@art_of_shred said in What constitutes an IT Pro?:
@scottalanmiller said in What constitutes an IT Pro?:
In many US labor documents, they have to list "professionals and teachers" because teachers are "almost" professionals but can't be qualified for it exactly because they can't direct their own work in quite the right way to qualify, but they want them to be treated as professionals otherwise so state it in that way.
The standard professionals are doctors, lawyers, nurses (of a certain level), professors, pharmacists, civil engineers, CPAs and similar. You basically have to be forced into both base university education, must have a government or similar certification for work, effectively work in a high level government directed union like structure and work by "rules" rather than by "results." Very different than IT.
Correct: IT is not a "professional" industry. But, that's not what's represented in the term "IT pro". It's someone whose profession is in IT, the latter definition of "professional". If you say "I am in IT and therefore a professional", that would be flat-out wrong. But if you say your profession is in IT, then you are an "IT pro".
That then explains the initial discussion... it is "anyone who makes money in the IT field in any manner", there can be no further qualifications. The best volunteer expert in the world can't be an IT Pro, but the most entry level, unskilled, untrained person can be. It makes the term literally worthless in the field, which was my feeling on it. We should drop it as it has no positive outcome.
