Professionals given no credit on forums..

[roger wiegand]

It's not just woodworking. As someone with over 40 years of pretty serious work in infectious disease the last several years have really reinforced what I already knew; that knowledge, experience, and qualifications count for diddlly with a large fraction of the population. Doesn't matter if you've got the data, logic and reason are not of much interest. Titles, be it "professional" or whatever count for even less (unless perhaps you count "TikTok influencer"). You need to find different ways to get your point across. Just having invested the time and effort to really master something isn't enough.

BTW, I'm not totally unsympathetic to this view-- I know plenty of morons and jerks who have MDs or PhDs.

[Warren Lake]

easy enough for me to see who is in the trade and appreciate the stuff they ad here. Clear Mel had time on machines and understood wood after reading him a few times. If you have something to sell then ill take that into consideration as some do.

Bruce Lee taught in LA and was chastised huge for teaching their skills to Manja cakes. A whole other dynamic to being a professional.

Perhaps this man felt it the most

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3utS1wY5e8

[Edward Weber]

It's not just woodworking. As someone with over 40 years of pretty serious work in infectious disease the last several years have really reinforced what I already knew; that knowledge, experience, and qualifications count for diddlly with a large fraction of the population. Doesn't matter if you've got the data, logic and reason are not of much interest. Titles, be it "professional" or whatever count for even less (unless perhaps you count "TikTok influencer"). You need to find different ways to get your point across. Just having invested the time and effort to really master something isn't enough.

BTW, I'm not totally unsympathetic to this view-- I know plenty of morons and jerks who have MDs or PhDs.

But I did my own research

Translation = I watched a bunch of YouTube videos and found a couple of articles on Google that support my position.

The definition of "professional" has lost much of it's original meaning in many contexts IMO

Whether someone works as a professional or acts professionally are two distinctly different things.

[jack duren]

Did you mean to say "I know what you mean", or "I don't know what you mean", or something else?

I was racing to get something done. Sorry.

I know what you mean…

[jack duren]

Jack, I would let it go. I retired from a profession that takes more criticism than most. From friends, family, internet and society as a whole. Part of being a professional is to ignore the comments. Not worth the angst. I learned a long time ago to pretend I'm a duck and let the water run off my back!

Probably right. You’re going to have professionals and hobbyist out there doing sloppy work. Who am I?

[Jerry Bruette]

Someone claiming to be a professional is like a company self proclaiming to be "world class". It's something that your customers should be claiming not you.

[Cameron Wood]

There's a clip on the radio where Carlos Santana says "I am a master storyteller...".

He's a great musician (and in fact I worked on his house a couple of times), but no master storyteller ever says that. Embarrassing...

A local contractor has signs saying "***** Professional builders". I always thought that was a little weird.


OTOH, a neighboring house at one point was a share rental, and a guy arrived from the South to my rather upscale area. He did massage, but there was a serious glut of massage therapists due to a local school that cranked them out.
He painted on the side of his (not new) car with a brush and house paint: "massage, (phone number)" it didn't quite have drips, but was squeezed at the end like the "plan ahead" sign.
He didn't stay very long....

[Mel Fulks]

When someone is going to meet the King of England it doesn’t happen until they are apprised of the required formality. Years ago I read
about someone who was going to meet the Queen ….greeting her with “ Hi Queen”.
MORE ! Recently saw a filthy beat-up truck with a big sign reading “ WE ARE PROFESSIONAL GUTTER CLEANERS”

[jack duren]

Someone claiming to be a professional is like a company self proclaiming to be "world class". It's something that your customers should be claiming not you.

Depends on how you look at it. When I’m hired by a company especially in the field with customers , I represent the company.Im meeting with builders, customers and working beside other professionals in the trade. I took care of my business on my end. I got a pretty good work history as a professional..

[jack duren]

When someone is going to meet the King of England it doesn’t happen until they are apprised of the required formality. Years ago I read
about someone who was going to meet the Queen ….greeting her with “ Hi Queen”.
MORE ! Recently saw a filthy beat-up truck with a big sign reading “ WE ARE PROFESSIONAL GUTTER CLEANERS”

They may do good work. What’s important is the work..whether you hire them or not is up to you..

[Bruce Wrenn]

Remember when Norm Abrams was referred to as a "Master Carpenter?" There is no such thing, just marketing hype. In my 50+ years in construction related fields, I usually found the quiet guy to bring the best skills to the table. There is a saying in the trucking industry, "Chrome doesn't get you home." Being flashy doesn't cut it when it come to actual work. One of my favorite BS terms is woodworkers who received a "commission," when what they meant is "I got hired to do a job."

[Jim Becker]

Experience is of "yuge" value to any community, including in this one. Now if you look at two people with an equal amount of experience, you're still going to find differences in methods and other things that ultimately lead to the same end result. Neither person is more of a "pro" than the other. Over time, new tools and techniques also come to be. They don't make designs, tools and techniques used over time any less valuable; they just add alternatives, again, to get the same end result. I'm not a "working pro", but I do try to help others from my own multi-decade of experiences in this thing called woodworking. And I'm always interested in how others do things, successfully or not, because I find it interesting. I will say that a lot of the techniques and tools I use now in 2024 are significantly different than what I employed in 1997 through the mid-2000s and my goal for 2024 is to do some things that I've not tackled previously, either via technique with the tools I have or possibly using new tools if the opportunity arises. Even the most experienced can always find a spark of interest in something new.

[jack duren]

When I worked in the shops or out in the field was done the according to the employers wants or needs. In the shop they have a wa6 they want things done. On installs they just want it to meet what is expected. They don’t care how , except in a timely manner…

[jack duren]

So I guess if you don’t allow professional as a term, then I guess highly skilled in my field. I did find when working at the furniture company , how many cabinet guys were unskilled at building furniture. I found they didn’t have patience and wanted slam together and go.

[Dave Fritz]

What's in a name, show me your work.