Job Title Suffixes : -er -or & -ist
Is there any rule which tells us when to use ....er or ....or and when to use .....ist at the end of a job name?
There are no rules, I'm afraid, although a number of patterns emerge. Unskilled or semi-skilled job-holders are often denoted with …er, whilst those in scientific or medical professions are often designated with …ist. But there are many exceptions.
The …er suffix is very common, but so is …or. The …ist ending is also quite common, but so is …ant. We also have …ant (accountant, shop assistant, civil servant, flight attendant), …man (postman, fireman, dustman, barman, draughtsman, fisherman), …ess (waitress, hostess, Headmistress) …ee (trainee, employee) and …ive (representative, machine operative), etc.