Professions work just as they do in English with the exception of the use of definite and indefinite articles. In English we always use an article:
I am a professor (Identifying my profession, what do I do for a living)
I am the professor (Who am I in these circumstances?)
However, in Spanish, when you are identifying your profession, you do not use any article.
For example:
| I am a professor. | Soy profesor. |
| Ally McBeal is a lawyer. | Ally McBeal es abogada. |
| Dr. Carter is a surgeon. | El dr. Carter es cirujano. |
When you use an adjective to describe how you are in your profession, you use an indefinite article:
| I am a good doctor. | Soy un buen médico. |
| They are energetic professors. | Son unos profesores enérgicos. |
If you are referring to your job by your job title, you do use a definite article:
| I am the interpreter (there is no other.) | Soy el intérprete. |
| Elizabeth is the queen. | Isabel es la reina. |
| David es el jefe. | David is the boss. |
This works with other informal "titles" as well:
| Where is the artist? (we know there is one) | ¿Dónde está el artista? |
| Are there any artists? | ¿Hay artistas? |
| Is that the student [you were talking about]? | ¿Es el estudiante? |
| He is a student. | Es estudiante. |
| Who are the doctors? (Point them out) | ¿Quiénes son los médicos? |
| Are there any doctors? | ¿Hay médicos? |
Most titles or professions ending in "e" only change the article:
| el / la detective | the detective |
| el / la gerente | the manager |
| el / la cantante | the singer |
| el / la representante | the representative |
| el / la intérprete | the interpreter |
| el / la agente (de bienes raíces, de viajes) | the agent (real estate, travel) |
Professions which end in “-ista” in their masculine form remain the same in both the masculine and feminine form:
| el / la artista | the artist |
| el / la dentista | the dentist |
| el / la analista | the analyst |
| el / la periodista | the journalist |
| el / la electrista | the electrician |
Some professions where women have entered only recently often include the word "mujer"
| el policía / la mujer policía (option: el/la oficial) | policeman, policewoman (option:the officer or official) |
| el mecánico / la mujer mecánico | the mechanic |