Jobs and occupations in English
Learn more than 50 jobs and occupations in English, from doctor to software developer, and how to ask and answer the question What do you do?
In this lesson
Jobs and occupations are the words we use for the work people do, such as teacher, nurse, driver and engineer. This lesson teaches more than 50 jobs in English, grouped by field, with what each person does, example sentences and how to ask and answer the question “What do you do?”
Key point
Use a or an before a job: She is a nurse. He is an engineer. To ask about someone’s job, say What do you do? and answer I’m a teacher or I work as a teacher.
What is the difference between a job and an occupation?
Both words mean the work that a person does to earn money. Job is the everyday word. Occupation is more formal and often appears on forms, for example on a visa application or a hospital form.
occupation noun B1
A formal word for a person’s job.
Please write your name, age and occupation on the form.
Three more words are useful. Work is usually uncountable: I start work at nine. A career is the series of jobs you do during your life. A profession is a job that needs special training, such as medicine or law.
Common mistake
My mother is teacher. → My mother is a teacher.
I’m looking for a work. → I’m looking for a job. or I’m looking for work.
Health and medicine jobs
| Job | What does this person do? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| doctor | Examines sick people and gives them medicine or treatment. | The doctor told me to rest for three days. |
| nurse | Looks after sick or injured people, usually in a hospital. | My aunt works as a nurse in a children’s hospital. |
| dentist | Checks and treats people’s teeth. | I visit the dentist twice a year. |
| pharmacist | Prepares and sells medicines in a pharmacy. | The pharmacist explained how to take the tablets. |
| vet | Treats animals that are sick or injured. | We took our dog to the vet because it wasn’t eating. |
| paramedic | Gives emergency medical help, often in an ambulance. | The paramedics arrived five minutes after the accident. |
Education jobs
| Job | What does this person do? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| teacher | Teaches children or adults, usually in a school. | Our English teacher gives us a short test every Friday. |
| headteacher | Is in charge of a school. | The headteacher spoke to all the parents at the meeting. |
| lecturer | Teaches students at a university or college. | My cousin is a lecturer in chemistry. |
| librarian | Works in a library and helps people find books and information. | The librarian helped me find a book about birds. |
| tutor | Teaches one student or a small group, often at home or online. | I have a maths tutor on Saturday mornings. |
Office, business and law jobs
| Job | What does this person do? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| accountant | Keeps and checks the financial records of a company or a person. | Our accountant checks the company’s accounts every month. |
| receptionist | Welcomes visitors and answers the phone in an office, hotel or clinic. | The receptionist asked me to wait in the lobby. |
| secretary | Types letters, organises meetings and keeps records for an office or a manager. | Please ask my secretary to book a meeting room. |
| manager | Is in charge of a team, a shop or part of a company. | The manager wants to see the sales report by Monday. |
| lawyer | Gives people advice about the law and speaks for them in court. | You should talk to a lawyer before you sign the contract. |
| bank clerk | Helps customers in a bank with their money and accounts. | The bank clerk helped me open a savings account. |
Shop, food and hotel jobs
| Job | What does this person do? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| shop assistant | Helps customers and sells things in a shop. | The shop assistant found the shoes in my size. |
| cashier | Takes payments from customers in a shop, supermarket or bank. | The cashier gave me the wrong change. |
| waiter | Brings food and drinks to customers in a restaurant or café. | The waiter brought us the menu and some water. |
| chef | Cooks food in a restaurant or hotel kitchen. | The chef makes an excellent fish curry. |
| baker | Makes and sells bread and cakes. | The baker starts work at four o’clock every morning. |
| butcher | Cuts and sells meat. | I buy chicken from the butcher near the market. |
Building and repair jobs
| Job | What does this person do? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| builder | Builds and repairs houses and other buildings. | The builders are putting a new roof on our house. |
| electrician | Fits and repairs electrical wires and equipment. | We called an electrician because the lights kept going off. |
| plumber | Fits and repairs water pipes, taps and toilets. | The plumber fixed the leaking pipe in the kitchen. |
| carpenter | Makes and repairs things made of wood. | A carpenter made these wooden chairs by hand. |
| mechanic | Repairs cars, motorbikes and other machines. | The mechanic said the car needs new brakes. |
| cleaner | Cleans houses, offices or other buildings. | The cleaner comes to the office every evening. |
Transport and travel jobs
| Job | What does this person do? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| bus driver | Drives a bus and takes passengers from place to place. | The bus driver waited for me when he saw me running. |
| taxi driver | Drives a taxi and takes passengers where they want to go. | The taxi driver knew a quick way to the airport. |
| lorry driver | Drives a large vehicle that carries goods. | Lorry drivers often work long hours on the road. |
| pilot | Flies a plane. | The pilot told us we would land in twenty minutes. |
| flight attendant | Looks after passengers on a plane. | The flight attendant brought me a blanket. |
| tour guide | Shows tourists around a place and tells them about it. | Our tour guide told us the history of the old fort in Galle. |
Public service and safety jobs
| Job | What does this person do? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| police officer | Protects people and makes sure they obey the law. | A police officer helped the old man cross the road. |
| firefighter | Puts out fires and rescues people in danger. | The firefighters put out the fire in less than an hour. |
| soldier | Is a member of an army. | Her grandfather was a soldier for twenty years. |
| security guard | Protects a building and the people or things inside it. | The security guard checks everyone’s bags at the entrance. |
| postman | Delivers letters and parcels to homes and offices. | The postman brought a parcel this morning. |
Farming and outdoor jobs
| Job | What does this person do? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| farmer | Grows crops or keeps animals on a farm. | My uncle is a rice farmer near Anuradhapura. |
| fisherman | Catches fish as a job. | The fishermen go out to sea before sunrise. |
| gardener | Looks after gardens and plants. | The gardener cuts the grass every week. |
| tea plucker | Picks tea leaves by hand on a tea estate. | Tea pluckers pick the young leaves at the top of each tea bush. |
Science and technology jobs
| Job | What does this person do? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| engineer | Designs and builds machines, roads, bridges or systems. | The engineers are designing a new bridge over the river. |
| scientist | Studies the natural world and does experiments. | The scientist is testing a new medicine. |
| software developer | Writes and tests computer programs and apps. | She works as a software developer for a company in Colombo. |
| web designer | Plans and creates websites. | A web designer made our new website. |
Arts and media jobs
| Job | What does this person do? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| artist | Paints, draws or makes other works of art. | The artist painted a picture of the beach at sunset. |
| photographer | Takes photographs as a job. | We hired a photographer for my sister’s wedding. |
| journalist | Collects news and reports it for newspapers, television, radio or websites. | The journalist asked the minister some difficult questions. |
| musician | Plays a musical instrument or sings as a job. | The musicians played until midnight. |
| actor | Performs in films, plays or television programmes. | My favourite actor is in a new film. |
| writer | Writes books, stories or articles. | The writer is working on her third novel. |
Note
Many job names are now the same for men and women. Say firefighter (not fireman), police officer (not policeman) and flight attendant (not air hostess). You will still hear waitress and postwoman. Some words are different in American English: truck driver for lorry driver and principal for headteacher.
For more practice with these words, try the British Council Jobs 1 vocabulary exercises and the British Council Jobs 2 vocabulary exercises.
How do you ask and answer “What do you do?”
What do you do? is the most common way to ask about someone’s job. It uses the present simple because a job is a regular, everyday fact. You can review this tense in our lesson on the simple present tense.
| Question | Answer pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| What do you do? | I’m a/an + job. | I’m a nurse. |
| What do you do? | I work as a/an + job. | I work as a receptionist. |
| Where do you work? | I work in/at/for + place or company. | I work in a hospital. / I work at a bank. / I work for a travel company. |
| What does she do? | She’s a/an + job. | She’s an accountant. |
| Do you like your job? | Yes, I love it. / It’s OK. / Not really. | Yes, I love it. Every day is different. |
If you do not have a job, you can still answer the question.
Examples
- I’m a student. I’m studying engineering at university.
- I’m looking for a job at the moment.
- I’m self-employed. I run a small bakery.
- I’m retired. I was a teacher for 35 years.
Examples
- Ashan: What do you do, Dilini?
- Dilini: I’m a pharmacist. I work at a pharmacy in Kandy. What about you?
- Ashan: I work as a software developer.
- Dilini: That sounds interesting. Do you enjoy it?
- Ashan: Yes, I do, but the hours are long.
Common mistake
A: What are you doing? B: I’m a nurse. → A: What do you do? B: I’m a nurse.
What are you doing? asks about this moment. What do you do? asks about your job.
Tip
After you answer, ask the question back with What about you? or And you? This keeps the conversation going. Our lesson on introducing yourself in English shows how to add your job to a self-introduction, and Wh- questions help you ask follow-up questions such as Where do you work?
Want to talk about work in a more natural way? Learn idioms such as learn the ropes and call it a day in our list of common English idioms. Every job in this lesson is also in our English Word Bank.
Summary
- Use a or an before a job: a doctor, an engineer.
- Job is countable, but work is usually uncountable.
- Ask What do you do? and answer I’m a … or I work as a ….
- Say where you work with in, at or for.
- Many job names are the same for men and women, such as firefighter and police officer.
Frequently asked questions
How do you answer “What do you do?”
Say your job with a or an: I’m a teacher or I work as a teacher. You can add where you work: I work at a primary school in Galle.
Do I need a or an before a job?
Yes, when you talk about one person: She is a doctor. He is an engineer. Use an before a vowel sound, and use no article in the plural: They are doctors.
What is the difference between job and work?
Job is a countable noun: I have a new job. Work is usually uncountable, so say I’m looking for work, not a work.
Is it polite to ask someone about their job?
Yes. What do you do? is a common, friendly question when you meet someone new. Asking how much money someone earns, however, is usually seen as rude.
What do you call someone who works for themselves?
You can say they are self-employed or freelance, for example I’m a freelance photographer. A person who owns a company is a business owner.
Practise this lesson
12 questions
