Questions, answered plainly.

Anyone who leads engineering work and can show it: managers, individual contributors and executives alike. What matters is substantial, verifiable work, such as systems at scale, teams you built, open source, standards, research, patents or refereed talks. See what counts.

No. The Admissions Committee places you as a Member or Senior Member based on the depth, reach and independent recognition of your work. A staff engineer can be a Senior Member, and a VP can be a Member. Dues are $1,600 a year for every grade. See grades.

Yes. When your record grows, you can apply to move up. There's no fee, and the committee decides on the same published criteria as everyone else.

Only for work that isn't on public record. A public link that shows your name on a record someone else keeps, such as a maintainer list, an author list or a patent record, is enough on its own. For internal systems or teams you built, add a reference who can speak to your part. The committee may ask for references if anything is unclear.

No. Anything that can be bought or arranged, including paid awards, pay-to-join councils, sponsored speaking slots and opportunities the Society itself arranged, isn't counted.

It covers the cost of review by at least two committee members. Every applicant pays the same, it is kept whether or not you're admitted, and it is set to cover costs rather than make a profit.

Only after you're admitted. We invoice $1,600 for your first year at that point. Nothing you pay or plan to buy is considered in the decision.

No. The committee doesn't know or consider which programs you might buy, and the bylaws protect that rule. Programs are offered only after admission.

No. Members are eligible to put themselves forward for opportunities with our partners. The partner or an independent panel chooses, and we never sell placement.

We cannot provide legal or immigration advice. Please speak to a qualified attorney.

Yes. Many members expense dues as leadership development. The membership stays yours and doesn't transfer to your employer. The employer page has a cost summary and an approval note you can send.

The committee records its decision and reasons. You can reapply after 12 months, or sooner with materially new evidence.

City dinners happen only in select cities with enough members nearby. Forums run in batches of 8 to 12 people in the same grade, so a new one starts only once enough members sign up. If you'd like one in your city, tell us. See Events.

What's said in a forum or the private channel stays there. You can use what you learn, but not attribute it to a person or company, or share it outside the Society, without consent.