The article presents a paper to be discussed at the meeting of the American Sociological Society that will be held on September 3, 1959 in Chicago, Illinois. The paper is designed less as a report on the history and the present state of the profession of sociology, than as a vehicle for raising questions about the problems facing the profession. The article mainly focuses on problems, not only those that may be acted upon collectively by the organized profession, but also those which each sociologist may face as a member of a college or university department and in various types of nonacademic employment. The paper conceives a profession to be a category of occupational role that is organized about the mastery of and fiduciary responsibility for any important segment of a society's cultural tradition, including responsibility for its perpetuation and for its further development. In addition, a profession may have responsibility for the application of its knowledge in practical situations. Roles are organized into collectivities. Professional roles are organized into two main kinds of collectivity including those in which the professional functions themselves and professional associations.