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My Work: Some Common Errors 

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Some people say the name of the profession when they should say the name of the person. For example, “I'm an accountancy,” instead of “I'm an accountant.” Many people who make this mistake actually know the difference but make this mistake because they are nervous and because they have rarely or never actually spoken the word they want to say. You should practice saying the sentence a few times.

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Some people say a job or kind of work that is too general. For example, “I'm an engineer.”; “I'm a teacher.” and “I'm a manager.” These answers are not wrong but since there are many kinds of engineers, teachers or managers, it is better to be more specific.

• “I'm a primary school teacher.”  (or, kindergarten teacher)
• “I'm a high school mathematics teacher.” ('high' has a secondary stress.)
• “I'm a piano teacher.”

      Don't stress adjective in 'adjective + noun' combinations; stress the noun.

• “I'm a mechanical engineer.” 
• “I'm a civil engineer.”
• “I'm a electrical engineer.”
• “I'm a electronic engineer.”

• “I'm a mining engineer.” 
• “I'm a construction engineer.”
• “I'm a sales manager.”

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• “I'm a sales.”  “I'm a salesman” or “I'm a saleswoman”.
• “I'm a guide.”  “I'm a tour guide.” The word “guide” alone is too general as a job title. But if you were in a tour group, it would be normal to say, “Where's our guide?”

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I have not heard IELTS candidates or students say the examples below but they are common errors.

• “I'm a constructor.”  “I'm a construction engineer.”
• “I'm a fisher.”  “I'm a fisherman.”

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Some people say, “I quitted my job.”  “I quit my job.” 

The past tense of ‘quit’ is also ‘quit’, just as the past tense of ‘put’ is also ‘put.’

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If you are not sure about your job, you are welcome to email me & I'll try to help you. This will also allow me to add more items to this page!