The first, a Professional, is always striving to be the best at what they do, continually learning and growing.

The other, an agent, does what is needed to keep their license and is always too busy to sharpen the saw or do anything that is not required by state statute.

There is a remarkable difference between those who seek to be Professionals and those who seek to just be agents.

Professionals look at it as a career and invest in their futures. 

A professional doesn't need to call herself or himself a "professional"...  it shows.

Have you decided to go back to real estate school in Utah?

OMG..I love Debbie Reynolds and Fred Griffin's answers!! Agreed!!

Bob Crane and Debbie Reynolds covered the answer I was going to write. But I'll add that there are RE professionals who are not agents.

I believe Bob Crane hit the nail on the head!

our state dictates what we can call ourselves and professional isn't a choice. Of course that can be our behavior.

Is this a pholosophical question Lou?

I would consider myself a professional because I take my business very seriously and it's not just a job. 

So I guess the difference to me is how someone looks at their career. 

That's a tough one Lou!  One one hand I want to say "Nothing, they mean one and the same to the consumer" but on the other hand I want to say "the same as any business; the professional is in the job full-time and seeks to improve themselves, while the hobbyist (agent) is in the job part time and does just enough to not get fired."

Lou,

I agree wiith Bob Crane .

A RE professional does not waste your time and get things done. A RE agent is simply someone who has a license. 

IMO as a professional it's my career and business - I don't have another job as real estate agents do

The professional is always looking to improve their service and knowledge knowing the benefit will be more sales. The agent is pursuing the next commission check!

licensee equates to minimum competency according to a recent CE class

professional - something more than the above!

I do not know.

I suppose one can say that not every agent is professional. They can be mutually exclusive.

In some cases, there is no difference.

An agent is someone who has a license. A professional is one that has the knowledge and the skills to properly represent clients.

The former earns a livelihood while the latter an income.

Lou Ludwig - in one word - Service. 

Or as your question asks -- Professionalism!

a lot of commissions!

Code of Ethics. Personally I don't think the general public knows the difference.  A professional does their best and works hard as they grow their business.

An agent, they may work full time but don't put in the same care and responsibility.  The attitude of each is different & it shows in their work. You have some good answers. 

I feel Professional takes pride in his profession

Personality!

A real estate professional could be an agent or a lender, home inspector, stager or anyone who facilitates the listing and selling of houses.

I would say probably similar to being a Realtor, as opposed to a real estate agent, which is the code of ethics and such.  I would hope that if you consider yourself a professional, you act accordingly.

I often use real estate professional in my writing because I do not want any confusion and it is a failry inclusive term. Because the agent is technically the broker and not the salesperson (something we all understand but a regular consumer may not), I do not want to use the word agent in certain situations and confuse someone. 

Maybe I'm overly cautious or confusing a different sect of my readers now, but that's my rationale. 

To me, an agent has a real estate license.  A real estate professional is more vague and inclusive.  I guess that would include assts, etc and may even others in real estate industry such as mortgage brokers, real estate attorneys.  But, if someone was using the title of "real estate professional" most outside of the industry would assume real estate agent.  Most inside the industry might assume a non-agent and someone trying to inflate the title.

Just my opinion.