NYCPHP Meetup

[tedd]

At 8:09 AM -0400 4/19/08, Urb LeJeune wrote:
>>So someone who has degrees in Computer Science has not undergone
>>"specialized study"?
>
>         Of course they do. We have things like "professional baseball players"
>which to me is a joke. To me, and I'm only speaking for myself, 
>professionalism
>also implies ongoing. Virtually all profession have a specified number of
>required annual hours that must be spent on keeping current with the state-of-
>the-art.
>
>         I'm not trying to be an elitist but rather a pragmatist. A 
>have a cousin
>who drive an 18 wheeler for a living. He makes about $90K a year. Would
>you consider him a professional? There are people in the construction
>trades making over $100K a year, likewise, are they professionals? There
>is an elusive ingredient in what most people consider professionalism.
>
>Urb

Urb:

You started this thread by saying that programming and web design was 
not a profession. Then you gave licensing as your main reason why.

The term "professional" in our language extends beyond the limitation 
imposed by licensing. For example, while it is true there is no 
licensing for athletes if an athlete earns money from his/her 
ability, then they can't compete in the Olympics because they are 
considered to be a "professional" athlete.

Then of course there's the "oldest profession", which there has never 
been any licensing for except for an occasional health screening in 
some areas -- and I am certain that profession started long before 
licensing.

Now you say that truck drivers are not professional. But they are 
required to licensed and it does require training. If you don't think 
driving an 18 wheeler required specialized knowledge, then try 
driving one. Oh I forgot, you wouldn't be allowed because you don't 
have the license nor the experience to do so.

Your view on profession is limited and shortsighted. Now with the 
global scope of Internet programming and communication technology 
changing as fast as it is, there could never be any licensing 
authority to set in judgement of this profession -- let alone to be 
sanctioned by the global community. The point being that the term 
"profession" has outgrown its definition.

As far as being an elitist or pragmatist, I really don't think your 
words reflect a pragmatistic view.

Cheers,

tedd

-- 
-------
http://sperling.com  http://ancientstones.com  http://earthstones.com