This article draws on two small-scale pieces of research that investigated the views of twenty-five final year students in the BA Early Childhood Studies programme at a Scottish university, and the views of ten recent graduates about early years job titles and perceptions of professionalism. Pen-and-paper questionnaires were used in both studies, with one study also including an analysis of texts from a final-year reflective assignment on professionalism. The article also discusses the impact of recent changes in the Scottish context, including: the introduction of a regulatory body, Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC); the National Review of the Early Years and Childcare Workforce; and changes in required qualifications for the future of an early years profession on early years workers' aspirations for professional status. It argues that the "new" early years profession is in danger of being stillborn or dissipated across such a wide age range that the "early" focus is lost. (Contains 1 table and 3 notes.)