I’ve always considered a professional to be someone dedicated to a particular profession that they consider their calling, Ryan. There are people who take on a construction job or a service job for the summer or until something better comes along. They’re not professionals. To them, the work is just a job.

A person who spends their life doing something and doing it well is, whether it be a CPA or farm worker, a professional. “Elite” is a word that people like to tie to an unearned privilege or lifestyle, but it also means superior in terms of ability like an elite athlete who may have been born with a physical advantage but still had to work to gain elite status.