Jobs are as important for our characters as they are for real people. A character’s career might be their dream job or one they’ve chosen due to necessity. In your story, they might be trying to get that job or are already working in the field. Whatever the situation, as with any defining aspect for your character, you’ll need to do the proper research to be able to write that career knowledgeably.

Enter the Occupation Thesaurus. Here, you’ll find important background information on a variety of career options for your character. In addition to the basics, we’ll also be covering related info that relates to character arc and story planning, such as sources of conflict (internal and external) and how the job might impact basic human needs, thereby affecting the character’s goals. (See this post for more information on this connection.) It’s our hope that this thesaurus will share some of your research burden while also giving you ideas about your character’s occupation that you might not have considered before.

Below is a sample version of this entry to help you see how an occupation can reveal your character’s beliefs, history, goals, and more.

To view the full entry, visit One Stop for Writers where it resides within the largest fiction-based descriptive database ever created. (Free Trial available.)

Occupation: Librarian

Overview: Today’s modern librarian is highly-educated, passionate about technology, and an expert at connecting people with relevant information.  They are unafraid of technological advances, are adaptable…

Necessary Training: Most librarians must obtain a degree in library science, often a master’s. If they work in a facility which is specialized, they often will have a special focus or additional accreditation in that area (such as a law librarian). However, a librarian in a small town or school may…

Useful Skills, Talents, or Abilities: A knack for languages, charm, empathy, enhanced hearing, exceptional memory, good listening skills…

Helpful Character Traits: Adaptable, alert, ambitious, analytical, centered, charming, confident, cooperative, courteous, creative, curious, decisive….

Sources of Friction: Patrons who are disruptive, people who are careless with books, tight budgets, having to let someone go because of a conflict or budget need, working with uppity authors or experts who are holding events in the library, book theft, people writing in books, damage to…

People They Might Interact With: other librarians, interns, volunteers, teachers, students, parents, patrons, book groups, authors, handymen…

How This Occupation Might Impact One’s Basic Needs:

• Self-Actualization:  Characters who greatly prize knowledge would be drawn to this position, so any threat to the librarian’s ability  to access information could cause them stress and grief. Living during a time when propaganda caused poisoned viewpoints …
  
• Esteem and Recognition: A character who loves books may view her library as an extension of herself (or himself). If this was the case and budgets cut running costs to the bone…
  
• Love and Belonging: A character who views their library as home will be devastated if cutback cause their job to be eliminated or force the library to close. The character would be desperate to do whatever it took to turn things around…

Common Work-Related Settings: the stacks, storage rooms, a lamination or printing room, a staff break room, bathrooms, reading corners, special sections and restricted-access rooms for special editions

Twisting the Stereotype: The “dowdy and strict” matronly librarian is played out, so make your librarian young and enthusiastic. And don’t forget, he or she is in a job where they deal with the public and love being…

Visit the other Occupations in our collection HERE.

Much of your character’s life will revolve around their work, and whether they love it or hate it, their job is a great way to show, not tell, their personality traits, skills, work ethic, worldview and beliefs, and more, so we should choose it with care.

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