Is joining Upsilon Pi Epsilon worth anything?

April 2, 2010 3:34 PM

Is joining Upsilon Pi Epsilon worth anything?
posted by riffola to Education (5 answers total)

It depends what you mean by "worth anything." It's always a plus to be recognized for excellence in any field, though the recognition is typically only as professionally valuable as the prestige with which it's held by others in the field.

I have worked as a full-time software developer since the mid-1990s and while I am quite familiar with ACM, this is the first I've heard of Upsilon Pi Epsilon. I would guess that you'd have to be more towards the academic side of computing (e.g. teaching, research, writing compilers, etc.) for it to be truly meaningful on a resume. Outside of that, it might help to distinguish you from another candidate with otherwise similar credentials.
posted by tomwheeler at 3:50 PM on April 2, 2010

Response by poster: UPE is an honor society. I was invited to join it, but wasn't sure if it's worth it or not.
posted by riffola at 3:54 PM on April 2, 2010

Best answer: Look at it this way: joining it will cost you something like an $80 one time fee (or at least, that's how it worked for me), and you never know when it might actually end up mattering.

I'd join it.
posted by kdar at 4:20 PM on April 2, 2010 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I think the greater worth is for networking with the smarter / hardworking students. Often these things have tutoring sessions or charity fundraisers where you interact with people you might not normally, especially in other graduating classes. That's valuable. But you have to put an effort in. If you just sign up and then never think about it again, it's just a line on your resume.
posted by smackfu at 4:29 PM on April 2, 2010

Best answer: As a hiring manager, the only undergraduate academic honor I pay attention to is Phi Beta Kappa, and then only because it's rather rigid class rank criteria help clear out the fuzz of grade and latin honor inflation...
posted by MattD at 5:01 PM on April 2, 2010 [1 favorite]