Chris, On Sat, 1 Sep 2007 10:07:28 -0400, Chris Smolinski wrote: > >On 9/1/07, wouter van ooijen wrote: > >> > People like Olin or Jinx are in the Professional/Expert box, > >> > Wouter is saying he's in Amateur/Expert box. > >> > >> Depends on the definition. For me the only reasonable definition is "one > >> who earns a substantial amount of his income doing ...", which qalifies > > > me as professional. > > > >BTW, there are some people which exchange money on the street and > >earns twice as you do. Are they proffesional ? > > 1. An occupation that requires expertise or a high level of skill. > >That's much better. > >-- > > "Professional" used to mean occupations that ran as a closed shop, > you needed your "union card" to gain membership: doctors, dentists, > lawyers, etc. Engineering only in the sense of a licensed > Professional Engineer. There are some subtle differences (in English - not sure about American! :-) between "profession", "professional" (noun) and "professional" (adjective). "The professions" are things like the legal and medical areas of employment, where membership of a professional body such as the Law Society or the Royal College of Surgeons is a requirement (we don't have licences for this sort of thing, as I believe is the case in the USA). "A professional" (noun) would be someone who worked in those areas, a member of one of those bodies. ("The oldest profession" seems to be an ironic use of the word, incidentally! :-) Profession as an adjective is used to describe someone's way of making a living as opposed to something they do in their spare time or for fun, such as a professional gardener, a professional driver, a professional engineer, a professional thief! There is no link between this usage and the "professions" that I mention above - being "a professional /job title/" doesn not mean that you are "a professional" or that you work in one of the professions. I'm an amateur electronic engineer, a professional computer person, even though I have no formal qualifications in this. At the moment, I'm a professional layabout! :-) Cheers, Howard Winter St.Albans, England -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist