OCCUPATION by Samson Mwita

TALKING ABOUT OCCUPATIONS OF FAMILY MEMBERS.

An occupation simply means a job or profession. There are different occupations that some family members can be involved in. Some of the common professions and jobs are listed below. These will not only help the students to locate some occupations which are occupied by the family members but the students will also be acquainted with the various professions and jobs there are in the labour market. At a time they want to choose a career they will have a career in mind at least as the first thing to start with, before going to look at it into details to see all that is involved.

Knowing the occupations of your family members will help you one day in the future. There are some forms that require you to fill in the occupations of your family members like father, mother, guardian, brother, sister etc. Look at them closely and say which ones are occupied by your family members.

Accountant – a person whose job is to keep or check financial accounts.

Acrobat - an entertainer who performs difficult acts such as balancing on high ropes, especially at a circus

Admiral - an officer of very high rank in the navy and commands a fleet of warships

Advocate - a lawyer who has the right to argue cases in higher courts

Agent - a person whose job is to act for, or manage the affairs of, other people in business, politics, etc

Ambassador - an official who lives in a foreign country as the senior representative there of his or her own country

Anthropologist - a person who studies anthropology (evolution of mankind)

Apprentice - a young person who works for an employer for a fixed period of time in order to learn the particular skills needed in their job

Archaeologist – a person who studies the cultures of the past, and of periods of history by examining the remains of buildings and objects found in the ground

Architect - a person whose job is designing buildings, etc.

Astrologer - a person who uses astrology (science of the stars) to tell people about their character, about what might happen to them in the future, etc.

Astronaut - a person whose job involves travelling and working in a spacecraft

Astronomer - a person who studies the sun, moon, stars, planets, and other heavenly bodies.

Auctioneer - a person whose job is to direct an auction and sell the goods at public sells.

Auditor - a person who officially examines the business and financial records of a company

Author - a person who writes books or the person who wrote a particular book

Banker - a person who owns a bank or has an important job at a bank

Barber - a person whose job is to cut men's hair and sometimes to shave them

Bartender/barmaid - a woman who works in a bar, serving drinks

Blacksmith - a person whose job is to make and repair things made of iron, especially horseshoes

Bookie/bookmaker - a person whose job is to take bets on the result of horse races, etc. and pay out money to people who win

Botanist – a person who studies plants and their structure

Broker - a person who buys and sells things for other people

Bus conductor - a person whose job is to collect money from passengers on a bus or check their tickets

Butcher - a person whose job is cutting up and selling meat in a shop/store or killing animals for this purpose

Butler - the main (head) male servant in a large house

Caddie - a person who helps a player by carrying his or her clubs and equipment during a game (in golf)

Captain - the person in charge of a ship or commercial aircraft.

-          An officer of fairly high rank in the navy, the army and the US air force.

-          The leader of a group of people, especially a sports team.

Cardiologist - a doctor who studies and treats heart diseases

Caretaker - a person whose job is to take care of a building such as a school or a block of flats or an apartment building

Carpenter - a person whose job is making and repairing wooden objects and structures

Cartographer - a person who draws or makes maps

Cashier - a person whose job is to receive and pay out money in a bank, shop/store, hotel, etc.

Caterer - a person or company whose job is to provide food and drinks at a business meeting or for a special occasion such as a wedding

Chandler - a person or shop/store that sells equipment for ships

Charwoman - a woman whose job is to clean a house, an office building, etc.

Chauffeur - a person whose job is to drive a car, especially for sb rich or important

Chef - a professional cook, especially the most senior cook in a restaurant, hotel, etc.

Chemist - a person whose job is to prepare and sell medicines, and who works in a shop

Chiropodist - a person whose job is the care and treatment of people's feet

Chiropractor - a person whose job involves treating some diseases and physical problems by pressing and moving the bones in a person's spine or joints.

Clerk - a person whose job is to keep the records or accounts in an office, shop/store etc.

Clerk of works - a person whose job is to be in charge of repairs to buildings or of building works, for an organization or institution.

Coastguard - one whose job is to watch the sea near a coast in order to help ships and people in trouble, and to stop people from breaking the law like smuggling.

Cobbler - a person who repairs/mends shoes.

Comedian - an entertainer who makes people laugh by telling jokes or funny stories.

Comedienne - a female entertainer who makes people laugh by telling jokes or funny stories. 

compère - a person who introduces the people who perform in a television programme, show in a theatre, etc.

Composer - a person who teaches and writes music, especially classical music

Conductor/conductress - a person who stands in front of an orchestra, a group of singers etc, and directs their performance, especially somebody who does this as a profession

Confectioner - a person or a business that makes or sells cakes and sweets/candy

Conjurer – one who does clever tricks such as making things seem to appear or disappear as if by magic.

Correspondent - a person who reports news from a particular country or on a particular subject for a newspaper or a television or radio station

Curator - a person whose job is to be in charge of the objects or works of art in a museum or art gallery, etc.

Cutler – one who makes and repairs knives, forks and spoons, used for eating and serving food.

Dentist - a person whose job is to take care of people's teeth

Detective - a person, especially a police officer, whose job is to examine crimes and catch criminals

Dramatist - a person who writes plays for the theatre, television or radio

Draper - a person who owns or manages a shop that sells cloth, curtains, etc.

Draughtsman/woman - a person whose job is to draw detailed plans of machinery, buildings, etc.

Dresser - a person whose job is to take care of an actor's clothes for a play and help him/her to get dressed or one who helps surgeons dress wounds.

Driver - a person who drives a vehicle.

Drover - a person who moves groups of cows or sheep from one place to another, especially to market.

Editor - a person who is in charge of a newspaper, magazine, etc, or part of one, and who decides what should be included.

Electrician - a person whose job is to connect, repair, etc. electrical equipment.

Engineer - a person whose job involves designing and building engines, machines, roads, bridges, etc.

Explorer - a person who travels to unknown places in order to find out more about them.

Examiner - a person who writes the questions for, or marks/grades, a test of knowledge or ability or a person who has the official duty to check that things are being done correctly and according to the rules of an organization; a person who officially examines something.

Evangelist - a person who tries to persuade people to become Christians, especially by travelling around the country holding religious meetings or speaking on radio or television.

Farmer - a person who owns or manages a farm.

Farrier – a person whose job is making and fitting horseshoes for horses' feet and treats their diseases.

Fireman /fire-fighter - a person, usually a man, whose job is to put out fires.

Fisherman/angler - a person who catches fish, either as a job or as a sport

Fishmonger - a person whose job is to sell fish in a shop.

Florist - a person who owns or works in a shop/store that sells flowers and plants.

Foreman - a worker who is in charge of a group of other factory or building workers or a person who acts as the leader of a jury in court.

Fruiterer - a person who owns or manages a shop/store selling fruit.

Gamekeeper - a person whose job is to take care of and breed wild animals and birds that are kept on private land in order to be hunted.

Gardener – one who tends/works in a garden.

Geologist – a scientist who studies the earth, including the origin and history of the rocks and soil of which the earth is made.

Glazier - a person whose job is to fit glass into the frames of windows, etc.

Governess - a woman employed to teach the children of a rich family in their home and to live with them.

Greengrocer - a person who owns, manages or works in a shop/store selling fruit and vegetables.

Grocer - a person who owns, manages or works in a shop/store selling food and other things used in the home.

Haberdasher - a person who owns or works in a shop/store selling small articles for sewing, for example, needles, pins, cotton and buttons.

Hairdresser - a person whose job is to cut, wash and shape hair.

Hawker - a person who makes money by selling things by going from place to place asking people to buy them.

Herbalist - A person, who grows, sells or uses herbs for medical purposes.

Hosier – one who works in shops/stores and sells tights (underwear), stockings and socks.

Invigilator/proctor - a person who watches people while they are taking an exam to make sure that they have everything they need, that they keep to the rules, etc.

Ironmonger - a person who owns or works in a shop/store selling tools and equipment for the house and garden/yard.

Janitor/custodian - a person whose job is to take care of a building such as a school or a block of flats or an apartment building.

Jeweller - a person who makes, repairs or sells jewellery and watches.

Jockey - a person who rides horses in races, especially as a job.

Joiner - a person whose job is to make the wooden parts of a building, especially window frames, doors, etc.

Journalist - a person whose job is to collect and write news stories for newspapers, magazines, radio or television.

Judge - a person in a court who has the authority to decide how criminals should be punished or to make legal decisions.

Jurist - a person who is an expert in law.

Lawyer - a person who is trained and qualified to advise people about the law and to represent them in court, and to write legal documents.

Lexicographer - a person who writes and edits dictionaries.

Librarian - a person who is in charge of or works in a library.

Locksmith - a person whose job is making, fitting and repairing locks.

Magistrate - an official who acts as a judge in the lowest courts of law

Manager - a person who is in charge of running a business, a shop/store or a similar organization or part of one.

Mason - a person who builds using stone, or works with stone.

Masseur - a person whose job is giving people massage.

Master of Ceremony /emcee a person who introduces guests or entertainers at a formal occasion.

Matron - a woman who works as a nurse in a school.

Mayor - the head of the government of a town or city, etc, elected by the public

Mechanic - a person whose job is repairing machines, especially the engines of vehicles

Merchant - a person who buys and sells goods in large quantities, especially one who imports and exports goods

Milliner - a person whose job is making and/or selling women's hats

Miner - a person who works in a mine taking out coal, gold, diamonds, etc.

Minister - a senior member of the government who is in charge of a government department or a branch of one

Musician - a person who plays a musical instrument or writes music, especially as a job

Navigator - a person who directs the course of a vessel, for example on a ship or an aircraft.

Navy – a person employed to do hard physical work, especially building roads, etc

Neurosurgeon - a doctor who performs medical operations on the nervous system, especially the brain.

Newsagent - a person who owns or works in a shop selling newspapers and magazines, and often sweets/candy and cigarettes

Novelist - a person who writes novels

Nurse - a person whose job is to take care of sick or injured people, usually in a hospital

Obstetrician - a doctor who is trained to treat women at childbirth.

Oculist - a doctor who examines and treats people's eyes

Ophthalmologist - a doctor who studies and treats the diseases of the eye

Optician - a person whose job is to examine people's eyes and to recommend and sell glasses

Osteopath - a person whose job involves treating some diseases and physical problems by pressing and moving the bones and muscles

Paediatrician - a doctor who studies and treats the diseases of children

Pastor - a minister in charge of a Christian church or group, especially in some Nonconformist churches

Pawnbroker - a person who lends money in exchange for articles (goods) left with them as security. If the money is not paid back by a particular time, the pawnbroker can sell the article.

Pedlar - a person who travels from place to place trying to sell small objects

Pharmacist - a person whose job is to prepare medicines and sell or give them to the public in a shop/store or in a hospital

Photographer - a person who takes photographs, especially as a job

Physician - a doctor, especially one who is a specialist in general medicine and prescribes medicine.

Physiotherapist - a person whose job is to give patients the treatment of disease, injury or weakness in the joints or muscles by exercises, massage and the use of light and heat

Pilot - a person who operates the controls of an aircraft, especially as a job

Playwright - a person who writes plays for the theatre, television or radio

Plumber - a person whose job is to fit and repair things such as water pipes, toilets, etc.

Poet/poetess – a person who writes poems

Policeman - a male police officer who maintains order.

Porter - a person whose job is carrying people's bags and other loads, especially at a train station, an airport or in a hotel

Postman/mailman - a person whose job is to collect and deliver letters, etc.

Potter - a person who makes clay pots by hand

Principal - a teacher who is the head of a school or college.

Programmer - a person whose job is writing programs for computers

Psychiatrist - a doctor who studies and treats mental illnesses

Psychologist – one who studies the mind and how it influences behaviour

Receptionist - a person whose job is to deal with people arriving at or telephoning a hotel, an office building, a doctor's surgery, etc.

Referee - the official who controls the game in some sports

Reporter - a person who collects and reports news for newspapers, radio or television

Saddler - a person whose job is making, repairing and selling saddles and other leather goods

Sailor - a person who works on a ship as a member of the crew

Salesman - a man or woman whose job is to sell goods, for example, in a shop/store

Scientist - a person who studies one or more of the natural sciences (= for example, physics, chemistry and biology)

Sculptor - a person who makes figures or objects by carving or shaping wood, stone, clay, metal, etc sculptures

Seamstress - a woman who can sew and make clothes or whose job is sewing and making clothes

Secretary - a person who works in an office, working for another person, dealing with letters and telephone calls, typing, keeping records, arranging meetings with people, etc

Shepherd - a person whose job is to take care of sheep

Shoemaker-  a person whose job is making shoes and boots

Solicitor - a lawyer who prepares legal documents, for example for the sale of land or buildings, advises people on legal matters, and can speak for them in some courts of law

Stationer - a person who owns or manages a shop selling stationery materials for writing and for using in an office, for example paper, pens and envelopes

Steeplejack - a person whose job is painting or repairing towers, tall chimneys, etc.

Stenographer - a person whose job is to write down what somebody else says, using a quick system of signs or abbreviations

Stevedore/docker  - a person whose job is moving goods on and off ships

Steward - a man whose job is to take care of passengers on a ship, an aircraft or a train and who brings them meals, etc (female – stewardess)

Stockbroker - a person or an organization that buys and sells shares for other people

Stoker - a person whose job is to add coal or other fuel to a fire, etc, especially on a ship or a steam train

Storekeeper - a person who owns or manages a shop/store, usually a small one

Store-man - a person who is responsible for taking care of goods that are stored

Surgeon -a doctor who is trained to perform surgery (= medical operations that involve cutting open a person's body)

Surveyor - a person whose job is to examine and record the details of a piece of land. (in AmE =Inspector-  a person whose job is to examine a building to make sure it is in good condition, usually done for somebody who is thinking of buying it.

System analyst - a person whose job is to analyse the needs of a business company or an organization and then design processes for working efficiently using computer programs.

System operator - a person who manages a computer system or electronic communication service

Tailor - a person whose job is to make men's clothes, especially somebody who makes suits, etc. for individual customers

Taxidermist -a person whose job is stuffing dead animals, birds and fish with a special material so that they look like living ones and can be displayed

Tax-collector - a person whose job is collecting the tax that people must pay on the money they earn.

Taxi dancer - a woman employed at a dance hall to dance with customers who pay for each dance or a period of time. Taxi dancers are called this because they are hired like a taxi.

Teacher - a person whose job is teaching, especially in a school

Tinker -a person who travelled from place to place, selling or repairing things like pots and pans.

Tobacconist - A person, who owns, manages or works in a shop/store selling cigarettes, tobacco for pipes, etc.

Tourist guide – a person whose job is to guide tourists to various places of interest.

Tutor - a private teacher, especially one who teaches an individual student or a very small group.

Typist - a person who works in an office typing letters, etc. on a typewriter.

Typographer -  a person who is skilled in the art or work of preparing books, etc. for printing, especially of designing how the text will appear when it is printed.

Understudy - an actor who learns the part of another actor in a play so that they can play that part if necessary

Undertaker - a person whose job is to prepare the bodies of dead people to be buried or cremated, and to arrange funerals

Usher/usherette - a person who shows people where to sit in a church, public hall, etc.

Veterinarian (AmE Vet)-a person who has been trained in the science of animal medicine, whose job is to treat animals that are sick or injured

Waiter/waitress - a person whose job is to serve customers at their tables in a restaurant, etc

EXERCISE.

Now fill in the following table with the missing information.

Na	Family member/relative	Occupation	Place of work.
1.	Father
2.	Mother
3.	Sister
4.	Brother
5.	Uncle
6.	Aunt
7.	Grandpa
8	Grandma
9	Cousin