Jobs in Spanish: 150+ Occupation Names with English Translations

Key takeaways

• Spanish job titles change form depending on gender, and the rules are not always consistent.
• Some occupations use the same word for both genders, distinguished only by the article (el/la).
• Grammar patterns for job titles are easier to learn by sector than by trying to memorise all the rules at once.
• 150+ occupation names are organised here by sector so you can go straight to what you need.

Spanish jobs vocabulary is one of those areas many learners leave full of gaps, because it’s rarely covered in any depth at beginner or intermediate level.

What do you say when someone asks you“¿A qué te dedicas?”(What do you do for a living?) and you want to answer in full, or when you’re filling in a form, reading a job listing, or following a conversation about careers and workplaces?

The good news is that once you know the patterns, Spanish job titles follow predictable rules.

A Spanish tutor can help you practise using this vocabulary in real conversations about work, study, and career goals.italki connects you with over 30,000 tutors across 150+ languages who can walk you through professional vocabulary in context, including the grammar rules that make it all click.

This guide covers 150+ job names across ten sectors, with notes on gender forms, grammar, and example sentences.

Table of contents

• How do job titles change by gender in Spanish?
• Healthcare
• Education
• Business and finance
• Legal and public sector
• Trades and manual work
• Creative and media
• Technology
• Hospitality and food service
• Transport
• Other services
• Example sentences by sector
• FAQ

How do job titles change by gender in Spanish?

Before getting into the word lists, it helps to understand the main grammatical patterns. Spanish job titles are nouns, and most nouns have grammatical gender: they are either masculine or feminine. For people’s jobs, the gender of the noun usually matches the gender of the person. Pattern 1: Change -o to -a. Many job titles end in-ofor masculine and-afor feminine. This is the most common and predictable pattern.

• el médico/la médica(doctor)
• el enfermero/la enfermera(nurse)
• el cocinero/la cocinera(cook)

Pattern 2: Add -a to a consonant ending. Masculine forms ending in a consonant often add-afor the feminine.

• el profesor/la profesora(teacher/professor)
• el director/la directora(director)
• el actor/la actriz(actor/actress, irregular)

Pattern 3: Same word for both genders, article changes. Many modern job titles, especially those ending in-ista,-nte, or-e, use the same form for masculine and feminine. Only the article (elorla) changes. This pattern also covers military and law-enforcement ranks likesoldado, where the Real Academia Española specifically advises against the alternative feminine formsoldada(which already means “wages”) and recommendsla soldadoinstead.

• el/la periodista(journalist)
• el/la estudiante(student)
• el/la gerente(manager)
• el/la cantante(singer)
• el/la piloto(pilot)
• el/la soldado(soldier)

Using job titles without an article. In Spanish, when you state someone’s profession afterser, you do not use an article: “Soy médica” (I am a doctor), not “Soy una médica.” The article is added back when the title is modified by an adjective: “Soy una médica especializada en pediatría.”

Healthcare

Spanish (m.)	Spanish (f.)	English
el médico	la médica	doctor
el cirujano	la cirujana	surgeon
el enfermero	la enfermera	nurse
el farmacéutico	la farmacéutica	pharmacist
el dentista	la dentista	dentist
el psicólogo	la psicóloga	psychologist
el psiquiatra	la psiquiatra	psychiatrist
el paramédico	la paramédica	paramedic
el anestesiólogo	la anestesióloga	anaesthesiologist
el pediatra	la pediatra	paediatrician
el cardiólogo	la cardióloga	cardiologist
el dermatólogo	la dermatóloga	dermatologist
el fisioterapeuta	la fisioterapeuta	physiotherapist
el optometrista	la optometrista	optometrist
el radiólogo	la radióloga	radiologist
el nutricionista	la nutricionista	nutritionist
el veterinario	la veterinaria	vet
el auxiliar de enfermería	la auxiliar de enfermería	nursing assistant
el camillero	la camillera	hospital porter

Education

Spanish (m.)	Spanish (f.)	English
el maestro	la maestra	primary school teacher
el profesor	la profesora	teacher / professor
el catedrático	la catedrática	full professor (university)
el director de escuela	la directora de escuela	school principal
el rector	la rectora	university rector / chancellor
el tutor	la tutora	tutor
el bibliotecario	la bibliotecaria	librarian
el orientador	la orientadora	school counsellor
el pedagogo	la pedagoga	educationalist
el educador social	la educadora social	social educator
el logopeda	la logopeda	speech therapist
el auxiliar de conversación	la auxiliar de conversación	language assistant
el investigador	la investigadora	researcher
el becario	la becaria	intern / scholarship holder

Business and finance

Spanish (m.)	Spanish (f.)	English
el empresario	la empresaria	business owner, entrepreneur
el director ejecutivo	la directora ejecutiva	CEO
el gerente	la gerente	manager
el jefe	la jefa	boss, head
el contador	la contadora	accountant (Latin America)
el contable	la contable	accountant (Spain)
el economista	la economista	economist
el analista financiero	la analista financiera	financial analyst
el asesor financiero	la asesora financiera	financial adviser
el auditor	la auditora	auditor
el recepcionista	la recepcionista	receptionist
el administrativo	la administrativa	office administrator
el secretario	la secretaria	secretary
el representante de ventas	la representante de ventas	sales representative
el vendedor	la vendedora	salesperson
el agente de seguros	la agente de seguros	insurance agent
el consultor	la consultora	consultant
el director de marketing	la directora de marketing	marketing director
el publicista	la publicista	advertising professional
el importador	la importadora	importer
el exportador	la exportadora	exporter

This is also the sector where business Spanish words beyond job titles, emails, meetings, negotiations, come in most useful, since the vocabulary overlaps constantly with the roles above.

Legal and public sector

Spanish (m.)	Spanish (f.)	English
el abogado	la abogada	lawyer
el juez	la jueza	judge
el fiscal	la fiscal	prosecutor
el notario	la notaria	notary
el policía	la policía	police officer
el detective	la detective	detective
el bombero	la bombera	firefighter
el soldado	la soldado	soldier
el militar	la militar	military officer
el político	la política	politician
el diputado	la diputada	member of parliament
el senador	la senadora	senator
el alcalde	la alcaldesa	mayor
el funcionario	la funcionaria	civil servant
el diplomático	la diplomática	diplomat
el embajador	la embajadora	ambassador
el guardia de seguridad	la guardia de seguridad	security guard
el carcelero	la carcelera	prison officer
el inspector	la inspectora	inspector

Trades and manual work

Spanish (m.)	Spanish (f.)	English
el fontanero	la fontanera	plumber (Spain)
el plomero	la plomera	plumber (Latin America)
el electricista	la electricista	electrician
el carpintero	la carpintera	carpenter
el mecánico	la mecánica	mechanic
el albañil	la albañila	bricklayer, builder
el jardinero	la jardinera	gardener
el pintor	la pintora	painter (walls)
el soldador	la soldadora	welder
el herrero	la herrera	blacksmith
el cerrajero	la cerrajera	locksmith
el techador	la techadora	roofer
el peón	la peona	labourer
el operario	la operaria	factory worker, operative
el minero	la minera	miner
el agricultor	la agricultora	farmer
el ganadero	la ganadera	livestock farmer
el pescador	la pescadora	fisherman / fisherwoman
el panadero	la panadera	baker
el carnicero	la carnicera	butcher
el sastre	la sastra	tailor
el zapatero	la zapatera	shoemaker, cobbler

Creative and media

Spanish (m.)	Spanish (f.)	English
el artista	la artista	artist
el escritor	la escritora	writer
el fotógrafo	la fotógrafa	photographer
el periodista	la periodista	journalist
el diseñador gráfico	la diseñadora gráfica	graphic designer
el actor	la actriz	actor / actress
el músico	la música	musician
el cantante	la cantante	singer
el bailarín	la bailarina	dancer
el cineasta	la cineasta	filmmaker
el guionista	la guionista	screenwriter
el editor	la editora	editor
el ilustrador	la ilustradora	illustrator
el animador	la animadora	animator
el director de cine	la directora de cine	film director
el locutor	la locutora	broadcaster, radio presenter
el presentador	la presentadora	TV presenter, host
el escultor	la escultora	sculptor
el arquitecto	la arquitecta	architect
el diseñador de moda	la diseñadora de moda	fashion designer

Technology

Spanish (m.)	Spanish (f.)	English
el programador	la programadora	programmer
el desarrollador web	la desarrolladora web	web developer
el ingeniero de software	la ingeniera de software	software engineer
el científico de datos	la científica de datos	data scientist
el analista de datos	la analista de datos	data analyst
el administrador de sistemas	la administradora de sistemas	systems administrator
el técnico de soporte informático	la técnica de soporte informático	IT support technician
el ingeniero de redes	la ingeniera de redes	network engineer
el especialista en ciberseguridad	la especialista en ciberseguridad	cybersecurity specialist
el diseñador UX	la diseñadora UX	UX designer
el director de tecnología	la directora de tecnología	CTO
el ingeniero de IA	la ingeniera de IA	AI engineer
el técnico en robótica	la técnica en robótica	robotics technician
el especialista en bases de datos	la especialista en bases de datos	database specialist
el consultor de TI	la consultora de TI	IT consultant

Hospitality and food service

Spanish (m.)	Spanish (f.)	English
el chef	la chef	chef
el cocinero	la cocinera	cook
el camarero	la camarera	waiter / waitress (Spain)
el mesero	la mesera	waiter / waitress (Latin America)
el bartender	la bartender	bartender
el barista	la barista	barista
el sommelier	la sommelier	sommelier
el hotelero	la hotelera	hotel manager / owner
el recepcionista de hotel	la recepcionista de hotel	hotel receptionist
el conserje	la conserje	concierge
el guía turístico	la guía turística	tour guide
el pastelero	la pastelera	pastry chef
el panadero	la panadera	baker
el carnicero	la carnicera	butcher
el pescadero	la pescadera	fishmonger
el encargado de sala	la encargada de sala	dining room manager
el animador turístico	la animadora turística	entertainment host (holiday resort)

Transport

Spanish (m.)	Spanish (f.)	English
el conductor	la conductora	driver
el taxista	la taxista	taxi driver
el camionero	la camionera	lorry driver / truck driver
el piloto	la piloto	pilot
el copiloto	la copiloto	co-pilot
el capitán	la capitana	captain (ship)
el marinero	la marinera	sailor
el maquinista	la maquinista	train driver
el revisor	la revisora	ticket inspector (train)
el controlador aéreo	la controladora aérea	air traffic controller
el repartidor	la repartidora	delivery person
el mensajero	la mensajera	courier
el conductor de autobús	la conductora de autobús	bus driver
el motociclista de reparto	la motociclista de reparto	motorbike courier
el mecánico de aviación	la mecánica de aviación	aircraft mechanic
el agente de aduanas	la agente de aduanas	customs officer

Other services

Spanish (m.)	Spanish (f.)	English
el barbero	la barbera	barber
el peluquero	la peluquera	hairdresser
el esteticista	la esteticista	beautician
el limpiador	la limpiadora	cleaner
el cuidador	la cuidadora	carer
el trabajador social	la trabajadora social	social worker
el psicólogo clínico	la psicóloga clínica	clinical psychologist
el óptico	la óptica	optician
el joyero	la joyera	jeweller
el florista	la florista	florist
el dependiente	la dependienta	shop assistant
el cajero	la cajera	cashier
el portero	la portera	doorman / building caretaker
el conserje	la conserje	concierge / caretaker
el cartero	la cartera	postman / postwoman
el agente inmobiliario	la agente inmobiliaria	estate agent
el entrenador personal	la entrenadora personal	personal trainer
el árbitro	la árbitra	referee
el deportista profesional	la deportista profesional	professional athlete
el coach	la coach	coach (sports or personal)
el masajista	la masajista	massage therapist

Example sentences by sector

• “Mi hermana es médica en un hospital público.” (My sister is a doctor at a public hospital.)
• “El fontanero viene mañana a arreglar la fuga.” (The plumber is coming tomorrow to fix the leak.)
• “Trabaja como diseñadora gráfica para una agencia de publicidad.” (She works as a graphic designer for an advertising agency.)
• “El guía turístico nos explicó la historia del castillo.” (The tour guide explained the history of the castle to us.)
• “Es programadora y trabaja desde casa.” (She’s a programmer and works from home.)
• “El bombero tardó diez minutos en llegar.” (The firefighter took ten minutes to arrive.)
• “Mi padre fue camionero durante treinta años.” (My father was a lorry driver for thirty years.)
• “¿A qué te dedicas?” “Soy contable en una empresa pequeña.” (What do you do? I’m an accountant at a small company.)

A good vocabulary base for the workplace pairs well with essential Spanish words for everyday situations. More than 150 job names later, you have a resource that covers the full range of professional vocabulary across every major sector. Learning these words in groups by sector, rather than in a random list, makes them easier to connect to the contexts where you’ll actually need them. A vocabulary list only gets you so far when you’re actually applying for jobs. Once you’ve got the words down, walking into a Spanish job interview prepared and knowing how to write a Spanish resume that fits local conventions will take you much further. For the final stretch, a business Spanish tutor can review both with you and rehearse the conversation before it counts. The most important next step is putting this vocabulary into conversation. With 10M+ learners on italki, there are native Spanish speakers ready to help you talk about work, careers, and professional life in a way that feels natural. Book a trial lesson today and start using this vocabulary in the kinds of conversations where it matters.

FAQ

Do Spanish job titles always have both masculine and feminine forms? Most traditional job titles do, following patterns likemédico/médicaorprofesor/profesora. However, many modern titles, especially those ending in-ista(likeperiodistaorelectricista) or-nte(likegerenteoragente), use the same form for both genders and only change the article:el periodista/la periodista. How do you say “I am a teacher” in Spanish without using an article? You say “Soy profesora” or “Soy profesor,” with no article afterserwhen stating your profession. Adding an article (Soy un profesor) is grammatically possible but sounds unnatural in straightforward statements about your job. The article comes back when you add a description: “Soy una profesora muy exigente” (I’m a very demanding teacher). What is the difference betweentrabajo comoandsoywhen talking about your job? Both are used to describe what you do, but with a slight difference in emphasis. “Soy médico” (I am a doctor) presents the profession as part of your identity. “Trabajo como médico” (I work as a doctor) focuses on the role or current position, and can also be used when the job is temporary or different from your formal training.