Knight

Knights, a term often associated with manly muscley men heaving down hords of orc's or killing dragons to save a princess caught in a tower. Though in the world of Arcathia the orc is more likely to be a honorable knight than killed by them, as well as the princess and dragon more likely to have an intellectual conversation over tea and buscuits. A Knight here isn't just some warrior that protects a noble, though can be anyone whom is significant enough to be titled.
Some knights follow the stereotype perfectly, becomming protectors of a noble or house as they rise from a squire. Others are thieves and crooks, who have done deeds so honorable they're elevated into society as spies and operatives, often protecting the innocent from beyond the curtains. Some are even non-combatants and do little else than pencil pushing and management, though are still granted the title of knight by a liege.
In short, all cultures have their own form of knights, that are the closest men and women to people of power, wealth and importance. They can be anything from bodyguards and champions to administrators or full on militant knighthoods, in service to a cause, person or sometimes even artifacts of power.

Career

Qualifications

To qualify as a Knight, a person requires to do something that proves to a noble, or at least rich and influential person depending on culture and creed, that they are worth to take underneath their banner. Hence a knight could have any sort of background. From a noble's son destinied to become one from birth, to a slave who proved strong and loyal enough to make a champion.

Career Progression

For knights that have achieved a lot in their lives, or simply lived long enough to see the hairs on their head gray or fall out, there is usually a position of power to be held by them. Titles like Knight-Captain, Knight-Commander or even Knight-Admiral are quite common in the world and sometimes even extends to mercenary organizations, devoid of any loyality to one liege as their titelage may offer them a piece of land to govern on their own.
Knights wounded in service and unable to keep fighting are also often promoted to more civil positions, such as expedition leaders, administary offices or even foremen that oversee building projects or mines. Even though unexperienced, this tends to happen as knights on average are loyal to the point they'd die before their leaders and fellow countrymen, as well as highly diciplined and eager to share powers and ideals with fellow brethren and sisters. Making them on average the best qualified people to lead others, as they tend to be exemplary people.

Payment & Reimbursement

Knights in general are poorly paid, unless they've got criminal backgrounds or achieved high enough titelage that they are elevated into the aristrocracy. On average, they stay around the lower wealth class. This isn't a problem though, as knights are given their gear and have all their needs attended by society itself. They can easily afford to spend their little funding on anything they please, unlike a similarely paid farmer who needs to take care of all their necessities on their own.
The one exception to this rule of an extraordinary social security to knights, are those sworn to a brotherhood or free company, rather than an established order in service to a grand political power. The largest example of this is, the Ysandrian Crusade, which before the Inquisition splintered out had such vast numbers and resources they could easily conquer and overthrow an empire. Nowadays, orders devoid of political influences don't tend to grow that large, even though plenty of them exist. Some funded by their own hard toils, others by investors who sympathise with their cause.

Type

Public Services