👩‍⚕️ Professions in Spanish: Learn how to talk about jobs like a native!

Learning how to talk about professions in Spanish is super useful — you’ll need it when introducing yourself, describing your friends or family, or even when travelling! 💬

In Spanish, most professions have a masculine and feminine form, and you can easily change the gender by modifying the ending. Ready to sound like a pro? Let’s go! 🚀

👨‍⚕️ Professions in Spanish and English

Let’s explore some of the most common professions in Spanish 🇪🇸 — and what people in those jobs actually do! Understanding what each profession involves will help you remember the words more easily and use them in real situations 💬

👩‍🏫 El profesor / La profesora (Teacher)

🗣️ Mi profesora de español es muy divertida y explica todo con ejemplos.
(My Spanish teacher is very funny and explains everything with examples.)

👨‍⚕️ El médico / La médica (Doctor)

🗣️ Mi madre es médica y trabaja en un hospital de Madrid.
(My mum is a doctor and works in a hospital in Madrid.)

🍽️ El camarero / La camarera (Waiter / Waitress)

🗣️ El camarero nos recomendó la mejor paella del restaurante.
(The waiter recommended us the best paella in the restaurant.)

🧑‍🔧 El ingeniero / La ingeniera (Engineer)

🗣️ Mi hermano es ingeniero y está diseñando un puente nuevo.
(My brother is an engineer and is designing a new bridge.)

💇‍♀️ El peluquero / La peluquera (Hairdresser)

🗣️ Voy a la peluquería porque mi peluquera me deja el pelo perfecto.
(I’m going to the hairdresser because she always makes my hair look perfect.)

👨‍🍳 El cocinero / La cocinera (Cook / Chef)

🗣️ El cocinero prepara una tortilla española increíble.
(The chef makes an amazing Spanish omelette.)

🏥 El enfermero / La enfermera (Nurse)

🗣️ La enfermera fue muy amable conmigo durante la consulta.
(The nurse was very kind to me during the appointment.)

⚖️ El abogado / La abogada (Lawyer)

🗣️ Mi tío es abogado y trabaja en un despacho en el centro.
(My uncle is a lawyer and works in an office downtown.)

🏗️ El arquitecto / La arquitecta (Architect)

🗣️ Mi hermana es arquitecta y diseña edificios modernos en Madrid.
(My sister is an architect and designs modern buildings in Madrid.)

🎯 Pro tip: Use professions in your daily Spanish practice! Try describing what your friends or family do for work:
‘Mi madre es médica y mi padre es profesor.’ (My mother is a doctor and my father is a teacher.)

💼 List of professions in Spanish (masculine and feminine)

Talking about jobs in Spanish is fun and useful — but you need to know how gender works! 🧠
In Spanish, most professions have masculine and feminine forms, but not all follow the same pattern. Let’s take a look 👇

 🟢 Professions ending in -o / -a

These are the easiest! You just change the ending -o → -a to switch between masculine and feminine.

👩‍⚕️ El médico / La médica – doctor
💇‍♀️ El peluquero / La peluquera – hairdresser
🧑‍🔧 El ingeniero / La ingeniera – engineer
⚖️ El abogado / La abogada – lawyer
🏗️ El arquitecto / La arquitecta – architect

🗣️ Mi hermana es arquitecta y mi hermano es ingeniero. (My sister is an architect and my brother is an engineer.)

🟡 Professions ending in -e or -ista

These are neutral words — they don’t change with gender! 🎯

🗣️ Mi madre es periodista y mi primo es estudiante. (My mum is a journalist and my cousin is a student.)

💡 Grammar tip:
If the word ends in -e or -ista, you don’t need to change it for gender — it stays the same! 👉 El artista / La artista 🎨

🟣 Irregular and invariable professions in Spanish

Not all professions in Spanish follow the simple -o / -a rule 😅. Some completely change their form depending on gender, while others stay exactly the same — you just know who you’re talking about from the article (el or la). Let’s take a look 👇

🎭 El actor / La actriz – actor / actress

🗣️ Mi prima es actriz y trabaja en una serie de televisión.
(My cousin is an actress and works in a TV show.)

⚖️ El juez / La jueza – judge

🗣️ El juez escucha el caso con atención y la jueza dicta la sentencia.
(The judge listens to the case carefully and the female judge gives the verdict.)

And now, the ones that never change at all! 😄

🗣️ La terapeuta es muy simpática y el piloto es español. (The therapist is very nice and the pilot is Spanish.)

💡 Pro tip:
In Spain, people often use the feminine form when talking about women, especially in everyday speech. It sounds more natural and inclusive 🇪🇸✨

✨ How to use professions in daily life

In Spanish, when we talk about what someone does, we usually don’t use the article (un / una).
So instead of saying ‘Soy un profesor’, we say simply ‘Soy profesor’.

💬 Example conversations:

🗣️ — ¿A qué te dedicas? (What do you do for a living?)
👩 — Soy enfermera en una clínica. (I’m a nurse in a clinic.)

🗣️ — ¿En qué trabaja tu hermano? (What does your brother do?)
👨 — Es camarero en un restaurante italiano. (He’s a waiter in an Italian restaurant.)

These little structures are super common in real life — try using them when introducing yourself or your friends! 💬

🧠 Common jobs in Spanish

Here are some everyday jobs you’ll often hear about in Spain and Latin America 🇪🇸🌎 — from traditional to modern!

👷 El albañil — builds houses and walls.
👩‍💻 La programadora — creates apps and websites.
🚗 El taxista — drives people around the city.
💄 La maquilladora — does makeup for weddings or films.
🐕 El veterinario — cares for animals.
🧹 La limpiadora — keeps homes and offices clean.
📸 El fotógrafo — captures beautiful moments.

💬 Example:
‘Mi prima es veterinaria y trabaja con perros y gatos todos los días.’ (My cousin is a vet and works with dogs and cats every day.)

🎯 Pro tip: Professions can also express passion — not just jobs!
‘Soy músico porque me encanta componer canciones.’ (I’m a musician because I love writing songs.)

💬 Useful expressions about professions

Let’s add a few expressions you can use to talk about your job or someone else’s:

💬 ¿A qué te dedicas? — What do you do for a living?

💬 Soy profesor. — I’m a teacher.

💬 Trabajo en un hospital. — I work in a hospital.

💬 Mi hermano es camarero en un bar. — My brother is a waiter in a bar.

💬 Quiero ser médico en el futuro. — I want to be a doctor in the future.

🪄 Pro tip: Remember — in Spanish we don’t use un/una before professions! Say ‘Soy enfermera’, not ‘Soy una enfermera’.

🗂️ Related vocabulary

Here’s some extra vocabulary related to jobs and workplaces:

💻 la oficina — office
🏢 la empresa — company
💼 el trabajo — job / work
📅 el horario — schedule
🧾 el sueldo — salary
🎓 el jefe / la jefa — boss
👥 el compañero / la compañera de trabajo — workmate

💬 Useful Spanish expressions for work and daily life

Whether you’re working in Spain 💻, job-hunting 🧐, or just chatting about your day, these expressions will help you sound like a real Spanish speaker 🇪🇸.
Let’s see how to talk about being busy, late, or even looking for a job (because yes… we’ve all been there 😅).

🧠 Everyday work expressions

💼 Estoy hasta arriba de trabajo. (I’m swamped with work.)
➡️ Perfect to say when you have way too much to do!

📞 Estoy en una reunión. (I’m in a meeting.)
➡️ Use this when you can’t answer a call or message.

😰 Estoy muy ocupado / ocupada. (I’m very busy.)
➡️ Great for explaining why you can’t meet up or reply quickly.

⏰ Llego tarde al trabajo. (I’m late for work.)
➡️ Common phrase you’ll hear every morning on the metro 😅

🧳 Estoy buscando trabajo. (I’m looking for a job.)
➡️ Use this when you’re on the hunt for new opportunities.

🏖️ Estoy de vacaciones. (I’m on holiday.)
➡️ Finally! The best phrase of them all 😎

🧑‍💼 Empiezo un trabajo nuevo. (I’m starting a new job.)
➡️ A great one to celebrate a big change in your life!

🗣️ Example conversation:
👩‍💻 – ¿Puedes hablar ahora? (Can you talk now?)
👨‍💼 – No puedo, estoy en una reunión. (I can’t, I’m in a meeting.)

🗣️ Other common work phrases in Spain

🕔 Tengo una entrevista de trabajo. (I have a job interview.)

🤒 Estoy de baja. (I’m off sick.)

🪑 Trabajo desde casa. (I work from home.)

📆 Tengo que quedarme hasta tarde. (I have to stay late.)

🍷 Después del trabajo vamos a tomar algo. (After work, let’s go for a drink.)

✨ Pro tip: In Spain, people often say curro instead of trabajo in informal situations. So instead of 'Estoy buscando trabajo', you can say 'Estoy buscando curro' – it sounds super natural! 🇪🇸