Jobs in Poland
Talking about where you work and what you do is a common topic of conversation in most languages. Not only is it an integral part of introductions and self-description (or indeed, when it comes to describing others), but it is important vocabulary when making plans, or describing your routine. You may simply want to tell someone what it is you work as, or perhaps say what your partner does for a living, or, you may want to explain that you can't make an appointment because you will be working at that time. Whatever the reason, having the right vocabulary surrounding work, is a step in the right direction when it comes to discussing work and routines in Polish. So, let's have a look at some useful stuff.
The Polish word for 'work' is praca. You may already be able to tell by its '-a' ending that it is a feminine noun. This is something worth bearing in mind, as many usages of the word will require you to conjugate in accordance with cases where there are specific rules for feminine inanimate nouns such as this. The Polish usage of praca is virtually identical to the usage of the English noun 'work'. So, you can make it the object of a sentence and use a variety of verbs to express meaning; you can, say 'I have work', for example, 'mam pracę' (notice the '-ę' ending that indicates an accusative noun conjugation required for using 'praca' as an object of a transitive verb).
Other useful and common sentences that will use the noun 'praca' include, 'idę do pracę' (I am going to work), 'moja praca jest interesująca' (my work is interesting), and szukam pracy (I am looking for work). Using these sentences structures you should be able to develop your vocabulary to say a lot more things about work, and say it more specifically. For example, you could say that you are going to work at a specific time in the future, by adding the phrase 'do jutra' (tomorrow), to the first sentence, for example ('jutro idę do pracy'), or simply use another adjective to describe how you find your job in the second instance, 'moja praca jest nudna' (my job is boring), for example.
The word 'robota' is also a Polish word for 'work', but is a little less formal and rigid. It's also a feminine noun, so it follows the same rules as 'praca' when it comes to case conjugation, and it can be used in exactly the same way: jutro idę do roboty (I am going to work tomorrow), and 'moja robota jest bardzo interesująca' (my work is very interesting), for example.
If you want to ask someone what they work as, you must use the interrogative 'co' (what), in the instrumental case (as this is what's used to talk about what someone does). The instrumental form of 'co' is 'kim', so you're question - if addressed to a stranger (using the formal) - should read, 'kim pan/pani jest z zawodu?' (literally: 'what is your profession sir/madam?').
To answer that same question, it's just a matter of using the instrumental case in conjunction with the verb 'to be' in the first person ('jestem'). So, you can say you're a journalist by saying, 'jestem dziennikarzem' (I am a journalist), or perhaps a policeman with the sentence, 'jestem policjantem (I am a policeman). Notice here the added -em' ending; this is the instrumental case rule in practice, and signifies that the profession is that of the speaker. There are also different instrumental forms for male and female speakers, so watch out for the changing endings for each.