Amateur

For the 1994 film, see Amateur (film).

An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without formal training or pay. An amateur receives little or irregular income from their activities, and differs from a professional who makes a living from the pursuit and typically has some formal training or certifications in the domain. Translated from its French origin to the English "lover of", the term "amateur" reflects a voluntary motivation to work as a result of personal passion for a particular activity.

As with any construct, amateurism can be seen in both a negative and positive light. Since amateurs often do not have formal training, some amateur work may be sub-par. For example, amateur athletes in sports such as basketball or football are not regarded as having the same level of ability as professional athletes.

Alternatively, the lack of financial recompense can also be seen as a sign of commitment to an activity. For instance, until the 1970s most Olympic events required that the athletes be amateurs. Receiving payment to participate in an event disqualified an athlete from that event, as in the case of Jim Thorpe. In the Olympic games, this rule remains in place for boxing.

Amateurs make valuable contributions in the fields of computer programming through the open source movement. Amateur Dramatics is the performance of either plays or musical theater, often to high standards but lacking the budgets of the professional West End or Broadway performances. Astronomy, history, linguistics,and ornithology are among the myriad fields that have benefited from the activity of amateurs.

See also

• Volunteer
• Hobby
• Amateur astronomy
• Amateur radio
• Amateur sports
• Corinthian (disambiguation)
• Home movies

Notes

• Bourdieu, P. (1996). Photography: A Middle-Brow Art. Stanford University Press.
• Fine, G.A. (1998) Morel Tales:. The. Culture. of. Mushrooming.. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
• Jenkins, Henry (1992). Textual Poachers: Television Fans & Participatory Culture. Studies in culture and communication. New York: Routledge. p. 343. ISBN 0415905710.
• Haring, Kristen , (2008). Ham Radio's Technical Culture,. The MIT Press,. ISBN 0262582767,. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Unknown parameter |address= ignored (|location= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |howpublished= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |keywords= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

• Stebbins, Robert A. (2007) Serious Leisure: A Perspective for Our Time. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.