You may tend to the network every day as part of your job, but how much attention do you devote to your own personal network? By that, I mean your network of contacts you can tap to stay up on your industry and learn about new job opportunities.
Advertisement: |
A good way to start building that network is to get involved with a professional organization for high-tech professionals. There are many to choose from. Here is what a few have to offer:
Communications Managers Association (CMA) www.cma.org: Founded in 1948, CMA is the user group for network leaders. The organization holds several educational sessions and publishes a quarterly newsletter, The CMA Review. Member companies must spend at least $500,000 annually on IT products and services.
Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) www.itaa.org: A high-profile trade association, the ITAA provides global public policy, business networking and national leadership to promote the continued rapid growth of the IT industry. Most of the group's 500+ members appear to be vendors.
International Communications Association (ICA) www.icanet.com: Representing information and communications technology professionals and managers in commercial, government and educational organizations, the ICA's mission is to provide resources, education and networking opportunities. The group runs an annual conference, but at the time of writing, the 2001 program was still under development.
Network Professional Association (NPA) www.npa.org: The NPA's members have expert knowledge, ability, integrity and professionalism in the field of network computing systems, according to the group's Web site. The organization has several active local chapters.
Systems Administration, Networking and Security Institute (SANS) www.sans.org: More than 96,000 IT professionals belong to this cooperative research and education organization. In addition to training and certification, SANs provides free resources such as e-mail news digests, security alerts, and research summaries.
What professional organizations have you found most worthwhile? Let me know at aschurr@nww.com
RELATED LINKS
Amy Schurr is an editor for Network World's Management Strategies and Features sections. If you have any career topics you'd like her to cover or want to comment on this newsletter, you can reach her at aschurr@nww.com.
Careers index
Past newsletters.
Network World, 05/31/99
