I’ve been thinking a lot about professional involvement lately. This is for a number of reasons: for a little while I wasn’t doing much except floating proposals… so now I’m doing a lot as a result of those proposals, I’m beginning to wonder where my free time has gone because I’m as busy with professional involvement stuff as I was with library school this time a year ago, we’re having discussions about professional involvement and publishing at work, etc.
And I’m beginning to think about this involvement as a form of investment. I can see a lot of parallels between professional involvement and saving money. Just as we’re told that money we invest early on will provide us with larger returns in the future, investing early in professional involvement (I suspect) will provide us with larger professional returns in the future. Essentially, there’s more bang for the buck.
When I attend a conference where I’m actually able to attend programs I learn something new or interesting in almost any session. Several of my colleagues who have been at it longer have suggested that this might change over time. The same goes for any journal article or blog post I read and any podcast or webinar I listen to. Since I’m operating from a place where I don’t have the professional history, I have a lot I can learn.
Getting to know more colleagues in the field is also worth gold to the new professional. Starting out you might only know a few people you went through school with and the people you work with every day. Each person you meet at a conference or online widens your professional circle and gives you a wider pool of people to brainstorm with. I’m amazed at how energizing it can be to work with people at other institutions doing similar things or who have similar interests.
Publishing early–even if you’re not sure about the whole publishing thing–gives the new professional a better understanding of the process of publishing. I find publishing to be pretty intimidating (I really value published work… probably why I wound up in this field). But by forcing myself to get started now, I’m finding it more familiar and much less stressful. This will inevitably lead to more publishing over time.
Finally, by carving out a specific niche, the early professional can get more time to focus on a specific area and develop a reputation and expertise. (I’m having a hard time narrowing down the area, though I know it’s a good idea.)
This isn’t to say that involvement won’t be valuable later. Really, I think by laying the groundwork now, my later involvement will be more meaningful. I just think it’s really interesting that in operating from an area of newness the early professional has an easier time getting more from conferences, networking, and writing. And that makes me feel a lot better about being so busy lately.
It all comes down to justification, doesn’t it? 
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