Not too long ago, I was a 'young engineer' who had just finished going through an examination season, en route becoming a 'full member' of the Ghana Institution of Engineering. I got an email that asked for applications on some topics and I chose 'how to become a building technology engineer'.
Fast forward...I got to work with a team of three other young engineers - mainly via emails in an era where there was no Zoom or MS Teams, no working together real-time on documents, etc. The four of us were on 3 different continents. To cut a long story short - ours was one of the projects chosen to be presented at the World Engineers' Convention held in Geneva in 2011. We had to put in some hours of in-person final touches to our work; a great opportunity for knowledge-sharing and collaboration.
I got chosen at a point to represent Young Engineers on a panel, we had to present our paper together to a team of judges and other colleagues - and we also got to build some great friendships, go sightseeing and have fun :)
One lesson this experience thought me is this: "Being a member of a professional body isn't just about having a 'title'". When we get involved - at whichever level we are in - we have many opportunities to learn, grow, give back, share knowledge and experiences, pull those behind us along, stand on the shoulders of those ahead of us, and walk alongside those beside us in an iron-sharpening-iron manner.
So...get involved. Start young. Start in your mid-years. Start 'old'. It doesn't matter when or where you start - just make a move today and keep walking.
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