"specialist" vs "professional"

[MarieLina]

Hi,

Can anyone explain the difference between terms "specialist" and "professional"?
I tried to google them, but did not find anything useful.

Thanks

 

[5jj]

Strictly speaking, a specialist is a person who is an expert in a particular area of work or study, while a professional is one who is paid for his job. By extension, professional comes to mean a person who does a job requiring a high level of education and/or training, and then a person who has a lot of skill and experience.