A professional is a person in a profession that requires certain types of skilled work requiring formal training or education. In western nations, such as the United States, the term commonly describes highly educated, mostly salaried workers, who enjoy considerable work autonomy, economic security, a comfortable salary, and are commonly engaged in creative and intellectually challenging work.Gilbert, D. (1998). The American class structure: In an age of growing inequality. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Press.Beeghley, L. (2004). The structure of social stratification in the United States. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.Eichar, D. (1989). Occupation and class conciousness in America. Wesport, CT: Greewood Press.Ehrenreich, B. (1989). Fear of falling: The inner life of the middle class. New York: Harper Prennial. A professional athlete is someone who derives income by participating in competitive sports. Sometimes the term is also used to indicate a level of quality of goods or tools, sometimes also called "commercial grade".

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. Professionals 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 exercise autonomy in the workplace, and are expected to utilize their independent judgement and professional ethics in carrying out their responsibilities. 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.Fact: date=July 2007