In today’s lesson, we will be learning some important vocabulary that you need when you talk about jobs. I’ll try to explain 18 adjectives that describe jobs. These adjectives are:
- Demanding
- Well-paid/Badly-paid
- Temporary/Permanent
- Full-time/Part-time
- Stressful
- Challenging
- Interesting
- Rewarding
- Repetitive
- Dead-end
- Tedious
- Unusual
- High-flying
- Varied
- Glamorous
Demanding
A demanding job requires a lot of skills, time, energy, attention…
Ex: Teachers usually have a family of their own and a demanding job that requires lots of work, patience and dedication.
Well-paid/badly-paid
If you do a well-paid job, you make a lot of money; however, if your job is badly-paid, you have a low salary.
Ex: Although Sarah is a single mother, she has a well-paid job and she can provide for her family.
Peter used to work a badly-paid job in a restaurant until he invented an Internet app and made a fortune.
Temporary / permanent
A temporary job is time-limited. It can last from one day to several years. On the other hand, a permanent job is not timely limited; it is also called a steady job.
Ex: After many temporary jobs, Zoe finally got a permanent position in the local travel agency.
Full-time/part-time
A full-time worker in the UK usually works for 35 hours a week, while a part-time worker works fewer hours than a full-time worker. Part-time worker, for example, can work 4-6 hours a day or at weekends only.
Ex: Thomas works full-time for the local newspaper, but he also has a weekend part-time job in a restaurant because he wants to save money for a new car.
Stressful
A stressful job includes lots of stress, meaning long hours at work, short deadlines, etc.
Ex: Lorna used to work as a manager for a multinational company; however, she gave up because it was too stressful.
It can also include danger and risk.
Ex: It must be stressful working for the police.
Challenging
A challenging job is hard, but also exciting and interesting.
Ex: Teaching is a challenging and rewarding job.
Being a tourist guide is a challenging job, but it will enable you to develop your skills and get work experience.
Interesting
If your job is interesting then you like doing it because it is most probably amusing and stimulating.
Ex: I’d like to be an astronaut. Not only it’s an interesting job, but also well-paid.
Rewarding
A rewarding job makes you feel pleased and satisfied because of the things you do.
Ex: Doctor’s job must be rewarding because of all the people they heal and the lives they save.
Repetitive
If you have to do the same thing over and over again at work, then your job is repetitive. As a rule, this kind of job is not difficult to perform.
Ex: Most of the work we do at the post office is repetitive. You know, separating mail and reorganizing it.
Repetitive jobs are, for example, packing jobs, manual works such as sewing, bricklaying, etc.
Dead-end
A dead-end job is the one with very little or no perspective where you will hardly ever get promoted or get a higher salary.
Ex: Work in a call centre is totally horrible. It’s a dead-end job where you get paid very little and doesn’t offer much when it comes to advancement opportunities.
Tedious
A tedious job or task is quite boring and frustrating.
Ex: People who work in those small kiosks have such tedious jobs. They spend eight hours inside the small box; besides, everyone can steal their newspapers.
Unusual
An unusual job is out of the ordinary and can be a bit odd.
Ex: You must admit that a golf-ball diver is quite an unusual job.
High-flying
A high-flying job is very well paid and offers lots of opportunities for promotion.
Ex: After Derek graduated from college, he got a high-flying job as a stockbroker.
Varied
A varied job is characterized by dealing with a variety of tasks and people. It is never dull.
Ex: Working at the Wembley stadium performing so many different tasks and meeting all kinds of people, Meghan thought her job was varied but stressful at times.
Glamorous
A glamorous job is exciting and often includes work on TV and/or some other media. It is related to wealth and success.
Ex: Sean thought that his job as a limo driver was glamorous even though it was very badly paid.
If you really want to learn English but don’t know how to do it and where to start, don’t hesitate to contact us. Book an online English lesson with one of our certified and experienced English teachers and take a test and consultation. Choose the most suitable app: Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp, Viber or Facebook Messenger. You should certainly join us for 30-minute conversation sessions. We are organizing lessons at a 30% discount. Check it out!
Drop us a line on WhatsApp
My Lingua Academy
My Lingua Academy is an online school of English language.
We give one-on-one lessons to students of English of all ages and all levels of knowledge all around the world. With us you can prepare for written assignments and exams, attend a general or business English course, or have conversation classes with qualified English teachers who have years of experience.
Here you will learn English adjectives to describe jobs.
Important English vocabulary to help you talk about your job in English.
English Adjectives for Jobs
Harry
Harry is a native English teacher with over 10 years of experience both online and in face-to-face lessons. With his extensive experience in business, he specialises in Business English lessons but happily teaches ESL students with any English learning needs.
10 English Adjectives to Describe Jobs
We all think and believe we have difficult jobs whether in the office, in a factory or in our homes.
Can you talk about your job in English?
How can you describe it?
I hope you find something that summarises your position and you will be able to use it in your spoken or written English.
improve english on a budget
Online English Courses from €7.99
full-time
or
part-time
these expressions describe the length of time we will spend at our work either daily or weekly. We all hope to secure a full-time job but for some, a part-time job is all they can get or indeed it might be all that they want. Usually, if you have a part-time job you only work part of the working week. If you have a full-time job you work every day in the working week (usually Monday to Friday).
Example:
Johnny had been looking for a full-time job for six months after he left college. He finally accepted a job in his local enterprise centre which was initially only on a part-time basis, two days per week, but if he proved himself it might increase.
Full-time jobs can also be referred to as permanent (not so easy to be sacked or made redundant) and you usually have a contract of employment (legal document) which offers a lot of protection.
Part-time jobs on the other hand do not have this protection and are often referred to as temporary.
well-paid
Yes, of course, we all have ambitions to earn as much as we can and be valued by our employers for the work we do. If we are very lucky we get an enjoyable rewarding job that is well paid (high income). Well paid is a job where you earn a lot of money.
Some jobs are always considered as well paid. A professional footballer is a well-paid profession. A bank manager could also be considered as a well-paid job when compared to, for example, to a firefighter even though a firefighter does a much more rewarding and dangerous job.
Example:
Michael had worked for years in a junior management position. He worked hard but did not feel appreciated by his employer. He answered an advertisement on the internet one day and secured the job of his dreams. It was interesting but also well paid much more than he had previously received.
badly paid
The opposite of a well-paid job. We all would like to avoid this situation for ourselves and our family. However, sometimes it is inevitable. In a badly paid job, you don’t earn a lot of money.
Example:
Traditionally in the UK nurses and teachers, firefighters and policemen are often considered to be badly paid in comparison to some people working in Finance or retail or IT.
How to Describe a Job in English?
high-powered
A very important job where you have a lot of responsibilities.
Example:
Her brother has a really high-powered job at a computer company.
You can also use high-powered in relation to people meaning he has a lot of power or influence.
Example:
Sam progressed in his career quite a bit along the way, he is now a high-powered executive in a big multinational.
stressful
A difficult job with difficult goals and bosses who are constantly looking for more results can be described as stressful. You get home from work exhausted and worried and cannot leave your work behind you. You think about it regularly even in your personal time.
Example:
Mary loved her job most of the time, she had always wanted to be a teacher. However, the constant demand from her headteacher for reports, the regular confrontation with badly behaved students meant that she was always worried and stressed. Teaching became a stressful job for her.
10 English Adjectives to Describe Jobs
challenging
Your job is difficult but in an enjoyable way. For example, the demands for results and the KPI’s (key performance indicators) are never easy to achieve and they increase annually.
Example:
Martha worked in sales. She had the most successful area in her team. However, every year her targets increased and became more challenging. When the KPI’s were set she spent many weeks wondering whether she could achieve the new goals and the previous year was soon a distant memory (forgotten about).
rewarding
A job that makes you feel satisfied. There are many ways in which you can define a job as rewarding. A rewarding job can be measured by the satisfaction you get in simply doing a good job. For example, saving someone’s pet if you work as a Vet, helping a student pass a difficult exam if you are a teacher or building a wonderful kitchen in someone’s home if you are a carpenter.
Example:
Ivan found his job very rewarding. He worked long hours but he took great pleasure from helping to cure an old woman’s sick dog and seeing the happiness in her face when her favourite pet was returned to her.
English Adjectives for Jobs
Share and help other students to improve English skills
10 English Adjectives to Describe Jobs
repetitive
Every day you do the same things again and again, repeat the same tasks. None of us wants to use these words to describe our jobs but at times even the most rewarding of jobs have their boring days!
However, if the work is the same on a regular basis then we can definitely describe it as repetitive and if there is no fun or excitement it will certainly be seen as dull (a very boring, depressing) and if this goes on for days weeks and months then the only word to describe it is mundane (very ordinary). But you know we have a saying “someone has to do it!” and it is true even the most repetitive, dull and mundane jobs have to be done by someone.
glamorous
Your job is very exciting because it’s connected with fame and success. What might we describe as a glamorous job? In the past, air hostesses considered glamorous. Nowadays jobs that may now be considered glamorous might include fashion models, travel bloggers, famous YouTubers, influencers, beauty consultants and international sports stars such as golfers and tennis players. The glamorous part is reflected in the style of clothes they wear the cities they visit and the people they are surrounded by.
Example:
The life of a modern tennis star is a fast life of tennis tournaments in the worlds’ capital cities, living in the finest hotels and constantly in the public eye. However, while we might see it as all glamour and glitz (style) they may see it as repetitive and perhaps lonely (away from friends or family).
What kind of job do you have?
improve english on a budget
Online English Courses from €7.99
More Information
You will love these English lessons
Useful English Collocations
Useful English Collocations
English Vocabulary
The list of odd jobs which fall to his lot would be ridiculous, were not their influence upon his life and work so retrogressive and so sad.
cries an eager one: «Let her drink all the lager in her shops, She‘ll find the little job is not yet done, For all there‘s such enormous strength in hops!«
They‘ll make a better job out of you than ever I can.
Have it explained to him that it may be a tough job.
«Good clean job, Barnett.
«All the same, if you want a man for an awkward job, I think you can trust Mr. Lister!«
Make a thorough job of it, as it is most important that the glove should be foundif it is to be found.
Mon, it‘s sich a nasty, dirty job; aw’d as soon clem! . . .
Now, in meeting you, I want to do a clean, neat, precise job.
« It was no pleasant job confronting us, although we had less dead men to handle than I anticipated.
He says he is going to the city, for he hates to chop wood and work, and he thinks maybe he‘ll get some light job there.
It was broad daylight, and to paddle up within shooting distance of a deer under such circumstances, in plain view of an animal the most wary, is a delicate job, but it may be done.
He was a rather shabby little man, a penman employed to do occasional odd jobs about the Foreign Office, such as engrossing documents and the like, by which he earned from eighteenpence to half—a—crown an hour, according to the style of penmanship required, and he was well known in the criminal courts as an expert on handwriting in forgery cases.
They had a dangerous, unpleasant job on hand.
Set a souldier to rowing on the lake forenent the rising sun, with orders to get to the other ind, and a pretty job he ‘d make of marching on that same!
From the first I knew ‘twas bound to be a ticklish job.
They had a dangerous, unpleasant job on hand.
«He‘s cut out a man—sized job for himself.
«Awful job I had too,« he went on.
You must be tiredand it‘s a sad job.
If any extra job is to be done, it must not hinder the ‘niggers‘ from their work, but must be done in the night.
I have discouraged most of the boys who wanted to run away and go with the show, by giving them a curry comb and brush and telling them they could have a permanent job currying off the hyenas.
Every movement is previously regulated by a Commissioner appointed for the purpose, (to whom en passant these fetes are very lucrative jobs,) a plan of the whole is distributed, in which is prescribed with great exactness, that at such and such parts the people are to «melt into tears,« at others they are to be seized with a holy enthusiasm, and at the conclusion of the whole they are to rend the air with the cry of «Vive la Convention!«
« «I‘m glad I don’t have to keep it clean as a steady job,« said Mrs. Gilligan grimly.
And when I look at this I wonder how that huge chimney is cleaned, and where the Titanic sweep is that could undertake such a gigantic job.
|
||||||||||||||||
|
The idea for the Describing Words engine came when I was building the engine for Related Words (it’s like a thesaurus, but gives you a much broader set of related words, rather than just synonyms). While playing around with word vectors and the «HasProperty» API of conceptnet, I had a bit of fun trying to get the adjectives which commonly describe a word. Eventually I realised that there’s a much better way of doing this: parse books!
Project Gutenberg was the initial corpus, but the parser got greedier and greedier and I ended up feeding it somewhere around 100 gigabytes of text files — mostly fiction, including many contemporary works. The parser simply looks through each book and pulls out the various descriptions of nouns.
Hopefully it’s more than just a novelty and some people will actually find it useful for their writing and brainstorming, but one neat little thing to try is to compare two nouns which are similar, but different in some significant way — for example, gender is interesting: «woman» versus «man» and «boy» versus «girl». On an inital quick analysis it seems that authors of fiction are at least 4x more likely to describe women (as opposed to men) with beauty-related terms (regarding their weight, features and general attractiveness). In fact, «beautiful» is possibly the most widely used adjective for women in all of the world’s literature, which is quite in line with the general unidimensional representation of women in many other media forms. If anyone wants to do further research into this, let me know and I can give you a lot more data (for example, there are about 25000 different entries for «woman» — too many to show here).
The blueness of the results represents their relative frequency. You can hover over an item for a second and the frequency score should pop up. The «uniqueness» sorting is default, and thanks to my Complicated Algorithm™, it orders them by the adjectives’ uniqueness to that particular noun relative to other nouns (it’s actually pretty simple). As you’d expect, you can click the «Sort By Usage Frequency» button to adjectives by their usage frequency for that noun.
Special thanks to the contributors of the open-source mongodb which was used in this project.
Please note that Describing Words uses third party scripts (such as Google Analytics and advertisements) which use cookies. To learn more, see the privacy policy.