''This article is about people called professionals. For the movie, see The Professionals or Leon. For the TV series, see The Professionals.

A professional can be either a person in a profession (certain types of skilled work requiring formal training/education) or in sports (a sportsman/sportwoman doing sports for payment).^[1][2] Sometimes it is also used to indicate a special level of quality of goods or tools, sometimes also called "commercial grade".^[3]

Work

Definition

A professional is a worker required to possess a large body of knowledge derived from extensive academic study (usually tertiary), with the training almost always formalized.

Professions are at least to a degree self-regulating, in that they control the training and evaluation processes that admit new persons to the field, and in judging whether the work done by their members is up to standard. This differs from other kinds of work where regulation (if considered necessary) is imposed by the state, or where official quality standards are often lacking. Professions have some historical links to guilds in these regards.

Professionals usually have autonomy in the workplace—they are expected to utilize their independent judgement and professional ethics in carrying out their responsibilities.^[4] This holds true even if they are employees instead of working on their own. Typically a professional provides a service (in exchange for payment or salary), in accordance with established protocols for licensing, ethics, procedures, standards of service and training / certification.

The above definitions were echoed by economist and sociologist Max Weber, who noted that professions are defined by the power to exclude and control admission to the profession, as well as by the development of a particular vocabulary specific to the occupation, and at least somewhat incomprehensible to outsiders.

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, 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 (e.g., Professional Plastics, Inc. "The Plastics Professionals").

U.S. salaries

Sport

Main article: Professional sport

In sports, a professional is someone who participates for money. The opposite is amateur, meaning a person that does not play for money, but in an academic (e.g. college football) or other private setting. The term "professional" is commonly used incorrectly, as the distinction simply refers to how the athlete is funded, and not necessarily to what competitions he engages in or what results he achieves.

Sometimes the professional status of an activity is controversial, for example there is debate as to whether or not 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.

Equipment

"Professional-grade" equipment is built to higher standards than "consumer grade" equipment. Copyright laws that require copy protection in consumer equipment sometimes contain exemptions for professional grade audio (audio tape, CD) and video (VHS, DVD players) equipment (see Digital Millennium Copyright Act). This equipment is usually more expensive and sometimes unavailable to the general public. The term may however also be used as a simple marketing ploy, as it is normally not protected or legally defined.

See also

• List of occupations
• Profession
• Practice-based professional learning
• Professional development
• Professional sport
• Professional amateurs

References

• Professional Plastics, Inc. - "The Plastics Professionals"
• professional food processor