Business, Profession and Employment

Business, Profession, and Employment — the three forms of economic (gainful) occupation

Every person who earns a livelihood does so through one of three broad forms of "gainful occupation": business, profession, or employment. All three involve economic activity aimed at earning an income, but they differ sharply in how that income is earned, what qualifications are needed, and how much risk is involved.

Profession is an occupation requiring specialised knowledge and skill, usually acquired through long, formal training and a recognised qualification (e.g. a lawyer, a doctor, a chartered accountant). A professional is normally governed by a professional body/code of conduct, is paid a fee for services rendered (not a "profit" in the business sense), and is expected to place client interest and professional ethics above pure profit-seeking.

Employment is an occupation in which a person (the employee) works for another (the employer) under a contract of service, in return for a fixed, pre-agreed remuneration — a wage or salary — regardless of how much profit or loss the employer's business makes. The employee bears virtually no risk of loss connected to the enterprise; the employer alone bears that risk.

Business, by contrast, is undertaken on the owner's own account, at the owner's own risk, with income (profit) that is never fixed and never guaranteed — it depends entirely on the difference between what the business earns and what it spends.