Taking a look at professional organizations within the communications industry is beneficial for many reasons. It will keep you abreast of current trends and knowledgeable about events as they relate to your career, and it will keep you connected to members with the same job as yours. And, if you are looking for a job, these are the insider contacts that you will need to be successful. Networking in the communications industry is essential for success. Because there are a variety of organizations to choose from, however, you won’t want to join everything— just the one or two groups that relate to your chosen communications major field.

• Association for Business Communication (ABC) is an international, interdisciplinary organization committed to advancing business communication research, education and practice. http://www.businesscommunication.org
• Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) is an international organization providing journalism educators relevant links to resources to help them create, revise or improve their web-based courses. http://www.aejmc.or
• Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW) is a dynamic resource, allowing you to view and post job notices, calls for papers, news items, and materials for teaching and research. http://www.attw.org
• European Association for the Teaching of Academic Writing (EATAW) is a scholarly forum that seeks to bring together those involved or interested in the teaching, tutoring, research, administration and development of academic writing in higher education in Europe. Membership in EATAW is free and open to individuals from all over the world, not only those from Europe. www.eataw.eu
• European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) is the learned society for communication scholars across Europe and beyond. Individuals, institutions and associations have chosen to become members of ECREA to join a large community devoted to the development and quality of communication research and higher education in Europe. http://www.ecrea.eu
• IEEE Professional Communication Society (IEEE) is the world’s largest professional association promoting the engineering process of creating, developing, integrating, sharing, and applying knowledge about electro- and information technologies and sciences. www.ieee.org
• International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) is the worldwide professional organization in the field of media and communication research. Its members promote global inclusiveness and excellence within the best traditions of critical research in the field. http://www.iamcr.org
• International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) is a worldwide learning community for professionals committed to improving the effectiveness of organizations through strategic communication. www.iabc.com
• International Communication Association (ICA) is an academic association for scholars interested in the study, teaching and application of all aspects of human and mediated communication. http://www.icahdq.org
• National Communication Association (NCA) is the largest national organization dedicated to communication. Researchers, educators and professionals work to understand and better all forms of human communication through publications, resources, conferences, conventions and services. http://www.natcom.org
• Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is the nation’s largest community of public relations and communications professionals. www.prsa.org
• Society for Technical Communication (STC) is an organization dedicated to advancing the arts and sciences of technical communication. It is the largest organization of its kind. www.stc.org