Jobs & Professions Vocabulary in English

The most natural way to describe your job is: 'I am a doctor' or 'I work as a doctor'. You can add information about your workplace: 'I work at a hospital' or 'I work for a marketing company.' To describe your duties: 'I am responsible for...', 'I deal with...', 'My job involves...' For IELTS Speaking Part 1, prepare a 2-3 sentence description of your job that flows naturally.

'Job' is the most informal and common word for paid employment: 'I have a new job.' 'Career' refers to your long-term professional life: 'She has had a successful career in medicine.' 'Profession' refers to a job requiring specialist training and qualifications: 'Teaching is a rewarding profession.' 'Occupation' is the most formal and is used in official documents: 'Occupation: Software Engineer.'

In Cambridge A2/B1 exams, the most common job words are: doctor, nurse, teacher, engineer, manager, receptionist, waiter, chef, driver, and police officer. IELTS Reading and Listening texts include a wider range: journalist, architect, economist, researcher, consultant, and paramedic. The vocabulary on this page covers all the key A2–B1 job titles plus several B2-level terms.

'Work' is an uncountable noun referring to the general concept of employment: 'She goes to work at 8am.' 'A job' is a countable noun referring to a specific position: 'He has a new job.' You cannot say 'a work' in this context. However, 'a piece of work' or 'a body of work' refer to a specific product. 'Homework' and 'housework' are specific compound nouns that do not use 'job'.

Useful phrases: 'I am responsible for managing the team.', 'My role involves dealing with customer complaints.', 'I am in charge of the marketing department.', 'I work closely with clients.', 'I specialise in tax law.', 'My duties include preparing reports and attending meetings.' In IELTS Speaking, avoid just naming your job — describe what you actually do to demonstrate vocabulary range.

An employee is a person who works for a company and is paid a salary or wage. An employer is the company or person who hires employees. 'Self-employed' means you work for yourself rather than for a company — freelancers, consultants, and sole traders are all self-employed. In IELTS Writing, these words appear in texts about employment trends, working conditions, and economic statistics.

'-ist': journalist, scientist, pharmacist, artist, economist. '-er': teacher, programmer, plumber, firefighter, driver. '-or': doctor (from Latin), translator, contractor. '-ian': electrician, politician, librarian, musician. These suffixes can help you recognise or guess the meaning of unfamiliar job titles. Note: not all '-er' words are jobs (summer, butter), so context matters.

Job titles on a CV are capitalised and written in the exact form used by employers: Software Engineer, Senior Project Manager, Head of Marketing. Avoid informal descriptions. Use action verbs to describe responsibilities: 'Managed a team of 12', 'Developed and implemented...', 'Led the project to completion within budget.' British CVs use 'curriculum vitae' or CV; American resumes use 'resume'.

Common IELTS Speaking Part 1 questions about work: 'Do you work or are you a student?', 'What is your job?', 'What does your job involve?', 'Do you enjoy your work?', 'Would you like to change your job?' Prepare vocabulary for: job title, main duties, workplace, colleagues, challenges, and aspects you enjoy. This vocabulary page plus our Business English page covers the most important terms for these questions.

'Manager' oversees a team or department: 'the sales manager'. 'Supervisor' monitors workers and reports to management: 'the production supervisor'. 'Director' is a senior leader responsible for a major division or the whole company: 'Finance Director'. 'Executive' usually refers to a senior decision-maker: 'Chief Executive Officer (CEO)'. These titles reflect seniority and scope of responsibility in an organisation.