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Adaptational Job Change

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"Frollo really gets to have a lot of different jobs, doesn't he? Frollo was the Archdeacon in the book, he was a judge in the Disney one, but now the greatest Frollo of them all is the Sheriff of Notre Dame!"
— Phelous in his The Secret of the Hunchback review

A character in an adaptation, remake, reboot, Alternate Continuity and so on has a different occupation than in the original source material.

This can happen for a number of reasons. It could be the original job may not have paid a lot, didn't suit the character or maybe because of changes in technology or society. The job may also be left out of the adaptation or become an Informed Attribute if the adaptation simply has no narrative use for it.

This trope is different from New Job as the Plot Demands; that trope usually involves the character changing jobs within a continuity. And this is not to be confused with Adaptation Dye-Job, where just a character's hair color changes. They might also pick up an Adaptational Skill to go with their new job. See also Composite Character, where a character might have the name of one from the original, but the job of another. Sometimes overlaps with an Adaptational Backstory Change, when it's about a job they had in the past.

Examples:

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    Anime and Manga 
  • In the TBS version of Aggretsuko, Boss Buffalo/Yagyū held some position of authority, as implied by his sub name, while in the Netflix version, he's just another employee.
  • Bokurano:
    • Takami "Komo" Komoda's father is a naval officer in the manga and a Diet member in the anime. In both cases, he's the one who Komo first tells about Zearth, and helps bring it to the government's attention.
    • Kanji's mother's job is tied to the Ascension Towers in both versions, but in different ways. In the manga, she was an architect and assistant director of the project to build the towers, while in the anime, she's a scientist who works in the towers.
    • Daichi's uncle, Kengo works in construction in the manga, and owns a newspaper in the anime. As a result, Daichi helps his uncle with construction in the manga and is a paperboy in the anime.
  • In the original Bubblegum Crisis, Linna was an aerobics instructor and later a stockbroker in Crash. In 2040, she's an officer worker.
  • Excuse Me Dentist, It's Touching Me!: In the One-shot, Tomori was not mentioned to have any connection to the Yakuza, here, he is the second in command of another family.
  • Almost all of the adults in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha INNOCENT have a different job than they do in the main series (though this is pretty much required since it's an Elementary School AU for a work of Military Science Fiction). The only constant is that Nanoha's family still runs a cafe (and even then, her father is a barista instead of a baker).
  • Mycroft Holmes of Moriarty the Patriot works as Britain's Secretary of State, while in the original stories, his position was never made entirely clear. In the original "The Greek Interpreter", Sherlock describes Mycroft's role as one who efficiently provides information for the other departments as they need it, and that there "has never been anything like it before, nor will be again".
  • Pokémon: The Series:
    • In Pokémon Red and Blue Misty is a gym leader. In the anime, her three older sisters (who are Canon Foreigners) are the gym leaders of her gym instead. This was later reversed when Misty was Put on the Bus as Ash's travelling companion. Misty is now a gym leader while her sisters are travelling.
    • In Pokémon Gold and Silver, Blue is shown to have become the new gym leader of Virdian Gym. His anime counterpart, Gary, however, instead ends up aiming to be a Pokemon Professor like his grandfather, while the role of new Viridian gym leader is instead taken by Agatha, who in the games is an Elite Four member.
    • In Pokémon Sun and Moon, as part of the player's journey, they encounter the seven Trial Captains throughout the Alola region. However in the anime, the Trial Captains position doesn't exist. Four of the Trial Captains, Kiawe, Lana, Sophocles, and Mallow are instead fellow students at the Pokémon School Ash goes to. The remaining three, Ilima, Acerola and Mina are just trainers they meet along the way. They do all participate in the region's first Pokémon League tournament.
  • Sailor Moon: What Reika is studying in school (so she can have that job later) changed from mineralogy in the manga to archaeology in the anime (though it resembles paleontology more when we see her in episode 41). Also what college she's attending changes, from K.O. University like Motoki to Azabu Technical College.
  • In Splatoon, idol singers Callie and Marie are the hosts of Inkopolis News, where they announce the current stages in rotation. In the manga, they not only do that, but they're also Turf War announcers.

    Comic Books 
  • Batman:
    • Batman: Earth One: Alfred is presented as the Waynes' bodyguard rather than butler.
    • Batman/Lobo: Traditionally, Alfred Pennyworth is Bruce Wayne's butler and James Gordon is the police commissioner of Gotham City. Here, it's the other way around.
    • Batman '66: The story "The Quagmire of Clayface" establishes that False-Face is also the 1966 television series continuity's version of Clayface by revealing his real name to be Basil Karlo and having him consume a formula that mutates him into a shape-shifting clay monster. However, this version of Basil Karlo's past before he became False-Face establishes that he was a career criminal rather than an actor.
    • The Batman of Arkham portrays Bruce Wayne as head psychiatrist at Arkham rather than a business tycoon.
    • Golden Streets of Gotham depicts him as Bruno Vanekow, a Polish immigrant factory worker in the Gilded Age. The methodology of the Batman identity is also altered; he's now Just Like Robin Hood rather than a detective or crime fighter as such.
    • In Batman: Hollywood Knight, Byron Wyatt is the owner and star actor of independent Gotham Pictures, portraying Batman in movie serials; the Joker is the mob-affiliated head of a rival studio who wants him dead. Alfred is recast as Al Penny, a prospector who saved Wyatt's life when he was left for dead in the desert.
  • The GoBots miniseries depicts the Guardians' human allies Matt Hunter, Nick Burns and A.J. Foster as a racecar driver, a pilot and an undergrad respectively, when the Challenge of the GoBots cartoon depicted Matt as a pilot and Nick and A.J. as cadets.
  • Green Lantern: Earth One: Hal Jordan in this continuity is an astronaut instead of a test pilot.
  • Jem and the Holograms (IDW):
    • In the Jem cartoon Rio has a vaguely defined job that seems to be related to Jem's band somehow. In the comic reboot he is a music journalist. Unlike in the cartoon, they don't meet until adulthood. Rio's job caused him to become introduced to Jerrica.
    • Kimber in the cartoon wrote all of Jem and the Holograms songs. In the comic this goes to her sister Jerrica (aka Jem, the lead singer), which only adds to her stress.
  • In the original The Jetsons, cartoon George Jetson was a "digital index operator", which basically meant he pushed a button on and off as many as five times for three hours, three days a week, done to demonstrate how easy going an automated future was envisioned to be at the time. In the 2017 comic book adaptation, he's an engineer.
  • Superman:
    • Lex Luthor started out as a war profiteer. In the 1950s, he became a Mad Scientist, and in the 1980s, he was reimagined as a Corrupt Corporate Executive, which almost all incarnations since then follow; likely inspired by his portrayal in the 1978 movie where he's more of a real estate agent. After Superman: Birthright and Infinite Crisis, Lex is a combination of both, which all incarnations since follow as well.
    • In Pre-Crisis Supergirl comics, Zor-El is a scientist like his brother, and Alura In-Ze is mostly presented as the Kryptonian equivalent of a stay-at-home mom. The Post-Crisis version was a confusion of Fake Memories-induced retcons, but at one point it was said that Zor-El was an artist and Alura a scientist. Post-Flashpoint Zor-El goes back to being a scientist.
    • On Pre-Crisis Earth-2, Power Girl's mother Allura In-Z was a VR designer who created the virtual environment Kara lived in while her Symbioship travelled to Earth.
    • Superman's mom Lara Lor-Van was an astronaut in Pre-Crisis continuity. Her Post-Crisis self was a librarian.
  • Transformers: The G1 Episode "War Dawn" depicts Orion Pax as a worker in an energon storage facility. the 2006 IDW Continuity portrays Orion as a police officer, while the 2019 IDW continuity depicts him as a senator.
  • Ultimate Spider-Man:
    • In the original Spider-Man comics, Peter Parker makes a living by selling photographs to the Daily Bugle. In this version, his photos aren't good enough and he instead gets a job developing the Bugle's web site.
    • Maria Hill is a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent turned NYPD detective instead of the head of S.H.I.E.L.D.
    • Mary Jane Watson wants to be in journalism instead of an actress.
    • The Punisher is a former NYPD cop as opposed to a military veteran.
  • Wonder Woman:
    • The Earth-Two Dr. Poison/Maru was an Imperial Japanese war criminal who spent her time doing painful fatal unethical human experimentation. In Wonder Woman (Rebirth), Maru is a mercenary and sharpshooter.
    • In the original Wonder Woman comics, Etta Candy's Holliday Girls were a pseudo-sorority that essentially functioned as an unofficial commando unit, while in The Legend of Wonder Woman (2016) they're a band that ends up playing for allied troops overseas.

    Fan Works 
  • Abraxas (Hrodvitnon): Comparative to Godzilla vs. Kong. Unlike in Godzilla vs. Kong, Mark Russell in this fic's continuity has not rejoined Monarch following the events of Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019).
  • A.S.U.L.: In One Piece Film: Red, Uta is a world-famous singer. In the story, her singing career is used as an excuse to get around for her actual job as a Marine inspector.
  • best served cold (Nyame): Thanks to her relationship with Malcolm, Laurel does not work at CNRI but rather as a defense attorney at a powerful firm focused on corporate and criminal law, as there is no way Malcolm will allow his wife to work for a legal aid office located in the Glades. At the end of the story, she outright quits being a lawyer altogether and goes into charity work, fully expecting to be disbarred due to her involvement in Tempest and having become disillusioned with the law due to her time as a criminal defense attorney.
  • Blessed with a Hero's Heart: Kyouya's two female companions are given different classes to canon. Fio (who goes by the adventurer name Aela here) is a Ranger instead of a Thief, while Clemea is a Thief instead of a Warrior. The author later clarifies this was due to their outfits not matching their classes.
  • Cyberpunk: Another Daybreak: Maine's crew is hired directly by Hiden Intelligence rather than being independent mercs and Cyberpunks. While their old contacts often lambaste them for selling out to Corpos, the generous pay, medical benefits, and protection from Arasaka are too good for the gang to pass up. David also goes from intern to executive Corpo in a hurry by becoming a Kamen Rider.
  • Daria in Morrowind takes place in, well, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, so there aren't any football teams. The story's version of Kevin works as a security guard (as dim-witted as ever) while Maiko serves as a soldier in the Imperial Legion.
  • Family Guy Fanon does this for Hennessey (or Hennessey O'Callaghan). While in the original he was just a fisherman, here he's now the owner of an unnamed fishing company that Peter works for in his fisherman arc in Seasons 3 and 4, basically becoming Peter's boss.
  • Frost Killing Hour: Hans is a member of the Royal Guard instead of a prince from another land.
  • Give In, Give In [and Relish Every Minute of It] is a modern AU where Frollo is a lawyer instead of a justice minister.
  • Gold Poisons features Mo Xuanyu’s mother as a servant instead of a minor noblewoman as in canon.
  • In Hyrule Castle High Hyrule doesn't have a monarchy anymore. Zelda's father is a senator instead of a king.
  • Not the intended use (Zantetsuken Reverse): In Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, Hammer is in the US Army. In the fic, Hammer was in the US Marines before quitting. This change was made according to Word of God to highlight his parallels with Grant from Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse who was a pirate.
  • In the RWBY fic Pawprints, Hunters and Huntress' don't kill Grimm. They instead assassinate animal shapeshifters known as "Panthers", which take the place of Faunus in the Alternate Universe Fic.
  • Pokémon Crossing: Several Animal Crossing characters get different jobs to fit the Pokemon universe:
    • Sable owns a clothing store in Animal Crossing. Here, she owns the Pokémon Day Care.
    • Tom Nook goes from a businessman to the regional Pokémon Professor.
    • Isabelle (known as Shizue in this fic) works as the regional Nurse Joy.
    • Blathers is a professor instead of a museum owner.
  • "Physics of the Spin" opens with Rory Gilmore (Gilmore Girls) shifting her focus from English to mathematics after she learns that her biological father is Rodney McKay (Stargate Atlantis). Despite having only just started, her work proves to be so impressive that it attracts the attention of Stargate Command, with Daniel Jackson at one point only speculating if Rory's intelligence has been enhanced by the Ancients (although tests confirm that she seems to be doing all this on her own merits).
  • Rise from Darkness does this accidentally. Written in 2001, there was still confusion amongst Metroid fans about just what Samus' job entailed. She's a Bounty Hunter yet she doesn't fully fit the criteria. As a result, the fanfic has her as a cold-blooded Professional Killer.
  • In the Thomas & Friends fan series Sodor: The Modern Years, Norman Spencer started out as a deputy controller for the North Western Railway, before becoming the director of North West Package Express (the NWR’s new mail service). In Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure Bad Ending, Norman Spencer is instead a Railway Board member.
  • In Son of the Sannin, Jiraiya is the one who becomes Fifth Hokage following Hiruzen's retirement, whereas Tsunade works as a medic in Konoha's hospital.
  • A Study in Scarlet and Blue: In most depictions, Mary Jane is an actress, supermodel, fashion designer, or somewhere in between thanks to her shockingly good looks. Here, she's a neurosurgeon, although not entirely of her own volition, as Taskmaster pressed her into going through medical school.
  • A Thing of Vikings:
    • Viggo and Ryker are still dragon hunters (at first), but they work for the Catholic Church.
    • Grimmel is also in the church's employ, as a priest, rather than the warlord he is in canon.
    • Drago Bludvist was previously a caravan guard before becoming a dragon hunter, and then a dragon warlord like in the movie.
  • In Think Before You Speak, Inko Midoriya is a lawyer and part of a feared law firm.
  • This Bites!: Downplayed with Nami. While she still has the position of the Straw Hats' Navigator, Luffy also assigns her as the Second Mate after the events of Whiskey Peak.
  • Vigilantes' Dawn: Since Laurel is the one who went on the Gambit with Oliver instead of Sara, she never got the chance to take the LSAT, let alone go to law school. When she gets back to Starling City years later, she gives up her dream of being a lawyer due to her vigilante activities, and instead elects to go into charity work and fundraising.
  • Vow of the King: According to Bambietta, Gerard Valkyrie became a priest after he had a one-night stand with her. As she puts it:
    Candice: Really? You’re so damn bad that you turned him off sex entirely?
    Bambietta: More like I fucked him so good he found God! My pussy is a religious experience!
  • Warriors Redux changes Medicine cats into Seers by removing the nursing element of their job. This was done both because the author disliked the usage of Healing Herbs with obligate carnivores and because cats using herbs was deemed too anthropomorphic.
  • Warriors Rewrite introduces "care takers" as a rank in the four Clans. They help take care of kits, elders, and the Clan in general. Several warriors, such as Ravenpaw, are turned into care takers.
  • In When Reason Fails, Masaru quits the fashion industry in favor of starting a gardening business.

    Films — Animated 
  • 101 Dalmatians: In the novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians, the dalmatian Pongo's human owner has a vaguely-referred-to job in the finance sector. In the animated film, he is a songwriter, giving the filmmakers an excuse to include some song-and-dance numbers.
  • Batman: Gotham by Gaslight: In the original Gotham by Gaslight, a man named Tolliver as Commissioner, who'd become mayor in the sequel Master of the Future; Jim Gordon was an inspector who'd replace Tolliver as Commissioner, and Harvey Bullock (a plain-clothes detective in canon) wasn't in the story. The movie has Tolliver the mayor as already, Jim already at his traditional rank of Commissioner, and fused Bullock with Chief O'Hara and sees Bullock as the Chief of Police.
  • Beauty and the Beast: Beauty's father is a rich merchant. In Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Belle's father Maurice is an inventor.
  • Frozen: In The Snow Queen, Gerda is from a middle-class family. Anna, her counterpart in the movie, is made into a royal princess, the younger sister of the ice-powered queen.
  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney): Frollo is changed from the Archdeacon of Notre Dame to the Minister of Justice, presumably at least partly to avoid controversy from having a man of the cloth as a villain.
  • Reign of the Supermen reimagines Joan Dale, the Golden Age heroine Miss America, from a reporter to basically a No Celebrities Were Harmed version of Hillary Clinton in a "What if Hillary won the 2016 Presidential election?" scenario, which is a reference to the original story seeing her and her husband Bill Clinton in attendance at Superman's funeral during Bill's tenure as President.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie: In the games and most media, Knuckles is portrayed as the guardian of the Master Emerald on Angel Island. Here, Knuckles is a wandering treasure hunter with no mention of any guardian role.
  • Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse:
    • The movie changes the Peter Parker of Spider-Man Noir from a reporter to a private eye.
    • Zigzagged in the case of the Peter that Miles Morales replaces. In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Peter is a webmaster from the Daily Bugle's website. Here, the Peter of Miles's world has the traditional job of photographer.
  • The Super Mario Bros. Movie features Cranky Kong as the king of the jungle kingdom, who gawks at Mario, Toad, and Peach asking for his kong soldiers. In Donkey Kong Country, Cranky Kong didn't have a job at all, having retired before the events of the first game.

    Films — Live-Action 
  • The live-action 101 Dalmatians (1996) has Roger as a video game designer; the original Disney animated film had him as a songwriter.
    • It also makes Cruella de Vil a fashion designer (a job change which seems to have stuck) and Anita one of the employees of her business, while neither the original novel nor the animated film gave them jobs at all (in fact, Cruella was a rich Trophy Wife; the animated film keeps the wealth, but cuts the husband. However, in The Starlight Barking, Cruella de Vil and Co is a new company selling plastic clothes.)
  • Annihilation:
    • Downplayed with Lena. While still a biologist like in the novel, her specialization is implied to have been changed from ecology to cell biology, likely something involving cancernote . This fits with the setting being seen as an ecosystem in the book, while it is compared to a tumor in the movie. She's also got the surveyor's military background from the novel.
    • The other three members of the expedition team were changed from a surveyor, an anthropologist, and a linguist to a geologist, a physicist, and a medic.
  • Batman:
    • In Batman Returns, Catwoman is shown to a secretary to Canon Foreigner Max Shreck. In the Comics she borded on having a Multiple-Choice Past but was never a secretary in any of them.
    • Batman Forever has Riddler go from a former Carnie to a former employee of Wayne Enterprises who starts up his own business.
    • The Dark Knight Trilogy:
      • In Batman: Year One, Jim Gordon is a Lieutenant who gets promoted to Captain in the end and gets promoted to Commissioner after The Long Halloween. In Begins, Gordon is only a sergeant who becomes a lieutenant at the end before becoming Commissioner in The Dark Knight.
      • Batman Begins has Henri Ducard go from a famous French detective to a member of the League Of Shadows (their leader Ra's al Ghul, to be precise). Similarly, Victor Zsasz is changed from a Serial Killer to Professional Killer for Carmine Falcone and Scarecrow goes from a former university professor to one of the head doctors at Arkham Asylum. Lucius Fox is also changed CEO of Wayne Enterprises to head of the WayneTech Applied Sciences Division, though Bruce does make him CEO after becoming Majority-Share Dictator.
      • The Dark Knight has Salvatore Maroni changed from The Rival to Carmine Falcone to a Dragon Ascendant who takes over most of Falcone's operation during the nine-month Time Skip
      • The Dark Knight Rises sees Bane as the leader of the League of Shadows (actually The Dragon, but whatever), a position he never held in the in the comics. (However, Ra's did test to if Bane could be his heir in the comics.)
  • In both the original Beauty and the Beast fairy tale and most adaptations, Beauty's father is a merchant. In the Disney animated version, he is an inventor, while in the Disney live-action version, he makes music boxes for a living. Similarly, Lumiere was the maître d in the original, while in this version, he serves as the first footman.
  • Bicentennial Man:
    • In the original story, Sir was a member of the Regional Legislature (think State Senate), but in the film, Sir builds clocks and other timepieces. He teaches his skills to Andrew, so he's more of a clockmaker than a carpenter.
    • The US Robots regional robopsychologist, Merton Mansky, is promoted to NorthAm CEO Dennis Mansky for the film.
  • Blood & Chocolate (2007): In the book, Aiden and Vivian are both unemployed high school students. In the movie they're too old to be attending high school, so they have paid employment: Vivian works in a chocolate-making shop while Aiden is a professional writer (in the book he writes poetry as a hobby).
  • In the novel Brighton Rock, Ida has no stated profession and is implied to be a sex worker. In the 1948 film, she is an actress and singer.
  • In The Chink and the Child, the protagonist is in the navy. Broken Blossoms changes him into a Buddhist missionary.
  • City of Ember: Bit Character Mrs. Sample is a mender in the book but appears to be a timekeeper in the film, as she keeps track of how long the blackouts last and tasks Lina with spreading the news across town.
  • DC Extended Universe:
    • While he still ended up as a reporter in the Daily Planet, Man of Steel introduces Clark Kent first working at an oil tanker.
    • Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice:
      • Alfred takes after his counterpart in the aforementioned Batman: Earth One in acting as the Wayne's bodyguard instead of their butler.
      • Jimmy Olsen is changed from a journalist at the Daily Planet to an undercover CIA Agent.
    • In Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn is shown to have been a psychiatrist, not a psychologist, prior to becoming a villain.note 
    • The Suicide Squad: In the comics, Peacemaker was a diplomat in his civilian identity. In the film, there's no indication he even has a day job, and his Adaptational Personality Change makes it really unlikely that he had the temperament for diplomacy.
  • In the original Death Wish novel, Paul Benjamin was an accountant. In the 1974 film and 2018 remake, Paul Kersey was respectively an architect and a surgeon.
  • In A Dog's Purpose, Maya is search-and-rescue dog Ellie's second handler after her original one ends up with a Career-Ending Injury. The film adaptation had Ellie being shot and killed instead of her handler. Thus, the film created a Canon Foreigner reincarnation named Tino. Maya was changed into a college student who adopts Tino.
  • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1973) had Sir Danvers be a general instead of a member of Parliament as in the book.
  • Barney Rubble in The Flintstones is Fred's co-worker at the Quarry, while in the cartoon his job wasn't even revealed.
  • In The Giver, Fiona's job is changed from Caretaker of the Old to Nurturer, which allows her to help Jonas and Gabriel escape.
  • Godzilla (2014): In the film, Mr. Boyd in the opening scene is apparently a member of Monarch who's been sent in, whereas in the novelization, he's explicitly an executive of the mining company that accidentally disturbed Adam/Dagon's skeleton and is bewildered by what's going on.
  • Green Lantern features Amanda Waller as a xenobiologist. While the Waller of the comics does hold a doctorate, it's for political science.
  • The Howling (1981): In the novel, Karen works as a convention hostess for a hotel and keeps house the rest of the time, with her husband being the main breadwinner. Here, Karen is a prominent news anchor, which is heavily incorporated into the plot.
  • In the live-action Kim Possible film, Bonnie and Kim are on a soccer team. In the cartoon, they're on the cheerleading squad. As a reference to this, Kim asks Bonnie in the film when cheerleading tryouts are, only to be told that Middleton prefers soccer over football.
  • The film King Ralph was loosely based on a novel by Emlyn Williams titled Headlong. The movie version changes the protagonist from a British stage actor named Jack Green (nee Sandring) to an American lounge singer named Ralph Jones.
  • Madeline has a possible example. In the books and animated series, despite wearing a nun-like dress and veil, Miss Clavel is never explicitly called a nun, and author/illustrator Ludwig Bemelmans' grandson, John Bemelmans Marciano, claims that she isn't a nun, but just a secular teacher who wears a veil because Bemelmans remembered his childhood governess wearing one. In the live-action film, however, she is a nun.
  • Marry Me (2022): In the source material, Guy (Charlie's basis) is a high school guidance counselor. Here he's a math teacher, and Parker is the guidance counselor.
  • Marvel Cinematic Universe:
    • Iron Man:
      • James Rhodes is changed from a former Marine who became Tony Stark's pilot after leaving the military to an active officer in the U.S. Air Force who serves as Stark Industries' military liaison.
      • Obadiah Stane is also changed to being Tony's business partner rather than a rival.
    • The Incredible Hulk:
      • Betty Ross is changed from a Military Brat to a biologist who worked on the same project as Banner.
      • Overlapping with Adaptational Intelligence, Samuel Sterns is a university professor who specializes in cellular biology rather than a janitor.
      • Prior to becoming the Abomination, Emil Blonsky is changed from a Russian KGB Agent to a member of the Royal Marines.
    • Thor changes Jane Foster's job from nurse to astrophysicist.
    • Captain America: The Winter Soldier:
      • Sam Wilson goes from an ex-criminal and social worker to an ex-USAF pararescueman and a VA counselor.
      • Alexander Pierce goes from a S.H.I.E.L.D. field agent to a member of the World Security Council.
      • Sharon Carter starts out as a SHIELD agent like the comics but later joins the CIA.
      • Brock Rumlow goes from a criminal and terrorist to a SHIELD spec ops agent.
    • Ant-Man makes Hank Pym a former SHIELD agent, though he was still a scientist as well. He also eventually retired to run his own technology company, while the comic version of Hank mostly stuck to research.
    • Captain America: Civil War changes Helmut Zemo from a wealthy German aristocrat to a ex-Skovian specials forces operative. This leads to a case of Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames given he was called Baron Zemo in the comics. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier does re-establish him as being a Skovian baron and using the codename Baron when he interacts with the criminal underworld.
    • Spider-Man: Homecoming:
      • The Vulture is changed from an inventor who became a costumed supervillain after being screwed over by his business partner to the head of a salvage company who became an Arms Dealer after being screwed over by the government (and Tony Stark).
      • The Shocker in the comics was an amateur inventor who used his talents to become a safecracker and later, a supervillain. The Homecoming version of the Shocker was an employee at the Vulture's former salvage company who became his enforcer after the group turned to crime.
      • Mac Gargan is a violent criminal instead of a Private Detective.
      • Finally, Betty Brant is changed from J. Jonah Jameson's secretary at the Daily Bugle to one of the teenage anchors for Midtown High's news program.
    • Black Panther:
      • Princess Shuri doesn't really have a job in the comics, but the movie makes her a scientist and the head of the Wakandan Design Group.
      • Nakia went from being a Dora Milaje to a War Dog (Wakanda's spy group).
      • Okoye gets an Adaptation Job Promotion, going from only a noteworthy Dora Milaje in the comics to being The Leader of said order.
      • Zuri went from being a veteran Wakandan soldier to a High Priest who is a retired War Dog.
      • Ayo is already expelled by the Dora Milaje in the comics when introduced, but she's still employed in The Movie.
      • Similar to Okoye, the film version of M'Baku gets promoted to the Wakandan high council at the end of the film.
      • The film makes Erik Kilmonger's father a War Dog and Prince of Wakanda.
      • Everett Ross goes from a US Department of State functionary to a USAF pilot and CIA Agent.
    • Captain Marvel:
      • Maria Rambeau, a seamstress in the comics, is now a pilot in the US Air Force. As revealed in WandaVision, she then becomes the one of the founders of the MCU's version of S.W.O.R.D.
      • Minn-Erva is a Kree sniper as opposed to a Mad Scientist.
    • Spider-Man: Far From Home:
      • In the comics, Mysterio is a special effects artist and stuntman who turned to crime. This version of the character is a Super-Soldier from Another Dimension or so he claims. He's the same pathological liar that he is in the comics, and he's actually a former Stark Industries employee and the engineer who designed the hologram tech first seen in Captain America: Civil War.
      • J. Jonah Jameson runs a disreputable, InfoWars-style internet talk show rather than a highly respected newspaper like the comics and the Sam Raimi films.
    • Eternals:
      • In the comics, Sersi was a party planner in her human guise, while in the film she works as a scientist and teacher at the Natural History Museum in London.
      • Dane Whitman was a physicist in the comics, but the film presents him as Sersi's coworker at the Natural History Museum.
      • Kingo is still an actor, but the productions he stars in are changed from Japanese Samurai movies (as the genre experienced a steep decline in popularity after The '70s) to lavish Bollywood musicals and action films from India.
  • The Music Man: In the original musical and 1962 film, Marcellus Washburn works at River City's livery stable. In the 2003 film, he works at the hotel.
  • The Punisher:
    • Frank Castle was a Vietnam veteran who lost his family to crime and waged a one-man war on mobsters and criminals. The 1989 film makes him a cop instead, and the 2004 film and War Zone have him serve in more recent conflicts.
    • Punisher: War Zone:
      • The movie turned Paul Budiansky from a detective in the NYPD like Martin Soap into an FBI agent.
      • Carlos Cruz is a former gangbanger instead of a former Marine Microchip asked to usurp the Punisher identity after a falling out with Frank.
  • In the original RoboCop trilogy, pre-RoboCop Alex Murphy and Anne Lewis were uniformed beat cops and their superior officer, Reed, was a Sergeant. In RoboCop (2014), pre-cyborg Murphy and the Gender Flipped and Race Lifted Jack Lewis are plain-clothes detectives, the latter of whom's rank being Sergeant, and Reed's counterpart, Karen Dean, is the chief of police.
  • Sleepy Hollow (1999): In the original version, the protagonist Ichabod Crane is the schoolmaster of Sleepy Hollow, whereas in this adaptation he's instead a police constable from New York.
  • The Snowman (2017): Arve Støp was a magazine owner in the novel, but here he's a tycoon.
  • Several characters undergo this in the film adaptation of Street Fighter
    • Chun-Li was changed from Interpol agent to news reporter.
    • Ryu and Ken are changed from martial artists to conmen who also practice martial arts.
    • Subverted with E. Honda and Balrog, who used to be a sumo-wrestler and boxer respectively, as in the games until their careers were ruined by M. Bison, and now work with Chun-Li on the news;
    • Subverted with Sagat who's a retired fighter turned mob boss, while still working as a bodyguard for M. Bison like in the games.
  • Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li makes the titular heroine a concert pianist rather than an Interpol agent, while M. Bison is a Corrupt Corporate Executive instead of a fascist dictator with plans for world domination.
  • Treasure Island (1950): Hunter and Joyce are two of Trelawney's servants in the book but are members of the ship's crew in the film.
  • The Wizard of Oz (1925):
    • Downplayed with King Kynd, who is now Prince Kynd.
    • King Krewl is Prime Minister Kruel.
    • Uncle Henry is turned into the Prince of Whales by Prime Minister Kruel. In the books, only his niece Dorothy became honorary royalty.
  • The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm has a vignette inspired by The Twelve Dancing Princesses. The story traditionally features a soldier winning a princess' hand in marriage, but the version that Wilhelm Grimm tells his children in the movie features a woodsman instead. Additionally, Wilhelm's wife states that she heard that the princess married a tailor, Jacob Grimm recalls her marrying a farmer, and the bookkeeper recounts her wedding a fisherman.
  • In A Wrinkle in Time (2018), Mrs. Murry is a physicist like her husband, while in the books she's a microbiologist. (This might have caused a problem if there was any chance of the sequel being adapted, since her cell research is an important plot point.)

    Literature 
  • Stolas in the Ars Goetia is a "Great Prince of Hell", which in its hierarchy is several notches beyond Kings of Hell like Asmodeus and Belial. He's never been depicted in historical sources as one of the top rulers of Hell. In The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids, he's a possible identity of Satan himself, on par with Lucifer, Beelzebub or Asmodeus.
  • Ghostbusters: A Paranormal Picture Book: In the movie, Peter, Ray, Egon, and Winston are professional ghost hunters, Dana is a professional musician, Janine is a secretary, Louis is an accountant, and Walter is an inspector. In the book, they’re all elementary school students and their canon jobs are just hobbies.

    Live-Action TV 
  • Arrowverse:
    • Happens to the entire Black Canary family. Dinah Laurel Lance went from being a florist to a respected lawyer, while her mother Dinah Drake-Lance went from being a police informant to a history professor. Her father Quentin Lance started as a detective much like his comic counterpart, but is eventually promoted to Police Captain, then resigned, and then Deputy Mayor of Star City.
    • Mia Dearden is introduced as a prostitute, but her counterpart Thea Queen's first official job is a bar owner.
    • Subverted by Iris West. She's a journalist in the comics, but is introduced in the show as a barista before becoming a journalist later on.
    • Cisco Ramon/Vibe went from street gang leader and break dancer to an esteemed engineer.
    • Ronnie Raymond went from being a jock to an esteemed engineer.
    • Cat Grant went from columnist and reporter to a media mogul and CEO, though she does occasionally mention that she started as the former two. (And since the last time she was seen in the comics before the series started, she was trying to start her own business, this was easily Ret Canoned in.)
    • Jimmy Olsen went from photographer to Art Director then acting CEO, though he is a retired photographer.
    • Hank Henshaw goes from scientist to (former) director of D.E.O. The same can be said to Martian Manhunter, who impersonated him for over a decade and then got hired to do the real thing.
    • Lucy Lane went from flight stewardess to JAG.
    • Alura Zor-El went from Housewife (by Kryptonian standards at least) to Judge.
    • Lar Gand aka Mon-El went from Daxamite explorer to a Decomposite Character respectively consisting of a father and a son who are the King and Prince of Daxam.
    • While still a criminal, Prometheus is introduced as a legitimate lawyer (the DA, in fact).
    • Julio Mendez was Barry's fellow forensic scientist in The Flash (1990). Here he is seen as Da Chief on Flashpoint and in the new timeline as a musician.
    • Clifford DeVoe goes from a lawyer to an Evil Teacher.
    • Lyla Michaels went from historian to eventual director of A.R.G.U.S. following Amanda Waller's Death by Adaptation.
    • Eobard Thawne's present day ancestor went from con-artist to police officer.
    • Hunter Zolomon went from Police profiler to an unemployed but notorious Serial Killer.
    • Reign works as CFO for Luthor Corp.
    • Savitar is still a cult leader, but it's revealed that he was a forensic scientist (due to being Barry Allen's time anomaly) before his slide into villainy instead of a pilot.
    • As the later seasons of Arrow revealed John Diggle was really John Stewart, he falls under this twice over. One is that while both characters were in the armed forces, in a piece of Ret-Canon based on the DC Animated Universe, John Stewart was a Marine before going into architecture, whereas John Diggle was in the army. The other is wildly different in their post-military careers in that Diggle became a bodyguard, whereas again, Stewart was an architect.
    • In the comics, David Hersch/Cicada was an architect and preacher before becoming a cult leader. In The Flash, David Hersch is a bomber while the man who actually takes on the Cicada identity, Orlin Dwyer, is a factory worker.
    • In Season 1 of Arrow, Oliver Queen is a nightclub owner, a job he's never had in the comics. Later seasons however see him become the CEO of Queen Consolidated and the Mayor of Star City, both jobs he's held in the comics.
    • Kate Kane has traditionally been Idle Rich in her civilian identity in the comics. On the Batwoman show however, she's the founder of a real-estate firm (based in the Wayne Enterprises offices) and the owner of a gay bar.
    • Black Lightning is a high-school teacher in the comics and most media. The TV adaptation instead introduces him as a school principal, though he was a teacher.
  • Birds of Prey: This version of the Huntress works as a bartender; a stark contrast to her Pre-Crisis incarnation, who was a lawyer and partner to a law firm.
  • In The Boys, Defector from Decadence "The Legend" was a Stan Lee expy who was the head of the Evil, Inc. Vought's comic book division, Victory Comics. In the live-action adaptation he's instead based on star film producer Robert Evans and was Stillwell's predecessor as Vice President of Hero Management.
  • The title character on Call Me Kat runs a cat cafe, as distinguished from the title character on Miranda, who ran a joke shop. The latter business was decimated by Amazon and other retailers in the years between, which may have something to do with the change.
  • Dracula (2020):
    • Van Helsing changes from an academic in Dracula to a nun here. Averted in Episode 3 where her descendant Zoe is again a scientist.
    • Renfield is a lawyer in this incarnation.
  • In the original The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Wizard is revealed to be not a wizard at all and he's a sideshowman/ventriloquist/magician from Omaha, Nebraska. Emerald City updates his character to a a low-ranking power plant technician from Kansas.
  • The Expanse: Downplayed. In Leviathan Wakes, James Holden started out as the XO of the Canterbury. In the show, he was the Cants 2nd Officer, having no interest in the XO position.
  • The Flash (1990) depicts Henry Allen, a doctor in the comics, as a former police officer.
  • Game of Thrones made few changes from A Song of Ice and Fire:
    • Bronn takes Ilyn Payne's role as Jaime Lannister's swordmaster teaching him to fight Southpaw after losing his right hand.
    • Sandor Clegane joins the Brotherhood Without Banners.
    • Pyp is made a steward of the Night's Watch instead of a ranger. It is never specified if Edd is a steward like in the books, but he is depicted being more action-oriented, and ends up as lord commander.
    • Mace Tyrell pulls double-duty as Master of Coin and Master of Ships, as the books' Master of Coin had been adapted out.
  • Gotham:
    • In both Batman Begins and the story arc "Wrath Child", flashbacks to the night the Waynes died had Gillian Loeb, the corrupt police commissioner from Batman: Year One, as a captain at the time. Here, he's already commissioner.
    • Outside of a subplot where she temporarily replaced her husband, Jim Gordon, as commissioner following fallout of the events of Knightfall, Sarah Essen was killed as a Lieutenant. Here, she was a Captain and Gordon's superior officer. Likewise, barring the Elseworlds The Nail and Gotham by Gaslight, Bullock was never canonically promoted higher than Lieutenant. Here, season 4 sees him briefly as a Captain.note 
    • The Riddler has had a few different backgrounds in the comics, originally having been depicted as a carnival employee gone bad. His Season 1 job as a police forensic scientist is original to the show.
  • In The Handmaid's Tale, Serena Joy's pre-Gilead occupation is changed from a televangelist to a Blonde Republican Sex Kitten political pundit (in the vein of Ann Coulter).
  • Interview with the Vampire (2022):
    • In the novel, Louis de Pointe du Lac was an indigo plantation (and slave) owner, but his TV iteration was a pimp who owned several brothels and gambling dens before City Ordinance 4118 closed down Storyville.
    • The original Antoine is a musician (specifically a pianist and violinist) and composer, whereas the Gender Flipped Antoinette Brown is a lounge singer who doesn't play any instruments or write music.
    • Although Dr. Fareed Bhansali is a medical doctor in both the books and the show, working as the personal physician to the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates (and his other client definitely isn't the vampire Louis) is unique to the TV character.
    • In the source material, Madeleine is a dollmaker, whereas her TV counterpart is a dressmaker.
  • In the Superman comics, Lois Lane's father Sam was an army general. In Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, he's a cyberneticist.
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Galadriel was never a commander of any Northern armies in the books, at least not in the Second Age. In The Silmarillion, she was a political leader, not a warlord, ruling Eregion in Gil-galad's name along with her husband Celeborn, and later founded Lothlórien.
  • Marvel Cinematic Universe:
    • Daredevil:
      • Played with for Karen Page. She begins season 1 basically the same way as her debut in the comics went, with her being the newly hired secretary for Nelson & Murdock. However, following Nelson & Murdock's breakup in the back part of season 2, she ends up at the New York Bulletin as a reporter, and ends up taking over the confidant role normally played by Ben Urich in the comics (due to Ben having been killed by Fisk at the end of season 1). Then in season 3, she's fired from the Bulletin after Dex's attack, and ends the season back at a reformed Nelson Murdock & Page as an in-house private investigator.
      • In the comics, Elton Healy/Oddball is an ex-street performer. In the Netflix show, John Healy is a hitman working for Wilson Fisk.
      • In the comics, Bullseye claims to have briefly been a professional baseball player (whose career came to an abrupt end after he killed another player during a game), a CIA agent and an NSA contractor before he became a costumed assassin.note  In the Netflix show, Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter worked at a suicide hotline, then served in the Army, and finally ended up in the FBI, and it's then that Fisk gets his hooks into Dex.
    • The Falcon and the Winter Soldier:
      • In the comics, Sam Wilson's father Paul was a Baptist minister from Harlem, while in the show he was a fisherman from Louisiana.
      • Joaquin Torres is made a member of the U.S. military, while in the comics he was a civilian-turned-superhero.
    • Hawkeye:
      • In the comics, Maya Lopez was introduced as an artist and musician. In the series, she's instead a professional criminal.
      • Jack Duquesne is independently wealthy rather than a circus performer turned mercenary.
    • Luke Cage:
      • Luke Cage still began as a petty criminal with his best friend (and unbeknownst to him, half-brother) Diamondback. But unlike in the comics, Luke got a chance to escape his criminal lifestyle by becoming a Marine and later a deputy sheriff. That he got out of the criminal lifestyle but Diamondback didn't caused a rift between them that culminated in Diamondback framing Luke for some crimes and getting him thrown in prison.
      • In the same vein, Mariah Dillard is as much a criminal as she is in the comics, but she's now also a city councilwoman.
      • In the comics, Raymond "Piranha" Jones grew up in poverty and lost all of his teeth by the age of 15, replacing them with long, sharpened steel spikes, which was how he earned his nickname "Piranha". He then became a criminal at an early age, eventually rising to the level of crime boss. His Netflix counterpart grew up as the bastard son of a Wall Street broker and one of Mama Mabel's prostitutes, and rose to become a genius financier and banker; and gave himself the nickname "Piranha" because he considered himself the kind of person that others never saw coming.
    • Moon Knight: In the comics, Steven Grant is Moon Knight's supposedly Idle Rich second identity, who was created for the purpose of financing his crimefighting lifestyle. In the MCU, Grant is a regular museum employee, and he lives in a pretty rundown apartment.
    • The Punisher:
      • In the comics, Micro was a legendary computer hacker from jump who then got forced underground after a few hacking schemes went bad and his nephew got killed. In the show, David Lieberman is an analyst for the NSA who's forced into hiding after an attempt on his life by the DHS Assistant Director for the New York field office due to watching a compromising video of Frank and a bunch of Marines executing an Afghan cop.
      • In the comics, Billy Russo was an assassin with an abusive background who was hired by the Costa crime family to assassinate all those connected to the Castles' murders. In the show, Russo joins the Marines, becomes friends with Frank, and then joins Colonel Schoonover and Agent Orange to profit off a black ops unit that traffics heroin out of Afghanistan. Then, after a mission gone bad, he uses his spoils of war to open a Private Military Contractors firm called Anvil.
  • In The Mortal Instruments books, Luke Garroway is a bookseller, the TV adaptation Shadowhunters he is a police officer.
  • One Piece:
    • Downplayed with Zoro, who is the first mate of the Straw Hats. While he does technically fulfill that role in the original manga, it's always been more of an informal position with his official job title simply being "Swordsman".
    • Merry was originally Kaya's butler, but here he's rewritten as a lawyer who is charged with managing her late parents estate and shipbuilding company until she comes of age to inherit.
  • Orphan Black: 7 Genes changes several character professions from the series it was based on, namely:
    • Sarah Manning is introduced as a hardened con-artist, but her counterpart Sara Aoyama is seen working at a factory in the Pilot before quitting.
    • Unlike Felix Dawkins who is a Starving Artist and is also a con-man, his counterpart Kaoru Aoyama is straight-laced and more well-off, evidenced by his lofty apartment.
    • Makio Iwaki doesn't have his counterpart Paul Dierden's military background.
    • Instead of her husband, the Nosy Neighbor of Alison Hendrix's counterpart is her monitor.
  • Peacemaker: Vigilante is a busboy at an Italian restaurant in his civilian identity, unlike in the comics, where he was New York's district attorney.
  • Thomas Wayne was a surgeon in Batman but in Pennyworth, he's a forensic accountant and also a CIA agent.
  • Happens a lot in Power Rangers being adapted from Super Sentai:
  • Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon:
    • In the manga, Sailor Venus was a normal student in her civilian identity. The live-action show makes Minako a successful Idol Singer (though other media had previously toyed with the idea of her wanting to be an idol one day) even before she becomes a superhero.
    • Motoki works at a Karaoke Box, unlike in the manga or anime, where he was instead an arcade employee.
  • The Sandman:
    • In "24/7", Marsh is the cook at the diner. In the original comic, he was one of the diner's regular customers, a trucker.
    • In the "Doll's House" arc of the comic, Lyta Hall and her late husband Hector were superheroes before he died. The TV adaptation is not set in a world with superheroes, so instead they're both architects, tying in with the story arc's title and theme.
  • The Twilight Zone (1959):
    • A slight variation in "Shadow Play", in which Henry Ritchie was the district attorney who prosecuted Adam Grant for murder. In the short story "Traumerei" by Charles Beaumont, he was the unnamed dreamer's defense attorney.
    • In "The Jungle", Alan Richards is a corporate executive who oversaw the building of a hydroelectric dam in an unnamed African country. In the short story by Charles Beaumont, the equivalent character Richard Austin is an architect who designed a new city called Mbarara.
    • In "Little Girl Lost", Bill is a physicist. In the short story by Richard Matheson, he is a CalTech engineer.
    • In "The Self-Improvement of Salvadore Ross", the title character initially does odd jobs for the multi-millionaire Mr. Halpert while Leah Maitland is a social worker. In the short story by Henry Slesar, Ross initially works at a bottling plant while Leah is doing a teacher training course.
  • The Twilight Zone (1985):
    • In "The Misfortune Cookie", Harry Folger is a Caustic Critic who loves writing scathing reviews of restaurants, whether they deserve it or not. In the short story by Charles E. Fritch, his occupation is not given.
    • In "A Matter of Minutes", Michael Wright works in an office. In the short story "Yesterday Was Monday" by Theodore Sturgeon, the equivalent character Harry Wright is a car mechanic.
    • In "Shadow Play", Adam Grant's defense attorney Erin Jacobs is the first person who begins to suspect that he is telling the truth about their reality being his recurring nightmare. In the original episode, the equivalent character Paul Carson is a newspaper editor.
    • In "Lost and Found", Jenny Templeton will become the first President of Earth, who will be known as the Great Peacemaker, in the future. In the short story by Phyllis Eisenstein, she is destined to become a famous and celebrated anthropologist.
  • In the original Watchmen comic, Hooded Justice was speculated to be a former circus strongman in Hollis Mason's autobiography. In the HBO show, Will Reeves, the show's take on Hooded Justice, was an officer in the NYPD like Mason himself was.
  • The Wheel of Time:
    • As much as thief and fence qualify as "jobs". Fain buys stolen goods from Mat, and they've been at it for years. This is a bit Darker and Edgier than in the books; Fain is simply a peddler (albeit a secret Darkfriend) and Mat isn't a thief, though he often gambles.
    • Eamon Valda is a Questioner, part of an organization of Whitecloak inquisitors. In the book he was part of the Council of the Annointed, the ruling council of the Whitecloaks, and was rather contemptuous of the Questioners.
    • In the books Min was a resident of Baerlon who held several jobs; it's mentioned that she preferred working with horses and did not last long as a barmaid. Here, she is a bartender in Fal Dara.
    • In the books Lews Therin Telamon wore the ring of Tamyrlin to mark himself the head of the Aes Sedai. As Robert Jordan explained, Tamyrlin was the first channeler in history, and this name eventually transformed to "Amyrlin Seat". Here, there was an actual position of "Tamyrlin Seat", but it's Latra Posae Decume instead. In the books she organized the construction of super-powerful Choedan Kal sa'angrealsnote , led the Aes Sedai during the Breaking of the World after Lews Therin's death, and eventually founded what will become the White Tower with its Amyrlin Seat. We only get a brief glimpse of the Age of Legends power structure, but Latra and Lews apparently gave each other a lot of leeway as she evaluated his plan, but neither approved, nor ordered him to stop.
    • In the books Padan Fain was a lowly Darkfriend (occasionally carried in Trolloc cooking pot for insufficient effort) until he transformed and turned against everybody. In episode 8 we see him still serving the Dark One, yet commanding two Fades in a highly important operation.
  • Y: The Last Man (2021): In the comics Yorick's mother, Jennifer, was simply a U.S. Congresswoman. Here, she's now one of the only two women left alive in the line of succession and thus the President of the United States.
  • In the webcomic Yumi's Cells, Babi quits his job as an office worker to run a tteokbokki restaurant, and he hires Da-eun as a part-timer. In the TV drama, Babi doesn't quit his job and becomes the team leader instead. Da-eun is now one of his interns.

    Music 
  • The folk song "Van Deiman's Land" is about a gang of poachers transported to Australia. One of the prisoners is a woman (usually named Susan Summers) who "transported was for taking [or selling] of our game", meaning she received the poached animals. However, some versions of the song say "transported was for going on the game", meaning she was a prostitute. (Other versions just have "transported was, we all knew well the same", leaving her actual crime/profession unstated.)

    Theatre 
  • In the opera Hansel and Gretel (1893), the father becomes a broom-maker rather than a woodcutter, allowing his occupation to be symbolically linked to the Wicked Witch's activities.
  • In The Kansas Collection, Ozma is a queen instead of a princess. She is crowned a queen in The Marvelous Land of Oz, but she's a princess in future titles.
  • In Pinocchio: The Musical, Geppetto is turned from a lone woodcarver in misery to the boss of a small furniture-making company.
  • In Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, the Sinister Six consists of scientists who used to work for OsCorp being mutated into supervillains by the Green Goblin as punishment for leaving his company. Carnage, Electro and Kraven the Hunter are members of this version of the Sinister Six when their comic counterparts were not scientists (Carnage was a serial killer, Electro was an electric lineman and Kraven was a hunter). At least one production went so far as to have the Green Goblin address Carnage as "Dr. Kasady, our blood guy" when introducing the members of the Sinsiter Six in the Villain Song "A Freak Like Me Needs Company", implying that this version of Cletus Kasady is specifically a hematologist.

    Video Games 
  • Batman: Arkham Series:
    • Batman: Arkham City: Hugo Strange goes from being a self-employed Mad Scientist to being a former doctor at Arkham Asylum and administrator of Arkham City.
    • Batman: Arkham Origins:
      • Bane, Firefly, Killer Croc, Electrocutioner, Copperhead are all working as Professional Killers of the highest caliber.
      • The game also has the Riddler start out as an Affably Evil super-hacker called Enigma (and he was part of the GCPD cyber-crimes division before that) when in the comics he was a carnival employee before donning the green spandex. Similarly, the Mad Hatter goes from being a neuroscientist before fully embracing his insanity to being the owner of a clothing store. Harley Quinn is also seen as a psychologist working at Blackgate Prison instead of one working as an intern at Arkham (which is closed at the time of the game) and a Freeze-Frame Bonus reveals that Jonathan Crane (the future Scarecrow) works there as well when was a university professor in the comics. The Cold, Cold Heart DLC also reveals that Mr. Freeze was not just a cryogenics scientist but one who built cryo-weapons.
    • Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate sees Rick Flag, Jr. with the lower rank of Captain rather than a Colonel.
    • Batman: Arkham Knight:
      • Professor Pyg going from a member of the Circus of Strange to their boss as well as owning a beauty palor on the side.
      • Dr. Alexander Sartorius (Doctor Phosphorus in the comics) goes from a nuclear physicist to a a scientist working for Stagg Enterprises.
    • The series in general does this Aaron Cash. He first appeared in Batman: Arkham Asylum as one of the head guards like in the comics. In Arkham City he is shown to be working as part of the Medical Protection Team in Arkham City (since the Asylum was shut down). Arkham Knight has him as a GCPD officer and acting as Gordon's Number Two.
  • On his first appearance in Donkey Kong, the character now known as Mario was a carpenter, using his hammer to smash obstacles. In Mario Bros., he and his newly-introduced brother, Luigi, became plumbers, the occupation in which they've become best known.
  • Kenshiro of Fist of the North Star becomes a bartender in Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, which takes many cues from the Like a Dragon series.
  • Harvest Moon: Back to Nature reuses many of the characters that appeared in Harvest Moon 64, however almost everyone now has a different job in Mineral Town compared to their old roles in Flower Bud Town. For example, Ann's family used to own a ranch in 64, but Ann and her father now runs an inn while Gray is a blacksmith.
  • In Injustice: Gods Among Us Harley Quinn used to be a psychiatrist. In most comics and in her original Batman: The Animated Series incarnation, Harley Quinn was a psychologist.
  • In Mega Man X, Storm Eagle and Chill Penguin were part of the Air Squadron and Polar Region Squadron of Maverick Hunters, respectively. In the remake, Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X, the two are transferred to the 17th Squadron, the same as X and Zero.
  • Mortal Kombat mainstay, Shao Kahn, is named as such because he is the Kahn of Outworld. However, Mortal Kombat 1 is a reimagining of almost everything due to Liu Kang's influence, and now the brutal warlord is called General Shao, a decorated war hero for Outworld.
  • Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life changes the bar that Griffin and Muffy ran in the Gamecube version to a café.
  • Ys III: Wanderers from Ys: Unlike the remake Ys: The Oath in Felghana, Garland was not taking on the role of a religious figure and instead worked as a servant of McGuire in his efforts to revive Galbalan.

    Webcomics 
  • This is implied to be the case for several characters in MoringMark - TOH Comics since The Owl House never gave specifics on their jobs.
    • Amity followed in her father's footsteps as an abomination engineer, whereas in the show's epilogue she appeared to be an Adventurer Archaeologist.
    • The most we get about Skara and Boscha's parents in the show is Amity saying that they work with her mom and dad. Here, they're in completely separate fields, with Boscha's moms being in the fashion industry and Skara's dad owning a company that makes musical instruments.

    Web Original 
  • Ace Attorney according to an AI does this with many Ace Attorney characters due to the randomness of the AI-generated trials.
    • Valant Gramarye, a stage magician in canon, is said to run a bar in #1.
    • Trucy Wright, a magician in canon, is apparently a cocaine dealer in #2.
    • Diego Armando, a defense attorney in canon, is director of the Berrybad Space Center in #3.
    • Kristoph Gavin, a defense attorney in canon, is a crime boss in #4.
    • Matt Engarde is an actor in canon, but a director in #5.
    • Dahlia Hawthorne was a university student at the time she was arrested for murder in canon, but is a judge in #5.
    • In #6, Phoenix Wright is prosecuting, rather than being a defense attorney.
    • Sal Manella is a scriptwriter in canon, but a police officer in #8.
  • DC Super Hero Girls is a High School AU of DC Comics which features Amanda Waller as the principal and Grodd as the Vice Principal (and an ex-criminal). In addition, Wonder Woman's love interest Steve Trevor works at the Cape & Cowls Cafe when he is traditionally a soldier.
  • An interesting case happened in The Lizzie Bennet Diaries as it actually gave the characters from Pride and Prejudice jobs instead of changing it (Adaptational Employment perhaps?). The titular character and her younger sister Lydia are now bloggers, their eldest sister Jane works in the fashion industry, Georgriana Darcy and Charlotte Lu(cas) are now active career women, and Charles Bingley's counterpart Bing Lee is now a medical student until dropping out near the end of the series.
  • School Of Thrones is a High School AU of both A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones. It features Jaime Lannister, Petyr Baelish, and Balon Greyjoy as school teachers.

    Western Animation 
  • The original Angelina Ballerina books and the 2002 animated series had Angelina's father as a reporter for the Mouseland Gazette, the local newspaper. In the 2009 CGI series "The Next Steps", Angelina's father operates a music store.
  • The Batman:
    • Police Chief Angel Rojas is a Hispanic composite of Gillian Loeb from Batman: Year One and longtime supporting character Harvey Bullock and, much like them, is a cop. However, Loeb was one of Jim Gordon's predecessors as Gotham's police commissioner and while he's the highest on the GCPD's totem pole we see through most of the first two seasons, Rojas himself is ultimately the second-in-command, not the top cop like Loeb was, and thus can be overridden by the commissioner, as seen in the second season finale (and Rojas's final appearance), when Gordon, who'd just become Commissioner, does just that by forcing him to reinstate and rehire Yin and call off the manhunt for Batman after Rojas fired and arrested her and spent two season trying to arrest the Dark Knight. Additionally, until the lead-up to The Joker War (where he was temporarily Commissioner), Bullock never held a rank higher than Lieutenant, barring the Elseworlds The Nail (where he also replaced Jim as Commissioner) and Gotham (where he was briefly the captain the unit he and Gordon were a part of) and the closest to this being the animated version of Gotham by Gaslight (where he was combined with Chief O'Hara and made Gordon's second-in-command).
    • Likewise, Ellen Yin is based on Ellen Yindel from Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, but where Yindel was a Captain when we first meet her, Yin is only a detective, though ultimately both replace Gordon as Commissioner (Yindel within her debut, Yin at some point before the 2027 segment of "Artifacts").
  • In The Boondocks, Tom DuBois' wife Sarah is an attorney just like her husband. But in the animated series, there are no mentions whatsoever of Sarah having any kind of profession, as she seems to only be a housewife.
  • DC Super Hero Girls (2019) has Barry Allen work part-time at the Sweet Justice ice cream parlor, as this interpretation of him being a teenager consequently makes him too young to be a forensics scientist.
  • In the original Busytown books by Richard Scarry, Father Cat was a grocer. The 1994 animated series, The Busy World of Richard Scarry, changes Father Cat's occupation to travel agent. Nowadays in the 21st century, various Internet services like Expedia, etc. have made travel agents not as prevalent as they once were.
  • This trope is zig-zagged when it comes to the 2017 DuckTales series over its depiction of Darkwing Duck. The original was never specified to have a job in the real world, with his only work (and apparent source of income as a freelance agent for S.H.U.S.H.) being a crimefighter. Here, Drake Mallard started off as an actor who was set to play Darkwing in a reboot of his old TV series before it was cancelled, leading him to take up the role of a superhero for real.
  • Garfield's Babes and Bullets: O'Tabby and O'Felix have different professions in this adaptation. While they were Greek Orthodox priests in the book, here they are university professors.
  • Justice League:
    • Wally West in the comics held many jobs, including being a mechanic for the Keystone City PD. Due to being a Composite Character with his uncle, Barry Allen, this Wally is a forensic tech for the Central City PD.
    • As noted under Arrowverse with John Diggle, the show presented the John Stewart Green Lantern as a former Marine instead of an architect. As also noted, this got Ret-Canon into the comics, albeit something John was before he became an architect.
  • In the comics, Yuri Watanabe is a police captain. In Marvel's Spider-Man, she is depicted as the chief of the NYPD.
  • My Adventures with Superman:
    • In the comics, Lois Lane is already a star reporter for the Daily Planet with Clark Kent being the up-and-coming rising star with his stories on Superman, and Jimmy Olsen either an established photographer or a junior reporter. In this show, all three are interns with a lot of work to get to the top, with them being under usual co-workers Cat Grant, Ron Troupe and Steve Lombard. This ends up subverted by the season 1 finale, where they get promoted to proper reporters.
    • In the comics and the previous animated series that she originates from, Livewire was a Shock Jock prior to gaining her powers and becoming a supervillain. Here, she's already a hardened criminal stealing from the U.S. military.
    • In the comics, Deathstroke is a military veteran turned self-employed criminal mercenary. Here, Slade is a black ops agent working under Task Force X.
    • In the comics, Professor Ivo is a traditional Mad Scientist. Here, he's an entrepreneur and CEO of a tech company and is referred to as Dr. Ivo. This only lasts as long as his debut episode, however, as he gets fired from his company by the end of it and taken into custody by Task Force X.
  • The Spectacular Spider-Man sees Jean DeWolff and Stan Carter as beat cops instead of respectively a captain and sergeant.
  • In the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics, April O'Neil is a computer programmer and runs an antique shop. In the 1987 cartoon, she is a reporter.
  • On Total DramaRama, Chef Hatchet is a preschool teacher instead of a Drill Sergeant Nasty Camp Cook. However, the characters still call him "Chef".
  • In Transformers: Animated, Optimus Prime is merely the commander of a space bridge repair team rather than the leader of the Autobots. Similarly "Prime" is now a junior officer rank rather than the title of the Autobot leader.
  • In Transformers: Rescue Bots, Charlie Burns is a police chief, when his job was fire chief in the storybooks and original toyline that predated the animated series.
  • As mentioned in Comic Books, the Transformers Episode "War Dawn" depicts Orion Pax as a warehouse worker, Transformers: Prime instead makes him a records clerk.
  • In Ultimate Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson aspires to be a journalist. Her comic book counterpart has had many careers, but that isn't one of them, though this is arugably more in-line with the Ultimate Marvel self, who did express an interest in journalism.

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