After receiving your job offer, title, and responsibilities from your employer, you must choose a professional category for your TN application. It’s important to choose a job category that’s best aligns with the position you were hired for. This may be tricky given that these professions were defined in a treaty from a quarter century ago. The full list of NAFTA professions is buried in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) from 1994 and in 2024, that list hasn’t changed one bit. In this article we’ll help you navigate this challenge.
Before we start, here are some frequently asked questions about TN job categories. If you’re just looking for the list, here’s a direct link.
Does the type of degree, diploma, or certificate matter?
The school doesn’t matter as long as it is an accredited post-secondary institution. However, the major or specialization for your education should be related to the profession. For example, an economist is expected to have a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics. Applicants with degrees unrelated to their profession may face more scrutiny.
Which TN profession should I pick?
There are over 60 professions to choose from and sometimes the choice isn’t clear. There are two things to consider when choosing a profession for your TN application.
- Job title and responsibilities
- Educational credentials
Job title and responsibilities
Ideally your job title and responsibilities would match up perfectly with one that the US Government recognizes. Eligible professions are listed below and the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics details the job responsibilities for each profession. To choose the most appropriate profession, you should carefully review your job description from your employer and find the profession from OOH that shares similar job duties and responsibilities.
This can be difficult for job positions in business and technology which don’t map perfectly to a NAFTA profession. For example, many professionals working in marketing may find it difficult to find the right job category.
TN Eligible Professions List
| Profession | Minimum education |
|---|---|
| Accountant | Bachelor’s Degree; or CPA, CA, CGA, or CMA |
| Architect | Bachelor’s Degree; or provincial license |
| Computer Systems Analyst | Bachelor’s Degree; or Post-Secondary Diploma/Certificate and three years’ experience |
| Disaster Relief Insurance Claims Adjuster | Bachelor’s Degree and training in areas of insurance adjustment pertaining to disaster relief claims; or three years experience in claims adjustment and training in insurance adjustment pertaining to disaster relief claims |
| Economist | Bachelor’s Degree Note: The US government has clarified policy around issuing TN status for this profession in 2017 |
| Engineer | Bachelor’s Degree; or provincial license |
| Forester | Bachelor’s Degree; or provincial license |
| Graphic Designer | Bachelor’s Degree; or Post-Secondary Diploma/Certificate and three years’ experience |
| Hotel Manager | Bachelor’s Degree; or Post-Secondary Diploma/Certificate and three years’ experience |
| Industrial Designer | Bachelor’s Degree; or Post-Secondary Diploma/Certificate and three years’ experience |
| Interior Designer | Bachelor’s Degree; or Post-Secondary Diploma/Certificate and three years’ experience |
| Land Surveyor | Bachelor’s Degree; or State/provincial/federal license |
| Lawyer | L.L.B., J.D., L.L.L., B.C.L., or another five year degree; or membership in a state/provincial bar |
| Librarian | M.L.S., or B.L.S. (for which another undergrad degree was a prerequisite) |
| Management Consultant | Bachelor’s Degree; or five years experience as a management consultant or related field |
| Mathmatician (including statistician and actuary) | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Range Manager/Range Conservationalist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Research assistant (working in a post-secondary educational institution) | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Scientific Technician/Technologist | Possession of (a) theoretical knowledge of any of the following disciplines: agricultural sciences, astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, forestry, geology, geophysics, meteorology, or physics; and (b) the ability to solve practical problems in any of those disciplines, or the ability to apply principles of any of those disciplines to basic or applied research. |
| Social Worker | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Sylviculturist (including Forestry Specialist) | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Technical Publications Writer | Bachelor’s Degree; or Post-Secondary Diploma/Certificate and three years’ experience |
| Urban Planner (including Geographer) | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Vocational Counsellor | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Dentist | D.D.S., D.M.D., Doctor en Odontologia or Doctor en Cirugia Dental or state/provincial license |
| Dietitian | State/provincial license or Bachelor’s Degree |
| Medical Technologist | Bachelor’s Degree; or Post-Secondary Diploma/Certificate and three years’ experience |
| Nutritionist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Occupational Therapist | State/provincial license or Bachelor’s Degree |
| Pharmacist | State/provincial license or Bachelor’s Degree |
| Physician (teaching or research only | M.D. Doctor en Medicina; or state/provincial license |
| Physiotherapist/Physical Therapist | State/provincial license or Bachelor’s Degree |
| Psychologist | State/provincial license or Bachelor’s Degree |
| Recreational Therapist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Registered nurse | State/provincial license or Bachelor’s Degree |
| Veterinarian | D.V.M., D.M.V., or Doctor en Veterinaria; or state/provincial license |
| Agriculturist (including Agronomist) | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Animal Breeder (Scientist) | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Animal Scientist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Apiculturist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Astronomer | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Biochemist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Biologist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Biologist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Chemist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Dairy Scientist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Entomologist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Epidemiologist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Geneticist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Geochemist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Geologist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Geophysicist (including Oceanographer in US) | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Horticulturist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Meteorologist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Pharmacologist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Physicist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Plant Breeder | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Poultry Scientist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Soil Scientist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Zoologist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| College Professor | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Seminary Professor | Bachelor’s Degree |
| University Professor | Bachelor’s Degree |
NAFTA Professions Definitions
Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree: Also known as a Bachelor’s Degree (3 – 4 year undergraduate degree).
Post-Secondary Diploma/Certificate: Two or more years of post-secondary education issued by an accredited academic institution from Canada, US, or Mexico.