List of obsolete occupations

Occupations which appear to be obsolete in industrialized countries may still be carried out commercially in other parts of the world, for example charcoal burner.

To be included in this list an obsolete occupation should in the past have employed significant numbers of workers (hundreds or thousands as evidenced by, for example, census data).

Terms which describe groups of people carrying out a variety of roles, but which are not specific occupations, are excluded from this list even if they are obsolete, for example conquistador or retinue.

Foreign language terms for existing occupations are excluded, for example korobeinik or Laukkuryssä which are types of peddler.

Only occupations which are notable, well-defined, and adequately documented in secondary sources are included in this list.