What do you count as a 'professional' job?

DH is not office-based, is a tradesman, but his IT skills are at least equal to mine (admin work done from iPad). Hires a few employees. Earns way more than me because he is in a specialist field

Quite.
I don't understand the "office" bit. Going by that surgeons, dentists, teachers, pharmacists wouldn't be professions as they're not predominantly office based. But they all require a high level of training, pass professional exams, and compulsory registration with a professional body in order to practice

Nothing to do with how much you earn or whether you're in an office of not.

A profession is any role that requires registration with a professional body and adherence with a code of conduct, I thought?

Isn't is just a numbers game though? Lots of people can do basic office work, so it doesn't need to be highly paid to get workers to do it. Whereas a specialist skill requires knowledge/experience, so there's a smaller pool of people able to do it, hence wages need to be higher to get workers to do it.

For the record, I work in an office, and I am not particularly skilled. Because I lack a high level of skill, I am a low paid office worker. My colleagues who have taken additional qualifications have higher pay.

It's ironic that most office jobs, as you describe them, don't require any level of specialised competency besides a working knowledge of IT. To me, it's specialisation that makes a professional, since most jobs are office-based.

In the Civil Service, we talk about competency levels, being competent to an objectively measurable standard.

It isn't just about paying for a registration, that's the end result of being professional. It's the degree of competence, the skills and aptitude to carry out the activities, for which you need to evidence experience on the job and professional qualifications. From there you can apply for registration but it's all the hard work and time on the job that's important.

The difference between an amateur and a professional is that the former is prone to doing a botched job of it, whereas if you pay a professional who knows what they're doing, you get good results. Ask a professional to do a job and when you balk at them charging, say £200 for 1 hr's work to fix your boiler they'll tell you "you're not paying me for the 1 hr today, you're paying me for the 20 years of knowledge it's taken me to quickly diagnose the problem and give you the right solution "

The danger of being too narrow and prescriptive in the definition is that it can exclude professions where skill technique knowledge and experience really count but they aren't sitting in a corporate office drinking coffee and working on a computer. And I'm saying that as someone who does have a corporate role, which my employer describes as a profession, but I recognise the knowledge and skills of many and various people in our society.

Might as well open a GP practice.

I'm a doctor because I diagnosed myself with a cold.

Ironically, "accountancy" doesn't NEED qualifications and professional body regulation.

Literally anyone can call themselves an accountant and run an accountancy practice.

Its the "chartered" prefix that requires for education, qualifications and regulatory body regulation.

You can call yourself "Badbunny & Co" accountants, but you can't call yourself "Badbunny & Co" Chartered Accountants unless you're a member of a Chartered accountancy professional/regulatory body.

A bit of an anomaly really.

I think it’s a job that has a professional body and requires qualifications but does it matter ?

Teaching is a profession. Higher education required, professional qualifications, registered body, ethical standards to maintain, continued CPD, etc.

Nursing is the same.

I don't know about the requirements for being a social worker, etc.

Social workers - the same as with teachers and nurses.

Vocations
Teachers
Nurses
Social workers
Etc

Inwholeheatrefly disagree.

I hate the idea that jobs like these are vocations.

They aren't. They are professional careers and jobs that people do in order to earn money.

By classifying these kind of roles as vocations we devalue their worth and it's often used as an excuse to pay them less, and expect them too work with ever worsening terms and conditions.

We need to scrap the whole idea of paid work being a vocation.

Teaching is a profession. Higher education required, professional qualifications, registered body, ethical standards to maintain, continued CPD, etc.

Nursing is the same.

I don't know about the requirements for being a social worker, etc.

Your dog trainer doesn't NEED those qualifications, training and CoD to do the job though.

A nurse, lawyer, doctor, teacher, engineer, etc NEED those things in order to do the job.

The big 4: Church, Law, Medicine, Teaching and any job that requires membership of a trade body that has the power to disbar a member for misconduct.

By "disbar" I mean prevent them from working, not just chuck them out of the organisation.

Plumber, electrician?

To me a profession is a role that required a high level of education (usually a degree or higher, though not always) and/or skill.

Professions require ongoing specialised training and/or qualification, through Continuous professional Development (CPD) and the work the do is trained, specialised work.

Professionals also adhere to ethical standards.

I'd say someone who has professional training and is a member of a professional organisation.

Eg Andrew Wakefield. He has a medical degree but has been struck off the GMC so can no longer practise as a Dr in the UK.

He still has the education and training.

This is the official line I think.

Nurses arent a profession?
Its a degree level entry.
Many have masters.
They have to pay to be part of a professional register.
They do CPD ( Continuing PROFESSIONAL development).

Not sure why you think that doesnt make them a profession?

A job that requires qualifications and membership of the relevant professional association.

Yep, the traditional use of ‘professional’ in terms of career would be lawyer, accountant, chartered surveyor, doctor, dentist, actuary etc etc. I think the term is used more widely now and extends to most jobs for which more rigorous qualifications are required.

Skilled trades (plumbing, joinery etc)
Associated professions like surveying, architecture, structural/civil/production engineer
Teacher
Lawyer
C suite exec/ middle or upper manager in corporate field
Any job where you need a specific degree like nursing or medicine.
Professional actor, sports person or musician (but only if they are at a high level and don't need a day job on top of it)
Psychologist/counsellor
High risk work Iike rope access or oil rig worker
Pilot or sea captain
Hig ranking civil servant/police/army
Restaurant owner/hotel owner

I agree with this. Like accountants and architects need to be chartered- therefore it’s a profession = professional job

I guess it could also be expert in field, so a plasterer who is top notch and has 20 years experience could also be professional?!

I don’t think it matters I don’t personally rank people’s importance on their job title