Job Descriptions

Geisha, gaffer, guru — what do they do? Do cowpunchers jab cows? Do stockbrokers break things? Here's what these people really do.

Bellhop: A hotel employee who escorts guests to their rooms, carries their luggage, and familiarizes them with their surroundings

Best boy: An assistant to a gaffer in TV and movie productions

Cabin boy: A boy who acts as a servant on a ship, especially to the captain

Caddie: A golf course worker who carries clubs and assists golfers

Cowpuncher: A ranch worker who tends cattle and horses

Diva: The principal female singer in an opera

Engineer: A person who uses the principles of math and science to plan structures such as bridges, engines, roads, and canals

Extra: A person with a nonspeaking part in a movie

Gaffer: An electrician in charge of lighting on a movie or TV set

Geisha: A Japanese woman who plays classical Japanese music and performs traditional dances at private parties in Japan

Guru: A Hindu religious teacher and spiritual guide

Hermit: A person who retires from society and lives alone, often for religious reasons

Intellectual: Someone who studies and thinks about ideas

Intelligence agent: Also called a spy

Maitre d': The person who shows diners to their tables and supervises the waiters in a restaurant

Medicine man: A healer or sorcerer in a Native American tribe

Page: One who delivers messages and serves as a guide

Patron: A person who uses wealth and influence to help a person or a cause

Pirate: A person who robs ships on the high seas (outside territorial waters). Today's pirates use speedboats and carry guns.

Spy: One who collects and analyzes secret information about armies and battle plans

Spycatcher: One who tries to discover spies, also called a counterintelligence agent

Stand-up comedian: A person who tells jokes alone on a stage, usually in a nightclub

Stockbroker: A person who acts for others in buying and selling stocks or shares in a business

Undercover agent: Someone, usually a law enforcement agent, who pretends to be someone else in order to gain information

Valet: A personal servant who takes care of one's clothes, or a hotel employee who cares for clothes and does other personal services

Return to the Have a Job Fair lesson plan.