What is a Profession?

Profession

• Meaning

  1. A calling in which one professes to have acquired specialised knowledge which is used in instructing, guiding or advising others.
  2. Any occupation by which a person earns a livelihood.

• Synonyms

  1. line of work
  2. vocation
  3. occupation
  4. job
  5. career
  6. work
  7. business

• Definitions

  1. Profession is a vocation requiring some significant body of knowledge that is applied with high degree of consistency in the service of some relevant segment of society — Hodge and Johnson
  2. Occupation especially one requiring advanced education and special training — A. S. Hornby

Profession » Attributes

The attributes of a profession as laid down by Dalton E. McFarland.

1.	The existence of a body of specialised knowledge or techniques
2.	Formalized method of acquiring training and experience
3.	The establishment of representative organization with professionalism as its goal.
4.	The formation of ethical codes for the guidance of conduct.
5.	The charging of fees based on services but with due regards for the priority of service over the desire for monetary rewards.

Professional - Amateur

Professional

A professional (in an activity) is one who takes up something for the purpose of making money out of it and who has an expert knowledge in it. He is also proficient, skilled and has specialized knowledge in it. He is qualified certified or licensed for carrying on that activity by competent authority.

Amateur

An amateur is a person who engages in something for the pleasure of it rather than for money.

Profession/Professional - Names

Special names relevant to the profession are used to identify a person taking up a profession i.e. professionals of some fields are called with special names.

Profession	Professional
Medical Profession [Medicine]	Doctor
Engineering Profession	Engineer
Legal Profession	Lawyer
Teaching Profession	Teacher
Accounting Profession	Accountant/Professional Accountant
Management Profession	Manager