Professional
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A professional is a person who has completed a doctoral or law program[citation needed] (a masters or bachelors degree does not infer a professional).[citation needed] The term professional is often misused in society today. It has become confused with "White Collar" or "expert" or even "professional athelete". A person who is white collar performs a job that requires education and does not involve physical labor (physical labor job would be blue collar).
What we are dealing with here essentially is the definition of Social Economic Status or SES. The modified hollingshead scale of social position is as follows: Professional – Doctoral level Degree (MD, D.O., PhD or equal) 1
Graduate Level Degree (MBA, MA, MS) 2
Four-year college graduate (BA, BS, BM) 3
One to three years college (also business schools) 4
High school graduate 5
Ten to 11 years of school (part high school) 6
Seven to nine years ofschool 7
Less than seven years of school 8
Less than five years of school 9
No Education 10
So the term profession would be a "1" on the hollingshead scale. A person who is a 2 or below, would be a white collar worker or a commercial athelete for example, rather than an actual professional.
In western nations, such as the United States, the term commonly describes highly educated, mostly salaried workers, who enjoy considerable work autonomy, economic security, a comfortable salary, and are commonly engaged in creative and intellectually challenging work.[1][2][3][4] A professional athlete is someone who derives income by participating in competitive sports, again here the word professional being misused,[clarification needed] more appropriately to be referred to as "Commercial athlete".[clarification needed]
Work
Definition
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A 'true' professional must be proficient in all criteria for the field of work they are practising professionally in. Criteria include following:
- Academic qualifications - a doctoral or law degree - i.e., university college/institute
- Expert and specialised knowledge in field which one is practising professionally
- Excellent manual/practical and literary skills in relation to profession
- High quality work in (examples): creations, products, services, presentations, consultancy, primary/other research, administrative, marketing or other work endeavours
- A high standard of professional ethics, behaviour and work activities while carrying out one's profession (as an employee, self-employed person, career, enterprise, business, company, or partnership/associate/colleague, etc.)
- Also it takes into consideration natural and harnessed talents integrated and used with qualifications: such as when undertaking work in a professional capacity. These talents and skills are just as important in any forms of work whether it is paid, unpaid, volunteer, domestic jobs or any other work.
Trades
In narrow usage, not all expertise is considered a profession. Although sometimes referred to as professions, such occupations as skilled construction work are more generally thought of as trades or crafts. The completion of an apprenticeship is generally associated with skilled labor or trades such as carpenter, electrician, plumber, bricklayer and other similar occupations. A related (though not always valid) distinction would be that a professional does mainly mental or administrative work, as opposed to engaging in physical work. Many companies include the word professional in their company name to signify the quality of their workmanship or service.
Sport
In sports, a professional is someone who participates for money. The opposite is amateur, meaning a person who does not play for money, but in an academic (e.g. college football) or other private setting. The term "professional" is commonly used incorrectly when referring to sports, as the distinction simply refers to how the athlete is funded, and not necessarily competitions or achievements.
Sometimes the professional status of an activity is controversial; for example, there is debate as to whether professionals should be allowed to compete in the Olympic Games. The motivation for money (either in rewards, salaries or advertising revenue) is sometimes seen as a corrupting influence, tainting a sport.
It has been suggested that the crude, all or nothing categories, of professional or amateur should be reconsidered. A historical shift is occurring with the rise of Pro-Ams, a new category of people that are pursuing amateur activities to professional standards.
See also
References
- ^ Gilbert, D. (1998). The American class structure: In an age of growing inequality. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Press.
- ^ Beeghley, L. (2004). The structure of social stratification in the United States. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
- ^ Eichar, D. (1989). Occupation and class conciousness in America. Wesport, CT: Greewood Press.
- ^ Ehrenreich, B. (1989). Fear of falling: The inner life of the middle class. New York: Harper Prennial.