Crew Salaries

[Condottiere]

A profession is a field of work that has been successfully professionalized.[1] It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, professionals, who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted by the public as possessing special knowledge and skills in a widely recognised body of learning derived from research, education and training at a high level, and who are prepared to apply this knowledge and exercise these skills in the interest of others.[2][3]

Professional occupations are founded upon specialized educational training, the purpose of which is to supply disinterested objective counsel and service to others, for a direct and definite compensation, wholly apart from expectation of other business gain.[4] Medieval and early modern tradition recognized only three professions: divinity, medicine, and law,[5][6] which were called the learned professions.[7] In some legal definitions, profession is not a trade[8] nor an industry.[9]

Some professions change slightly in status and power, but their prestige generally remains stable over time, even if the profession begins to have more required study and formal education.[10] Disciplines formalized more recently, such as architecture, now have equally long periods of study associated with them.[11]

Although professions may enjoy relatively high status and public prestige, not all professionals earn high salaries, and even within specific professions there exist significant differences in salary. In law, for example, a corporate defense lawyer working on an hourly basis may earn several times what a prosecutor or public defender earns.


Generally, you get regularly paid by others for work they assume you are qualified to carry out.

 

[swordtart]

A profession is a field of work that has been successfully professionalized.[1] It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, professionals, who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted by the public as possessing special knowledge and skills in a widely recognised body of learning derived from research, education and training at a high level, and who are prepared to apply this knowledge and exercise these skills in the interest of others.[2][3]

Professional occupations are founded upon specialized educational training, the purpose of which is to supply disinterested objective counsel and service to others, for a direct and definite compensation, wholly apart from expectation of other business gain.[4] Medieval and early modern tradition recognized only three professions: divinity, medicine, and law,[5][6] which were called the learned professions.[7] In some legal definitions, profession is not a trade[8] nor an industry.[9]

Some professions change slightly in status and power, but their prestige generally remains stable over time, even if the profession begins to have more required study and formal education.[10] Disciplines formalized more recently, such as architecture, now have equally long periods of study associated with them.[11]

Although professions may enjoy relatively high status and public prestige, not all professionals earn high salaries, and even within specific professions there exist significant differences in salary. In law, for example, a corporate defense lawyer working on an hourly basis may earn several times what a prosecutor or public defender earns.


Generally, you get regularly paid by others for work they assume you are qualified to carry out.

We are talking about the Traveller skill Profession, not any real world definition.

"A Traveller with a Profession skill is trained in producing useful goods or services." Note also "Someone with a Profession skill of 0 has a general grasp of working for a living but little experience beyond the most menial jobs." So as far as Traveller is concerned bussing tables or stacking shelves requires Profession-0.

I try to read good into every MGT2 rule, but I have a bad feeling about this one.

 

[Condottiere]

I'd say you still need recognized certification, once you get beyond the trainee stage.

In theory, profession/zero can be acquired as a background skill.

 

[rinku]

A dictionary definition of Profession isn't going to override a game rule.

Really, the MOST menial jobs require no formal Skill at all. Stacking shelves or sweeping floors is probably just Endurance. Bussing tables or washing dishes is probably just Dexterity. Strength for chopping wood.

My take is that Profession-0 is a step up from those - minimum requirement for operating a checkout or waiting tables. Something that requires formal training but not too much.

 

[Condottiere]

Useful goods or services does imply people are willing to pay for them.

This seems more of a cascade skill, like Jack of All Trades.

Though, specialization might be only minus one for the product or service, as opposed to having an actual skill for a specific task.

You could, in theory, have the profession of a starship engineer.

Profession/zero could be acquired by having a part time position at the neighbourhood MacDonald's.

 

[swordtart]

It is interesting that Profession is the only skill with specialisms that Profession-0 does not provide a skill in any of them according to the wording.

"Unlike other skills with specialties, levels in the Profession skill do not grant the ability to use other specialties at level 0."

So Profession(Belter)-1 will not remove the unskilled penalty when attempting a Profession(Construction) check. You do not act as if you had Profession(Construction)-0. On that basis Profession would need to have a specialisation defined at level 0 for you to be able to use it as Professional(Construction)-0 and you wouldn't be able to use it for any other Profession.

My till training took 20 minutes and that was before barcode scanning became the norm. Profession-0 basically means you can follow a process that you have been given. A shop-assistant without Profession-0 is probably one of those irritating people who think their job is somewhere to be seen and hang out with friends rather than to provide a service.

I can't see it getting much use in any campaign I run as it is poorly defined and doesn't really work even in it's target niche. Cr250 per month per effect isn't going to meet even subsistence living costs for the average wage slave unless you fudge the numbers. If you are going to do that, why even have the skill.

You would think someone with Mechanic-3 would make a decent wage, but RAW means unless they have Profession(Mechanic) at some level they can't even earn a subsistence living.

 

[Condottiere]

Hire a general manager, with whatever profession/one specialization optimizes the running of a garage.

They can deal with administration, and customer relations.

In theory, on the assumption this is what is intended.

 

[rinku]

You would think someone with Mechanic-3 would make a decent wage, but RAW means unless they have Profession(Mechanic) at some level they can't even earn a subsistence living.

This text from the skill description on p.70 probably covers that:

"Also note that on some worlds other skills, such as Animals or Electronics (computers), may be used to earn a living in the same manner as Profession skills."

Mechanic is definitely one of those skills. So you don't really need Profession (Mechanic), unless you want a character who's experienced in running a workshop but doesn't do the grease work themselves. You could just use Admin, but a boss with the professional skill has specific expertise in everything to do running a workshop outside of fixing stuff and could use the skill for any relevant task within that narrow scope (doing the taxes, ordering parts, finding customers, advertising, negotiating contracts etc).

Also, it's probably worth mentioning that that earnings rule is just an example for a gig worker between positions, or doing side hustles. Clearly it can't cover most people's costs of living, so cannot be how most people work. Usually you would expect a skilled Mechanic to find a stable job, but that's not covered there. Shipboard mechanics get Cr1000 plus a 50% bonus per extra skill level, but those have their food, board and shipboard entertainment covered.

 

[swordtart]

This text from the skill description on p.70 probably covers that:

"Also note that on some worlds other skills, such as Animals or Electronics (computers), may be used to earn a living in the same manner as Profession skills."

Mechanic is definitely one of those skills. So you don't really need Profession (Mechanic), unless you want a character who's experienced in running a workshop but doesn't do the grease work themselves. You could just use Admin, but a boss with the professional skill has specific expertise in everything to do running a workshop outside of fixing stuff and could use the skill for any relevant task within that narrow scope (doing the taxes, ordering parts, finding customers, advertising, negotiating contracts etc).

Also, it's probably worth mentioning that that earnings rule is just an example for a gig worker between positions, or doing side hustles. Clearly it can't cover most people's costs of living, so cannot be how most people work. Usually you would expect a skilled Mechanic to find a stable job, but that's not covered there. Shipboard mechanics get Cr1000 plus a 50% bonus per extra skill level, but those have their food, board and shipboard entertainment covered.

Where is it written that Profession only covers side gigs, it is one of only two skills that the average non-combatant NPC has it must therefore be how they earn their living. The earnings rule is also for a MONTHLY wage if you are working at a job for a month it is hardly a side hustle.

The quote above basically undermines how pointless the Profession skill is. Most employees in a stellar society will be using Admin in their job. Droids can do the labouring. It would be pretty daft to say someone with Profession(Clerk) didn't have admin skills, but that would upend the rule that Profession doesn't give you actual skills. Just like Profession(Belter) doesn't give you any specific skills that would plausibly be essential for an actual Belter.

The skill is broken, you can try to justify it all sorts of ways but it all just unravels There is no good reason to take it and so it just becomes a penalty skill for those careers where it features heavily (like citizen).

 

[MasterGwydion]

Where is it written that Profession only covers side gigs, it is one of only two skills that the average non-combatant NPC has it must therefore be how they earn their living. The earnings rule is also for a MONTHLY wage if you are working at a job for a month it is hardly a side hustle.

It is the same rule that says that the rules in the books are just for PCs and not for NPCs in the universe.

The skill is broken, you can try to justify it all sorts of ways but it all just unravels There is no good reason to take it and so it just becomes a penalty skill for those careers where it features heavily (like citizen).

Agreed.

 

[rinku]

It's there as a coverage skill for jobs, or aspects of jobs that don't use another skill or don't *have* another skill.

 

[MasterGwydion]

Profession (pilot), but with no Pilot skill. lol
Profession (gunner), but no Gunnery skill.

 

[rinku]

Specifically, Profession is for making things or providing a service.

Reading Mechanic again, it actually says you can only use it for maintenance and repairs, so a factory worker building cars is using something like Profession (Machinist), even though Mechanic is used to repair and service them.

Sometimes there is overlap. Profession (Chef) and Steward both cover preparation of meals, but also each cover different areas. Steward is the whole customer service package, while Profession (Chef) would cover running a kitchen and suggests a higher skill in cooking.

 

[boggo2300]

thats not what Stewards to IRL though, they are more closely related (in the food area) to waiters, Stewards serve the meals prepared by the ships cook or cooks. I think it's a mistake that the Steward skill description includes Cooking. certainly not IMTU

 

[rinku]

Steward is one of those job titles that can mean a great many different things in different contexts. Racing Stewards are very different to a medieval estate manager.

But in Traveller use it's pretty clear it derives from US Merchant Marine usage:

Chief steward - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

If Marc Miller had been British it's possible the skill would be called Purser.

 

[Condottiere]

Profession/pilot.

 

[CordwainerFish]

If Marc Miller had been British

or read more Heinlein growing up

it's possible the skill would be called Purser.

 

[rinku]

Well, his Dad was US Navy so that might have been a factor as well.