Occupation vs Profession – Major Differences | All You have to Know

For many people, occupation and profession are one and the same thing. However, it should not surprise you to hear that there are major differences between occupation and profession. Don’t be too quick. We will do our best to outline these differences for you. So, when next you want to say Profession, when you mean occupation, you will correct yourself. Isn’t that a nice idea?

Although there are major differences between occupation and profession, there could be a place where they merge with tiny differences. Not to worry. All these will be pointed out for you in this place.

Differences Between Occupation And Profession

To start pointing out the place where occupation and profession differs, it’s important to start from their meanings. That ill give us a better clue as to how different they are.

Meaning Of Occupation

Occupation is an activity undertaken by the person to earn his livelihood. Anything anyone does to earn a living is an occupation. It can be business, profession or employment that a person undertakes to make money.

Meaning Of Profession

Profession is an activity that requires specialized training, knowledge, qualification and skills. In this case, the individual must have membership of a professional body, and certificate of practice. The individuals who undertake a profession of rendering personalized services are called professionals, who are guided by a certain code of conduct, set up by the respective body.

As you have seen, one of the major differences between occupation and profession is that professionals are those who undergo specialized training, qualifications and skills. Examples include: Lawyer, Doctor, Engineer etc. An occupation doesn’t necessarily needs to be trained for. Examples include Drivers, shopkeepers, a government servant, clerks, accountants etc.

Differences in a Tabular Form.

Summary Of Major Differences Between Occupation And Profession

Below are the differences in different categories.

1. An activity performed by a person normally for monetary compensation is known as the Occupation. Profession refers to vocation, in which high degree of education or skills is required.
2. Unlike occupation, the profession has a code of conduct.
3. Occupation does not require any sort of training in a particular field, but the profession requires specialisation in a specific area, and that is why training is a must.
4. In general, the profession is regulated by a particular or professional body statute while an occupation is not.
5. A person doing occupation get paid for what he produces, whereas a profession gets paid according to his knowledge and expertise.
6. The profession is also an occupation when the person is paid for utilising his skills and expertise.
7. A professional is independent, i.e. his work is not influenced by any external force. Conversely, there is a lack of independence in the profession because the person performing the occupation has to follow the commands of his supervisors.
8. There are some responsibilities which are associated with the profession. However an occupation is not backed with such responsibilities.
9. The basic pay in the profession is normally higher than in occupation.
10. The professionals are respected by people and have a high status in the society as compared to the occupation.

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