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Who here Be honest is doing Professional level work Paid salary and working on a MacBook Pro

Not a shot at the OP but in general it irks me that a lot of "professional" use cases in reviews and stuff seem to center around video and photo editing/graphic design etc. There are tons of professionals who use computers for a daily basis, including excel/powerpoint work horses in corporate America, academicians who do research and write manuscripts, statisticians, physicians/people in healthcare industry and so on. The list is endless.

Sometimes it is as simple as wanting to be on OSX and having the largest screen possible. Buying a souped up computer (for your needs) will ensure that it will stay up to speed without hiccups for 4-6 years at least. A lot of these professionals cannot have IT issues slow them down. Hence pulling trig on a 2k computer.
 
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iemcj said:
It is still not ideal. I'm happy you've found your niche and are doing great at it but come on man, you know full well your editing experience would be significantly faster and more accurate using a 27" 5k screen compared to this little 16" screen.

You "could" also do your job on my old 13" macbook pro. You also "could" do you photogrphy work with an old 5d mark 2. Doesn't mean it's anywhere close to ideal considering the other options available on the market. Don't be that guy.
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You missed the point. The point is being on location because that is what I do, so the client gets the images they need quick and we approve things faster.

If I had to choose between a desktop or a laptop, I would choose the laptop every time due to the work I do. Desktop, luxury and archive hub. Laptop, ideal workflow solution for on location and that is where I spend most of my time. See?
 
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Reality4711 said:
It would be of great assistance to 'this' long term Mac User if - 1/the assumption that the reader knows every an-acronym in the so called tech world & 2/my honesty was not the first thing an OP questions;).
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I recognized the "be honest" thing from the OP's posts in other forums. Not sure how much you can read into it. I initially felt that the OP was implying that most users of MBPs were poseurs who like to think of themselves as "pros" but in reality don't need such a powerful computer. I don't really think that's fair, since even if you don't need raw processing power, there are a lot of other benefits to a MacBook Pro over the other portables that may be desirable to certain people. And let's face it, the "Pro" suffix currently means less than it ever did. Unless you think AirPods Pro users should all literally be using them for professional audio work.
 
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I was about to reply that I do. Then I read that you narrowed the definition of “professional” work. I’m a physician, I use my MBP to document medical encounters from home.
 
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Mr Screech said:
The ones who don't really need a macbook pro's power are comparable to people buying a SUV while never going off-road. Now we've reached a point where the biggest group of people are exactly like this. The 'original' power-users are dwarfed by the majority and soon the future SUV models are incapable of going off-road.

If only you do is write text or browse the web you really do not need 6 or 8 cores. You never stress or really use the hardware so anything is fine for you. Meanwhile I'll start looking at Dell or Lenovo and put MacOS on it. Superior hardware in almost every sense nowadays.

I'm probably wrong because the majority disagrees.
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I have an MBP and don’t push its limits often. I also have an SUV and take it off road from time to time, but not often.
 
mightyjabba said:
I recognized the "be honest" thing from the OP's posts in other forums. Not sure how much you can read into it.
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Yeah, it's funny. After a couple of people commented about being familiar with the OP, I did a search in the forums and found it amusing that nearly every thread he starts begins with "be honest." Are the typical replies to threads dishonest, such that he needs to specifically ask people to "be honest"? :)
 
Hey OP, I’ll be honest for you, I use my MacBook Pro to record music mostly alone and mostly for myself. I don’t make a dime off it. It’s purely for the love of music and recording it. I guess I’m a poser
 
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I went down the contracting route in 2018 and continued using my Surface Pro for a few months. But the boredom of using Windows since the late 90s crept in and I wanted a change. Had dabbled with OSX in the past without getting it. Decided to try again but couldn't justify more than the cost of a secondhand 2018 15" c £1600-1800 UK. Lost out on a couple of eBay bids so picked up a mint 2015 MBA. Loved it as this time around I made a more concerted effort to get on with OSX.

Naturally it lacked any real power so I opted to use the MBA for basic stuff, ie Word, PPT, researching, basic design and the Surface for the heavier production (HD video, animation, scenario building, asset building etc). Ran Parallels with Win 10 for a few days and decided that was the workflow for me. Bought a BTO 16" and have now migrated everything onto this and run the same workflow as above but obv now with far more power.

Could I do what I do on another Win machine? Yes, but I'd be less engaged. Could I do it on a 13 MBP? Yes, but not as effectively - too little power/GPU/screen estate. 2018/19 15"? Yes, with 32Gb for sure. In fact, a 2019 15" 32Gb is still the one machine I might replace this 16" with. Still have a few days to decide.
 
hipnetic said:
Yeah, it's funny. After a couple of people commented about being familiar with the OP, I did a search in the forums and found it amusing that nearly every thread he starts begins with "be honest." Are the typical replies to threads dishonest, such that he needs to specifically ask people to "be honest"? :)
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I think he’s making the “be honest” into a series tag line or something.
 
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I'm not a professional (someone who has advanced knowledge of a subject and has to sit for an examination before a state-administered board to practice: doctor, attorney, CPA...); I'm more of a tradesman, but I make my money (run my business) on a Mac laptop, FWIW. I need my computing device to not bother me so I can get work done. The macOS is the best environment for that.
 
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I use my 13" MBP to make money, most definitely. I choose the 13" for its portability and battery life. I downgraded from a 15" because when in the office I hook it up to an ultra-wide monitor via USB-c, and on the road, I use the iPad as a second screen.

My 13-year-old daughter is using my old 15" MBP, also professionally to make music.
 
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My MacBook Pro is sometimes or even often better than the PCs I’m supplied with at work. Even when I’m given workstation-grade PCs, you don’t get fast SSD drives, which make a big difference no matter what kind of work you do. Maybe I’m spoilt, but I can’t stand waiting for software or data to open, but they rarely give you enough RAM to leave all the packages you need open.

Not only that, I have zero issues with IT departments telling me what I can and can’t install; or them using outdated software; or them forcing updates and restarts overnight when I might have either scheduled or periodic processing that I need to do that the restarts would screw up.

Basically, corporate IT environments are hell for anyone doing research and analysis types of work that are rarely routine, and where you often need many different tools requiring installation for each project you happen to be working on. It’s all well and good if you can swing local admin rights, but that’s not always possible. And even if they trust you, they want to minimise their potential legal liability. Though most of what I need is free or open-source, they still have terms and that freaks out the big wigs and lawyers in any business or corporation.

For these and many other reasons (like the ability to work flexibly or out of the office when I’m sick of unhealthy open-plan offices, or distracting or bullying colleagues), MacBook Pros have always been invaluable supporting equipment for my professional roles outside of the stereotypical creative and content-creation niche that they’re known for. They’re fantastic tools in science and engineering, so long as you install Windows as well course. This also makes them extremely versatile.

No employer in my 20 years has offered me a Mac, and yet I’m FAR more comfortable in Unix shells than DOS. macOS has many very handy and efficient tools like sed that until recently were problematic or less efficient when running on Windows via Cygwin or other compatibility layers. I think that’s changing soon though, because Microsoft knows there are many people in the same boat who need or prefer Unix; and with good reason. They also want to slow or limit the chance of Linux becoming a viable competitor.

Going back to the premise of this thread: it’s a bit silly because of course people use their Macs for income-generating activities, whether as primary, secondary or other supporting tools.
 
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cyb3rdud3 said:
I use my 13" MBP to make money, most definitely. I choose the 13" for its portability and battery life. I downgraded from a 15" because when in the office I hook it up to an ultra-wide monitor via USB-c, and on the road, I use the iPad as a second screen.

My 13-year-old daughter is using my old 15" MBP, also professionally to make music.
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Exactly my use case with the 13” MacBook Pro.
 
I am a "pro" who makes actual real money using a computer. The 16" MBP is the first portable Mac I have used that can edit complex 4K with effects in real time, in full quality on the go.

I don't always want to be stuck in an office editing on an iMac Pro or what not, and a lot of the time I am mobile. This lets me do real, for-profit relatively high-end video editing anywhere - remote, on set, on site, in a coffee shop.

Yes, this is a real computer for making real work too. I find the OP's post a little bit of a grenade, but at least it got people talking.
 
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anticipate said:
I am a "pro" who makes actual real money using a computer. The 16" MBP is the first portable Mac I have used that can edit complex 4K with effects in real time, in full quality on the go.

I don't always want to be stuck in an office editing on an iMac Pro or what not, and a lot of the time I am mobile. This lets me do real, for-profit relatively high-end video editing anywhere - remote, on set, on site, in a coffee shop.

Yes, this is a real computer for making real work too. I find the OP's post a little bit of a grenade, but at least it got people talking.
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i would say this is the first MacBook I have used in 20 years that I feel comfortable in saying that it can replace my desktop. And that is saying something!
Still planning to get an eGPU though for rendering, and to take the pressure off the dGPU.
 
sennomulo said:
I work in a bakery. I don’t use my MacBook Pro for anything that makes me money. I own one because I like the computer and I’m willing to spend the money.

Deal with it.
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Good for you. Buy what you enjoy and no need to justify to anyone.
I buy pro camera gear and I am not a ‘pro’.
 
I run a consulting company and managed to run though mid six figures last year, all on my 2012 rMBP 15". VM's, MSFT Project, lost of SaaS web applications, shared cloud based resources, tax and accounting programs, no coding. Resource management tools, etc. It's not about the bike.
 
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Just spotted this thread. I guess I now fall into this category of being a paid professional who works from a MacBook Pro since working from home. I guess many of us are. I use an external monitor hooked up to it and keyboard and mouse though.

Not a creative professional however, (finance industry). Probably have tens of thousands of us now working with this setup! No longer a niche, people are just plugging monitors into whatever laptop or desktop they already had at home.

What was the original point of the thread - was it to suggest the MBP isn't powerful enough for real work? Not sure about creatives, but for the finance industry it's overboard. The industry has trillions of dollars going through it, but most of us work on rubbish desktop setups at the office. Clunky old software and laggy slow CPUs and low res screens. You'd be shocked at how old fashioned some of these firms are - you have quants developing machine learning algorithms to out-trade rival boutiques and institutions and a lot of staff are plugging away on retro tech! They really don't like to spend cash unnecessarily. Working from an MBP to power a setup is next level compared to what I'm used to frankly :)
 
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I'll bite. I'm a full-time university professor. I'm also a part-time record producer (have sold a million albums in my country), and a soundscape recordist. ALL my work, from academic writing, to keynote class and conference presentations, to occasional soundscape and music recording and post production, and now FCPX editing for online video educational resources, has been done on my 2012 MBP 15". Does that make me professional enough?
 
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Unfortionately my company only supplys windows notebooks because its the industry standard for CAD, SPS and programming VHDL. Im using it to programm. But i just bought a private MBA 2020 to Code some Apps in my free time. In the company we use mainly Notebooks because i need to go to production plants and code there.
Ar home my wife is using my desktop so a portable MBA is nice to have and i can code on the couch.
 
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