When I have studied economics, our professor went into long lengths in explanation what makes one an economist. And the main thing is. To be economist, you hav

When I have studied economics, our professor went into long lengths in explanation what makes one an economist. And the main thing is. To be economist, you have to act in discourse of economics. And discourse of economics is defined by economs. You don't need any particular profession or education to be economist, just participation in the discourse makes you one. When you are paid to participate, you are professional. A question is, whether you must participate in research. If yes, you could say that for example economics teacher is not an economist even when they have studied it, they understand it and they teach it. And you could ask the same for 'company economists', CFOs, accountants. They have studied it, they understand it and their main discourse's within of what economists study. One more thing is. I have met lots of economics grads who had almost no understanding of economics. They learned for tests, then they forgot. A few years after graduation, they remember maybe 5-10%. And I have met lots of amateurs who study, read, think and discuss actively. They might not have a degree and their understanding of economics is superior to a huge percentage of econ grads.