Asking
Kerja apa? ‘What do you do?’
Pekerjaannya apa? Slightly more formal.
Kerja di mana? ‘Where do you work?’
The second question is asked as often as the first, and answering with a company name is normal.
The pe- prefix builds professions
pe attached to a verb gives you the person who does it, and this is one of the most productive patterns in the language.
ajar ‘teach’ → pengajar ‘teacher’
jual ‘sell’ → penjual ‘seller’
beli ‘buy’ → pembeli ‘buyer’
kerja ‘work’ → pekerja ‘worker’
tulis ‘write’ → penulis ‘writer’
The prefix changes shape by the same rules as me-, which you met in the affixes chapter. If you can strip a me- verb, you can build its pe- noun.
The common jobs
guru ‘teacher’
dokter ‘doctor’
perawat ‘nurse’
polisi ‘police’
petani ‘farmer’
nelayan ‘fisherman’
sopir ‘driver’
pelayan ‘waiter’
karyawan ‘employee’
For anyone modern
wiraswasta ‘self-employed’
freelance borrowed and understood
Kerja online. ‘I work online.’
That last one, from the A1 introductions lesson, covers most of what foreigners in Bali do and ends the question without further explanation.
Tukang, again
From the household lesson: tukang plus a trade names the tradesman. It sits below ahli ‘expert’ and above nothing, and it carries no insult.
Retired and unemployed
Sudah pensiun. ‘I’m retired.’
Lagi nganggur. ‘I’m between jobs.’
Nganggur is casual and said without embarrassment, more lightly than the English “unemployed”.
What you’ll actually hear
What the book says: Apa pekerjaan Anda saat ini?
What you’ll hear: Kerja apa sekarang?