Trust Me, I'm a Professional...

With fellow graduates of Ken Blanchard's
Situational Leadership II Training for Trainers

There's been an interesting discussion in my online class - What industries and occupations have standards? And why?

Everyone jumped to name the industries that have standards, and soon we were running out.
I asked the question, what industry doesn't have standards?
Well, as it turns out, mine doesn't... oops.

The corporate learning industry has very few standards. 

You don't need to pass anything (a test, class, or medieval gauntlet) to call yourself a facilitator, coach, or trainer. You just put it on your business card and start doing it... Pretty strange, huh?

I googled "licensed occupations" and found this website... It's awesome.
It lists what occupations require licenses in what states.
Here's some of what I learned:

1) In Tennessee, you need a license to shampoo hair. Check this out.

SHAMPOO TECHNICIAN: A person who brushes, combs, shampoos, rinses and conditions upon the hair and scalp.
REQUIREMENTS: Be at least 16 years of age and meet the education and examination requirements.
EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: Satisfactory completion of a course of instruction of not less than 300 hours in the practice and theory of shampooing at a school of cosmetology.
EXAMINATION REQUIREMENTS: A written and practical examination is required.

I'm not making this up. More than 7 weeks of study to brush, comb, shampoo, rise and condition. How many jokes are in that?

2) Tennessee and Nevada require telemarketers to have licenses. That must be why all those jobs are going to India.

3) Five states require a license to be a Travel Agent.

4) Only Three states (Arkansas, Kansas, and Maine) require a license to be a tattoo artist...
Can this actually be true? It means that in Tennessee, I can tattoo your head, but I can't comb it or wash it.

5) My favorite is that almost every state (looks like 45/50) requires a license to be a barber. Seriously, a barber.
You can tattoo someone, but you can't cut their hair.
You can bear children without a license, but you can't cut some one's hair.

What is the history behind this?
What hair crisis struck our great country that necessitated barbers to be licensed.

Only ONE state (Georgia) requires cooks to be licensed, but almost every state thinks barbers need to be tracked and registered.

And anyone can call themselves a life coach, financial coach, business coach, ADD coach, relationship coach, real estate coach, or even a coaching coach - with no permit or license.

Sometimes, the more you learn, the less you know...