NYCPHP Meetup

[Webmaster]

I'm not certain of 'Houghton Mifflin' (and whatever traces of etymology 
they use in that particular edition), but the word itself actually comes 
from the monastics/priests, in which one would 'profess' their belief. 
It was later adapted to professional, or 'one who professed an 
understanding of a skill'. It has never been attached to formal 
education or academic achievement; that would be 'academic', 
'baccalaureate </index.php?term=baccalaureate>', 'esquire' or 'master'. 
(And I hope you're not seeking your etymological proofs from wikipedia)

Clearly the word has been equivocated in this discussion, and I strongly 
suggest that a Webmaster is a 'professional', in his capacity (not 
requiring a third party approval), for he is not 'professing' to have 
skills of basket-weaving or ministry, but to have skills of a specific 
nature and practice pertaining solely to 'webmastering'. These skills 
could be verified by a third party, but that verification is not the 
foundation upon which a profession is established. Professions are 
established by a particular set of skills being required to perform a 
particular task, or set of tasks. Hence a professional 'handy-man', 
'professional student', 'professional football player', 'professional 
actor'. The entire concept to be carried in the word is to cognitively 
separate those who have mastered particular skills from those who are 
acquiring particular skills (aka Professional VS Amateur).

Then again, the word itself began in a society and time of greater moral 
concentration, so perhaps you assume that anyone who refers to 
themselves as a professional today, is either lying (if they haven't a 
third party 'approval' or tertiary educational document) or is 
equivocating upon the word, and actually means 'academic', 
'baccalaureate </index.php?term=baccalaureate>', 'esquire' or 'master' 
of 'webmastering'.

Never-the-less, referencing oneself as a 'professional' is not based 
upon academic merit, but upon personal, occupational self-reflection. 
Whether-or-not that reflection is an accurate one leads to a different 
discussion.

As an old friend once told me: "If you call yourself professional, don't 
turn out to be a Shmegegge"

-My two (well ok three) cents


Urb LeJeune wrote:
>
>>>  By definition, programming and website design is not a
>>> profession.
>>
>> Really? What specifically is that definition?
>
> profession: "An occupation, such as law, medicine, or engineering, 
> that requires considerable training
> and specialized study"
>
> Houghton Mifflin Dictionary.
>
> Even an engineer must have a professional engineering (PE) designation 
> to perform certain types of design.
> I don't have a problem with a self taught programmers, I've known some 
> great ones, however, a field having
> a large number of practitioners without formal training is a trade not 
> a profession. A profession is also
> self-regulated.
>
> It's another thread but, should there be certification available for 
> programmers and web designers? If we
> ever want to be considered a profession, that's the first step. I was 
> in the stock brokerage business when
> the designation Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) first came into 
> being. It was extraordinarily difficult
> and it took almost two years after the announcement before the first 
> designation were awarded. It required
> two 8 hour day testing sessions. It made a huge difference in the 
> industry and these days you will not get
> a senior level job in a research department without a CFA. Same thing 
> happened with Chartered Financial
> Planner (CFP).
>
> I'm unsure of the procedure, but how/when does one change the subject 
> when we have drifted into a new
> area?
>
>
> Urb
>
> Dr. Urban A. LeJeune, President
> E-Government.com
> 609-294-0320  800-204-9545
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> E-Government.com lowers you costs while increasing your expectations.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> New York PHP Community Talk Mailing List
> http://lists.nyphp.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
>
> NYPHPCon 2006 Presentations Online
> http://www.nyphpcon.com
>
> Show Your Participation in New York PHP
> http://www.nyphp.org/show_participation.php
>
>
>