On the Job: Labor Day Vocabulary: Can I Work It? Words for "Job"

Whether you're talking about a one-time gig or a lifetime spent advancing in your career, the words on this list will do the job!
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. avocation
    an auxiliary activity
    They’re just like the more than 250 people who told The Washington Post in April they were learning musical instruments, culinary techniques or other creative avocations. Washington Post (Jul 26, 2020)
    Where a vocation, see below, is your chosen career, an avocation is a hobby, an amateur pursuit, or a side hustle.
  2. career
    the particular occupation for which you are trained
    These benefits are meaningful to the careers of the people who receive them—and they are received overwhelmingly by white men. Scientific American (Aug 10, 2020)
    Career was originally a racecourse, from the Latin carraria, meaning "carriage road." So your career is the course your professional life takes as you work your way up in whatever field you choose.
  3. craft
    the skilled practice of a practical occupation
    Kent passed on a deep appreciation of the practice of art-making: the patience required, the ego-free pleasures of craft, the meticulous approach to detail. Los Angeles Times (Aug 10, 2020)
  4. effort
    use of physical or mental energy; hard work
    When the pandemic began, she busied herself with more video production and also shared her story with other youth in the Arctic who might be thinking about starting similar efforts for their own communities. Slate (Aug 10, 2020)
  5. freelance
    a writer or artist who sells services to different employers without a long-term contract with any of them
    The Professional Lighting and Sound Association trade body says 70% of staff working on live events are freelance or self-employed, and fears the industry will end up depleted of skilled people. BBC (Aug 9, 2020)
    In Medieval England, mercenary knights — who used long spears called lances — would hire themselves out to individuals or countries in need of soldiers.
  6. industry
    the action of making of goods and services for sale
    “When over 3 million Californians are without a job, our elected leaders should be focused on creating work, not trying to shut down an entire industry during an economic depression.” The Verge (Aug 10, 2020)
  7. livelihood
    the financial means whereby one supports oneself
    “Lives and livelihoods will be lost, because there’s a limited capacity to respond,” he says. Nature (Aug 9, 2020)
  8. metier
    an occupation for which you are especially well suited
    She was a modestly witty figure on TV game shows – though her true metier was as guest celebrity. The Guardian (Dec 18, 2016)
    Métier is French for "profession" or "occupation."
  9. occupation
    the principal activity in one's life to earn money
    The United States long reserved its most lucrative occupations for an elite class of white men. New York Times (Aug 6, 2020)
    To occupy something — from a building to a country — is to seize or take control of it. You occupation is the thing that controls much of your time: your job.
  10. practice
    a customary way of operation or behavior
    Ng: The practice that I work for is all ophthalmology, and the majority of the cases are elective. Slate (Aug 10, 2020)
    You practice your jump shot or the violin in order to master a skill. Some professionals, especially doctors and lawyers, also refer to their jobs as practices.
  11. profession
    an occupation requiring special education
    Though concerns about occupational health span professions, the needs differ from one to the next. New York Times (Aug 7, 2020)
  12. trade
    the skilled practice of a practical occupation
    The Professional Lighting and Sound Association trade body says 70% of staff working on live events are freelance or self-employed, and fears the industry will end up depleted of skilled people. BBC (Aug 9, 2020)
    Trades are generally careers like plumbing, carpentry, and other skilled forms of manual labor.
  13. undertaking
    any piece of work that is attempted
    In its policy memo, the NGA called mass dispensing of a vaccine a “major undertaking.” Washington Post (Aug 3, 2020)
  14. vocation
    the particular occupation for which you are trained
    Demonstrate excellence in your profession or vocation; greatness brings authority to speak and effect change. Washington Post (Jun 22, 2020)
    Vocation comes from the Latin root vocatio, meaning "invitation" or "calling;" it's also the source of vocal. In French, vocation took on a religious sense, as in someone being called to serve as a priest, and later in English the meaning expanded to include any job that requires some form of study or training.
Created on Sun Jul 26 20:46:42 EDT 2020 (updated Sun Sep 06 16:15:43 EDT 2020)

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