussed and showcased. For instance, the 6th Biennial Conference of the ASHEcon (American Society of Health Economists) is scheduled to take place from June 12-15, 2016 at the University of Pennsylvania. ASHEcon also offers different discounts to its members. For example, a one-year student membership only costs $40 for schools with institutional membership while for a two-year individual membership costs only $ 150 (Ashecon.org, 2016).
Conclusion
It is clear that professional organizations are very important especially to students. Even though many people argue that they charge high rates to their members, the benefits they provide to their members and even the general public worth the costs. For instance, the American Economic Association (AEA) and the American Society of Health Economists (ASHEcon) offer many benefits to their members and also the United States as a whole, particularly in the field of Economics. Therefore, people, whether they are students or established economists, should consider joining these professional organizations. This is because they help individuals to experience far reaching impact on their careers. They are places where people can make significant contributions to the distinctions of their professions.
References
Aeaweb.org,. (2016). AEAweb: General Information. Retrieved 4 January 2016, from https://www.aeaweb.org/AboutAEA/gen_info.php
Ashecon.org,. (2016). ASHEcon - American Society of Health Economists. Retrieved 4 January 2016, from http://ashecon.org/
MonsterCollege,. (2016). 5 Reasons Professional Organizations are Worth Joining. Retrieved 4 January 2016, from http://college.monster.com/training/articles/2131-5-reasons-professional-organizations-are-worth-joining
Santiago, A. (2016). Professional Association. About.com Careers. Retrieved 4 January 2016, from http://healthcareers.about.com/od/glossary/g/professional_gl.htm
