<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" http-equiv=Content-Type> <META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.18702"></HEAD> <BODY style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt" id=role_body bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 rightMargin=7 topMargin=7><FONT id=role_document color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial> <DIV> <DIV>In einer eMail vom 03.10.2009 00:33:42 Westeuropäische Normalzeit schreibt mary@heirlines.com:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>Is genealogy a viable occupation?  Should we have a profession for the practitioner? Why is there no profession in genealogy?   Who would benefit from having a real profession in genealogy?  What is stopping us from starting now and organizing a real profession in genealogy?  Why shouldn’t we organize a profession so we can have the authority in Professional Genealogy  to establish best practices, standards, ethics, education degree programs, competency testing and verifiable maintenance, continuing-education, verifiable practitioner credentialing, members-only profession practitioner and trade organizations?  With a real profession in genealogy, what would be the exclusive practitioner title?   </FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV>Yeah, and once you have all that, what about us on the other side of an U.S. border? Why should we care about what you consider or what you arrange?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Here in Germany genealogy is more or a less a hobby. There are some very few of us who do it for money and there are a majority of others who look at us with ravaging eyes stating on every opportunity they have how much they don't like what we do. To be a professional may be a reason to be excluded from one of the many German genealogical forums. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>But like in the States everyone of us professionals has never passed an examination or something like that. There is a group of professionals who joined in a specific associtiation with its own "Code of Honor". I got an invitation to join them but had no opportunity yet to visit one of the conferences during which the accept new members. But there would be no need to join them to work as a professional researcher. I've been working in the matter for at least 15 years, specialising in emigration to the US (because I speak English :-) and other stuff. So - when the company I worked for - fired me five years ago, I became a professional researcher. Among other things. I went to our Public Record Office, told them about the company I would like to found (you need a company to be able to sell your own written products), payed the fee of 30 Euros - and there was I facing the world through my computer and said: "Hello, here I am!" Well, some came, other didn't or haven't yet. :-)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>You are lucky in the States. Genealogy is a common thing overthere on high level. Here it's not much more than just another part of historic research (I know a lady here in our county, historian by trade, who would never to genealogy, oh my goodness, no such things - but that's less arrogance but ignorance - in case there is a difference). People are not used to spend more money in that subject than necessary - necessary would be fees for the Public Record Office or the dioces archives or national or city archives. Costs you cannot avoid. They pay without hesitation. But if you (or I) offer the same service - maybe cheaper - well, that's not the same. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Oops, it's getting late (one in the monring). </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Good night. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Roland Geiger</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT lang=2 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10">Roland Geiger<BR>Historical and Genalogical Research<BR>Alsfassener Strasse 17<BR>66606 St. Wendel<BR>Germany<BR>phone ++49 - 6851-3166<BR>email rolgeiger@aol.com<BR>www.geiger-roland.de<BR><BR>=> genealogy<BR>=> local history<BR>=> transcriptions (f.e. old German into modern)<BR>=> guided tours through St. Wendel County (uhm, St. Wendel, Germany!)<BR></FONT></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>