Professional

What is a Professional?

The term professional refers to anyone who earns their living from performing an activity that requires a certain level of education, skill, or training. There is typically a required standard of competency, knowledge, or education that must be demonstrated (often in the form of an exam or credential), as well as adhering to codes of conduct and ethical standards.

Types of Professionals

There are many different types of professionals. Whether they are athletes or business people, there are many categories and groups, which are listed below.

Types of professionals include:

• AccountantAccounting Salary GuideIn this accounting salary guide, we give you the midpoint compensation figures for those employed both in public and private accounting. Accountants are responsible for examining financial statements to ensure accuracy and compliance with existing laws and regulations, handling tax-related tasks such as calculating the
• Teacher
• Technician
• Laborer
• Physical
• Commercial BankerCommercial Banking Career ProfileA Commercial Banking career path is providing clients with credit products such as term loans, revolving lines of credit, syndicated facilities
• Engineer
• Lawyer
• Psychologist
• Pharmacist
• Dietitian
• Research AnalystEquity Research AnalystAn equity research analyst provides research coverage of public companies and distributes that research to clients. We cover analyst salary, job description, industry entry points, and possible career paths.
• Midwife
• Mechanic
• Dentist
• Electrician
• Consultant
• Investment BankerWhat Do Investment Bankers Do?What do Investment Bankers do? Investment bankers can work 100 hours a week performing research, financial modeling & building presentations. Although it features some of the most coveted and financially rewarding positions in the banking industry, investment banking is also one of the most challenging and difficult career paths, Guide to IB
• Programmer

Professional Standards

Professional standards are a set of practices, ethics, and behaviors that members of a particular professional group must adhere to. These sets of standards are frequently agreed to by a governing body that represents the interests of the group.

Examples of professional standards include:

• Accountability – takes responsibility for their actions
• Confidentiality – keeps all sensitive information private and away from those who shouldn’t have access to it
• Fiduciary duty – places the needs of clients before their own
• Honesty – always being truthful
• Integrity – having strong moral principles
• Law-abiding – follows all governing laws in the jurisdictions they perform activities
• Loyalty – remain committed to their profession
• Objectivity – not swayed or influenced by biases
• Transparency – revealing all relevant information and not concealing anything

Professional vs. Amateur

A professional performs an activity to earn a living and has demonstrated a certain level of competence or earned a credential, whereas an amateur performs an activity as a hobby, pastime, or without compensation.

Examples of amateurs include:

• Amateur athletes
• Amateur theater
• Amateur photography

Designations

There are many examples of the types of designations that professionals must earn or choose to earn in carrying out their activities.

Common designations include:

• Notary Public (NP)
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
• Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
• Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA)™Become a Certified Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA)®CFI's Financial Modeling and Valuation Analyst (FMVA)® certification will help you gain the confidence you need in your finance career. Enroll today!
• Registered Interior Designer (RID)
• Professional Engineer (PE)
• Certified Scrum Master (SCM)
• Juris Doctor (JD)
• Medical Doctor (MD)

See a full list of designations in the United States here.

Become a Certified Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA)®CFI's Financial Modeling and Valuation Analyst (FMVA)® certification will help you gain the confidence you need in your finance career. Enroll today!

Additional Resources

CFI is the official global provider of the FMVA™Become a Certified Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA)®CFI's Financial Modeling and Valuation Analyst (FMVA)® certification will help you gain the confidence you need in your finance career. Enroll today! certification, designed to transform anyone into a world-class financial analyst.

To keep learning and advancing your career, please see these additional CFI resources:

• Finance salary guideFinance Salary GuideIn this finance salary guide, we cover several finance jobs and their corresponding midpoint salaries for 2018. Regardless of the industry, a good finance professional is difficult to find. Competition to hire and retain top talent in the fields of finance and accounting remains tough.
• Software engineer salarySoftware Engineer Salary GuideIn this software engineer salary guide, we cover several software engineer jobs and their corresponding midpoint salaries for 2018. A software engineer is a professional who applies software engineering principles in the processes of design, development, maintenance, testing, and evaluation of software used in computer
• Paralegal salariesParalegal Salary GuideThis paralegal salary guide covers several paralegal jobs and their corresponding midpoint salaries for 2018. A paralegal, also called a legal assistant, helps lawyers in almost all aspects of the field. Duties include drafting motions and summarizing reports.
• Accounting salary guideAccounting Salary GuideIn this accounting salary guide, we give you the midpoint compensation figures for those employed both in public and private accounting. Accountants are responsible for examining financial statements to ensure accuracy and compliance with existing laws and regulations, handling tax-related tasks such as calculating the