The Difference Between Amateurs and Professionals

Inspired by Chris Do and Farnham Street

What's the difference between amateurs and professionals?

Beyond the obvious difference of getting paid for your work, let's look at the difference in perception and mindset.

Amateurs are generalist, and don’t tend to focus on one particular area, which means that they compete with all the other generalists.

They have a tendency to self-diagnose and create work based on their own tastes.

Professionals are specialists, experts in a small, focused field — as a result, they can only be compared to a few people (if any).

They diagnose before prescribing a solution, ensuring each solution is tailored for each client.

Thanks to these notes, I now have a much clearer understanding of the difference and the steps on becoming a better creative professional.

I hope the list of notes help you do the same.

Let me know in the comments below if you have any more to add to this list.