Jobs and Professions
Learn Jobs and Professions in English with clear examples and practical vocabulary for talking about work and occupations.
A job is the work a person does. A profession is a job that needs special study or training. English uses job titles to say what a person does at work.
Many job titles are common in daily English. These words help you talk about people at work in many places such as schools, hospitals, shops, and offices.
| Word or Phrase | Definition |
|---|---|
| teacher | A teacher works with students in a school. |
| doctor | A doctor helps sick people and works in a hospital or clinic. |
| nurse | A nurse cares for sick people and often works with doctors. |
| driver | A driver takes people or goods from one place to another. |
| cook | A cook makes food in a restaurant or kitchen. |
| police officer | A police officer keeps people safe and enforces the law. |
Jobs can be grouped by field. A field is a general area of work. This helps you understand what kind of work a person does.
| Word or Phrase | Definition |
|---|---|
| education | Education is the field of teaching and learning in schools or colleges. |
| healthcare | Healthcare is the field of helping sick or injured people. |
| service | Service is the field of helping customers in places like shops, hotels, and restaurants. |
| transport | Transport is the field of moving people or goods. |
| office work | Office work is the field of business and administrative jobs. |
A job title is the name of a person’s work role. English often uses a job title after the verb be to describe work. People also use job titles after words like a or an.
| Rule |
|---|
| Use a job title to name a person’s work, as in teacher or driver. |
| Use be with a job title to say what someone does, as in He is a nurse. |
| Use a or an before a singular job title, as in She is a doctor. |
| Use the plural form for more than one person, as in They are cooks. |
Some job words show a role in a workplace. These words are useful in everyday conversation because they name people by their work function.
| Word or Phrase | Definition |
|---|---|
| manager | A manager leads a team or controls part of a business. |
| worker | A worker is a person who does a job, often with the hands or body. |
| employee | An employee works for a company or another person. |
| boss | A boss is the person who tells workers what to do. |
| customer | A customer is a person who buys goods or services. |
You can now understand and use common English words for jobs and professions. You can recognize job titles, group jobs by field, and talk about what a person does at work.