"The training of a trade in European cultures has been a formal tradition for many centuries. A tradesman typically begins as an apprentice, working for and learning from a
master, and after a number of years is released from his
master's service as a journeyman. After a journeyman has proven himself to his trade's guild, he may settle down as a
master and work for himself, eventually taking on his own apprentices."
(Absolute astronomy,
Tradesman, visited 2010-11-05)