Различия слов «Work» и «Job»

Дэвид очень любит объяснять различия синонимичных слов для студентов, изучающих английский язык. Сегодня он расскажет о разнице между словами «Work» и «Job», а также приведет примеры полезных словосочетаний с ними.

There is some confusion about the difference between the words «Work» and «Job», so let’s take a look at these.

 A job is a regular and official activity that you do, and receive money for your activity. It is also called a profession or an occupation. You can have a full-time job (40 hours a week) or a part-time job (around 25 hours a week or less). Here are some common collocations:

Job hunt: looking for a job
Job openings: a company has vacancies it needs to fill
A demanding job: a job that requires a lot of effort or long hours
Entry-level job: a job that doesn’t require a lot of experience or skill, but won’t pay well
Dead-end job: a job without any opportunities to advance within the company
Lucrative job: a job that pays a lot of money

Don’t forget that «Job» is a countable noun. Here are some examples of it in context:

After graduating from college, I worked two jobs to pay off my student loans faster.
Terry has had seven jobs in the past five years.

 The word «Work» is more general than «Job»  — whereas «Job» is a specific occupation/profession, «Work» refers to general efforts and activities done to accomplish a goal. «Work» can be done both inside an official job and outside a job!

Work at/for (company): Jack works at Apple.
Work on (task/project): I can’t go out this weekend; I’m working on a term paper.
Work with (people/things): Blake works with hazardous chemicals.

The word «Work» also refers to the context of your place of employment — so we can say:

I start work at 7 AM. (not «I start my job at 7 AM»)
I get off work / leave work at 4:30. (not «I finish my job at 4:30») — An informal way to say «leave work» is «get off work»
I go/drive to work every day. (not «I go/drive to my job»)
I went to the bar with some friends from work.
I can’t access Facebook when I’m at work. (not «at my job»)

Finally, remember that «Work» is uncountable. Because of this, we use various other words to describe an amount of work or the kind of work we have to do:

I have three projects to do this week.
I have three things / tasks to do this week.
I have three assignments to do this week.