<p>Aside from being able to attend conferences and reading publications, what are other benefits of becoming a member of ASME as a student? I saw that they offer certificate courses, are these recognized by employers or are they more for personal enrichment? Overall, would it be worth it for me to join?</p>
<p>I signed up during their student deals ($9 for a year? hell yea!). You get an asme.org email among other things: an ASME sticker, a goofy shoulder bag, and magazines get mailed to me every month. I actually read the magazine, real interesting-to-the-point articles that keep you in the know in the ME world. I’m sure there’s a lot better resources out there, but for a magazine that I can open and read briefly when I’m bored, its not too bad. I also get emailed a lot of web-seminars and alerts to conferences I believe. </p>
<p>I think the courses are more for industry professionals that have to update their skillset. They are not, however, a means for an inexperienced student to certify their competency to a potential employer. I could be wrong so I hope someone can give you a better answer.</p>
<p>From what I’ve gathered, engineering societies won’t really help you with grad school admissions and they’re only somewhat helpful with the doors they open in terms of job prospects. They do help a little in a few ways.
All in all, it’s pretty much your call. If you’re into that stuff, then go ahead. If not, you aren’t going to be worse off for it.</p>