I’m trying to work out whether to renew my Institute of Physics membership:
• It’s a UK-based learned society and I’m not UK-based.
• Their magazine PhysicsWorld is great but they won’t post the printed version abroad anymore, even though I take it to my work coffee room where it reaches dozens of people.
• I gain nothing directly from the membership (no networking, grants or training opportunities) so it’s essentially a donation to further the cause of physics, mostly in the UK.
• I’m also a member of the Finnish Physical Society and through them, the European Physical Society. So if it’s a sense of professional belonging I’m after then I can get that from them.
So is 47 euros worth it for that? Will I feel like I’ve given something important up?