“Volunteers don’t get paid, not because they’re worthless, but because they’re priceless.” ― Sherry Anderson

Every IEEE member knows well that, IEEE is the biggest professional organization, and the most common answer given when someone asks “what does IEEE do”, is “Foster technology for the better of humanity”. But what does this means?

IEEE serves humanity, providing technological solutions, while at the same time it spreads the importance of engineering education in pre-university students – Vijay S Paul. However, a great effort is being given by its volunteers to run its services. IEEE volunteers are the heart of IEEE, beating hard and keeping the organization alive, since the very beginning back in the 1884. IEEE volunteers are the behind the scenes heroes for every one of its services.

There are no specific skills you need to follow in order to be part of the IEEE family. All IEEE work is focused on volunteering. And what does volunteering means? According to wikipedia “Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity where an individual or group provides services for no financial or social gain, to benefit another person, group or organization”.

Sharing the same vision with the IEEE, its members have created great initiatives during the years. Initiatives, that help people to get closer with technology, to help communities solve real problems, to motivate students in schools, to share knowledge.

IEEE Vision: IEEE will be essential to the global technical community and to technical professionals everywhere, and be universally recognized for the contributions of technology and of technical professionals in improving global conditions. – www.ieee.org

Being an IEEE volunteer requires time. There are many examples of  IEEE members, running a new initiative or an event or a project, who actually felt like working in two full-time jobs at the same time. However, the benefits of being an IEEE member, are many. It is important that, IEEE for its members can be a safe environment to experiment with new things (projects, collaboration etc.), but also develop important skills (technical and soft skills). From such benefits,  new great initiatives can be born for the benefit of humanity.

IEEE volunteers have a great role in IEEE’s running procedure, as they also have positions of responsibility. The Board of Directors consists of volunteers, and our journals, conferences, standards, and educational activities are all run by volunteers.–John R. Vig. This is why IEEE Volunteers Are the Greatest