WHy CSI Membership or Certification?
If you are not already a member of Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), you may be wondering why you should bother joining. After all, there are plenty of other demands on your time and money; if you are a licensed professional, you probably already pay (high) fees to be a member of your respective professional association, as well as for your license. What additional benefit can CSI membership confer?
The first answer that comes to mind today is breadth of viewpoint. It is a commonplace observation that association and exchange of ideas with people from a wide range of backgrounds and experience can provide insights not available in a narrower group.
CSI is a great example of this observation applied in real life. CSI's membership is not limited to design professionals (architects and engineers), but includes contractors, product representatives, owner's representatives, construction managers, inspectors, attorneys and many other specialties involved in the construction industry. A CSI chapter meeting is a miniature slice of the whole industry where you can discuss the important topics of the day with firendly people who see things in a different way. It's hard to overstate how useful that can be, and it's an every-day aspect of membership.
Membership puts you square in the middle of a huge network of bright, capable people who are almost all willing to share what they know, if you ask. A tremendous gift to anyone wanting to improve their understanding of this complex business.
After becoming a member, why would you want certification? Self-confidence is one reason that jumps to the front. CSI certification exams are rigorous exercises of essential construction technology skills and terminology. Achieving certification means you have been successfully measured against industry standards of understanding and performance, a tremendous boost for confidence for you and proof to others that you know your work. Licensed professionals as well as those without other licenses will benefit from the knowledge and status that certification provides.
Information about CSI membership and certification are available at the CSI website, www.csinet.org, or just "google it". Email me if you have a question, I'm happy to help.