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40d:Skill
Profession tends to describe what a dwarf does best. This is usually, but not always based on their best skills. The skill a dwarf has in an area determines how well that dwarf accomplishes jobs in that area. A dwarf may have great skill, but until you designate a labor, and then the dwarf takes and finishes a job, nothing get done.
Skills increase in rank with experience; every time a person completes a task successfully, the corresponding skill will increase by an amount of experience points (XP). Once the XP reach the amount required for the next level, the rank will increase.
Any dwarf can have any labor activated, even if they have absolutely no experience or levels in that skill. The only difference is the speed they complete the task, and/or the quality of the final product.
Profession
Professions are determined in one of two ways. For the majority of the population, the highest skill or skills of a dwarf determines their profession. Also, as your fortress grows, some unique professionals will arrive, one-of-a-kind dwarfs who perform a very specific function in the community - even if that function is not always appreciated or welcome. Such immigrant nobles will be labeled with their noble "professions", regardless of any skills. Also, a dwarven "baby" or "child" will carry that label as their "profession" until they are adults. (Appointed noble titles do not affect professions, but may affect skills used and improved.)
Activating or de-activating a dwarf for the military does not change their profession. Having some military skills with lesser ranks than civilian skills does not make a dwarf a professional soldier. If a Wood Cutter has some lesser ranks in Axedwarf or a Hunter has some lower ranks in Marksdwarf, they are still a Wood Cutter or Hunter, civilian professions, if those are their highest skills. A dwarf with 1 rank of Axedwarf may be an axedwarf if that's their highest skill, while a dwarf with 12 ranks in axedwarf will be a Brewer if brewing is their highest skill.
A dwarf's profession also governs the possibility and likelihood, relative to the rest of the population, of entering a strange mood.
Some non-dwarves will show professions that are not available to dwarves, like "Thief", or non-dwarf soldiers with non-dwarf weapons, like a pikeman.
In Adventure Mode, there are professions that are not available or relevant in Fortress Mode, like Drunk or Pikedwarf.
Professions, colors, & skill categories
Different professions are associate with a different color of dwarf. If the profession changes (due to skill levels increasing), the profession may change and the color of the dwarf with that, if appropriate. (See chart below for colors associated to skills and professions.) A dwarf with the "peasant" profession is a dwarf that only has skills as shown in the "No profession" box below and isn't an active military member.
Some professions relate directly to one specific, (usually) dominant skill - "Bowyer" or "Wood Cutter" or "Wood Crafter", for example. However some professions are a general category for similar skills - "Woodworker", in the instance of the previous 3 examples, would imply similar expertise with 2 or more skills in that one category. The exact math varies as to how and when one profession vs another is chosen due to differences in and combinations of skill levels, but usually it's the highest skill(s). If two skills are tied, it's the one listed first for that particular dwarf.
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- (Note - exact colors may vary with different tile-sets or settings in init.txt. The above are correct for standard DF.)
Social skills, Broker skills, swimming and throwing do not affect profession. Military skills do not affect civilian professions (until they become Heroes).
When a dwarf is activated as a soldier, their listed profession is generated by their best weapon skill. Armor User and Shield User do not affect these military professions. Note that in the military menu you can assign a dwarf a different weapon, to fight or train with, than what is listed as their profession. A soldier with no military skills above the rank of dabbling is called a "recruit".
When increases in a dwarf's skills cause their profession to change, an announcement is generated. Any dwarf can change professions if they train (enough) with a different skill.
Custom profession labels
It is possible to give a dwarf a custom profession name, similar to giving them a nickname, through the units list or by viewing them individually, or before embark if you are "preparing carefully" by viewing them in that menu. This custom label has no effect on color, or on the actual profession that the dwarf is associated with in the game. You can label them as Dyer or Duke or Dragonslayer, Wood Cutter or Weaponsmith or the Grand Wazoo, but if their skill levels determine that they're a Farmer, then they're a Farmer, until their skills change that.
Skills
Skills are distinct from labor preferences, which are distinct from jobs, but all are closely related. A skill reflects the amount of experience a dwarf has. With (or without) that skill, they can be assigned one or more different labor preferences in their individual labor menu, general activities that you approve them pursuing. Once they accept a particular assignment, a job is generated and they proceed to apply their skill to that job.
A single skill can be applied to many different jobs. For instance, a Bone Carver might carve a totem out of a skull, craft bone practice bolts for a crossbow, create bone armor, or carve bone crafts to trade. The better the skill, the better and/or faster all these jobs will be accomplished.
Note that many labor preferences, especially hauling, have no associated skill, do not generate experience, and do not improve with practice.
Starting a new skill
Dwarven peasants and members of other trades can learn a new skill by having the labor associated with the skill turned on in their preferences screen. The first task related to their new skill they preform will grant them the "Dabbling" skill level. Dwarves may then advance through the skill ranks listed below.
Skill ranks
To reach Novice rank in any skill requires 500 XP. Reaching each successive rank requires an additional 100 XP, so to go from Novice to No label requires 600 XP; No label to Competent requires 700 XP, and so on. The following figures are the cumulative XP needed to go from unskilled to any given skill ranking.
Although Legendary is the highest skill rank displayed, there are actually five skill rankings above it. These higher skill ranks are known to have an effect on item quality; a Legendary dwarf will make masterpiece items 15% of the time, on average, where a Legendary+5 dwarf will make masterpieces 27% of the time (and exceptional items the other 73% of the time). Skill beyond Legendary+5 does not increase the probability of creating a masterpiece item.
You can't find out exactly when a dwarf gets to Legendary+5, but it will happen 1000 XP before their eighth attribute if they have no other skills -- so when they get eight attributes, they are at Legendary+5. Although skill is capped at Legendary+5, experience is not capped at any rank; a dwarf can keep gaining attributes by using a skill that has long since maxed out.
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Skills with odd associated labors
Each skill has a corresponding labor which is usually named similarly - Miners do Mining, Carpenters do Carpentry, etc. However, there are several notable exceptions:
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See also: Labor