Choosing Jobs and Roles for your OC!
There’s lots of things to think about when designing your character and figuring out their story, and something that plays a big part in that is the job or role they have! The job your OC has can set up their part in the story, and their role in the story will help you decide what they do! So how do you figure out the jobs they should have and the roles they should play? Let’s talk about it!
What’s your OC‘s personality type?
One thing that will play a big part in your OC’s occupation or their role in the story is their personality! The personality of a character often affects the choices they make and what the OC might or might not do.
Extroverted vs introverted: Which fits them better?
Certain jobs are better suited for different personalities than others. Some jobs may involve more talking to people and social skills, while others might have less interactions with people. A more extroverted character might be better suited for a career that involves talking to a lot of people! They might be better suited for jobs with lots of teamwork and engagement. Jobs such as:
- Teacher
- Salesperson
- Event planner
- Actor
Jobs such as the ones above involve lots of interaction and talking! Communication would be more face-to-face, and involve plenty of conversating. While not for extroverts exclusively, someone with a more outgoing personality might gravitate towards jobs like those.
Other jobs are better suited for introverts. Introverts might prefer something more quiet, and with less interaction. Introverts might not like as much talking to people as an introvert does, and that could lead them into choosing a job with less interaction. Jobs such as:
- Accountant
- Artist
- Writer
- Engineer
Jobs like these require a lot less talking than other options. Most jobs will still require some form of communication, but ones such as the list above could have less, or the communication could be done online instead of face-to-face! These jobs aren’t just for introverts though! They might be more appealing to introverts, but they aren’t just for them!
How does personality affect your OC’s role in the story?
In terms of the role in the story your OC has, personality will affect that too! Different personalities might be better suited for different story roles! A more strategic and calculating character might be better suited for a more supportive role, while a more outgoing and commanding OC might be better as the leader of the group.
You’ll want to consider the kind of person your OC is when choosing what role they play in the story, and use that to help you decide the kinds of things they might do in the story! A more helpful character might be the medic of the group, while a stronger character might be the same group’s defender!
Depending on your story, you might want a character to have a role they’re not actually suited for! A shy and timid OC might be the hero of the story, despite not wanting to be! Them being the hero could help them grow and become more confident as a person. A more prideful and stubborn character might have ended up in a more supportive position, despite wanting to be the leader of the group. The character could learn humility and compassion from their role. Here’s some questions to think about when thinking about personality and your OC’s role:
- Are they more introverted or extroverted?
- Are they confident or timid?
- Should they have a role that suits their personality?
- Should they have a role that doesn’t suit them, but will help them grow?
Questions like the ones above can help you decide the kind of role you can give your character! Thinking about the role your OC has and how it corresponds with their personality can help you figure out what to do! It all depends on the kind of story you want to tell, and the personality of your character!
A good example of using personality to choose a job for your character would be MacaRomy’s OC Ari! Ari is a musician, and he has a dramatic personality fitting for a performer!
Another good example for choosing a role for your OC would be Seren’s OC Jester Seren! Seren is kind and loves to make others laugh, which is the perfect personality for a jester!
What’s your OC’s skills and interests?
Another factor in the job or role your OC could have is their personal interests, or the skills they have! Skills and interests often go hand-in-hand, since usually people try to get better at the things they enjoy doing. Characters will hopefully have a job in something they enjoy and are skilled at!
Different jobs and different roles require different skills that not everyone has! Not everyone wants to work at a zoo, and not everyone has the skills to be a math teacher. It often depends on skill level and preference! Some skills an OC could have are:
- Writing
- Working with people
- Building
- Art
- Combat
- Cooking
There’s lots of different skills an OC can have, and lots of jobs to choose from based on that! It might be odd for a cook to be more skilled in fighting than cooking, and it might also be strange if the group’s defender is better at art than fighting.
People have all kinds of different interests, and it’s nice to have a job you’re interested in! A character might try and find a job in a topic they enjoy, and that will make the job more fun for them! Some interests character might have could include:
- Stars and planets
- Animals
- Food
- Books and movies
- Fashion
- Plants
Basing your OC’s job on their interests could be a fun way to show off what they like! An OC who likes stars might be an astronomer, while a character who likes animals might work in a zoo. A character who likes food might be a baker, and one who likes plants might start up a gardening business! There’s plenty of options to choose from when it comes to jobs based on interest!
A character might have a job that doesn’t fit their interests too! You could use that to help plan your story as well! Maybe they wanted a job that pays higher than one that would’ve fit their interests, and now they’re miserable despite having a lot of money. They could’ve got hired by accident, or they’re just good at something they don’t really enjoy!
What’s the setting of the world?
Another big part in the job or role your OC has is where the story takes place. You probably wouldn’t want a medieval knight in a story set in modern day, and you probably wouldn’t want a robot assassin in ancient times! Unless your OC is a time traveler, you probably want a job that’s fitting for the time period and setting! Some jobs existed earlier than others, and if your story’s set in the future, the job might not even exist in real life yet!
The setting doesn’t have to be just the time period either! You probably won’t find a farmer in a city, or a taxi driver on a deserted island! Lots of places have a different variety of jobs, and they won’t all be the same. Here’s some questions you can think about for the setting of your story:
- What time period does it take place?
- Where does the story take place?
- Would the job depend on the setting?
- Is the story fantasy or realistic?
Questions like the ones above can get you thinking about what kind of job your character could have. Do you have a fantasy character? Maybe they could be a monster hunter! What about a character in the city? They could be a lawyer! Do you have a character on an island in the 1700s? Maybe they could be a pirate!
Once you figure out the setting, you can do research on the kinds of jobs that exist in that time period or place! If you have a more fantasy or sci-fi kind of story, you could take a look at some of your favorite stories for inspiration and ideas! If your story is set in modern day, you could even look at jobs in your area to get an idea what some of the options could be. You could even just look up lists of jobs to help inspire you! Here are some job ideas to get your creativity flowing:
- A zoo keeper
- A Potion maker
- A computer scientist
- A video game coder
- An assassin
- A spy
- A wizard
- A knight
The jobs above are just a few options to choose from. There’s lot of unique jobs that exist in the world, and knowing the setting of your story can help you decide what kind of job to give your OC! The job your OC has doesn’t always have to be setting-accurate either. If you have a more humorous story, then an OC might have a job not fitting for the setting at all! It could be used as a running gag or for a comic relief character. Or if the story involves different universes or time travelers, that could be another reason a character might have a job that wouldn’t usually fit with the setting.
A good example of using the setting for choosing a job for an OC would be Pidge’s OC Aspen! Aspen is a skilled bounty hunter, which is perfect since he lives in a western town!
Another good example of using the setting to choose jobs for characters would be Charli’s OC Olli! Olli is a skilled cartographer, which is a perfect job for sailing the seas!
There are plenty of ways to go about choosing the job your character has or the role they might have in the story! Thinking about your OCs personality, interests, and the setting of the story can all help you decide what kind of job they might have. They could even have multiple jobs! It’s all up to you. While you can use all this when deciding what you’ll do, you don’t have to! It’s your story, so try to have fun with it!