In every young professional’s life opportunities will arise for volunteer service to the profession via various conferences, meetings, and organizations. At the minimum you may be asked to organize a small local meeting or review a paper. At the other extreme you may be the chairman of a tri-annual world congress involving thousands of attendees from hundreds of countries or chair and establish an industrial standard for product safety and uniformity. Typically, these task are unpaid (at least directly), but very necessary, and can be most rewarding indirectly and personally.

You can, of course, refuse to participate in such volunteer tasks (unless ordered to do so by your boss as part of your paid job). But if you do you miss a great deal of what means to be a professional and the advantages to your career and personal development. Here are some in my opinion

Generally speaking, the World always has a shortage of responsible and competent persons to do the things that need to be done. Volunteering for professional services will make others take notice if you possess such qualities. After that, opportunities will open up for you worldwide. Thus, my advice to young person starting out in industry or academia, pick carefully but do volunteer for these services. But once you agree to do the job, do it faithfully. There are people who love the glory but avoid the responsibility of work. That is worse than not volunteer at all. Once you acquire that bad reputation, it will hinder your advancement to no end and possibly ruin your career.