Abstract

Occupations are a basic unit for categorizing people: One of the first questions we ask a new acquaintance is, “What do you do?” Occupations are closely related to social identity. But occupational identity has been questioned by researchers who claim that nowadays people no longer identify with their occupations making the concept outdated. This article explores whether people express occupational identity. Using quantitative data we analyze how people talk about their occupations in self-presentations. The findings suggest that occupation still defines social identity – especially for incumbents with a defined education, a high-status occupation, in a profession, or in an occupation with a strong cultural framing.