Entrepreneurship Research Guide: Research Tips

Professional Associations

Associations are formal organizations of individuals representing a profession, occupation, or industry.  These organizations support and further the interests of the profession through a variety of member benefits and activities. Professional associations are also good sources of news, emerging trends, key issues, events, and problems in a field. 

Listed below are several of the most common benefits and activities of professional associations.

Activities

Conferences, workshops and seminars
Certification programs
Career and leadership development
Employment opportunities
Networking
Research
Publications
Lobbying and policy-making
Establishment of professional standards and codes of ethics

Here are two methods for identifying professional associations in your field. 

​1. Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH): https://www.bls.gov/ooh/

The OOH is published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and provides profiles of approximately 80% of jobs in our national economy. The profiles describe the responsibilities, educational requirements, compensation and outlook for each occupation. These profiles are also a good source of relevant professional associations in the field.  Locate these organizations by clicking the More Info. tab in an occupation's profile.

Video: Using the Occupational Outlook Handbook for Your Career Search

2. Advanced Google Search:

• Go to https://www.google.com/advanced_search
• Enter the name of an occupation/profession followed by professional association in the All These Words box at the top of the page.
• Scroll down the page and enter .org in the site or domain field.
• Scan through the results to identify a professional association and evaluate relevancy by browsing the organization's website, especially the About page.