# Work & Careers

**Type:** Topic
**Words:** 115

## About

Jobs, offices, professions, and the words that fill a working day.

## Words by Level

### A1
- work — Activity that you do to make or achieve something, especially as a job.; frequency rank 144
- job — The regular paid work that a person does to earn a living.; frequency rank 261
- office — A room or building where people work, usually at desks.; frequency rank 485
- meeting — An organized gathering of people for a particular purpose.; frequency rank 622
- project — A planned piece of work with a particular aim, done over a period of time.; frequency rank 1526
- interview — a formal meeting where someone is asked questions to see if they are right for a job.; frequency rank 1711
- smith — A worker who shapes metal with a hammer and other tools, especially a blacksmith.; frequency rank 1936
- get ahead — to become more successful or improve one's position
- look after — to oversee something carefully and make sure it is properly handled

### A2
- manager — A person whose job is to be in charge of a business, shop, or part of an organization.; frequency rank 1462
- assistant — A person whose job is to help someone, especially in their work.; frequency rank 1886
- task — A piece of work that you have to do.; frequency rank 2679
- engineer — A person whose job is to design, build, or maintain machines, structures, or systems.; frequency rank 3613
- colleague — A person you work with, especially in a profession or business.; frequency rank 3843
- labor — Hard work, especially physical work done for pay.; frequency rank 4037
- employee — A person who is paid to work for a company or another person; frequency rank 4170
- cleaner — A person whose job is to clean rooms, floors, or buildings.; frequency rank 5713
- occupation — A person's job or regular paid work.; frequency rank 6999
- employer — A person or company that pays others to work for them; frequency rank 8348
- washing-up — The job of washing the dishes, pots, and cutlery after a meal.; frequency rank 46757
- knock off — to stop working or end an activity, informally

### B1
- detective — A police officer whose job is to solve crimes by gathering evidence.; frequency rank 893
- mission — An important job or task that a person or group is given.; frequency rank 1152
- career — The job or profession you do over a long part of your working life.; frequency rank 1467
- hire — To give someone a job and pay them to work for you.; frequency rank 2534
- teaching — The job or activity of giving lessons to students.; frequency rank 2731
- assignment — A task or piece of work that you are given to do.; frequency rank 3889
- promotion — A move to a more important job or higher rank.; frequency rank 4308
- bureau — A government department or office that deals with a particular task.; frequency rank 4464
- profession — A type of job that needs special training or education, such as law or medicine.; frequency rank 4728
- institute — An organization set up for a particular purpose, especially research, education, or a profession.; frequency rank 4995
- salesman — A man whose job is to sell things, in a shop or by visiting customers.; frequency rank 6129
- accountant — A person whose job is to keep, check, and report on money records for a person or business.; frequency rank 6358
- teller — A bank employee who takes in and pays out money to customers.; frequency rank 9234
- unemployment — The state of not having a job.; frequency rank 10195
- critic — A person whose job is to give opinions about books, films, music, or art.; frequency rank 10381
- workplace — The place where someone works.; frequency rank 11832
- adviser — An expert who gives advice, especially as part of their job.; frequency rank 14336
- firefighter — A person whose job is to put out fires.; frequency rank 15730
- entertainer — A person whose job is to amuse an audience, such as a singer, actor, or comedian.; frequency rank 17641
- vacancy — A job that is available because no one is currently doing it.; frequency rank 19234
- nailer — a worker who attaches something by nailing it; frequency rank 140247
- lay off — to dismiss workers because their jobs are no longer required or affordable
- specialize in — to focus one's work or knowledge on a particular subject or activity

### B2
- inspector — A person whose job is to officially check that something is correct or meets standards.; frequency rank 1443
- project — To estimate or predict something based on current information.; frequency rank 1526
- supervisor — A person whose job is to oversee and direct the work of others.; frequency rank 6486
- resume — To start something again after stopping or pausing.; frequency rank 6501
- nursing — The job or skill of caring for sick or injured people as a nurse.; frequency rank 6667
- overtime — Time worked beyond one's normal working hours.; frequency rank 7364
- translator — A person whose job is to change written text from one language into another.; frequency rank 8514
- nomination — The act of officially suggesting someone for a job, position, or award.; frequency rank 12475
- presidency — The job or position of being a president.; frequency rank 12691
- electrician — A worker who installs, repairs, and maintains electrical wiring and equipment.; frequency rank 15241
- locksmith — a person whose job is to make, fit, open, or repair locks and keys; frequency rank 20227
- craftsman — A worker who is highly skilled at a trade, especially one done by hand.; frequency rank 23310
- masseur — A man whose job is to give massages.; frequency rank 23442
- manhole — a covered opening in a street or other surface through which a worker can enter a sewer, drain, or underground utility space; frequency rank 24687
- dressmaker — a person whose occupation is making, altering, or repairing dresses and other fitted women's clothing; frequency rank 27354
- salesperson — A person whose job is to sell things, often in a shop.; frequency rank 39891
- saleswoman — A woman whose job is to sell things, in a shop or by visiting customers.; frequency rank 41950
- tradesperson — a skilled manual worker in a particular trade or craft; frequency rank 646582
- day laborer — a worker hired and paid by the day, especially for temporary or unskilled manual work

### C1
- peasant — A poor farmer or farm worker, especially in the past or in poorer countries.; frequency rank 7650
- tailor — A person whose job is to make, repair, or alter clothes, especially suits.; frequency rank 9019
- climax — The most exciting or important point of an event, story, or career.; frequency rank 12183
- tenure — The period during which someone holds a job or position.; frequency rank 18088
- productivity — The rate at which workers produce goods or services; how efficiently work is done.; frequency rank 21680
- professionalism — The skill, good judgement, and high standards expected of someone doing a job well.; frequency rank 23362
- induction — the act of formally introducing someone into a job, group, or position; frequency rank 23591
- croupier — a casino employee who manages a gaming table, handles bets, and pays winnings; frequency rank 33863
- artisan — A skilled manual worker who uses tools and machinery in a particular craft.; frequency rank 35860
- shopkeeping — the business or occupation of owning, managing, or working in a retail shop; frequency rank 205815
- grind out — to produce something through repetitive and often tedious work

### C2
- livelihood — A means of providing the necessities of life for oneself (for example, a job or income).; frequency rank 14888
- stoker — a worker who feeds fuel to and tends a furnace or boiler, especially on a steamship or steam train; frequency rank 24370
- jargon — Special words and phrases used by a particular profession or group that others find hard to understand.; frequency rank 27751
- redundancy — The loss of a job because the work is no longer needed, or the act of dismissing such workers.; frequency rank 32565
- paymaster — an official or employee responsible for paying wages, especially to workers or troops; frequency rank 57095
- scribbler — historical textile work: a worker who coarsely cards or teases wool before spinning; frequency rank 59575
- signalman — a railway employee who controls signals and points to regulate the safe movement of trains; frequency rank 62423
- dressmaking — the craft, work, or occupation of making women's clothing, especially custom-fitted dresses; frequency rank 67541
- bookbinder — a craftsperson or worker who binds pages into books or repairs book bindings; frequency rank 74941
- brakeman — historical: a railway worker responsible for operating a train's brakes and assisting with couplings and switching; frequency rank 92529
- ostler — historically, a worker at an inn or stable who cared for travelers' horses; frequency rank 94807
- carder — a worker who cards wool or other fiber, disentangling and aligning it before spinning; frequency rank 110468
- métier — an occupation or field of work for which a person is particularly well suited; frequency rank 132561
- heaver — a worker who lifts or carries heavy freight, especially at a dock; frequency rank 234825
- wool comber — a worker who combs wool to align its long fibers and remove short fibers before spinning
- flax-dresser — a worker who prepares flax or hemp fiber for spinning by breaking, scutching, and hackling it
- purpresture — law: a wrongful enclosure, occupation, or appropriation of land subject to public or common rights
- baggageman — historical: a railway employee responsible for receiving, guarding, sorting, and delivering passengers' baggage, often in a baggage car
- emeritus — retired from a post but allowed to keep its title as an honour

### C2+
- undertaking — a task or project, especially a difficult one; a formal pledge
- avocation — a hobby or minor occupation pursued alongside one's main vocation
- journeyman — a trained worker qualified in a trade; a competent but unremarkable performer
- hobo — a migratory worker or homeless vagrant, especially one riding trains
- vocation — a strong sense of suitability for a particular career or calling
- cabdriving — the occupation of driving a taxicab
- calling — a strong inner urge toward a vocation or profession
- chancellery — the office, staff, or residence of a chancellor
- peon — a low-ranking worker or laborer, often unskilled or menial
- secondment — the temporary transfer of an employee to another post or organization
- temp — a temporary employee, especially in an office
- tenancy — the possession or occupation of land or property by rental tenure
- workfellow — a fellow worker; a colleague
- coal-heaver — a worker who carries or unloads coal
- woodsawyer — a worker whose occupation is sawing wood or timber
- apir — historical, Chilean mining: a worker who carried broken ore from an underground mine to the surface in a leather pack on the back
- ice cutter — historical: a worker who cuts and harvests blocks of natural ice from a frozen lake, pond, or river
- tirewoman — archaic: a lady's maid who helps her employer dress and arrange her clothes or hair
- coal-whipper — historical: a dock worker who unloaded coal from a ship's hold using a rope-and-counterweight hoisting system
- manurance — the cultivation, occupation, or working of land; archaic
- floriculturist — a specialist who cultivates flowering and ornamental plants, especially as a profession
- gownsman — a member of a profession traditionally marked by a gown, especially a cleric, lawyer, or university member