« The games kids play | Main | A cute story »
May 14, 2009
What makes someone a professional?
In Don't Call Me Middle Class: I'm a Professional!, the WSJ discusses that many American workers think of themselves as professionals and not workers.
I see a different and simpler definition of a professional. A professional isn't someone with a lot of skills, education or measured by salary. No, a professional is someone who has a primary loyalty to their profession instead of their employer. The classic professions, the lawyer, the doctor, the architect, the professor, and the accountant, are all united by the fact that while they may have an employer, there is something more fundamental than their employer to their professional execution. Acts that it would be both legal or ethical for a someone outside the profession to do are often not for a professional. There may be new professions, and perhaps an actuary, a CFA, a teacher, an artist, or a pro-athlete meets this standard. However, I am skeptical that a recruiter, stylist, salesman, consultant, or a bureaucrat does.
Posted by OneEyedMan at May 14, 2009 2:23 PM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)