Is Phi Beta Kappa a boost to employment? Forum

[SnakySalmon]

I know it isn't really important for admissions, but some people on here have mentioned it as being good on a resume before. Looking over the profiles of entry level lawyers, a lot of them seem to mention it.

Is it helpful for clerkship resumes? I can see judges who have it wanting to see it.

I have the GPA for it in my undergrad, but it turns out our school requires you to take math 160+, which I don't have. If I wanted it, I'd need to take a summer course to meet that requirement. It doesn't seem like it's probably worth it, but I thought I'd ask.

[kalvano]

Pretty much worthless. If you and another candidate are equal in all regards, maybe a tiebreaker. Or maybe not.

[09042014]

What is it?

[mephistopheles]

no, but kappa beta phi definitely is

[Ahem_aroma]

the way I've always interpreted why it's listed in job profiles is because it reflects how you graduated from your school. So someone graduated summa cum laude, PBK from x institution. I have never had anyone make comment about my PBK or graduation honors while looking for (non attorney) jobs. That being said, when I have to write a profile about myself I would list it.

[patogordo]

this is a real thing? i didn't join in college because i thought it was a scam.

[sodomojo]

this is a real thing? i didn't join in college because i thought it was a scam.

PBK is the only "honor society" that isn't exactly a scam.

[JazzieShizzle]

I also didn't join because I thought it was a scam. The invitation letter they sent me had so many typos I thought for sure the Prince of Nigeria wrote it.

[James H.]

I thought for sure the Prince of Nigeria wrote it.

I just fell out of my chair.

[sublime]

..

[aegor]

It is not a scam. It is merely an indication of your class rank. My university had no Dean's list or anything, so PBK was an easy to to tell that you graduated in the top 10%. There were other university-specific awards if you were in the top 5%, etc.

[patogordo]

It is not a scam. It is merely an indication of your class rank. My university had no Dean's list or anything, so PBK was an easy to to tell that you graduated in the top 10%. There were other university-specific awards if you were in the top 5%, etc.

pretty sure they wanted me to pay dues or something

[SnakySalmon]

this is a real thing? i didn't join in college because i thought it was a scam.

Some of the discipline specific ones are straight too. Varies chapter to chapter, I imagine, but I took many free trips and ate many free meals on Pi Sigma Alpha's dime (poli sci honors thing).

This is credited. I got a lot out of Phi Alpha Theta, (the History one). I think everyone can agree that they aren't really useful for your resume though. It's only worth joining if you want to do the activities and conferences they put on.

[NYC-WVU]

this is a real thing? i didn't join in college because i thought it was a scam.

PBK is the only "honor society" that isn't exactly a scam.

How are they scams? I was inducted into Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honor's Society) and Pi Tau Sigma (Mechanical Engineering), and I've never had to do anything, or been bothered much at all. I think I get one letter every three years asking for a donation. Neither one may be useful to me, but I'm not sure why it would be a "scam."

[notalobbyist]

this is a real thing? i didn't join in college because i thought it was a scam.

PBK is the only "honor society" that isn't exactly a scam.

How are they scams? I was inducted into Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honor's Society) and Pi Tau Sigma (Mechanical Engineering), and I've never had to do anything, or been bothered much at all. I think I get one letter every three years asking for a donation. Neither one may be useful to me, but I'm not sure why it would be a "scam."

Would you care to join the Society of Credentialed Arbiters of Mankind?

As a member of SCAM, you would be part of a select group of talented people such as yourself, and for only $50 dues you would be able to post on our linkedin page as much as you want. You don't even have to do anything and we won't bother you much at all!

Notable SCAM members include myself, founding member of SCAM.

I hope you will join our esteemed organization.

[NYC-WVU]

this is a real thing? i didn't join in college because i thought it was a scam.

PBK is the only "honor society" that isn't exactly a scam.

How are they scams? I was inducted into Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honor's Society) and Pi Tau Sigma (Mechanical Engineering), and I've never had to do anything, or been bothered much at all. I think I get one letter every three years asking for a donation. Neither one may be useful to me, but I'm not sure why it would be a "scam."

Would you care to join the Society of Credentialed Arbiters of Mankind?

As a member of SCAM, you would be part of a select group of talented people such as yourself, and for only $50 dues you would be able to post on our linkedin page as much as you want. You don't even have to do anything and we won't bother you much at all!

Notable SCAM members include myself, founding member of SCAM.

I hope you will join our esteemed organization.

I see. When I said "I've never had to do anything," you read that as "I've never had to do anything except pay some kind of dues." To help clarify: I've never had to do anything or pay anything. (If there are dues, they must have been paid by the school.) Also, if there are dues, I understand why people would assume it is a scam. But of all the societies, I think Phi Beta Kappa is probably worth it, and, as an engineer, I wasn't eligible, so I don't think I'm biased.

[notalobbyist]

That's fair. Full disclosure, I'm PBK and paid the dues because it's worth a resume line IMHO. Its one of the few things you see in bios for lawyers at firms.

[retake2018]

Not necessarily related to being hired, but I know of a few honor societies that, as a member, you start at a higher pay scale in government work.

[Theopliske8711]

That's fair. Full disclosure, I'm PBK and paid the dues because it's worth a resume line IMHO. Its one of the few things you see in bios for lawyers at firms.

Wait, how often do you have to pay dues? I've been PBK since 2011...

[melodically]

I believe it's a one-time payment for lifetime membership, although your local chapter may require annual dues if you want to participate in that.

[09042014]

That's fair. Full disclosure, I'm PBK and paid the dues because it's worth a resume line IMHO. Its one of the few things you see in bios for lawyers at firms.

You can put whatever the fuck you want in your firm bio. It doesn't surprise me that goobers who paid for this scam still think it's something to be proud of. The question is does anyone else.

[SnakySalmon]

That's fair. Full disclosure, I'm PBK and paid the dues because it's worth a resume line IMHO. Its one of the few things you see in bios for lawyers at firms.

You can put whatever the fuck you want in your firm bio. It doesn't surprise me that goobers who paid for this scam still think it's something to be proud of. The question is does anyone else.

But if lots of people that do hiring are those same goobers, it might be helpful for getting a job. Lots of prestige things are scams that are worth doing because people buy into them.

[09042014]

That's fair. Full disclosure, I'm PBK and paid the dues because it's worth a resume line IMHO. Its one of the few things you see in bios for lawyers at firms.

You can put whatever the fuck you want in your firm bio. It doesn't surprise me that goobers who paid for this scam still think it's something to be proud of. The question is does anyone else.

But if lots of people that do hiring are those same goobers, it might be helpful for getting a job.

But lots of people aren't putting it on their bio. Only a few do.

[SnakySalmon]

That's fair. Full disclosure, I'm PBK and paid the dues because it's worth a resume line IMHO. Its one of the few things you see in bios for lawyers at firms.

You can put whatever the fuck you want in your firm bio. It doesn't surprise me that goobers who paid for this scam still think it's something to be proud of. The question is does anyone else.

But if lots of people that do hiring are those same goobers, it might be helpful for getting a job.

But lots of people aren't putting it on their bio. Only a few do.

According to PBK's website, 7 of the 9 Supreme court justices are members. If that holds true for judges generally, (I have no idea if it does) it implies that the people hiring for clerkships are going to buy into it.

[NYC-WVU]

That's fair. Full disclosure, I'm PBK and paid the dues because it's worth a resume line IMHO. Its one of the few things you see in bios for lawyers at firms.

You can put whatever the fuck you want in your firm bio. It doesn't surprise me that goobers who paid for this scam still think it's something to be proud of. The question is does anyone else.

But if lots of people that do hiring are those same goobers, it might be helpful for getting a job.

But lots of people aren't putting it on their bio. Only a few do.

Perhaps that's because "lot's of people" weren't eligible for PBK.
Do you think Order of the Coif is also a scam? (Perhaps it is, I noticed that HLS and CLS aren't members.) But, it seems like it's simply an easy way to brag and say "I was in the top 10% of my class," without having to actually say that. Is that not worth $30, or whatever?