There are three words I wish to defend as a professor:

profession,
amateurism,
vocation.

We now live in a world where these three words have become twisted and misleading in one way or another, and we easily forget that being a lifelong professional and a lifelong amateur are inseparable parts of our vocation.

First, profession: Nowadays, we instinctively think of a profession as relating to or belonging to a paid occupation that involves prolonged training and formal qualification, and that is the case for many professionals in various fields. However, the root of the word is far more valuable: to profess something means to affirm one’s faith in or allegiance to particular doctrines and core values. If I profess to be a teacher, I hold onto the core values of positive transformation for those I teach; if I profess to be a doctor, I hold onto the principles of respect for autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, and justice;[1] if I profess to be a musician, I hold onto the core principle of faithfully refining my craft because I recognize the priesthood of common grace that music brings to all nations. Ultimately, the true professional is the person who puts into practice the faith they profess.

Second, amateurism: This beautiful word is another that has rotted over time because of dehumanizing industrialization. Nowadays, we use “amateur” to describe either incompetence or unpaid jobs. For example, “Mr. Pang is an amateur soccer player.” However, the earliest sense of amateur (“one that has a marked fondness, liking, or taste”) is strongly connected to its roots: the word came into English from the French amateur, which in turn comes from the Latin word for “lover” (amator).[2] Hence, as we discover our profession in each life chapter, we should also be the best amateur, the best “lover” we could be in all other fields we love with our given time and energy. Ultimately, we will find that the love we pour in as an amateur will have everything to do with our profession and the person we become.

Lastly, vocation: Nowadays, we think of a vocation as almost synonymous with one’s occupation or employment, but this understanding, unfortunately, buries the beauty of the root of the word. Vocation comes from the Latin word vocare, which means “to call.” The original concept of vocation comes from Christian doctrine, where God is the caller, and our vocation is to respond to His call. God is the giver of life, and the human vocation is to bear God’s image in loving Him, loving one another, and taking good care of the Cosmos. So to be faithful to our vocation, we are to uphold the profession we profess, love as the best amateur we can be, and find meaning and vigorous joy in fulfilling our calling in life.

So in every life stage, our work, hobbies, and communities are part of our one coherent self, through which we must remember the true meaning of being a professional and an amateur and live as one with a vocation.

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[1] Thomas R. McCormick, “Principles of Bioethics” (University of Washington, 2018), https://depts.washington.edu/bhdept/ethics-medicine/bioethics-topics/articles/principles-bioethics.

[2] Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, s.v. “amateur,” accessed July 3, 2023, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amateur.