What is a professional? Who is a professional?

[firecatpickles]

I was always taught that the difference between a "professional" and a "worker" is that the professional can take h/is skills and do whatever s/he wants with them. Sure, it would take study and practice as has been said before here, but the professional will get it done.

Professionals have careers, workers have jobs.

Therefore, only the individual can decide whether s/he is "professional" or a "professional" [or not]. I do not see this as a judgment call coming from anyone else. So, to answer the original question, I think being a professional/being professional is quite a bit more than taking money for a service, it's a state of mind.

KK

 

[Umbrae]

In da backgroun’ we can 'ear those drums beatin' ta the rhythm 'o tha' six…
”Papa' bufo bufo!
Papa' bufo bufo…”

It reminds me of the time I sat with the Major in a lovely little pub in Goonrat, when he looked over at me and said…

You know I’ve met some pretty bad doctors in my day. They had MD’s and everything. Knew a dentist who was a butcher. Knew a hod-carrier who was an artist.

The service industry don’t even know what service is – “Please hold, your call is important to us, and will be answered in the order it was received by someone who is not paid to care…”

What is a professional?

I am a professional.

I try act more personal than professional in person.

Professional as a adjective is cold, distant, nice bedside manner but perhaps more concerned with your ability to pay for services rendered.

”Papa' bufo bufo!
Papa' bufo bufo…”

I remember once drinking Irish with the old Major, he looked over at me and said, “We’re the best in the world at what we do…” It always spelled trouble when the Major got maudlin, I ordered another round - damn natives and their drums…

”Papa' bufo bufo!
Papa' bufo bufo…”

Professional is not simply doing it for pay, or long hours of study – professional is an attitude of which there are few examples today.

 

[firemaiden]

LOL... I've been wondering the same thing. I don't read for money. I am not a tarot professional. I have my profession as something else. But as Tom says, surely the defining factor is not just money... after all, anyone can charge money... in fact - taking money may be more the definition of a charlatan than a professional... Hey, watch out boy, Who you calling a charlatan???

Or is being a "charlatan" the definition of being a professional. Hoo boy, I'd love to hear Mojo's point of view on this one.

Perhaps the only way to tell the so-called charlatans from the real thing is by the clientele... are they satisfied? do their dreams start coming true? Are they finding their true path? or... are they re-mortgaging their house to have their aura cleaned once a week?

And even if the tarot reader considers himself a "charlatan"- if the clientele are happy, then he must be doing something right.

 

[jmd]

Fascinating the various senses of the term 'profession' and 'professional'.

Before I posted earlier, I reflected on the etymology of the word, and wondered what it was that we 'professed'.

On the one hand, there is the dichotomy in popular use between 'amateur' and 'professional' - and it is to that dichotomy I personally made my response to. Of course, an 'amateur' may be far more 'professional' than a 'professional' who acts in a rather amateurish manner.

Then there is the dichotomy between 'professional' and 'worker', and again here a 'worker' may have a far better working knowledge than the 'professional'.

Then there is the further dichotomy between the professionalism expected of people who have achieved a certain 'mastery', and this lack in individuals who seem either not interested in, or lacking in care with regards to professing positive reflections on Tarot.

In its original form, 'profession' related to an engagement in a scared spiritual or religious order... how much of this sacred duty do we take on as professionals?

 

[Major Tom]

To be honest I have more questions than answers.

It is fascinating the various senses we all have of the words professional, profession and professionalism. They are words with several meanings. Now, I do consider myself a tarot professional, but what does that really mean?

Let me back up and explain how this came about. The other day I spent an hour creating and destroying vortices in a bucket, making preparation 500. It's a somewhat hypnotic activity and I heard those drums and Papa Toad appeared. We spoke for most of the hour but the only thing we could agree was that there's more to being a tarot professional than selling a reading or two.

In one sense it's nonsense to talk of a tarot professional. Traditionally, the professions are occupations that organise and regulate themselves. Thus we have the Bar and the various medical associations. Many said teaching stopped being a profession when the teachers associations became teachers unions, but that's another story for another thread. These days the term profession is applied to almost any paid occupation but especially those that require prolonged training and/or formal qualifications. So much for tarot reading which requires neither. Anyone can pick up a tarot deck and start selling readings.

I happen to know quite a few professional readers who call themselves 'Clairvoyant Mediums' and use tarot cards as a regular part of their practice. They all freely admit they really know nothing about tarot as such. Yet, they use tarot and they sell readings. Are these tarot professionals? They are earning a living with their tarot cards.

Another sense we can get of the word professional is the idea of professionalism. In the tarot world this occupies the thoughts of many and we've seen a proliferation of 'tarot associations' that run 'certification' or 'endorsement' programmes and produce 'ethical codes' all designed to present themselves to the public and themselves as professionals. In my experience, the people who go through these processes, though well-meaning and sincere, usually sell a reading or two but hang on to their day jobs. Umbrae has the sense of what I mean by professionalism and it’s a vitally important part of earning a living.

And I suppose that’s become my working definition of a tarot professional – earning a living with tarot. I can already hear the part-timers saying, “But we’re professional too!” I accept that amateurs can demonstrate more professionalism than many professionals. I’m not saying that part-timers can’t or don’t do a good job. It’s a bit like the difference between a full-time artist and a ‘week-end’ painter. This was often discussed when I was at college training to be an art teacher. The ‘pure’ artists didn’t consider me an artist because I wasn’t doing it full time. My attention was distracted from my own art by my students. I could see their point. It’s the same sort of difference with a tarot professional. For me, if you’re actually earning a living doing something else, you can’t really be a tarot professional.

It also seems to me that being a tarot professional is certainly about more than selling readings. There’re books to write, decks to design, classes to teach, groups to organise, talks to give, and more – the whole range of activities that promote tarot and the use of tarot. Yet, there are folks who earn a living from tarot without doing anything other than selling readings.

Now, as we all know, anyone can pick up a tarot deck and start selling readings. Is that person really a professional? What do you think makes a tarot professional? What makes you a tarot professional?

 

[FaeryGodmother]

...The ‘pure’ artists didn’t consider me an artist because I wasn’t doing it full time...

Perhaps this is the key? Maybe you are only a 'professional' if your peers see you as one?

BTW, is a 'professional' very different from an 'expert'?

 

[jmd]

When I was a pubescent, my father's secretary had on the desk a sign that read:

Expert: df

'ex' means 'has been'; and a spurt is a drip under pressure.​

 

[firecatpickles]

For me, if you’re actually earning a living doing something else, you can’t really be a tarot professional.

I am sorry but I have to stick my broom in here and stir things up just a little...

I will draw several analogies that proves your assertion to be untrue, and possibly quite inflamatory for those like me.

What about the opera singer, a professional, who does not make most of her money from singing, but through teaching? What if they teach real estate classes, or under-water basket weaving? Are you going to say that she is not a professional singer? I have just described about 80% of opera singers (I'm sure I am going to get it from Firemaiden on this one!) Personally, I put myself through college as a professional singer in Los Angeles for ten years and never once did anyone say I was less of a professional because I was in school at the same time.

What about actor who makes his living waiting on tables? Certainly not feasible for all professionals to make a sustainable living acting in commercials, especially in Los Angeles, one of the most expensive cities in the world.

How about the minister of music, who would love to live on 20K a year for a part time job but works a 51% certified, professional teaching position for a school district to make ends meet and for health insurance? Is he not a professional in either field then -neither vegetable nor mineral, animal nor plant?

One of the most famous composers in the world, Sam Barber, was an insurance salesman. Mozart did not make most of his money from selling his compositions or giving concerts -these were his advertising strategy- but from teaching music. [The movie "Amadeus" was complete fiction, btw.] Bach lists several professions on the flyers of his music programs: Kappelmeister, organist, singer, violinist and professor of music, etc. So you would consider Barber, Mozart and Bach not to be professionals in their chosen fields in their day (saleman, concert pianist and organist, respectiviely)? Interesting. I think history disagrees with you. As for your friend who says only full-time artists are professionals? Well, he needs to be slapped. Hard...

I think to say that one is not a professional because he or she does a job part time is poppycock. "Professional" is a state of mind, not a noun.

Your argument is called the false dilemma -where one says "it is either 'a' or 'b' and there is not such thing as 'c.'"

Well, "c" is the tarot professional who may have to be the jack-of-all-trades because of other variables, such as cost-of-living, or demand, or for other practical reasons (I don't know, say personal work ethics, maybe?), must do something else in addition. But, you know what they say about opinions...

KK

 

[Grizabella]

A person can be "professional" at just about anything if they want to call themselves that and believe they are that. Heck, there are even "professional students" who mostly just study all their lives.

But to me, a professional is one thing, a job is another, and then there are the arts and the artists. Or you could break it down to basics and consider the derivative of the word "profession"------someone who "professes" to be a "profession-al" at whatever they're doing. We say that someone "practices" their profession. I profess myself to be practicing the art of tarot reading.

 

[Major Tom]

"Professional" is a state of mind, not a noun.

I do apologise if I offended you, but if I did, I don't think you read what I wrote.

The word 'professional' is both a noun and an adjective. I am struggling with my definition for the noun. My working definition for a tarot professional is someone who earns their living with tarot.

To similarly deal with your examples. The opera singer who earns her living teaching is a teaching professional or teacher. The composers were professional musicians. The actor earning a living waiting tables is a service professional or waiter. This is not to say that the opera singer is any less an opera singer or the actor any less an actor. The way one earns one's living is one's profession. There is no judgement of quality in these statements.

I've not yet gotten to my consideration of a definition for the adjective. But when I do it will be very much along the lines of what Umbrae wrote.

One need not be a professional to do a professional quality job. Indeed, in many professions, the amateur can take risks and reach heights that many professionals would never attempt. Tarot is undoubtedly one such profession. Although that said, the very top people will be professionals no matter what the occupation.

Maybe you are only a 'professional' if your peers see you as one?

This is so close to the original sense of professional that it's got me thinking - so thanks for this.

A person can be "professional" at just about anything if they want to call themselves that and believe they are that.

Certainly there's an element of truth to this, but I can believe I'm a professional astronaut all I want. That doesn't mean I am one.

Jmd - Isn't that why some children are called 'squirt'?