¿En qué trabajas? Talking about Jobs and Professions in Spanish
In this post you’ll learn how to talk about jobs, professions, and working in Spanish. First you’ll learn how to ask someone what their job is. Next you’ll learn how to say what you do for a living with Spanish vocabulary for many common jobs. Finally you’ll learn how to talk about where you work, or whether you’re retired or looking for a job.
Asking about Jobs and Professions in Spanish
If you want to ask what kind of work someone does, there are a few different ways to ask the question in Spanish.
- ¿En qué trabajas? / ¿En qué trabaja?
What do you do for work? - ¿Cuál es tu trabajo? / ¿Cuál es su trabajo?
What’s your work/job? - ¿A qué te dedicas? / ¿A qué se dedica?
What do you do?
- ¿Qué haces? / ¿Qué hace?
What do you do? - ¿Tienes trabajo? / ¿Tiene trabajo?
Do you have a job? - ¿Dónde trabajas? / ¿Dónde trabaja?
Where do you work?
Common Jobs and Professions in Spanish
When saying what you do for a living in Spanish, just use the verb ser without an article. In other words, in English, we say I’m a teacher, but in Spanish it’s just soy profesor, without un or una.
Aso, don’t forget that Spanish nouns have gender, so there’s a masculine and a feminine form for most – but not all – jobs. Typically, if the job ends in –o in the masculine, it will end in –a in the feminine. If it ends in –e, it’s the same form for both masculine and feminine. There are exceptions, though!
- Soy profesor/profesora.
I’m a teacher. - Soy estudiante. (m. or f.)
I’m a student. - Soy enfermero/enfermera.
I’m a nurse. - Soy doctor/doctora.
I’m a doctor. - Soy dentista. (m. or f.)
I’m a dentist. - Soy policía. (m. or f.)
I’m a police officer. - Soy bombero/bombera.
I’m a fireman. - Soy vendedor/vendedora.
I’m a salesperson. (salesman/saleswoman) - Soy mesero/mesera.
I’m a server. (waiter/waitress) - Soy bar tender. (m. or f.)
I’m a bar tender. - Soy cocinero/cocinera.
I’m a cook. - Soy actor/actriz.
I’m an actor. - Soy escritor/escritora.
I’m a writer. - Soy periodista. (m. or f.)
I’m a journalist. - Soy artista. (m. or f.)
I’m an artist. - Soy cantante. (m. or f.)
I’m a singer. - Soy bailarín/bailarina.
I’m a dancer.
More Jobs and Professions in Spanish
- Soy obrero/obrera.
I’m a construction worker. - Soy fontanero/fontanera.
I’m a plumber. - Soy electricista. (m. or f.)
I’m an electrician. - Soy ingeniero/ingeniera.
I’m an engineer. - Soy carpintero/carpintera.
I’m a carpenter. - Soy abogado/abogada.
I’m a lawyer. - Soy arquitecto/arquitecta.
I’m an architect. - Soy diseñador/diseñadora de páginas Web.
I’m a web designer. - Soy secretario/secretaria.
I’m a secretary. - Soy psiquiatra. (m. or f.)
I’m a psychiatrist. - Soy psicólogo/psicóloga.
I’m a psychologist. - Soy trabajador/trabajadora social.
I’m a social worker. - Soy instructor/instructora de yoga.
I’m a yoga instructor. - Soy cajero/cajera.
I’m a cashier. - Soy cartero/cartera.
I’m a postal worker. (mail carrier) - Soy supervisor/supervisora de oficina.
I’m an office supervisor. - Soy funcionario público/funcionaria pública.
I’m a civil servant.
Talking about Companies and Working in Spanish
Here are a few other expressions you can use to describe where, or whether, you work.
- Trabajo en una oficina.
I work in an office. - Trabajo para una compañía grande/pequeña.
I work for a big/small company. - Trabajo en casa.
I work at home. - Tengo mi propio negocio.
I have my own business. - Tengo trabajo.
I have a job. - No tengo trabajo.
I don’t have a job. - Estoy buscando trabajo.
I’m looking for a job. - Estoy jubilado/jubilada.
I’m retired. - Estoy desempleado/desempleada.
I’m on unemployment.
Get on the road to speaking Spanish with the Language Garage!
We hope you’ve enjoyed learning how to talk about jobs, professions, and working in Spanish. Now you know how to talk about work, and you’ve learned Spanish vocabulary for many common jobs and professions. If you’d like to learn more, check out our other posts on Spanish language, culture, and more. If you’re looking for convenient and affordable live Spanish lessons with a real teacher, visit The Language Garage. Our lessons are affordable and fun, and they’re given online in a virtual classroom, so it doesn’t matter where you live or work – we can come to you. We have flexible options, with a free trial so that you can decide if there’s a fit. Check us out!
