It offers several benefits including (but not limited to): Networking opportunities, Information and advice, Professional recognition, Getting to know recent developments and challenges (through subscribed magazines). A senior membership (e.g. IEEE Fellowship) help you to promote your field in society, mentor younger members and contribute your expertise in formulating a new regulation or policy.

Dear Z. H. Khan, thank you for your answer.

I understand the importance of such association for people working in industries, especially those with bachelor's and master's degrees. It certainly benefits them by helping to grow networks, to participate in workshops, etc.. However, I do not see how such membership would be helpful for academics who already have PhD degrees and established research fields. Academics make their contribution in the form of journal papers, conference presentations, book chapters and books.

I am a Mechanical Engineer. So, my knowledge is limited to Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). I do not know how other professional bodies work. IMechE does not take PhD into account. It only charters an engineer based on bachelor's and master's degrees. So, why should membership to such professional bodies be given more credibility than a PhD degree?

I know of tens of senior design and analysis engineers in companies like GE, GM, Siemens, Caterpillar and John Deere. I also know of so many eminent Professors. None of them has an association to any professional bodies and they all are exceptional in their work. I have gone through IMechE page and the list of courses they offer. They are pretty vague and mostly on management skills and do not offer any specialisations to develop technical skills for engineers. I do not see how membership to professional bodies helps academics.

Dear Jamshed Iqbal, thank you for your answer.

As I said in my post, I understand the importance of such association for people working in industries, especially those with bachelor's and master's degrees. However, I do not see how such membership would be helpful for academics who already have PhD degrees and established research fields. I do not see how such a membership, which does not recognise PhD qualification, is worthier than a PhD.

People working in academics already have PhD qualification, established research specialisation, numerous opportunities for professional development, mentoring by senior faculty members and opportunities to grow network by attending conferences and workshops. Professional development can be easily assessed by teaching success, research publications, editorial service, research projects etc. Academics already have access to a majority of journals and magazines related to their field. University libraries already provide this service. Academics have been doing all these things over the past 50 years without having to have any association with professional bodies.

This recent push in forcing academics to get these memberships looks like a collusion by the membership boards to make more money in the form of subscriptions.

https://www.theiet.org/

https://www.imeche.org/membership-registration

An academic or lecturer, belonging to professional bodies or association indicates clearly your response to practice and socialize with related experts in your field. It also shows your dedication to the professional field. Belonging to professional associations like, IMECHE, ASME, NIPES- Nigeria Institution of Professional Engineers and Scientists https://nipesjournals.org.ng etc help to promote academic research interaction through dissemination of research articles coupled with workshops and conferences. It keeps you up to date. The advantage supersedes the disadvantage