Careers in a fantasy realm

[KestrelDC]

Just brainstorming, what do you think some jobs and their names/titles would be in a fantasy realm? Mine is a sorta modern world that's fantasy. Like, they have technology and science and the like, but then there's also magic and various fantasy things that are equally just "normal" to them the same way pulling out your phone to look something up real quick is to us. Much like science, it is simply a part of life to the denizens of this fantasy realm. So I've been thinking about some of the jobs they'd have beyond the existing ones we do. So far I have thaumabiology (biology in regards to magical and mystical organisms like phoenix and unicorns) and am thinking up a name for and rough job description for someone working in forensics involving magic (IE: detecting traces of magic on an item, detecting a curse, identifying magic wounds, etc.) essentially.

So I figured, why not have fun and make it a conversation and throw around ideas together?

 

[Mothyards]

I feel like this is a somewhat depended question. How is magic used? Do they know where it came from? These things could create or change jobs. Can magic be used for public/service use? That could also generate jobs. In a story of mine it’s common for people to be hired to charge magical “batteries” with different technologies often relying on batteries of a certain type. It’s also important to remember mundane normal world jobs if you intend to show something like that as a reference point to the differences and similarities in the world.

 

[Miles Lacey]

In my WIP the level of technology is that of the 1930s. Here are a few jobs mages could end up doing:

Witch Doctor: A mage who specialises in curing people of evil spirits or rogue (black) magic.
Detective Mage: A mage employed by the police to investigate crimes involving magic. Whenever magic is used the mage's unique mark is left behind. Problem? Only mages can see the mark hence the reason why mages are hired by the police.
Enchanted rock quarry worker: Enchanted rock will usually kill non-mages who touch it so unranked mages are drafted to quarry the rock. The shrine carvers are unranked mages who carve the rock into shrines and cast the spell that allows non-mages to handle the shrines without dying.
Branch IX Agent: Think of the East German Stasi except these guys monitor the actions of mages who might go rogue or express heretical ideas.

 

[KestrelDC]

Oooh, so like ballistics markings. That's super cool. I really like it!

And I've never really thought about how the magic in this world came to be. Now that I think of it, though, for fantasy-ized irl jobs, Avatar/Korra has Mako working at a power plant using his bending, plus there's Pro-Bending as a form of sports like wrestling and MMA. I could include some things along those lines. Thanks for pointing that out!

 

[Mad Swede]

I think this will depend on when their knowledge of things like science, technology and magic developed, both in absolute terms and relative to the others. You can see this in real life, in terms of the words we use to describe occupations, where the names vary with the age of the occupation and hence with linguistic roots.

 

[Rosemary Tea]

a name for and rough job description for someone working in forensics involving magic (IE: detecting traces of magic on an item, detecting a curse, identifying magic wounds, etc.) essentially.

How about forensic magicologist for that one?

 

[Miles Lacey]

How about forensic magicologist for that one?

Definitely a great job title for use in an urban fantasy or a fantasy set in a post-World War Two type setting when it entered popular culture, although the word "forensic" has been around since 1649 at least.

 

[Aldarion]

Zombie / lich / etc. exterminator. Many fantasy worlds have massive problems with the undead, so in addition to community security forces (soldiers, town guards), there may be a call for private entities to handle that stuff as well.

 

[KestrelDC]

Oh, yeah, like Witchers (though not necessarily with the whole painful process thing) or the Silver Hand! Or animal control, for a real world comparison, except instead of a bear it's a dragon! Or exterminators but for gremlins instead of rats.

And I like "forensic magicologist"! Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Miles Lacey]

Sabre Toothed Tiger Fighter - The pay is good. Your survival rate...? Not so much.
Mammoth Herder - A lot tougher than it sounds. They're not noted for their charming personalities.
Dragon Breeder - Baby dragons are sooo cute!
Pharmacutical Necromancer - Just like your local chemist except they sell potions made from (or intended for) the undead.
Shrine polisher - Polish that shrine with a shine!
Back Street Prophet - Need a prophecy to make your humdrum heroism sound as if it's divinely ordained? Call 1-900-BSPROPHET NOW! We'll forge or distort anything to make you look like those prophets of old.
Dragon Poo Salesperson - Who knows what comes out the other end of a dragon? It could be good for crops, camp fires or making armour.

(Okay, so you specified mages but sometimes mages don't get paid enough to pay the bills so here's a few jobs on the side they could do. Magic will come in handy for most of them but it's not a job requirement.)