Difference Between Profession and Business (With Table)

Having a career is a very important part of one’s life as the end of the day all we do and strive is for money. These days there is a wide scope of careers, wherein the individual can choose between making money or working for it. Economic activities are divided into three primary classifications, i.e.,  business, professions, and employment.

Profession vs Business

The difference between Profession and Business is that Profession is an activity or job undertaken which requires a certain qualification and where people put together their knowledge and skills to work. Business is an economic activity which involves trade and commerce and requires no minimum qualification, where people do the work of selling goods and services.

A Professional is a trained person usually working under or for an individual or a group of individuals who pay him/ her for the services.

A businessman/ woman is a person who may or may not be professionally trained but works entirely towards economic profits and might even employ professionals or employees for the cause.

Money might be the underlying motive for all jobs but a professional sometimes also contributes a lot in terms of knowledge while business provides employment opportunities to many.


Comparison Table Between Profession and Business (in Tabular Form)

Parameter of ComparisonProfessionBusiness
DefinitionAny type of work that requires special training or skill and hence a higher level of education and expertise.This type of work is lead by individuals who are only interested in the economic value of goods and services.
QualificationHighly qualified individuals with minimum graduation in any subject.May not be qualified but know the product or service they are dealing with.
ObjectiveThe objective is to earn money but by using their skills and knowledge for their own or the company’s or other people’s betterment.The objective is to earn money based on their business sense and the product.
RiskThere is often no risk as there is no capital investment except for the money spent on their education.There is a huge risk involved as there is an initial investment in the business.
ExamplesProfessionals like teachers, doctors, microbiologists, etc.Businesses like start-ups, entrepreneurship, etc.


What is Profession?

A profession is nothing but a paid employment that expects a person to be formally qualified, expert, and equipped in a particular arena to be called a professional. The basic purpose of professionals is hence to provide services for payment.

To be called a professional, a person should be a registered member of a profession that has a union or an association. In every career, there are certain regulations called the professional code of ethics; that governs it. The purpose of a profession is to provide services to those who require it, for an immediate and certain payment called a fee.

A profession is hence a career or vocation which expects a high degree of proficiency and skill in a particular field.

A profession is an educational society undertaken by an individual, the objective of which is to provide counsel and assistance to others, for immediate compensation, entirely remote from the expectation of other business profit.

Professions rejoice high social importance, respect, and appreciation bestowed upon them by society. This high reverence arises primarily from the higher social importance and relevance of their work, which is considered as crucial to society as a whole and thus of having a special and beneficial nature.

All professions involve technical, specialized, and highly qualified work hence are called upon by those in need of the expertise. An example of this can be a teacher, who can be defined as an individual who teaches or imparts knowledge to others. Many governmental bodies govern teachers’ unions, like AIPTF for primary teachers in India which is an affiliation of 24 teachers unions from different states.


What is Business?

A business is interpreted as an institution or enterprising element committed in retail, industrial, or skill related procedures. Businesses can be companies that conduct for the charitable undertaking of public work or they can be entirely based on generating economy.

The term business generally indicates the systematic actions and activities of people to generate and sell goods and services for revenue. Businesses span in scale from alone proprietorship to a worldwide enterprise. Many theories have been put forward to understand organizational behavior, organization theory, and strategic management which are crucial for the development of a company.

Depending on the character of the company, the substantial market study may be vital to deduce whether twisting the concept into a business is reasonable, and if the corporation can provide value to clients.

Example: starting from roadside vendors to huge multinational corporations everything is a business on its scale. These businesses employ people who work for the company.

Main Differences Between Profession and Business

While both professions and businesses are viable career opportunities they are entirely different from each other.

  1. The main theme of professional rendering services to those in need of them while businesses exist for the sake of making profits.
  2. Professionals are usually highly qualified individuals whereas those in business are not necessarily educated.
  3.  A payment known as fees or salary in some cases is given to professionals whereas businesses make profits.
  4. Having a profession is less risky and is bound to offer some amount of cash at all times without any investment whereas a business might fail or go into loss.



Career is a very important factor in which an individual his or her identity and respect in society. It helps build a person and choosing it, hence becomes an important thing.

A respectable professional is always helpful to society whereas an add helps add value to the financial being. While having a profession is less risky and an opportunity to provide service to fellow human beings, setting up a business makes you your boss and hence aids the economic development of the nation.



  1. https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/jlsocty19&section=10
  2. https://www.eh.net/page/19/?s=1920s
  3. https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2633&context=vlr
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