Need help figuring out what career your hero, villain, love interest, sidekick, or other cast member is likely to have? Get the juices flowing by looking through these entries. Each one can provide its own sources of conflict, opportunities for success or failure, and insight into your character’s passion, interests, and goals, all the while characterizing them to readers.
Below are condensed sample entries from our popular Occupation Thesaurus as they first appeared on our blog. It has since been developed into the bestselling book: The Occupation Thesaurus, A Writer’s Guide to Jobs, Vocations, and Careers.
Recommended Reading
What Is an Occupation Thesaurus?
A Mother Lode of Resources on Incorporating a Character’s Career into Your Story
Below are samples of the career profiles in our popular Occupation Thesaurus
- Actor
- Animal Rescue Worker
- Animal Trainer
- Antiques Dealer
- Architect
- Auto Mechanic
- Babysitter
- Barista
- Bartender
- Bouncer
- Bounty Hunter
- Business Tycoon
- Cashier
- Chef
- Clergy
- Conductor
- Coroner
- Corrections Officer
- Deep Sea Diver (Commercial)
- Diplomat
- Dog Groomer
- Driver (Car)
- E.R. Physician
- Emergency Dispatcher
- Escort
- Ethical Hacker
- Exotic Dancer
- Farmer
- Fundraiser
- Funeral Director
- Geologist
- General Contractor
- Ghostwriter
- Glassblower
- Home Health Aide
- Human Test Subject
- Interpreter
- Jeweler
- Landscape Designer
- Librarian
- Locksmith
- Makeup Artist
- Mail Carrier
- Massage Therapist
- Mechanical Engineer
- Midwife
- Model
- Nanny
- Nurse (RN)
- Outdoor Guide
- Paleontologist
- Paralegal
- Parole Officer
- Personal Assistant (to a Celebrity)
- Personal Trainer
- Pest Control Technician
- Physical Therapist
- Pilot
- Police Officer
- Professional Athlete
- Radio DJ
- Rancher
- Real Estate Agent
- Recruiter
- Referee
- Server (Waiter or Waitress)
- Skydiving Instructor
- Small Business Owner
- Tattoo Artist
- Taxidermist
- Teacher
- Therapist (Mental Health)
- Tour Guide
- Treasure Hunter
- Veterinarian
- Wedding Planner
- Yoga Instructor
It feels like its missing few in the A’s Anthropologists and Archeologists and Musuem person. The ones you do have feel like they dom’t suit it for what I’m looking for.
Hi Shani,
With occupations, we had to make tough choices. The reality is there are hundreds of thousands of occupations, and we couldn’t cover them all, so we tried to create a broad range that would hopefully be helpful enough to get writers thinking about how they can customize close entries to fit what they need. We also include a blank entry template so writers can create their own entry if they wish. I hope this will help you. 🙂 Happy writing!