Today we often hear that early care and education is becoming or should become a profession. In this article, the authors discuss what it means to be a profession, and a professional and consider how these characteristics apply to the field of early care and education now and in the future. Professionals possess specialized knowledge and expertise. Here, the authors review the early childhood field's approach to professional preparation; education standards and regulations, the career ladder or lattice to suggest its diverse pathways in the acquisition of professional knowledge and expertise, from entry-level requirements to certification of kindergarten and primary teachers and on to degrees and the contributions of NAEYC to professional development. Furthermore, they explain that early childhood teachers, as professionals, are autonomous and altruistic; they serve society, are indispensable, and are bound by a code of ethics.