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Medieval and early modern tradition recognised only three professions: divinity, medicine, and law[3]—the so-called "learned professions".[4] Major milestones which may mark an occupation being identified as a profession include:[3] an occupation becomes a full-time occupation the establishment of a training school the establishment of a university school the establishment of a local association the establishment of a national association the introduction of codes of professional ethics the establishment of state licensing laws Applying these milestones to the historical sequence of development in the United States shows surveying achieving professional status first (note that George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln all worked as land surveyors before entering politics), followed by medicine, actuarial science, law, dentistry, civil engineering, logistics, architecture and accounting.[5] With the rise of technology and occupational specialization in the 19th century, other bodies began to claim professional status:pharmacy, veterinary medicine, nursing, teaching, librarianship, optometry and social work, each of which could claim, using these milestones, to have become professions by 1900.[6] Just as some professions rise in status and power through various stages, others may decline. This is characterized by the red cloaks of bishops giving way to the black cloaks of lawyers and then to the white cloaks of doctors.[clarification needed][7] More recently formalized disciplines, such as architecture, now have equally long periods of study associated with them.[8] Although professions enjoy high status and public prestige, not all professionals earn high salaries, and even within specific professions there exist significant inequalities of compensation; for example, a trial lawyer specializing in tort litigation on a contingent-fee basis may earn several times what a prosecutor or public defender earns. |
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