Introduction
The profession can be defined as a paid occupation especially one that involves prolonged training and a formal qualification. Professional bodies are organizations founded by concerned individuals within the same career circle (profession) and related professions and sometimes non-professionals in the field who have made significant contributions to the development of the profession and other persons who have an interest. The primary aim of these organizations is usually to promote quality standards and professional development within the field and offer members activities and services.
As noted elsewhere, Professional bodies offer a lot of activities and services, however, most professionals shy away from belonging to professional bodies sometimes due to fees charged by such organizations but I want to assure my reader that the merits of being in a professional body far outweigh the demerits. Being in a professional body, you would be recognized worldwide as an authority in your field of practice, you would have access to various training programmes, workshops, and conferences that would keep you posted on the recent developments in your profession. Other benefits include:
1. Access to mentorship programmes
2. Opportunity to network among other professionals
3. Access to new perspectives in your profession
4. Job prospects
5. Continuing education and professional development
6. Easy registration and public exposure of your firm/company
If you are in academia and/or you wish to apply for grants or scholarships to further your studies in Nigeria or abroad, membership in professional bodies most times offers additional advantages for you to acquire the scholarship. One of the most popular scholarships in Nigeria which is the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has points for every relevant professional organization you belong to. If you belong to many relevant professional organizations, it shows how seriously you take professional development and you have greater chances of winning the scholarship than those who belong to few or none.
As a civil engineer in Nigeria, one can belong to many professional organizations in Nigeria or abroad. The following professional bodies outlined below can readily welcome a civil engineer who is convinced by the thoughts in previous paragraphs in their midst to enjoy the many benefits of being a member. They are categorized into international bodies and national bodies. These are not the only professional bodies in existence but they are among the many credible and recognized ones. These bodies are specifically for civil engineers but one is free also and would benefit from other professional bodies outside the civil engineering circle such as Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) for those aspiring to be managers.
International Bodies
Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)
The institution of civil engineers (ICE) is one of the world’s largest civil engineering body in the world. The organization is based in the United Kingdom (UK). It was founded in 1818 and has a pool of 95000 built environment professionals. ICE have different category of membership which include:
Student membership (free membership), Graduate member (GMICE), Technician member (EngTech MICE), Member (IEng or CEng MICE), Fellow (FICE), Associate member (AMICE).
Benefits of Membership
1. You boost your career and salary prospects with their internationally-recognized qualifications.
2. Enhance your professional status with their titles after your name.
3. Grow your network of built environment professionals at their conferences and workshops.
4. Enhance your career development with their leading range of library, information, and knowledge resources.
5. Receive a free subscription to their New Civil Engineer magazine and discounts on specialist engineering journals.
To learn more or join the organization, visit ICE.
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) seems to be the largest professional engineering body for civil engineers around the world with more than 150, 000 members. The body founded on 5th November 1852 offers numerous services to members and non-members alike but these services come at a much cheaper rate for members. Joining ASCE could be one of the best decisions one can take in this life as a civil engineer because they believed they would provide you with professional support and growth you would not find anywhere else. To learn more or join the organization, visit ASCE.
American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM)
ASTM is the standards body of the United States of America which was founded on 16th June 1898. About 12,000 standards are domiciled in ASTM and used globally to enhance performance and help everyone have confidence in the things they buy and use. ASTM is largely made up of volunteer members who pay $75 per year but student membership is free.
Benefits of Membership
Membership with ASTM International offers a wealth of opportunities. Members strengthen their expertise through the development of world-class standards; they further their professional growth through public speaking and assuming leadership roles; they build a network of contacts by interacting with the world’s top technical experts and business professionals.
Benefits of membership also include a free print or online volume of standards, a standardization news magazine, access to meeting minutes and agendas, and more.
Categories of membership and benefits
Participating members: Participating Members are individuals who choose to join ASTM International technical committees
Benefits
- Direct Committee Participation
- Free Volume
- Publication Discounts
- Standardization News
Organizational members: Organizational Members are organizations that support the ASTM International voluntary consensus process through the designation of one representative that may or may not choose to join ASTM International technical committees.
Benefits
- Customized ASTM Organizational Member Wall Plaque
- Free Listing in ASTM Membership Directory
- Transferable Membership
- Direct Committee Participation
- Free Volume
- Publication Discounts
- Standardization News
Informational members: Informational Members have an interest in ASTM International standards and related technical information, but choose not to participate on technical committees.
Benefits
- Discounted Standards
- Standardization News
Student members: Student Members are full-time undergraduate or graduate students who receive information from ASTM International.
Benefits
- Scholarship Opportunities
- ASTM International eNews
To learn more or join, visit ASTM
Korean Society of Civil Engineers (KSCE)
KSCE is the umbrella body of Civil Engineers in the Republic of Korea (ROK) with about 28,000 members. Just like other bodies, KSCE which as a body established in 1951 has five categories of membership which are:
Student member: Student enrolled in a 4-year university or a college in civil engineering.
Associate member: A person who has graduated from a 4-year university or a college/engineering high school in the civil engineering field and has graduated within 6 years.
Member:
- A person who has professional training/education in Civil Engineering
- Master or Doctorate Degree in Civil Engineering
- Licensed professional engineer
- Five years of experience in the civil engineering field
- A person recognized by the Board of Directors as having the same qualifications as the above 1 through 4
Fellow member: A Member who has been active as a full member for more than 20 years and who is 65 years of age or older, acknowledged by the Board of Trustees for his/her great contribution to the development of civil engineering, and a Member who has served as President of the Society.
Senior/Honorary member: A Fellow Member who is 80 years of age or older, and who have made remarkable achievements in the development of Society.
Benefits of Membership
- Free distribution of KSCE Magazine Hardcopy (Monthly, distributed upon request)
- New Issue Alert of KSCE Magazine E-Books (Monthly)
- Free access to KSCE Magazine E-Book (Website / Mobile)
- Free access to E-Journals published by KSCE
- Subscription rights to Journals (Hardcopy) published by KSCE
- Submission rights to Journals published by KSCE
- New Issue Alert of KSCE Newsletters.
KSCE also established the Civil Engineering Leaders Network (CELeN) in order to broaden and promote international cooperation and thus, to contribute to the development of the global construction community. The CELeN provides young civil engineers with opportunities to globally learn, experience, and communicate through various activities in Korea organized by the KSCE. All international civil engineering students and engineers having close ties with Korea are welcome to join the network.
CELeN has two categories of membership which are:
CELeN student member: International undergraduate or graduate student who is or has been studying civil engineering in Korea.
CELeN member: An international civil engineer who is or has been working in Korea.
Benefits of CELeN membership
- Participation in CELeN Technical Trips
- Participation in KSCE CONVENTION
- Participation in CELeN Meetings
- Opportunities to engage in various networking circles and information sharing
To learn more or join visit KSCE.
Engineers Australia
Engineers Australia (EA) which was founded on 1st August 1919 and member count of over 105,000 members is one of the most popular professional engineering bodies in the world. The reason could be linked to the Migration Skills Assessment usually conducted by the body to enable skilled and qualified engineers to migrate to Australia. This is not the only service they render. Just like other professional bodies, they provide a wide range of benefits to their members. To learn more or join the organization, visit EA.
Other notable international professional societies include:
European Council of Civil Engineers (ECCE)
Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE)
International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE)
South African Institution of Civil Engineers
National Bodies
There are many professional engineering bodies in Nigeria that civil engineers can join. Two of these organizations which are top on the list are the umbrella body for all engineers. These are:
Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE)
This is the umbrella body of all engineers in Nigeria. This body was founded on 16th February 1958 and currently has more than 55,000 members. NSE has six (6) grades of membership that include student, graduate, associate, corporate, affiliates (honorary fellows), and fellows. To join the organization requires a minimum of four (4) years post-graduation experience and it was the only route to join COREN until recently when direct registration to COREN is acceptable. However, it still remains the preferred route to join COREN among many aspirants. To join NSE requires the preparation of a Technical Report similar to what is obtainable in COREN registration. However, if one has joined NSE before going for COREN registration, one only needs to provide the NSE number and would not be required to write another technical report. But if one is going to register with COREN directly, one needs to provide a technical report. After submission of the technical report, one would be taken through a professional development course, oral interview, and computer-based test (CBT) of which 50% is the minimum acceptable score. Oral interviews are usually based on the content of the report but CBT is usually based on wide engineering knowledge specific to your area of specialization. Find HERE likely CBT questions and answers. To register or learn more, visit NSE.
Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN)
COREN is saddled with the responsibility of issuing licences for engineering practices in Nigeria and it encompasses all the engineering bodies. COREN membership is compulsory for all engineering practitioners in Nigeria. The grade of membership which is officially called cadres of registration depends on the first degree obtained by the registrant. For instance, we have the Engineer which is the highest and whose primary requirement is B. Sc, B. Eng, B. Tech in Engineering, the Engineering Technologist whose primary requirement is HND in Engineering from COREN accredited Polytechnics or Monotechnics, the Engineering Technician whose primary requirement is ND in Engineering from accredited Polytechnics or Monotechnics and the Engineering Craftsman whose primary requirement is WAEC Technical/NABTEB. To be registerable for any of these cadres, one must have obtained a minimum of four (4) years post-graduation work experience which would be communicated in a technical report with a general format attached below.
With the submission of the technical report, one would be scheduled for an oral interview usually called COREN Professional Interview (COREN P.I). Find HERE some tips that can help you get prepared and ace the interview. To register or learn more, visit COREN.
Other bodies specifically for civil engineers and which are subsidiaries of the two apex bodies are:
Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers (NICE)
The Nigerian institution of civil engineers is the umbrella body of all civil engineers in Nigeria and the most significant engineering division of the Nigeria society of engineers. The organization has a web address at www.nicenigeria.org and a permanent address at Labour house 8th floor, Central business district, Abuja, Nigeria. The organization was approved by NSE in 1984. The organization has different categories of members which include corporate members with two grades of membership (corporate and fellows) and affiliate members with four grades of membership (students, graduates, honorary fellows, and associates). To learn more or join the organization, visit NICE.
Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers (NIStructE)
This is the umbrella body of civil engineers who are specifically trained as structural engineers. The body was founded in 1967 by British-trained structural engineers and stands as a mirror of the Instruction of Structural Engineers (IStructE), UK. There is often confusion where all civil engineers are assumed to be structural engineers as well but the definition of structural engineers by IStructE would make this clear. IStructE defines structural engineers as highly skilled, creative professionals who design the strength and stability of our buildings and bridges. Not all civil engineers are trained as structural engineers. Some civil engineers specialize in highways, others in geotechnics and water resources. These are not to be called structural engineers too. NiStructE has categories of membership that include student, graduate, associate, corporate and fellow. To learn more or join, visit NiStructE.
Others include:
Nigerian Institution of Highway Engineers (NIHE)
Nigerian Institution of Water Engineers (NIWE)
Nigeria Institution of Geotechnical Engineers (NIGE)
Nigeria Institution of Professional Engineers and Scientists (NIPES)
Courses for Professional Development
You can find HERE courses that would enable you to develop yourself into a Professional Engineer
Disclosure: The courses you can find HERE are included as affiliate links. It means that I would get a small commission when you use the course. It would not cost you anything. However, the commission I get helps me to run the site. Thanks.
