What profession do you admire most and why?
The text explores the connection between profession and ethics by discussing the exploitation prevalent in crucial professions like healthcare and legal services, where financial greed often overshadows the welfare of the needy. It contrasts this with the admirable roles of military personnel and scientists, who serve humanity selflessly. The importance of professionalism and ethical standards is emphasised, highlighting how some professionals exploit their clients for monetary gain, damaging their reputations. The text advocates for a societal shift in valuing dedication and service over profit, urging empathy towards those with genuine needs. Additionally, it underscores the significance of skill development in career choices for youth, prioritising ethical conduct in professions.
Acute illness
While walking, he noticed a person walking ahead of him. Accompanied by a lady, apparently his wife, the man staggered and sat on a bench. Gasping heavily with his mouth wide open, he was trying to inhale fresh air. The accompanying lady called a hospital and narrated his condition to the person on the line. She looked worried but not panicked. She was trying to handle the situation without losing her cool.
Help arrived
Help arrived in no time. The healthcare staff attended to the patient and took him to the hospital. Doctors examined him and declared that there was a severe heart attack and he needed urgent surgery. The surgery was expensive. The hospital staff told his wife to deposit a hefty sum of money before the operation.
Hefty sum in advance
The lady was in a fix. She did not have such a large amount. Sitting pensively on a hospital bench, she thought about waus. In the meantime, people and friends got the information about the man. They started arriving. Worried attendants discussed the ways to raise money. The patient lying on a stretcher moved with a subdued groan. As luck would have it, one friend arrived at the nick of time. The friend looked at the patient and instantly said loudly that the patient was not suffering from a cardiac problem; instead, he was suffering from a gastric problem. Gas had stuck in his stomach. At most, the patient needed to go to a gastrologist.
Cantankerous staff
Hospital staff gathered around the man and the lady who were preparing to lift the patient. They’re yelling at them. A commotion started. Doctors also joined them and started bullying the lady and her accomplices. The hospital staff and Doctors did not let go of the patient. It seemed they desperately wanted to keep the patient. Their goal was to extract money by pretending to treat him for a disease he did not have.
Poor farmer and the councillor
Look at the other scene. It is a trial court. A shabbily dressed poor farmer was beseeching his councillor to arrange a relief for him. The advocate wanted him to shell out a handsome amount of money before he took up the case. His plea was that for a long time, he had not paid his fee. As a result, he would not be able to plead his case further.
Professionalism
The job one is doing and earning money to sustain himself/herself is a profession. No job is inferior or superior. A task or job is done using one’s brain with minimal physical labour. Some tasks demand physical labour. Others require a combination of both. In the latter case, the physical labour is less than mental. Based on how a job is performed, an artificial division is made. It is a “white-collar” or “blue-collar” job. The distinction is made to create a false hegemony of certain categories of jobs.
The cases narrated above show the importance of professionalism in daily life. A professional is proficient in his/her work. They can carry out a task with utmost skill and care. It is regrettable that some professionals behave unreasonably and exploit the needy and poor for most money. It is against the ethics of a profession. Even those who are not poor find it difficult to fulfil the unreasonable demands and succumb to the condition.
Profession despicable
Cases like it make news headlines. It portrays a noble profession as a sanguivorous animal. Common perception about the humble and kind profession has now drastically changed. It is a sorry state of affairs. Professionals have their own say. Yet, extorting money on the wrong pretext seriously damages the social repute of the profession. It is against the ethics of any profession.
Costly affair
Professional services are costly, sometimes beyond the reach of a common person. Celebrity advocates, for example, practice in the Supreme Court or State High Courts. They charge an exorbitant fee for a single appearance. The same is the case with doctors and other professionals like CAs or consultants.
Skill for livelihood
The professionals earn their bread and butter using the skills they have. They can be anyone. Skilled in their respective fields of construction and electrical work are a mason or an electrician. A plumber is proficient in plumbing. Every one of them is a professionals who work and earn using their skills. They can also be termed as skilled workers. Their skill and hard work are laudable. So, every one of us is a professional. Prioritising them is undermining.
Education sector
The favoured profession of some is teaching. It is not that the teaching profession is “respectable” because it imparts education. Compared to the old-world educated and well-versed teachers with high moral and ethical standards, modern teaching has changed completely. Opposed to the traditional belief, the present-day education system focuses more on money minting rather than on the ethics of the profession. Money is necessary, but commercialising education for money is harmful. It deprives most seekers of education, seriously flouting the principle of Education for All.
Costly schools
The so-called excellent schools charge a hefty amount as a fee, and that too for the lower classes. The fee varies significantly. It ranges from a few Lakhs to a massive fifty lakhs per annum for a child in the lower class.
Professionals are trained
Proper learning and training are necessary for meticulous performance. It prepares a person for a specified job. Armed with education and training, professionals become specialists in their field. They carry out their job with refined accuracy and precision.
Army soldiers, fighter pilots, doctors, engineers, lawyers, police officers, et cetera are specialised jobs. They are not born but are prepared through proper training and practice. A skilled craftsman creates wonderful pieces of art with refined skill and experience.
Specialist vs generalist
A generalist, on the other hand, invests less. Naturally, a professional has an edge. In a sense, a generalist is like an untrained, unskilled worker who performs ordinary, routine work after a few days’ exposure. A specialised job requires extensive and rigorous training and the ability to withstand the vagaries. A generalist can run a system on preset conditions with slight variation, whereas a specialist, like a fighter plane pilot, has to think and act in a fraction of a second.
Repetitive work also makes an expert
Repetitive work also makes a person an expert. A worker performing a task using a machine daily. He is so accustomed to the machine that he knows it well. This repetitive job makes him an expert handler. The labour can handle at least ten junior workers who have recently joined. The senior workers were then promoted to oversee the ten junior workers. The worker is now an overseer who supervises his subordinates. From a blue-collar worker, he becomes a white-collar worker at the beginning level.
Job preference
Job preferences vary from individual to individual. Some long for a field job while others prefer a table job. A table job is regarded as a petty task of a clerk. In contrast, a field job is full of excitement. It presents challenges and tests wits. Jobs can differ according to individual choice, but the thing that remains common is ethics in the profession. It is necessary.
The army soldier
The army soldier is a professional. A soldier is a person who serves the nation, besides grooming themselves to be a perfect person. It is heartening that women are also becoming active members of the army. The number of women is progressively increasing in the triservices. They are flying fighter planes, participating in combat operations, and they are on guard in challenging conditions at the frontiers.
A condensed force, deadly to enemies but friendly to compatriots, the army is always ready in war and in peace. During natural disasters, the army acts as an angel and saviour. They rescue people, save lives, reestablish the damaged paraphernalia and help the organisation stand on its feet. Strongly adhering to the principle of ethics in the profession, army personnel are always ready to save the country and its people and sacrifice themselves for the motherland.
A heartfelt salute to the tri-services and all military personnel.
The scientist
Dedicated to science, the job of a scientist is praiseworthy. Their service to humanity is remarkable. Scientists work silently. They do not seek the limelight while providing new findings, technologies, and inventions. These contributions help sustain and buttress humanity. Often, they are overshadowed by the glam and glitter of “lucrative” jobs. The artificial glitter is momentary.
Profession and ethics
It requires a lot of labour and resources to create a professional. A person invests a huge amount of labour, patience, time, effort, and money to become a professional. It is because of this that expert professionals are scarce. They opt for their profession to earn a decent livelihood. One should not expect charity from them. It is equally important to consider various human aspects as well. There are a few who try to hoodwink, but there are many whose problems are genuine. A line has to be drawn somewhere. (Reference)
What to do?
Professionals working in the public domain and having frequent access to the public should have a sympathetic approach. What a professional charges as a fee is their prerogative. No one can raise questions, but it is also important to have an empathetic attitude towards genuine, not-so-well-off or poor people. The dreaded ailment is cupidity. This turns a vibrant and kindhearted human being into a ruthless, heartless and cold-blooded ogre. A transparent method and a genuine approach is necessary. An honest behaviour is the linchpin. If a professional is required to follow ethical norms, the public must also follow ethical norms.
Prudent career choice
Youths are the backbone of society. A careful career selection and hard work can do wonders while making the youth self-confident and productive. In today’s world, skill is power. Arming with skills and/or upskilling youths keeps them with new development and makes them more creative. Public-oriented specialised jobs require a lot of patience and honest delivery. Knowing one’s capabilities and potential, one should strive for a job. Career choice makes a real difference. Money is important for a decent life, but cupidity and lust must be avoided. People need to act on the voice of their inner conscience and ability.
One prudent choice and diligent hard work to achieve the goal will change the future.
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Kamal Kishore Srivastava
A retired government officer turned writer and photographer, Kamal Kishore Srivastava is a regular blogger and essayist who explores life’s deeper meanings through immersive reflections on nature, impermanence, and happiness. On his blog Nature’s Narrative, he blends philosophical storytelling with practical insights. Writing 1200–1500 or more words regularly, Kamal is committed to refining his craft, expanding his audience, and building a sustainable space where thought and feeling meet.
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