Amateurs

What is the difference between being an amateur and a professional? Sure we discussed it in class, but its still a good question to ponder. I mean what draws the line between amateur and professional- there are amateur and professional sports leagues, pretty much anything concievable has both an amateur and a professional side. If sports has amateurs and professionals, then money is not the determining factor between them because amateur sports players still get paid though the amount of money may be slightly different. There can be an amateur plumber and a professional plumber; fixing your sink in a do-it-yourself fashion vs hiring a licensed plumber to fix the sink. I would say that the most obvious distinction between professional and amateur is the whole wake up and do the task deal. The job or career that you wake up everyday to work on would be your professional career, and anything you do on the side could be considered amateur. Amateur sports players typically have an alternative source of income, a regular 9-5 job they would consider their profession, and when they are available for games, or have to play their season they go on hiatus from the profession to be an amateur sports player. Money is a factor, but it does not entirely distinguish between amateur and professional.