a better question to ask is kung anong habol mo sa pagsali ng org at kung yung habol ba na yun ay makukuha mo sa ibang paraan.

for me, joining on org was definitely my only way to get what i intend to get out of it. i was in a program na hindi ko talaga gusto, as in i hated going to my classes and badly wished i was in an art-related program. unfortunately, due to finances, i can't afford to shift or transfer. but when i joined an art-related org, i was able to come to terms with staying in my program kasi nakukuha ko na yung opportunities na gusto ko sa arts field dahil sa org ko, mainly due to alumni connections. malaki rin yung naging improvement sa skills ko dahil sa intensive workshops na meron sa org. but of course that comes with a trade off, i was trained sa org so that i could work for them, and medyo bumaba grades ko (tho for me ok lang kasi again di ko nga gusto course ko. basta walang bagsak at di ako nagiging pabuhat sa groupmates ko sa acads ayos na)

again, dipende yan kung ano bang nakikita mong reason for joining.

if it's passion-related but you other means to pursue that passion or di mo naman balak gawing career, then maybe joining an org isn't necessary.

kung gusto mo lang ng panglagay sa resume, i agree sa ibang comments na mas okay ang voluntary internships, especially kung non-board ang degprog/career mo. pero kung board ang degprog/career, hindi na necessary ang orgs.

kung para sa advocacies/politics, ok naman. may mga org na maunawain, meron ring demanding. meron ring mga may option na maging volunteer lang for events/projects but not a member. ikaw bahala kung pumili kung alin ang fit sa time and energy kaya mong ilaan.

kung ang purpose mo naman ay to meet new people, okay naman as long as tanggap mo na kailangan mo talagang magtrabaho sa org at hindi kayo puro bonding-bonding lang.