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Archive for May 15th, 2008

Yeah, that’s right!  After trying so hard not to, resisting with all my might, and swearing I would never do it, I finally gave in and decided it was a good idea to become a member of the Society of Plastics Engineers after all. I have always been reluctant about joining this kind of societies. Many years ago, while still in college,  some of our teachers and advisors got us all fired up into joining ASME and IEEE (my major is actually known as Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in Mexico). As student members, the fees were very low and we received their magazine for free, but that’s all we really got from it. So, I discontinued my membership after graduation. A few times I thought about rejoining, but it didn’t seem like the benefits would outweigh the cost, just to receive a magazine that I could read online, anyway.  However, I think I’m beginning to change my mind about how useful it can be to be a member of a society of professionals, such as ASME or SPE. Why? Well, I’m not really a Plastics Engineer, just a Mechanical Engineer who is very curious and wants to learn about plastics, but after reading about what they have to offer to their members (many times free of charge), it appeared to me that it could be very beneficial, even for those like me that are just trying to get their feet wet and learn a bit.

In addition to the proverbial magazine that all societies seem to offer, and the member discounts on materials (some of them only available through SPE), training and continuing education, seminars, webinars and other events, what really got me excited was the free access to their online technical library, their interactive plastics encyclopedia (coming soon), their topic specific newsletters, consultant circle, networking opportunities with other members, locally and internationally, as well as other personal benefits, such as scholarships, and tools for career development and job search. So, for only $125, I think I can afford to try it for a year and see if I like it or not.

I know what you’re thinking. You are probably wondering what does this have to do with SolidWorks. Well,  nothing really, except that  with all the recent talk about improving and revamping the SolidWorks online community,  I couldn’t help but imagine that similar benefits could be offered to SolidWorks users, and to have all of this available  together under one roof. Imagine that! In fact, many of these same benefits are already offered (forums, knowledge base, newsletter, a collection of past presentations, user groups, technical summits, etc.), but I’m not exactly sure if they are at all accessible to those that are not service subscribers, like students and others (I don’t have access to many of those areas myself), or if they are easy to find and use as they are right now.  I know that community is built in many different ways and that it happens on its own wherever two or more users gather together, but at the same time, I do look forward to that extreme makeover that SolidWorks is planning on, especially if it involves making more (free) information available for the users, all users, making quality training more affordable for everyone, and providing more opportunities for career development. Hmmm, you never know. It may happen.