Want to Know What Your $99 ODTUG Membership Will Get You?

By sheer coincidence, my supervisor recently asked me whether it was worthwhile signing up for a full ODTUG membership. I am sure you would be asking the same. After all, why pay $99 annually when ODTUG is already giving out lots of stuff for FREE?

First, let's consider what additional resources and benefits you will have access to as a full member:

A. Access to Past Webinars
ODTUG organizes many webinars each year that cover a broad range of topics and are presented by very prominent members of the Oracle technical community. You "don't want to miss a thing"! Yes, I am super excited that Aerosmith will be performing live at Oracle OpenWorld 2014.

This is especially important if you are just starting out and learning the trade. Having constant access to this valuable and educational material is a must! Besides, webinars are usually held during office hours in North America. So you don’t have to worry if your boss decided to schedule an all-important meeting when Steven Feuerstein (@sfonplsql) is on the air telling you how to be a better PL/SQL coder. Or perhaps you were halfway around the globe exploring great business opportunities in Singapore!

B. Technical Files
According to recent statistics, there are more than 4,000 technical files available in ODTUG's database. These include presentation slide decks and recordings of Kscope sessions. Now that doesn't give you an excuse to miss this annual event, but let's face it: Training funds aren't always readily available. At a very small fraction of the cost, you'll have access to lots of useful content.

Also, if you have ever been to one, you know it is often a huge challenge to manage your conference schedule. The Content Selection Committee has a strange habit of selecting a large volume of great content and as a result, there are always many must-go sessions that run parallel to each other. The recordings and slides help mitigate the disappointments!

C. Staying Current with the ODTUG Technical Journal
As an Associate member, you already have access to the archives. Only paid members receive the articles hot off the press!

D. Job Boards
Ssshhh! Don't tell the boss about this one. In case you haven’t heard, ODTUG runs a private (almost personal) job board. You have to be a full member to post or view a job. That means it is quite possible you may have met your future employer in person at Kscope. You know what they say about networking: It's priceless!

E. Kscope Registration Fee Discounts
You want attend the best Oracle conference there is in North America, right? For $99, you get $150 off your registration fee. Now that's ROI!

F. Voting
Passionate about #orclapex, #orcladf, #orclepm, #orcldev, #orclbi or #orcldba? Make sure you are represented! Only full members get the privilege to vote in ODTUG Board members to represent their community.

There! I've listed at least six benefits of being an ODTUG full member; however, for me, it was the intangibles that helped me make the crucial decision to don the gold star.

I benefited a lot from the community. Even as an Associate member, I enjoyed great educational content and technical guidance, and forged new friendships from this community. I think $99 is a small sum for me to help support and sustain the organization. It is my chance to say "thank you," and this family matters to me!