RE: CISSP Question

["Craig Wright" <Craig.Wright () bdo com au>]

Simmons,
A customary assessment deployed to appraise if an employment is, in
fact, a "profession" is the "advocacy test".

Basically: If a paid job necessitates that one recurrently performs as
an advocate for a different person, group, or organisation who require
the precise information necessary for such advocacy, then that
employment fulfils the analysis and is reasoned a "profession". 

> From this, the significance of explicit "codes of ethics" and (commonly)
licensure ensues.

Traditionally there were only a limited number of professions, Medicine,
the Clergy, and Academe. This has expanded over the years. 

Members of the Secret Service are considered Intelligence Professionals.
They in the nature of their work provide advocacy. The role of a
security guard is not one which entails the provisioning of advocacy. A
military officer is considered a professional, an enlisted person or NCO
is not.

As for Government, civil servants may or may not be professionals based
on what they do. Diplomatic staff, accountants, lawyers etc are all
professionals. A clerk is not.

The use is oft misconstrued. The terminology "a professional athlete"
for instance refers to a sports person who preforms for money. This is
often confused to construe that the person is a professional. The terms
are not the same and the taxonomy differs. Just as one works for money,
one is not is necessity a professional. The athlete who acts as a
"professional" coach following their sporting career has become a
professional.

As for Security guards, though they have organisations such as Security
Police and Fireman's Professional Association, this is a Union and not a
professional body. They are not the same. A former security guard who
has moved into a management and consulting role and who designs (for
instance) security solutions and procedures would be entering into the
sphere of being a professional, though they are no longer a security
guard at this point.

As for carpenters, cooks and auto mechanics, they act in a trade.
However a trained and qualified chef (unlike a cook) is classified as a
professional.

None of this says anything as to the skill or ability of the person or
the level of training in the job. Many trades have high levels of
training, but still fail to qualify as a profession. Basically, any job
which is a trade can not by definition be considered a profession - the
terms are mutually exclusive.

Regards,
Craig

Craig Wright
Manager of Information Systems

Direct +61 2 9286 5497
Craig.Wright () bdo com au
+61 417 683 914

BDO Kendalls (NSW)
Level 19, 2 Market Street Sydney NSW 2000
GPO BOX 2551 Sydney NSW 2001
Fax +61 2 9993 9497
www.bdo.com.au

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