I’ve been thinking a lot about this question lately, and it reminds me of the career field I left last year. I used to be a librarian, but I was only considered a librarian with a lowercase ”l” because I never completed a master’s degree in library science. Never mind that I had over twenty years of experience in the library field, had been a director, and had dealt with all the different aspects of running a library from top to bottom. There are people in the field who refuse to think of someone as a “Librarian” simply because they lack a piece of paper issued by an institution even if they have all the years of experience that equal the degree.
Now I know plenty of “librarians” and “Librarians” who are not this particular because they understand that being either requires experience, and they respect experience. I discovered at the collegiate level that an upper-level degree trumps experience almost every time especially in the pay scale. (I could write a diatribe here, but I’m going to wait until another time.) I should also say that I had an experience at a community college library where they apologized that the college wanted to remove the word “Librarian” from my nametag because I wasn’t officially classified as a “Librarian” according to the Human Resources department. The nametag change didn’t bother me because the “Librarians” were so apologetic, respectful, and graceful in the manner they handled the situation. The reality is that I put in the time and had the experience and was usually considered a “Librarian” by the majority of people in the field.
All of that brings me back to my original question. When does a person get to consider herself a “professional” writer? Different people are going to have differing views about this assessment. Some will say that you must have a degree. My B.A. in History and almost complete A.S. in Criminal Justice will not satisfy those people because neither is a writing, English, or similar degree. That ignores the vast number of papers that I have written for both. Other people would say that it depends on whether I have been published yet. What is the definition of published? I have a really bad volume of poetry on Amazon written under a pseudonym that has never sold a copy in over six years. Does that count as published? Does it only count as published when someone buys a copy? Do I only become a professional when I am paid for writing?
I currently write item reviews for an online retailer who invited me to join, and I get to keep the items that I review which I have found particularly helpful while looking for a new job. My reviews have to go through a review process, and I have to have an evaluation after so many months of participation. Technically, I’m being paid in merchandise to give an honest review so does that make me a “professional” writer yet?
I grew up in a largely blue-collar community. My father worked blue-collar jobs to pay the bills, and my mother was raised in a blue-collar family who wanted her to go to college. My brother and I do not take our college degrees lightly because we understand the sacrifices our parents and ourselves made to earn those degrees. We understand how blessed we are to have college educations. However, we’ve also grown up around a lot of very intelligent, experienced, and hardworking blue-collar workers who have every right to call themselves professionals because that’s how they approach their work. I learned long ago that a college diploma does not make someone better than someone else. A college diploma says you were able to go to college to learn in a specific field, but nowhere on that diploma does it say you are now better than anyone else. I try to keep this in mind, and while I’m proud of my diploma, I try not to let it go to my head.
The experience of growing up in a blue-collar community has altered how I view “professional” because I see everyday instances of professionalism by all different types of workers. I know better than to think that professional can only be defined by one set of rules and expectations. I do recognize there are fields where rules and expectations are important such as medicine, engineering, and the sciences. I’m not casting off on college degrees. I’m simply saying there are areas where a diploma won’t do you a bit of good if you don’t dive in and get your hands dirty with experience. My father taught me two sayings: 1) school of hard knocks (which is experience) and 2) O.J.T. or on-the-job-training (which is also experience). Doing your job competently often makes you a professional.
No, I don’t have a degree in writing or a related field. No, I’ve never been paid in cash to be published. However, I think there are times when we have to decide for ourselves so we can put ourselves in the right frame of mind. Am I a professional writer? I certainly try to be professional even when I’m writing about personal experiences. I am publishing my blogs for anyone who wants to read them, and I am being compensated with merchandise for published reviews which I have to report on my taxes. I take both of those tasks very seriously because other people are reading what I write either for entertainment, information, or encouragement. I was speaking with my mother the other day when I said, “Yes, I consider myself a professional writer.” My path may not look like that of other “professional” writers, but I try to keep my mindset as professional as possible. Maybe there are times when we all need to change how we think about our situation and recognize we are living up to professionalism already.
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Inspirational verse for the day:
“In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:5-8 (NLT)
All Things Subject to Change 