[Sandy Barnes]

AMATEUR

synonyms AMATEUR, DILETTANTE, DABBLER, TYRO mean a person who follows a pursuit without attaining proficiency or professional status. AMATEUR often applies to one practicing an art without mastery of its essentials (a painting obviously done by an amateur); in sports it may also suggest not so much lack of skill but avoidance of direct remuneration (remained an amateur despite lucrative offers). DILETTANTE may apply to the lover of an art rather than its skilled practitioner but usually implies elegant trifling in the arts and an absence of serious commitment (had no patience for dilettantes). DABBLER suggests desultory habits of work and lack of persistence (a dabbler who started novels but never finished them). TYRO implies inexperience often combined with audacity with resulting crudeness or blundering (shows talent but is still a mere tyro).

PROFESSIONAL

1 a : of, relating to, or characteristic of a profession b : engaged in one of the learned professions c (1) : characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards of a profession (2) : exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the workplace

2 a: participating for gain or livelihood in an activity or field of endeavor often engaged in by amateurs (a professional golfer) b: having a particular profession as a permanent career (a professional soldier) c: engaged in by persons receiving financial return (professional football)

Hmm. For myself, although I have sold over 1,200.00 in paintings, I would consider myself neither an amateur nor a professional. I fit somewhere in between.

I am a professional Gemologist. Heck, why be humble, I am an expert in my field. I am also a painter, an enthusiast who happens to make money at it. Until I trade shingles I will identify myself as such.

ENTHUSIAST

: a person filled with enthusiasm : as a : one who is ardently attached to a cause, object, or pursuit <a sports car enthusiast> b : one who tends to become ardently absorbed in an interest