I never argue with the mechanic who fixes my car, or accuse him of thinking he is infallible. I just take it for granted that cars are what he knows and that he knows better than I do.

The fact remains that if you go anywhere in the English-speaking world (except Malta) and tell people you are a lawyer, they will naturally assume that you have a law practice or work for a law firm, and not that you graduated in law 25 years ago but have since done something else.

If you wish to contradict this, suit yourself, but the correct way to explain that situation is “I graduated in law but then decided to do something entirely different.”

Most people wouldn’t even mention that they graduated in law because by that time it has become irrelevant.

I pity your wife (if you have one), because boy, do you have a problem.

If Natalie had given up work entirely then yes, she wouldn’t have called herself a doctor. In answer to the question ‘And what do you do?’ she would have had to reply, ‘I used to be a doctor, but now I’m home with the children.’

But Natalie had not given up work entirely. She was just taking a break.

In the unlikely event of my retirement, I will not be saying ‘I am journalist’ but ‘I USED TO BE A JOURNALIST’.

Yes, Jimmy…because they fully intend to work as doctors and lawyers and have just embarked on it.

Otherwise they wouldn’t.

Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando is not a scientist. He is a dentist.

I am not an archaeologist. I am a journalist.

James Debono over at Malta Today is not a historian. He is a journalist.

Natalino Fenech, former head of news at TVM, has a doctorate in geography. For 25 years, he was a journalist.

I don’t know why you’re pushing at it. This is not a battle and nobody has to win. Just accept the facts.

You are what you do.

Seriously, how many fresh graduates do you know who, having just had their warrant conferred upon them, set about thinking ‘now I shall work at becoming a doctor, lawyer, etc ‘ ? The fact is that, despite not yet having practised for a minute as a doctor, they are rightly entitled to call themselves doctors nonetheless.

So you gained experience and became a better doctor as you went along. But did you lose the entitlement to call yourself ‘doctor’ in the period during which you were raising your children?

Snooty put-downs notwithstanding, you are still expounding the populist view.

Technically, you remain incorrect and claims of infallibility are a poor substitute for a properly substantiated argument.

Btw – it is eminently possible for a doctor (I’m thinking GP here) to return to practise after a long layoff, as long as he remains registered.

The CPD requirement is a comparatively very recent one and is still far from being universally applicable. I believe the same goes for a lawyer.

I stared back blankly and told them, “Look, do whatever you think is best, I don’t even know what you mean by ‘pre-meds’.” I felt as least as possible a doctor.

I continued feeling that way for another three years, then I started finding my feet.

When I stopped for 18 months to have my children and started working again, I felt the same way. Sort of, “Don’t ask me anything, I’m a fraud.” And if you’re wondering, yes, I did brush up on guidelines and stuff before starting again.

It’s the job that makes the person not the degree.

In any case, I really don’t know why I am bothering – you are obviously one of those people who think these things are matters of opinion, when they are not.

The Xarabank view – tieghi tajjeb daqs tieghek.

You overlook the fact that this (language, and this particular language specifically) is what I work in for a living and have done for rather a long time, so I’m afraid I really do know what I am talking about.

‘Lawyer’ is what you do for a living, not your university degree.

‘Dentist’ is what you do for a living, and not the fact that you graduated in dentistry (and are now running a restaurant instead).

What people do, think, say and mean in Malta is wholly irrelevant. The form of English used in Malta is a completely separate language to British English and it shouldn’t be your point of reference.

Wouldn’t surprise me.