Jobs and Professions in SpanishA2

Professions and jobs are used to say what a person does for a living and what they earn money from. In Spanish, these words appear when you talk about your occupation, someone else's occupation, or the place where someone works. For example: Soy médico, trabaja de profesora, mi padre es conductor. They are also used to introduce someone in a conversation, in a form, or in an interview. In the vocabulary of Personality and Emotions you also find useful words to describe how a person is at work, and in Family and Relationships you can talk about what your relatives do.

Médico treats patients in a hospital or a clinic. Profesor teaches in a school, an institute or a university. Camarero serves tables in a bar or a restaurant. Enfermero helps in hospitals and health centers. Abogado gives legal advice and represents other people. These professions are used a lot in everyday conversations because they are easy to recognize and appear in news, forms and presentations. To describe those people, vocabulary from Apariencia Física, especially when you have to identify someone in an office, a consultation or a waiting room, can also be useful.

Vocabulary of everyday professions

Word	Definition
médico	Person who takes care of health and treats illnesses.
profesor	Person who teaches others in a school or academy.
camarero	Person who waits tables in a bar or restaurant.
enfermero	Person who helps in caring for patients in a health center.
abogado	Person who gives legal advice and helps with legal matters.
veterinario	Person who takes care of animals' health.
arquitecto	Person who designs buildings and spaces.
panadero	Person who prepares and sells bread and other bakery products.
bombero	Person who puts out fires and helps in emergencies.
periodista	Person who reports on news and events.

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Manual trades refer to practical jobs, in construction, repair or maintenance. Carpenter works with wood and makes furniture or doors. Bricklayer builds or repairs walls, houses and buildings. Electrician installs and fixes electricity. Mechanic repairs cars and other machines. Painter paints walls, ceilings, furniture or vehicles. In a construction site, a workshop or a house, these words are very common because they describe concrete and visible tasks. They usually appear with the verb to work as or with the structure subject + be + profession.

Vocabulary of manual trades

Word	Definition
carpintero	Person who works wood and makes furniture or structures.
albañil	Person who raises and repairs walls and structures.
electricista	Person who installs and fixes electricity.
mecánico	Person who repairs vehicles and machines.
pintor	Person who paints surfaces or makes works of art.
fontanero	Person who fixes pipes and taps.
cerrajero	Person who opens and changes locks.
jardinero	Person who cares for plants and gardens.
cartero	Person who delivers letters and packages.
soldador	Person who joins pieces of metal with heat.

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In commerce and services, many professions are in direct contact with the public. Sales assistant attends to customers in a store. Receptionist greets people in a hotel, an office or a clinic. Cashier charges at a register. Driver carries people or goods in a vehicle. Cleaner takes care of cleaning a building, a house or a premises. These words describe what a person does during their workday and to understand job advertisements, schedules and shifts.

Vocabulary of everyday services

Word	Definition
dependiente	Person who serves customers in a store.
recepcionista	Person who receives and guides visitors.
cajero	Person who collects at a register and manages payments.
conductor	Person who drives a vehicle to transport people or things.
limpiador	Person who keeps spaces and surfaces clean.
mensajero	Person who delivers errands or packages.
cuidado	Person who helps others in their daily routine.
portero	Person who guards an entrance and helps with access.
peluquero	Person who cuts and styles hair.
cocinero	Person who prepares meals in a kitchen.

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A position or role indicates responsibility within a company or organization. Boss leads a group of people. Director makes important decisions and organizes an area, a school or a company. Manager runs a business or an office. Secretary organizes documents, calls and appointments. Coordinator unites the work of several people or teams. These words not only name a profession, but also a position. In a meeting, in a formal letter or in a job presentation, they often go with to be, to work as or to hold the position of.

Vocabulary of jobs in the company

Word	Definition
jefe	Person who leads a work group.
directora	Person who guides an organization or a major part of it.
gerente	Person who manages a company or an important area.
secretario	Person who organizes documents and meetings.
coordinador	Person who brings tasks and people together so everything works.
supervisor	Person who oversees work and checks that it is well done.
encargado	Person who takes care of a place or a concrete task.
subdirector	Person who supports the director and can substitute them.
asistente	Person who helps with supportive tasks within a team.
presidente	Person who holds the highest position in an entity or group.

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Some professions relate to technology, analysis or creation. Programmer writes code for applications and websites. Engineer designs and solves technical problems. Designer creates the visual part of products, pages or campaigns. Technician repairs, installs or controls equipment. Analyst studies data, processes or information. Among the creative professions are writer, musician, actor, photographer and artist. A writer works with texts, a musician with sounds, an actor performs roles, a photographer captures images and a artist creates visual or performing works. In this group, many words appear in contexts of business, media, cinema, music and design.

Vocabulary of technical and creative professions

Word	Definition
programador	Person who creates programs and applications with code.
ingeniero	Person who designs technical solutions for real problems.
diseñador	Person who creates visual forms for objects or projects.
técnico	Person who fixes or maintains specialized equipment.
analista	Person who studies data or information to draw conclusions.
escritor	Person who writes books, stories, or texts.
músico	Person who performs or composes music.
actor	Person who portrays characters in theater, film, or television.
fotógrafo	Person who takes photographs.
artista	Person who creates works of art or creative expressions.

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Many professions change from masculine to feminine with -o and -a: doctor and doctora, profesor and profesora, trabajador and trabajadora. Others keep the same form for men and women, such as el guía and la guía. In those cases, the article marks the gender. There are also professions with different forms that do not follow a regular change, such as actor and actriz. When you talk about several people, the plural is used the same as with other nouns: the doctors, the nurses, the technicians. If you need to talk about a mixed group, the masculine plural functions as the general form in Spanish.

Gender rules in professions

Idea
When the profession changes form, the masculine and feminine are usually marked with a different ending.
Some professions form the feminine with the ending a.
Other professions use the same form for both genders.
With professions that start with a tonic a, the masculine article in singular is used to avoid a hard form to say.
To talk about two people of different genders, both forms can be used.

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To ask what someone does for a living, the most natural form is What do you do for a living? You can also say What do you work in? or What is your profession? To answer, the construction I am + profession is often used: I am a doctor, I am a sales assistant, I am a programmer. Another possibility is I work as + profession: I work as a receptionist. In an informal conversation, What do you do for a living? sounds more natural than a question that is too direct. In an interview or in a form, What is your profession? and I work as... are more formal.

Use of questions and answers about work

Usage	Explanation
Informal question	Used to ask someone about their work in a natural and close way.
Brief answer	Used to say the profession simply and directly.
Answer with estar	Used to talk about a temporary or current occupation.
Answer with ejercer	Used to talk about the profession in a more formal way.
Question about activity	Used to ask for information about what someone does.
Professional introduction	Used to introduce yourself in a meeting or interview.

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Each profession is usually tied to a specific place. Doctor and nurse work in a hospital or a clinic. Teacher works in a school or an institute. Mechanic works in a workshop. Sales assistant works in a store. Receptionist works in an office or a hotel. The context also changes the language. In an informal conversation, the answer may be short: I am a cashier. In a form, the occupation is written clearly and briefly. In a presentation, more information is added: I am an engineer and I work at a technology company. In an interview, it is advisable to use a more formal and precise register.

Vocabulary of places and work contexts

Word	Definition
oficina	Place where administrative or organizational tasks are carried out.
hospital	Place where healthcare is provided to people.
escuela	Place where teaching and learning happen.
taller	Place where things are repaired or made.
tienda	Place where products are sold.
fábrica	Place where objects are produced in quantity.
restaurante	Place where meals are served to customers.
mercado	Place where food or objects are bought and sold.
entrevista	Situation where a person answers questions about their work.
formulario	Document where personal or work data are filled in.

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Some professions change depending on the country. Camarero is common in Spain, while in many countries in the Americas it is said mesero or waiter. All these words can refer to the person who serves tables in a restaurant or a bar. When you hear a regional variant, the meaning is usually the same even though the word changes. In conversations with people from different countries, it is useful to recognize these differences to understand advertisements, orders and chats about work. The same happens with other occupation names, which can vary in use, frequency or preference depending on the region.

Regional variants of service professions

Region	Variant	Definition	Example
Spain	camarero	Used for the person who serves in a bar or restaurant.	El camarero trae una tapa muy pequeña y muy seria.The camarero brings a very small and very serious tapa.
Mexico	mesero	Used for the person who waits on tables in restaurants.	El mesero recomienda una sopa con mucho encanto.The mesero recommends a soup with a lot of charm.
Argentina	mozo	Used for the person who serves food and drinks in a venue.	El mozo lleva una bandeja como si fuera una nave espacial.The mozo carries a tray as if it were a spaceship.
Colombia	mesero	Used for the person who waits on customers at the table.	El mesero sonríe cuando la pizza llega cantando.The mesero smiles when the pizza arrives singing.
United States	rápper de la palabra camarero	Not used as a common form of Spanish, but it helps understand conversations influenced by English and bilingual contexts.	En la película, el camarero habla inglés y español con mucha soltura.In the movie, the camarero speaks English and Spanish very fluently.

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