Depends upon perspective.
If you are running in the middle ranks of a career in a company where you're intending to stay for most if-not all of your career, then it gives you an interesting monthly magazine, admission to a lot of interesting lectures, and not a great deal else. Mind you for that, I'd say it's worth the £25pa or so for affiliate membership, but arguably not worth the cost or time that goes with trying for higher grades.
If you are likely to change job in the near future, or are interesting in influencing or reaching the top of your profession, then I'd recommend joining and aiming for the higher grades.
Specifically it then offers:-
- The potential to add letters after your name (always good on a CV)
- Opportunities to mix with the great and the good of the profession (whether pilots, engineers, lawyers, administrators - all in aviation) from all backgrounds.
- Opportunities to be invited onto the committees that set or influence standards across aerospace. Similarly, access to those committees if you've got burning questions you need help with.
- Access to a stunningly useful (if difficult to find your way around without a guide) aeronautical technical library.
- Cheap(er) access into conferences on just about every aerospace subject imaginable from space law to light aircraft design.
- Somewhere in the centre of London to hold meetings for free and have a cheap lunch / drink.
Well it's worked for me so far. Higher grade membership isn't cheap (although I manage to persuade the company accountant to pay most of the £150-£200 per year I get invoiced), but for myself it's helped my career a lot - certainly to a far greater value than £200pa.
G
MRAeS