I’d like to see what I don’t see from IDSA, WIIFMs (what’s in it for me). I want an ROI, it isn’t too much to ask.
I am, or have been, a member to several healthcare professional societies. All of them, contrary to IDSA (Industrial Designers Society of America, not Infectious Diseases Society of America where I am a member), offer accreditation and continuing education, my 2 largest WIIFMs. IMO, we are the Rodney Dangerfield of professions without accreditation, we are not held up to any standard.
But my biggest complaint is not having any CE offered by IDSA. Industrial design is perfect for me because it requires a great breadth on knowledge and not necessarily a great depth until it is required. It is what keeps me interested, learning new things. I cannot handle the repetitiveness of so many other professions. We are expected to have a very broad grasp as shown by the diverse categories on this board, any many areas of knowledge, human factors, medical regulations, lean, anthropology, etc, aren’t included. Any society I would join would have to offer CE credits so I can be kept fresh and expand into other areas. Wasn’t there a thread just a while back about the difficulties of crossing over from one area to another? It would be great if the transition from shoes to packaged goods was made more simple. CE could accomplish that.
And of course, I would never join a society that would have me as a member. 