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REET Level 1 · Environmental Studies (EVS)

Occupations — REET EVS Notes

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This page covers the Occupations topic from REET EVS's 'Us and Our Livelihood' unit — types of occupations, their classification, and the rural-urban divide. It matters because EVS textbooks use this as a foundational unit for understanding the world around us.

  • 0 questions in REET 2024
  • Class 1–5 level
  • 8 min read
Verified 17 September 2026 · Source: NCERT EVS curriculum framework reference

How REET asks this topic

REET 2024 did not carry a direct question from Occupations. In the syllabus, it sits under EVS's 'Environmental Studies' section, where children learn to recognise and classify the work happening around them. In the exam, expect questions on classifying occupations (primary/secondary/tertiary) or identifying examples of a given occupation.

What is an occupation?

An occupation is the work or activity a person regularly performs to earn a livelihood — a farmer farms, a tailor stitches clothes, a teacher teaches. Everyone's occupation depends on their own skills, education, resources and local opportunities, which is why village and city occupations look so very different.

At the primary level, EVS teaches children that every occupation is essential to society and that no work is 'big' or 'small' — this value-based understanding is specifically emphasised in the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) as well.

Classification of occupations

CategoryDescriptionExamples
Primary occupationsWork that draws raw material directly from natureFarming, animal husbandry, fishing, mining, forestry
Secondary occupationsWork that converts raw material into productsWeaving, carpentry, blacksmithing, pottery, factory production
Tertiary/Service occupationsWork that provides servicesTeachers, doctors, shopkeepers, drivers, bank employees

This three-tier classification is taught identically in both EVS and Social Studies.

How rural and urban occupations differ

Rural occupations
Dominated mainly by agriculture, animal husbandry, pottery, weaving and other farm- and cottage-industry-based work.
Urban occupations
Dominated mainly by factories, offices, shops, transport and the service sector (education, health, banking).
Organised & unorganised sector
Work bound by rules on wages, leave and security is called the organised sector (e.g. government jobs); work without fixed rules is the unorganised sector (e.g. street vending, daily-wage labour).
Migration
Migration from rural areas to cities in search of employment is India's biggest driver of occupation-related movement.
Self-employment
Starting one's own work with one's own capital and skill — a small shop, a handicraft unit, or farming — is called self-employment; it forms a large part of India's unorganised sector.

In the Rajasthan context

Rajasthan is a predominantly agriculture- and livestock-based state, so a large share of its population works in primary occupations (farming, animal husbandry, mining) — the state leads the country in mineral wealth (marble, gypsum, limestone), which creates large-scale employment in mining and construction-material industries. The state's handicrafts and cottage industries (secondary occupations) also traditionally employ a large population, especially rural women and artisan families.

Tourism is an important pillar of Rajasthan's tertiary sector — millions of people working in hotels, as guides, in handicraft sales and transport depend on tourism for their livelihood, which is why using tourism as an example when discussing local occupations in an EVS classroom comes naturally to children.

Besides this, occupations like camel-rearing and sheep/goat-rearing form the backbone of life in desert and semi-arid regions, since water scarcity limits intensive farming there. Similarly, handicraft-based small industries in cities like Jodhpur and Jaipur provide employment to large numbers of people, showing clearly how a region's geography directly shapes people's occupations.

Why occupations change

Occupations change over time — technology, the spread of education and shifts in market demand are the main reasons. For example, weavers who once worked entirely by hand now use machines, and traditional potters now make decorative items alongside pots to keep up with changing market demand. Understanding such changes teaches children that occupations are dynamic, not fixed.

Climate and geography also determine a region's dominant occupation — desert regions favour animal husbandry and camel-rearing, while areas along rivers see more irrigated farming. Teaching this connection in EVS builds children's understanding of the relationship between environment and human livelihood, which becomes a foundation for Social Studies later on. Put side by side, the three-tier classification and Rajasthan's own economy line up neatly: primary occupations draw raw material straight from nature — farming, animal husbandry, fishing, mining and forestry — and this is exactly the category that employs most of Rajasthan's population, given the state's strength in agriculture, livestock and mineral wealth such as marble, gypsum and limestone. Secondary occupations, which turn that raw material into a finished product — weaving, carpentry, blacksmithing, pottery and factory work — show up in Rajasthan's handicrafts and cottage industries, which traditionally employ large numbers of rural women and artisan families. And tertiary or service occupations — teaching, medicine, shop-keeping, driving, banking — are visible in Rajasthan above all through tourism, which alone supports the livelihoods of millions of people working as hotel staff, guides, transport operators and handicraft sellers.

How to teach children

Survey activity

Having children list the occupations of people in their family and neighbourhood, then classify them as primary/secondary/tertiary, is an excellent activity — it helps them understand the classification through their own experience rather than by rote.

Role play

Letting children act out roles like farmer, tailor, doctor gives them a feel for different kinds of work, teaches respect for every occupation, and makes learning genuinely enjoyable.

Common misconception

Children often rank occupations as 'big' or 'small', especially tying this to caste or economic status — the teacher should carefully correct this by explaining the social value of every occupation.

Teaching aids

Showing picture cards of different occupations or samples of local artisans' tools in class boosts both interest and long-term retention of the topic.

Assessment

Showing a picture and asking 'what work is this person doing, and which category does it fall in', or having children sequence a product's journey (from raw material to finished item), is a simple and effective way to assess understanding.

A trick to remember

Remember the order for the three categories — 'take from nature (primary), make (secondary), serve (tertiary)' — that is, extracting raw material, transforming it, then providing a service; this same order also traces the journey of any product.

Practice Questions

Question 1

Which category of occupation is farming?

  1. Aप्राथमिक
  2. Bद्वितीयक
  3. Cतृतीयक
  4. Dइनमें से कोई नहीं

Explanation

Farming draws crops (raw material) directly from nature, so it's a primary occupation.

Question 2

Which category of occupation is weaving cloth?

  1. Aप्राथमिक
  2. Bद्वितीयक
  3. Cतृतीयक
  4. Dअसंगठित सेवा

Explanation

Weaving turns raw material (thread) into a product (cloth), so it's a secondary occupation.

Question 3

Doctors, teachers and bank employees belong to which category?

  1. Aप्राथमिक
  2. Bद्वितीयक
  3. Cतृतीयक (सेवा)
  4. Dकुटीर उद्योग

Explanation

Doctors, teachers and bank employees provide services, so they fall under tertiary (service) occupations.

Question 4

Which is the most appropriate feature of unorganised sector work?

  1. Aनिश्चित वेतन व सामाजिक सुरक्षा
  2. Bबिना निश्चित शर्तों वाला अनियमित काम
  3. Cकेवल सरकारी नौकरियाँ
  4. Dकेवल कृषि कार्य

Explanation

The unorganised sector has no fixed terms of work, wage security or social security — like daily-wage labour.

Question 5

What is the most suitable activity to teach occupations to Class 3 children?

  1. Aकेवल पाठ्यपुस्तक पढ़ना
  2. Bमोहल्ले के व्यवसायों की सूची बनवाना व वर्गीकृत करवाना
  3. Cपरीक्षा में सीधे प्रश्न पूछना
  4. Dकेवल व्याख्यान देना

Explanation

Experience-based activities (surveys, making lists) are the most effective way to learn EVS at the primary level.

Question 6

Rajasthan's population is most dependent on which type of occupation?

  1. Aकृषि व पशुपालन (प्राथमिक)
  2. Bसूचना प्रौद्योगिकी
  3. Cबड़े कारखाने
  4. Dसमुद्री मछली पालन

Explanation

Rajasthan is predominantly an agriculture- and livestock-based state, so a large share of its rural population works in primary occupations.

Question 7

Mining belongs to which category of occupation?

  1. Aप्राथमिक
  2. Bद्वितीयक
  3. Cतृतीयक
  4. Dसेवा क्षेत्र

Explanation

Mining extracts minerals (raw material) directly from nature, so it's a primary occupation.

Question 8

Which of the following pairs is NOT correctly matched?

  1. Aकिसान — प्राथमिक
  2. Bबढ़ई — द्वितीयक
  3. Cबैंक कर्मचारी — तृतीयक
  4. Dमछुआरा — तृतीयक

Explanation

Fishing draws a resource directly from nature, so it's a primary occupation, not tertiary.

Question 9

What is the movement of people from rural to urban areas for employment called?

  1. Aप्रवासन (Migration)
  2. Bशहरीकरण की समाप्ति
  3. Cऔद्योगीकीकरण
  4. Dवैश्वीकरण

Explanation

The movement of people from rural areas to cities in search of employment is called migration.

Question 10

As a teacher, what attitude towards occupations should be taught to children?

  1. Aकुछ व्यवसाय श्रेष्ठ व कुछ निम्न हैं
  2. Bहर व्यवसाय का समाज में समान सम्मान व महत्व है
  3. Cकेवल शहरी व्यवसाय महत्वपूर्ण हैं
  4. Dकेवल सरकारी नौकरी ही सही व्यवसाय है

Explanation

The value-based aim of the EVS curriculum is precisely that children see every occupation with equal respect.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many questions come from the Occupations topic in REET?+

REET 2024 didn't carry a direct question from this topic, but since it's part of the syllabus, a classification-based question could appear in future years.

What's the difference between primary and secondary occupations?+

Primary occupations draw raw material directly from nature (like farming), while secondary occupations process that raw material into a useful product (like weaving cloth).

What are examples of tertiary occupations?+

Teachers, doctors, bank employees, shopkeepers, drivers — these all provide services, which is why they fall under the tertiary (service) sector.

What is the unorganised sector?+

Work with no fixed conditions, wage security or social-security rules — like daily-wage labour or street vending — is called the unorganised sector.

Which occupation employs the largest population in Rajasthan?+

Rajasthan is a predominantly agriculture- and livestock-based state, so most of its rural population is engaged in primary occupations.

What's the difference between occupation and employment?+

Occupation is the broad activity of earning a livelihood, while employment usually refers to working under an organisation or employer to earn wages — self-employment is also a form of occupation.

Which occupation sector does tourism fall under in Rajasthan?+

Tourism is a service, so it falls under the tertiary occupation sector, and it makes a large contribution to Rajasthan's economy.

Read next

Addiction & Its Effects

Previous topic — causes, effects and prevention of addiction.

Cottage Industries of Rajasthan

Next topic — the state's major cottage industries and their centres.

REET Syllabus

The complete REET Level 1 and Level 2 syllabus in detail.

REET 2024 Solved Paper

All REET 2024 questions with explanations.

Official Sources

  1. NCERT EVS curriculum framework reference
  2. Rajasthan economic profile — mining & handicrafts

Change Log

  • 17 September 2026 — English page published — mirrors the fact-checked Hindi page, independently bilingual-accuracy checked