Am I an IT Professional?

Is it enough that I love IT subjects so I can be called an IT Professional? Does it mean I am an IT Professional just because I teach subjects in IT? Will knowledge of a number of programming languages qualify me as an IT Professional? What about the number of years I have worked as a programmer, as a web developer, as software engineer, as a consultant, or any job that is related with IT, will it make me eligible to be called an IT Professional?

I have noticed that in other professions, for instance in electrical engineering, a professional is the one they call Professional Electrical Engineer (PEE). To qualify as a PEE years of experience in the related field is necessary plus large scale of completed project. My husband, an REE once told me that those PEE engineers are regarded by people in their field as somebody with vast amount of knowledge on the field. Does this apply to the IT profession?

The question of being an IT professional has bothered me in several ways. What I thought before has been questioned and now I don’t know what to think anymore. I research the matter and I found some points from the internet and this has made me more confused.

According to BCS
“If the IT profession is to make a real impact on overall capability then IT professionals must have a significant role in the whole process of IT-enabled change and, most importantly, the necessary skills to enable them to do so.”
“If the IT profession is to be seen by government, business leaders, IT employers, IT users and customers as a key element in a more professional approach to the exploitation of IT we will need an IT profession which:

• Is defined in terms of its ability to play a full part in all stages of that exploitation
• Is seen as - and sees itself as - an integral part of the business
• Has appropriate non-technical skills - including management, business and leadership skills - as core competences alongside, rather than as add-ons to, relevant technical skills
• Demands greater personal responsibility on the part of the practitioner
• Is attractive to a wider group of entrants than at present - including those groups, such as women and those with ambitions to reach senior positions in business or the public service, currently alienated by the 'techie' image.”
  

Being an IT Professional goes beyond than just being able to make a couple of codes.
With this I now consider myself not yet an IT professional.