Professional performances, as opposed to amateur performances, are those in which performers receive payment for their performances. Professional performances are engaged in creative and intellectually challenging work. A professional actor is someone who derives income by participating in professional performances. A professional theatre company auditions actors to perform in their professional theatre. The company sells tickets; actors receive payment for their performances. This is the same for musicians, dancers, comedians. Also see: professional sports. The perfect movie to watch for research is la la land
A professional performer is a
person
A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...
in a
profession
A profession is a field of work that has been successfully ''professionalized''. It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, '' professionals'', who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted by ...
that requires certain types of skilled work requiring formal
training
Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...
or
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...
. In western nations, such as the United States, the term commonly describes highly educated, 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 consciousness in America''. Wesport, CT: Grenewood Press.][Ehrenreich, B. (1989). ''Fear of falling: The inner life of the middle class''. New York: Harper Perennial.] A professional athlete is someone who derives
income
Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. Fo ...
by participating in competitive sports. Sometimes also called "commercial grade".
"What are Professional Grade Parts?"
(example from the watertips.com website).
Sport
In sports, a professional is someone who participates for money. The opposite is amateur, meaning a person who does not play for money, but in an academic (e.g. college football) or other private setting. The term "professional" is commonly used incorrectly when referring to sports, as the distinction simply refers to how the athlete is funded, and not necessarily to what competitions he engages in or what results he achieves.
Sometimes the professional status of an activity is controversial; for example, there is debate as to whether professionals should be allowed to compete in the Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...
. The motivation for money (either in rewards, salaries or advertising revenue) is sometimes seen as a corrupting influence, tainting a sport.
See also
* List of occupations
* Profession
A profession is a field of work that has been successfully ''professionalized''. It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, '' professionals'', who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted by ...
** Practice-based professional learning Practice-based professional learning (PBPL) is understood in contrast to classroom- or theory-based learning. It is kindred to terms such as work-based learning, workplace or work-centred learning. Distinctive, though, are a concern for professiona ...
** Professional development
** First professional degree
A professional degree, formerly known in the US as a first professional degree, is a degree that prepares someone to work in a particular profession, practice, or industry sector often meeting the academic requirements for licensure or accreditati ...
* Professional sport
In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larg ...
** Professional amateurs
Amateur professionalism or professional amateurism (shortened to pro-am) is a blurring of the distinction between professional and amateur within any endeavour or attainable skill that could be labelled professional in fields such as writing, compu ...
* Paraprofessional
Paraprofessional is a title given to individuals in various occupational fields, such as education, librarianship, healthcare, engineering, and law. Historically, paraprofessionals assisted the master professional of their field. In more recent tim ...
References
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Occupations