Well, I think a few trips round the block teach people not to make that assumption. And certainly, using tools you're not familiar with in front of paying clients is inadvisable.

Years ago I needed to join Detroit's good old Local 5 musicians union to perform in clubs even as a teenager.
The reasoning given by the rep. was even kazoo players are considered professionals if they get paid for performing (& were required to join, for a fee of course.)

Kind of Like the words   : "freedom" "Democracy" "liberty" "Justice"....  :"""Professional"""    falls into that delusional ideal of someone making up the terminologies for the rest of us youthful unskilled mutants, to believe has some weight in merit?...And then people trying to live under that museIkul notation of the unknown truths of bent words or phrases, uttered in the winds of time....To learn them while paying the fare over priced admissions of scholastic Jibberish, and or methods of plotting, and or Scheming , to undermine, or trick, those with, there in the system, or becoming tied to that system...With no intelligence?...Well only if you do not attend their method of gaining that, for a cost!...why?...Not sure really....And then finding the words do not mean what they are suppose to mean, in the end....It is all a schpeal, a farce, a lie....""Advertising tactics""   You could say, to win over the majority who have no idea what the system they are in holds as its main attribute...."LIES and LIARS!..and being ripped off by some of those Pro Laborers //..lol...So as to gain your belief in those words, they use to get your Business....Mostly....or your support...as it is.....or your allegiance...or your bent Knee....
 
Glad this post makes the truth become something to ponder "more or Less" with us...As it is....I still say it is the "cash cow method of Advertising Moot"...In alluring the masses, to let go of their hard earned Money,.... or make others believe in the  moow ing mooting of proper schooling By our peers, to gain the badge of honor? or merits?, or diplomas?...Then use that, to gain favorable? or remorseful? realities, in conduct or actions done to others unwise to the true nature of the beast,, or bent spoken words, to belittle others under, that system of labeling, and continued flawed schooling/training methods, for dollars...Which leads to more money spent to understand "the  bent Advertising!"..and words that do not mean what they say!....LOL
 
And so stronger drink, and drugs, are now used to un dilute the delusional conspiracy of the mind, they have imposed on it..To solidify the pondering free Spirit of Truth, into stones standing still in confused states!..Eventually
 
More mead is always a necessity in life, to free the spirit, from the body of lies and hardships we face daily!...it's is historically natured truth, of benefits when under controlled states of non abusive consumption , noted, in so many cultures,, no one can deny it!
 
So I say...Lift up a glass or Chalise , and smile or lol..or sing a song, or make one....Through experience? or just have fun doing it your way...and see what happens, time allows for error?, which is free to all who believe in learning by their own methods of truth for free, in life....The only thing that matters is...
 
"To Do Good onto others, as you would have done onto you!"
 
...and none of the title of professional mind is necessary, or means anything, when we share, and give, and teach, and learn for free!
 
Perhaps one day the word freedom)free)...Will be, and mean what it is suppose to?...and we will all be proficient in the terminologies used to make truth stand..and more professional  conduct comes out of that?.
 
So pick a cup here...and enjoy.
 
https://www.google.com/search?q=chalise&hl=en-GB&rlz=1T4GGHP_en-GBCA594CA594&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=8IG1U77POcGlyASc4YKoCA&ved=0CCUQsAQ&biw=1920&bih=998
 
 
Cheers!...And blessings, to all you wonderful folks, of diverse minds, and spirits!
 

I assumed I was a "pro" because people -paid- me to use Pro Tools. It was the only way they could get me to use it. 
 
To be clear, getting paid a few times to do something is no guarantee that you're actually good at it. 
 
A more practical definition lies in the ability to draw on well trained, competent and efficient craftsmanship to deliver a service for someone who understands the value in paying you to do a better job than what they can do themselves. Not to be confused with talent, but the best have both.
 
This is starting to sound like a union line.
 
sorry.  
 
 
 

It is also very much about time frames and doing it in a reasonable time frame.  People around here might need three weeks to mix a track but that wont help you in the professional world.  You can get paid by the hour or a fee.  If I get say $800 to mix a track then I am going to do it in 8 hours maybe and earn $100 per hour.  That means now you have to divide the time up well.
 
For example in a mix there are three things you have to do.  Set up levels and basic EQ's, panning.  Second is reverbs and effects and the third is say making moves (automation etc) and final balancing.  So now that is 2.6 hours for each thing. (160 minutes)  In the first case if you have 40 tracks in your session you have only got 4 minutes on each track to check a sound, work on it and maybe EQ it etc..  Do you think you could do that?
 
No point in taking 16 hours to mix a track because you are only earning $50 an hour and that is not good and the client gets cranky too because it has taken twice as long.  Sometimes there are real dealines in place further down the track eg a CD pressing has been booked in.  Or in the case of making music for a doco the audio post session has been booked.  And the client cannot get into that post audio studio for another three months etc.. if the composer has not done his thing in time!! (when that happens they send people around with baseball bats!)  Pressure is another factor in being professional and being able to cope with it and when things do go bad it is all about solving problems in a positive way and quickly.
 
It is definitely NOT good to have a client around when your software is behaving badly.  Even having to reboot will make a client angry because they are paying you to do that.  Another reason I use Studio One.  It is always on its best behaviour in front of a client.  In fact one client even remarked the other day how fast and solid my software was!  They love watching you work fast and doing things quickly.

A table, or a Rock, can serve the same function...eh?..One is made by Man, or woman, or other human state of being for $$$ it seems, (and today is made real cheap, out of questionable material, for high cost)...The other is made by X, and is free to use without needing to buy....Both are not necessary....if you eat off the floor!.......no unions required...lol....Cheers!

Hey Jeff Evans...
 
Just saying.....So don't take this wrong...As there is no wrong or right to anything...if truth is not with it....and I have little knowledge of Truth...As none of the words mean what they say today,... Too much hidden truth, and to much corruption, and things always needing repair..or some fix to make it work as was stated it would...or as was purposed it would, or should, and the finger pointing begins, and slandering or belittling....While technology changes and the world we live in, under that truth, and what is thought to be a standard, no longer is one standard throughout time ........So who can be truthful with words or concepts today on how to do anything Progressively Professing Professional work under change?
 
They are even rewriting science books....Eh?...
 
I was told by my teacher, the first thing to do when one has finished a session of recording, is to go over every track one by one, solo...and listen for glitches, and such...and try to mend them errors, or rerecord the parts with errors or mistakes if one can first, to remove them....then timing correction if possible, if necessary...then volume, pan, and eq...and Perhaps then Effects...and then mixing it all to be one coherent body of sound...That could take time...As atmospheric pressure could be a resulting variable in sound perception of hearing it, over the day...
 
It is best to take time to listen to the tune over several days of fine fare weather....Just saying.....And do not take it the wrong way Please...But try to see with open eyes...No one is perfect in anything over time consistently, if they work to a clock and a pay line of time set of method......We all  make mistakes in some things overlooked in the process of doing..(Murphy's law may prevail in tainting)..that  cause rendering things necessary to remake better than the first renderings of our muse in making or thought!
 
And that is not going to change until perfection is found....and they are still trying to make it so, or are leading us away form?...
 
On the PC..and even MAC...with new OSes, and such...patches for software, and drivers...always changing something in the environment...So something else either works, or fails to...in time!....to cost more to resolve the issues!...and that is the only Professional conduct I see continually at the moment...Make it kind of work, and then sell them the fixes, and solutions, and technical support....till the system dies, and they have to buy a new one..Just saying things from My perspective.....lol...and a rushed environment, to make capital gains off of clients...spells Profits?...or lost work ethics in checking things thrice or more before releasing the final production?....how sure is sure?...if sure means what it is meant to mean?....Just thinking out loud....as it is not perfect in the world...Then what can come of it that is, if we just follow those methods that make it so corrupt in words to try to hash out...here?...Surely you are not blind to some of the antics of some of those so called Pro's....Yes they have a niche for a while...but they also have to become students of new Methods that may come forth to make things better...and sometimes it is not as so...it goes backwards.
 
Nothing to say work ethic is not a good thing to practice, and perfect a craft...I am just not buying into the PRO ideal at this time, any more...it is just too confusing to believe in that concept, after what I have witnessed in hiring them!.....wink.
 
Cheers!
 

Have you ever considered just ignoring what's on the internet, laying off of the pot for a day or two and taking a good nap?

Sanderxpander

John T
For sure. You make your practical choices and move forward. If changing your setup so gaining features X and Y means you lose feature Z, then you make a call on whether to do that yet, or at all.
 
My point is simply: "I'm a professional" whatever else it means, surely means "I've got work that needs to get done, and I'll do it by whatever means are required and available".

I agree, it's just sometimes you didn't realize something you figured was a "basic feature" would change. I don't think any of those folks on here complaining will stop at that, they just vent and complain and then get the job done, whether by going back to an older version or by figuring out a new way of doing what they need to. The Lanes/Layers discussion is a fair example I think. It works really well for me and I never did much with layers, but pre-X3 there were some things you could do easily with layers and couldn't with lanes, as far as I understand. You go in assuming that there will be a way to do all these basic processes you're used to and suddenly there isn't, or it requires you to do a totally new way of project organization which affects your workflow in other unforeseen ways. I agree one should take the time to learn the new version. But it's still frustrating when the client is sitting there and this thing you used to do all the time is taking ages, or won't work at all.

The first thing I do when I get an update no matter what the software is is read first the readme file if there is one and then go to the new features part of the manual. If I need to I will read up on the feature's I don't understand. This forum is invaluable for getting practical information on new things about Sonar.  
 
I recall, and I'm sure many of you have had to deal with new gear. When I was a Photographer at a local hospital we would receive new cameras from time to time. Over time I worked with most every form of camera from sub miniature to very large format. High speed motion picture cameras and all sorts of other kinds. You may think all film cameras are much the same. They have a lot in common but they all have some differences. I read all the literature available to me on all the gear I worked with. I kept up to date in reading what the manufactures were making. What new film was around. Certain things became standard but I had to read and stay current in order to do my job well. I also talked with others photographers somewhat as we do here. 
 
Sometimes I had to change the way I did things due to new developments, new procedures. I was being paid to do this. Anything less would make me an old photographer unable to adapt to changing times. 
 
Today things change much faster than they did then. Anyone that refuses to stay current and still wants to be considered competent in their chosen field will find it difficult to find anyone that will pay for their ignorance. 
   

Sanderxpander
True but there is also a reason many pro's don't upgrade to the latest version of everything right away. PT11 and Logic X being prime examples. It's exactly because they don't want to break something they know is working, whether through bugs, incompatibilities or simply "new ways of doing things". It's really frustrating to have to relearn processes you have been using for ages, especially if for your application the end result is the same.

Removable system drives have always been my answer. I boot up into the new environment in low-stress situations and revert to the old system when needed. I transition over time by installing plug-ins and such when I need them. I can't imagine just stopping and starting all over again. I have several plug-ins from my Vista days I never re-installed for Windows 7 because I just didn't need them any more.
 
I still have a hard disk around with my XP install and my Vista install. They both became obsolete in about 90 days, but I have them just in case there's some old project with some old software...
 
Amateur, professional, it doesn't matter. What matters is if you have deadlines to meet. That can happen with getting music done for your daughter's school play or finishing up a $120K audio-for-video project. You have to decide what your strategy will be for meeting deadlines. For me, if there's a problem I plow through and deal with it unless it's something that can be fixed with a workaround. My experience has been that 9 times out of 10 if something's going to bite me in one program, it will bite me in another program at some other time. I don't consider using workarounds a crutch or problem at all. Sometimes that's the fastest and most efficient way to keep going.