Job vs. Task — What's the Difference?
By Urooj Arif & Fiza Rafique — Updated on March 11, 2024
A job is a broad role comprising many tasks, while a task is a specific duty within a job.
Difference Between Job and Task
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
A job refers to a set of responsibilities and duties performed by an individual in exchange for compensation. On the other hand, a task is a specific, defined piece of work usually assigned as part of a job.
Jobs are typically long-term and can include a variety of roles or positions within an organization. They define a person's occupation or career path and are often associated with a title, such as engineer, doctor, or accountant. Tasks, in contrast, are short-term and specific. They are the individual activities that need to be completed as part of one's job.
The scope of a job is broader, involving a series of related tasks that contribute to the overall objectives of an organization or personal career goals. It encompasses a wide range of activities and responsibilities that define one's role in a professional setting. Whereas the scope of a task is narrow and focused, concentrating on a single objective or outcome. Tasks are discrete components of a job, each with a specific goal or purpose.
Jobs provide a sense of identity and purpose within a professional context, often reflecting an individual's skills, experiences, and career aspirations. Tasks, while smaller in scope, are crucial for the successful execution of a job. They represent the actionable steps necessary to achieve the objectives and responsibilities associated with a job.
Comparison Chart
Definition
A set of responsibilities and duties
A specific piece of work
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Duration
Long-term
Short-term
Scope
Broad, involving various roles
Narrow, focusing on a single objective
Purpose
Defines a person's occupation
Completes a specific objective
Role in Career
Career path and identity
Actionable steps within a job
Compare with Definitions
Job
A role performed by an individual in exchange for compensation.
She got a new job as a web developer.
Task
A specific piece of work assigned or required.
Completing the report by Friday is her main task.
Job
A career or profession chosen by an individual.
Teaching has always been her dream job.
Task
A discrete assignment or activity.
The team divided the project into smaller, manageable tasks.
Job
A broad category of work or duty.
Her job in customer service is demanding but rewarding.
Task
A duty or responsibility that is part of a job.
One of his tasks is to answer customer inquiries.
Job
A position within an organization with specific duties.
His job at the museum involves cataloging ancient artifacts.
Task
An action or series of actions with a particular goal.
His task for the day is to organize the workshop.
Job
An employment situation including tasks and responsibilities.
His job requires him to travel frequently.
Task
A small, defined job that contributes to a larger goal.
Her first task at the new job was to set up her workstation.
Job
A job, employment, work or occupation, is a person's role in society. More specifically, a job is an activity, often regular and often performed in exchange for payment ("for a living").
Task
A piece of work assigned or done as part of one's duties.
Job
A regular activity performed in exchange for payment, especially as one's trade, occupation, or profession
Her job is doing drug research.
Task
A difficult or tedious undertaking
Finding qualified people to fill these specialized roles was a real task.
Job
A position of employment
How many jobs are open at the factory?.
Task
A function to be performed; an objective
It is our task to renew consumer confidence.
Job
A task that must be done
Let's finish this job before we start another.
Task
To assign a task to or impose a task on
The agency was tasked with creating an advertising campaign.
Job
A specified duty or responsibility
Your job is to watch the kids while we're away.
Task
(Archaic) To subject to strain or hardship
"The Professor's household was a modest one, and yet it tasked his ideas to keep it up to his wife's standard" (Edith Wharton).
Job
(Informal) A difficult or strenuous task
It's a real job getting people to help out at these events.
Task
A piece of work done as part of one’s duties.
The employee refused to complete the assignment, arguing that it was not one of the tasks listed in her job description.
Job
A specific piece of work to be done for a set fee
An expensive repair job.
Task
Any piece of work done.
Job
The object to be worked on
Those overgrown shrubs are a big job.
Task
A difficult or tedious undertaking.
Job
Something resulting from or produced by work
I like the job they did on those shrubs.
Task
An objective.
Job
An operation done to improve one's appearance, or the result of such an operation. Often used in combination
A face job.
Task
(obsolete) A tax or charge.
Job
(Computers) A program application that may consist of several steps but is performed as a single logical unit.
Task
(transitive) To assign a task to, or impose a task on.
On my first day in the office, I was tasked with sorting a pile of invoices.
Job
(Informal) A state of affairs
Their marriage was a bad job from the start. It's a good job that we left early to avoid the traffic.
Task
(transitive) To oppress with severe or excessive burdens; to tax
Job
(Informal) A criminal act, especially a robbery
A bank job.
Task
(transitive) To charge, as with a fault.
Job
(Informal) An example of a specified type, especially of something made or constructed. Often used in combination
A new building that is just another glass and steel job.
A cowboy hat that is one of those ten-gallon jobs.
Task
Labor or study imposed by another, often in a definite quantity or amount.
Ma task of servile toil.
Each morning sees some task begin,Each evening sees it close.
Job
A jab.
Task
Business; employment; undertaking; labor.
His mental powers were equal to greater tasks.
Job
See Table at Bible.
Task
To impose a task upon; to assign a definite amount of business, labor, or duty to.
There task thy maids, and exercise the loom.
Job
To work at odd jobs.
Task
To oppress with severe or excessive burdens; to tax.
Job
To work by the piece.
Task
To charge; to tax, as with a fault.
Too impudent to task me with those errors.
Job
To act as a jobber.
Task
Any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted;
He prepared for great undertakings
Job
To purchase (merchandise) from manufacturers and sell it to retailers.
Task
A specific piece of work required to be done as a duty or for a specific fee;
Estimates of the city's loss on that job ranged as high as a million dollars
The job of repairing the engine took several hours
The endless task of classifying the samples
The farmer's morning chores
Job
To arrange for (contracted work) to be done in portions by others; subcontract.
Task
Assign a task to;
I tasked him with looking after the children
Job
To transact (official business) dishonestly for private profit.
Task
Use to the limit;
You are taxing my patience
Job
To jab or make a jab.
Job
A task.
I've got a job for you - could you wash the dishes?
Job
An economic role for which a person is paid.
That surgeon has a great job.
He's been out of a job since being made redundant in January.
Job
(in noun compounds) Plastic surgery.
He had had a nose job.
Job
(computing) A task, or series of tasks, carried out in batch mode (especially on a mainframe computer).
Job
A sudden thrust or stab; a jab.
Job
A public transaction done for private profit; something performed ostensibly as a part of official duty, but really for private gain; a corrupt official business.
Job
Any affair or event which affects one, whether fortunately or unfortunately.
Job
(colloquial) A thing (often used in a vague way to refer to something whose name one cannot recall).
Pass me that little job with the screw thread on it.
Job
The police as a profession, act of policing, or an individual police officer.
Job
(intransitive) To do odd jobs or occasional work for hire.
Job
(intransitive) To work as a jobber.
Job
To take the loss.
Job
To buy and sell for profit, as securities; to speculate in.
Job
To subcontract a project or delivery in small portions to a number of contractors.
We wanted to sell a turnkey plant, but they jobbed out the contract to small firms.
Job
(intransitive) To seek private gain under pretence of public service; to turn public matters to private advantage.
Job
To strike or stab with a pointed instrument.
Job
To thrust in, as a pointed instrument.
Job
To hire or let in periods of service.
To job a carriage
Job
A sudden thrust or stab; a jab.
Job
A piece of chance or occasional work; any definite work undertaken in gross for a fixed price; as, he did the job for a thousand dollars.
Job
A public transaction done for private profit; something performed ostensibly as a part of official duty, but really for private gain; a corrupt official business.
Job
Any affair or event which affects one, whether fortunately or unfortunately.
Job
A situation or opportunity of work; as, he lost his job.
Job
A task, or the execution of a task; as, Michelangelo did a great job on the David statue.
Job
A task or coordinated set of tasks for a multitasking computer, submitted for processing as a single unit, usually for execution in background. See job control language.
Job
The hero of the book of that name in the Old Testament; the prototypical patient man.
Job
To strike or stab with a pointed instrument.
Job
To thrust in, as a pointed instrument.
Job
To do or cause to be done by separate portions or lots; to sublet (work); as, to job a contract.
Job
To buy and sell, as a broker; to purchase of importers or manufacturers for the purpose of selling to retailers; as, to job goods.
Job
To hire or let by the job or for a period of service; as, to job a carriage.
Job
To do chance work for hire; to work by the piece; to do petty work.
Authors of all work, to job for the season.
Job
To seek private gain under pretense of public service; to turn public matters to private advantage.
And judges job, and bishops bite the town.
Job
To carry on the business of a jobber in merchandise or stocks.
Job
The principal activity in your life that you do to earn money;
He's not in my line of business
Job
A specific piece of work required to be done as a duty or for a specific fee;
Estimates of the city's loss on that job ranged as high as a million dollars
The job of repairing the engine took several hours
The endless task of classifying the samples
The farmer's morning chores
Job
The performance of a piece of work;
She did an outstanding job as Ophelia
He gave it up as a bad job
Job
The responsibility to do something;
It is their job to print the truth
Job
A workplace; as in the expression
On the job
Job
An object worked on; a result produced by working;
He held the job in his left hand and worked on it with his right
Job
A state of difficulty that needs to be resolved;
She and her husband are having problems
It is always a job to contact him
Urban problems such as traffic congestion and smog
Job
A damaging piece of work;
Dry rot did the job of destroying the barn
The barber did a real job on my hair
Job
A crime (especially a robbery);
The gang pulled off a bank job in St. Louis
Job
A Jewish hero in the Old Testament who maintained his faith in God in spite of afflictions that tested him
Job
Any long-suffering person who withstands affliction without despairing
Job
(computer science) a program application that may consist of several steps but is a single logical unit
Job
A book in the Old Testament containing Job's pleas to God about his afflictions and God's reply
Job
Profit privately from public office and official business
Job
Arranged for contracted work to be done by others
Job
Work occasionally;
As a student I jobbed during the semester breaks
Job
Invest at a risk;
I bought this house not because I want to live in it but to sell it later at a good price, so I am speculating
Common Curiosities
How does completing tasks relate to a job?
Completing tasks is essential for fulfilling the responsibilities and achieving the objectives of a job.
Can a job include multiple tasks?
Yes, a job typically includes multiple tasks, each contributing to the overall responsibilities of the role.
Is a task always part of a job?
While tasks are often part of a job, they can also be standalone activities not associated with professional employment.
How important are tasks in career development?
Tasks are crucial for career development, as successfully completing them demonstrates competence, leading to professional growth and opportunities.
How do tasks contribute to job satisfaction?
Successfully completing tasks can contribute to job satisfaction by providing a sense of achievement and progress.
Can a person have multiple jobs?
Yes, a person can have multiple jobs, either simultaneously (as in holding multiple part-time positions) or throughout their career.
Can a job change over time?
Yes, a job can evolve over time, with changes in responsibilities, tasks, and objectives based on organizational needs or personal growth.
Do all jobs require specialized skills?
While many jobs require specialized skills, some may require more general skills or can provide training for specific tasks.
What is the difference between a job and a task?
A job is a comprehensive role comprising various responsibilities, while a task is a specific duty within that job.
How does one manage tasks within a job?
Managing tasks within a job often involves prioritization, time management, and sometimes delegation to ensure effective completion.
Are tasks the same in every job?
No, tasks vary widely depending on the job, industry, and specific role of an individual.
Is a task always assigned by someone else?
Not always; tasks can be self-assigned as part of managing one's own responsibilities within a job.
Can a task become a job?
If a specific task grows in scope and importance, it could potentially evolve into a separate job or role within an organization.
What happens if a task within a job is not completed?
Failure to complete a task can affect the overall performance in a job, potentially leading to consequences depending on the task's importance.
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Written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
Co-written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
