A2 vocabulary guide
Spanish jobs and professions: talk about what you do
Work vocabulary often appears in introductions and everyday conversation. The central pattern is simple: soy + profession, normally without an indefinite article. From there, add a workplace, a schedule or a question about someone’s role.
Start with the pattern
Words are easier to keep when they make sense.
After ser, a profession is commonly used without un/una: Soy profesora, es médico. Some job titles have separate masculine and feminine forms; others end in -ista or -e and use the article to show gender: el/la periodista, el/la estudiante. Many newer professional titles are also used flexibly, and preferences may vary by person.
Use trabajar de to say what role someone has (trabaja de enfermera) and trabajar en for a place or sector (trabaja en un hospital). A job title is not the same as employment status; tener trabajo means to have work/a job, while estar en paro means to be unemployed in Spain.
Hear it in a sentence
Examples in everyday Spanish
Soy diseñadora y trabajo en una empresa de Valencia.
I’m a designer and I work at a company in Valencia.
Mi hermano es periodista; trabaja para una revista local.
My brother is a journalist; he works for a local magazine.
¿En qué trabajas ahora?
What do you do for work now?
La profesora trabaja de lunes a jueves y tiene horario flexible.
The teacher works Monday to Thursday and has a flexible schedule.
Listen for the local detail
A note on Spanish in Spain
- In Spain, estar en paro is a common expression for being unemployed. Terminology can shift in formal contexts and across countries.
- Some profession nouns have gendered forms, while others keep one noun form and change the article. Ask how a person prefers their title if the context calls for precision.
Look out for
Common mistakes, made clearer
Avoid
Soy una profesora as a compulsory article pattern.
Use / understand
Soy profesora.
Professions commonly follow ser without an article when identifying someone’s job.
Avoid
Trabajo de una oficina.
Use / understand
Trabajo en una oficina.
Use en for the workplace; de commonly introduces a role.
Avoid
El periodista with a woman as the intended subject, without context.
Use / understand
La periodista.
Periodista itself stays the same; the article marks gender.
Five quick checks
Try it before you peek.
- 01
Translate “I’m a teacher” (woman speaking).
Reveal answer and explanation
Soy profesora.
The profession follows ser without an indefinite article in the usual pattern.
- 02
Complete: Trabajo ___ un hospital.
Reveal answer and explanation
en.
En introduces the place of work.
- 03
What is the feminine form of abogado?
Reveal answer and explanation
Abogada.
This profession has a feminine form ending in -a.
- 04
Complete with the correct article: ___ periodista trabaja aquí. (a woman)
Reveal answer and explanation
La periodista.
Periodista does not change; the article marks gender.
- 05
Ask a friend “What do you do for work?”
Reveal answer and explanation
¿En qué trabajas?
This is a natural familiar question about someone’s work.
Still wondering
Questions about spanish jobs and professions: talk about what you do
Do I say soy profesor or soy un profesor?
The usual way to identify a profession is soy profesor/profesora without an indefinite article. An article can appear when adding a description or emphasis, but it is not required in the basic pattern.
How do Spanish job titles mark gender?
Some change endings, such as profesor/profesora. Others, including periodista and estudiante, keep the same noun form and use el or la.
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