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This article is about the people called professionals. For the movie, see The Professionals (movie).

A professional does an activity to receive payment for an act (as a profession), which usually requires expertise and carries with it socially significant mores and folkways. That is to say, behaving professionally would indicate that the person's actions remain in accordance with specific rules, written or unwritten, pertaining to behavior, dress, speech, etc. By extension, the adjective professional can indicate that someone has great expertise or skill in a craft or activity.

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.

The opposite of professional is amateur or, disparagingly, "rank amateur." Sometimes an amateur can perform as well or better than a professional, but this tends to be an exception. Therefore, in many fields a person must overcome a barrier before gaining recognition as a professional. Such barriers include academic degrees, certifications, or licenses. Professions with such barriers include those of accountancy, architecture, medicine, engineering, intelligence, law, librarianship, nursing, social work and teaching. In the strictest sense, a profession is created by legislation and is self-regulating.

Sport

Main article: Professional sport

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.

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

• List of occupations
• Profession
• Professional development
• Professional sport

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