Stephen VanDyke, CSI, CDT, NCARB
You know you get a lot out of your membership in CSI. Educational programs which increase and broaden your expertise, and for licensed professionals, provide some or all of your Continuing Education Units. Interaction with other members at chapter events which expands your professional network and can even lead to another trusted adviser in your Rolodex (millennials can email me if they don’t know what a Rolodex is…). Respect and recognition from peers and clients for those of you who’ve passed any of CSI’s credentialing programs like the Construction Document Technologist (CDT) and others. Monthly technical articles from industry experts in the Construction Specifier magazine, the official magazine of CSI. But are you getting everything out of your membership that you can?
Did you know that CSI has a robust website managed by the Institute, accessible to all members? You can find it at www.csiresources.org. “Resources” is an apt name for the page as its filled with things you can use in your professional life all the time. Some of my favorites are:
- The entire MasterFormat numbering list, in a searchable pdf you can download for free. No need to guess at a SectionNumber or make something up anymore. All that info is right at your fingertips. Find it at https://www.csiresources.org/home/widgettest?cobaltsrc=https://csi82widgets.cobaltsaas.com/Sales/Catalog/ProductSearch.aspx?selmenid=men7. There are plenty of other publications there for sale, but this is particularly handy.
- A discussion forum reaching every member in the organization. Want advice on selecting and specifying a building component you’re unfamiliar with? Don’t struggle finding an answer – throw your question out on the forum for the entire country to see, and marvel at the range of advice you get. You can find the discussion forums after logging into your account, here: https://www.csiresources.org/communities/community-home/digestviewer?communitykey=80c3b4dd-0d3f-4d4e-90f2-3bc6e4135dc2&tab=digestviewer. You can even sign up for a digest version which’ll appear in your inbox every morning, without even going to the website.
Looking for another member to connect with? The entire member directory is at your fingertips at https://www.csiresources.org/network/members
There’s plenty more on the site for you to check out, but these are pages I hit all the time. If you didn’t know they were there, you’re missing out on a lot of what CSI has to offer you.