The difference between an 'amateur' and a 'professional'?

[Doc Holliday]

Anyone care to elaborate on what the difference is between an 'amateur' detectorist and a 'professional'? One big valuable find? Years of experience? What makes someone a 'pro'?

 

[bleeohio]

Why the internet of course..

 

[Dave_E]

By definition. I think professionals are those that perform a task for a living.

If you don't earn your living doing it, you're not a professional.

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

Anyone care to elaborate on what the difference is between an 'amateur' detectorist and a 'professional'? One big valuable find? Years of experience? What makes someone a 'pro'?

I think it would be the same as with any other vocation. If you earn your living from doing something, such as a phtographer, carpenter, etc., then you would be considered a professional opposed to someone that "tinkers" in the vocation. I also wouldn't consider someone that makes their living by selling metal detectors a professional detectorist since they don't derive their livelihood from detecting. Although I have 45 years of metal detecting experience, I never considered myself a professional since I surely didn't earn a living doing it. Just been a great hobby, and a lot of fun...

 

[Dancer]

If, He got his coil on backwards. Swinging like he's cutting weeds, and using a probe and a digger on the beach. Oh, using a long handle shovel in a ball field. Any others?

 

[HanoverDigger]

Anyone care to elaborate on what the difference is between an 'amateur' detectorist and a 'professional'? One big valuable find? Years of experience? What makes someone a 'pro'?

I think it would be the same as with any other vocation. If you earn your living from doing something, such as a phtographer, carpenter, etc., then you would be considered a professional opposed to someone that "tinkers" in the vocation. I also wouldn't consider someone that makes their living by selling metal detectors a professional detectorist since they don't derive their livelihood from detecting. Although I have 45 years of metal detecting experience, I never considered myself a professional since I surely didn't earn a living doing it. Just been a great hobby, and a lot of fun...

X2

 

[Southwind]

Yes the basic technical difference would be a professional does it for a living, the amateur does it for hobby.

Now that being said, I think you can also be defined as such by peers. The Amateur of course being someone just getting started in the hobby and has yet to learn/master many of the basic or complex aspects of detecting. The Professional would be the seasoned detectorist who has mastered the many techniques that make for a consistent success no matter the conditions.

 

[sprchng]

Why the internet of course..

I would have to agree with this along with an individuals own "unbiased self assessment" of their detecting abilities and experience.

 

[dan b]

I get paid one penny at a time. Guess I'm a pro! LOL!

I would say "junior detectorist" and "senior detectorist" might be more appropriate terms to use. I've been at it 27 years, and consider myself pretty good at it, so I would say I have senior skills. Can I quit my job and feed the family from detecting? I wish!

Dan

 

[bootyhoundpa]

Professionals are the ones that refill there holes..lol..

 

[Prep1957]

I started to detect about 1974 coins and jewelry was everywhere made a good living to about 1980 but I considered it my real job since I made more than my 8 to 5 job.Started locating for utility companies about 1980 still doing it today.Average day might see 100 tickets a day from JULIE One Call System.This is $100,000 a year job,plus truck included,Vacation,etc.There are a lot of us locators across the United States we are the ones that put those little flags in the ground.This all started with coin hunting.Lot of responsibility goes with the job if you are a DOT locator.But so does the$$$.Plus you get to play with Detectors without buying them.Now as far as my off time coin hunting what I find I sell doing very well on line.

 

[amberjack]

i long to stay the amateur i am

AJ

 

[Elton]

In my opinion.. Unless your doing something for a living, Can offer something no one else can,Or does offer in your exploits..Your an amateur.
If your a hired employee of a detecting company and you detect in that capacity..Your a professional.

Otherwise your a Treasure Hunter by use of a detector.. If your a tester..your just a feedback person using your opinion of how the detector your testing works.

pro·fes·sion·al.


[prəˈfeSH(ə)n(ə)l]







ADJECTIVE



1.of, relating to, or connected with a profession:

"young professional people" ·
[more]




synonyms: white-collar · nonmanual








2.(of a person) engaged in a specified activity as one's main paid occupation rather than as a pastime:

"a professional boxer"


synonyms: paid · salaried









































NOUN



1.a person engaged or qualified in a profession:

"professionals such as lawyers and surveyors"


synonyms: white-collar worker · office worker

 

[Dave_E]

Just because somebody does something for a living, or has been doing something for a long time, doesn't necessarily mean that they are any good at it.

Regardless of profession.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Terry Herbert was the finder of the largest Anglo-Saxon hoard ever to be found in the UK. Terry found the hoard with a basic metal detector. He found the hoard in 2009 near the village of Hammerwick Staffordshire England. The hoard consisted of 3,490 individual items made of gold or silver. These items were eventually declared treasure, and a reward of £3,285,000 was awarded and shared evenly between Terry and the landowner.

So now that he's rich, he obviously 'made a living' from it....does that 'one big find' make him a 'professional', even using a 'basic metal detector'?

(looked everywhere, couldn't find the make and model that he used for the original discovery, although Minelab website claims he used an 'Explorer II' AFTER the original find)

 

[still looking 52]

Someone can be an expert and not get paid and a lot of times these people are better at their trade than quote (PROFESSIONAL). They do something because they love what they do and are driven to get better because of their passion. In short there are probably a lot of amautar detectors than are better at detecting than most professionals.

 

[Southwind]

Someone can be an expert and not get paid and a lot of times these people are better at their trade than quote (PROFESSIONAL). They do something because they love what they do and are driven to get better because of their passion. In short there are probably a lot of amautar detectors than are better at detecting than most professionals.

Agreed 100%

 

[John-Edmonton]

Great question! I doubt there is much difference between the two. An amateur can in many instances hunt as well as a veteran and vice versa. It might be said that a professional puts in more hours then an amateur, but that's about it. Both can focus their hunts on coins, relics, jewelry, water/land hunt and gold prospecting. Also, compared to any type of academia, where one can get a degree, diploma, masters, bachelor or arts or ticket, medal detecting has none. It's just a hobby, and a good one at that!

 

[Dave_E]

Someone can be an expert and not get paid and a lot of times these people are better at their trade than quote (PROFESSIONAL). They do something because they love what they do and are driven to get better because of their passion. In short there are probably a lot of amautar detectors than are better at detecting than most professionals.

BINGO!

"Professional" does not always equal "Expert".
"Experienced" does not always equal "Expert".

 

[jd88047]

Guess Im a starving Artist lol. I wish I could quote my users manual a lil better explaining the detector and how it works. You are only as good as you can teach something. So I am a professor of finding screw caps and zinc pennys lol.

How many of you scratch your head when a new guys starts posting all these great and wonderful finds right out the gate? Oh there are some professionals out there alright lol.