Bard
Career
Qualifications
To become a bard, you have to survive the Minstrel's University.
That means that you'll have to have enough skill in some sort of entertainment to pass their strict auditions. Not only that, you'll need the tenacity to not be pushed out by the harshly competitive environment of the university. If you manage that, you'll be sure to have learned even more entertainment skills, at least one instrument, and several other skills that might be relevant to a life in entertainment.
To be a good bard, you'll need the personality, people skills, and wanderlust needed to engage the audience, and survive the long travels between the settlements on Shireon.
Career Progression
There are no official ranks in the bard profession. All bards are technically at the same level.
With that said, a fledgling bard will soon learn that it's a truth with modifications. Yes, they might have the bard license, but that's not too helpful when a more seasoned bard, one that has a well-known name that will pull audience, already has booked the venue for the night. Even when the fledgling bard has booked the venue it's not a guarantee that a famous bard won't arrive and ask for the same night, making the venue owner likely to ask the fledgling bard to reschedule. This is because a famous name will get a larger audience, and with it bigger earnings, than an unknown name, no matter how skilled.
In some way, the career progression of a bard is their ascent into fame.
Payment & Reimbursement
You don't get paid just because you are a bard. There's a lot of hard work behind each stack of coin finding its way to your purse. To earn money as a bard, you'll have to entertain, and you have to entertain well enough to make the audience satisfied.
The normal pay is a free meal, a room to sleep in for the night, and a share of the venue's income for the night. How large this share is depends on the venue, the bard's skill, and the bard's renown. Usually, the venues of larger cities pay better than stages in a tiny inn in a small village due to the amount of visiting people.
Other Benefits
Any bard will have some level of recognition just because of their title. Everyone knows that any bard will put up a good show. Just being a bard comes with a tiny bit of fame.
When your name starts to get known, and your face starts to get recognised, you'll never be short of people that will boost your ego. You'll find fans everywhere. This might be a curse in some situations, as all bards have heard stories about obsessed fans who won't let you alone, but luckily this type of fan is rare. The name of a famous bard might open doors that are closed for other people, like getting into nobility parties or get audience to royalty or other leaders.
Perception
Social Status
Due to the expensive fee to attend the Minstrel's University most bards are from the higher classes of society. Only about a quarter of all bards don't belong to one of the noble houses of Shireon.
Yet, the few that join from the lower social classes are more likely to get through the university. This might be because they don't have that much money in the first place, so failing would mean losing money they can't afford to lose. It might also be that poorer people go through slightly less hardship in their lives, and know the value of working hard towards something.
Demographics
Bards are extremely rare.
The main reason for this is the Minstrel's University. It's hard to get into the university in the first place, and even if you get in, the chances to finish it and get your bard license are not in your favor. Usually only one or two from each year finish through the whole education, and almost half of these find themselves new professions after a few years due to the hard life on the road. A general guess is that there are up to about fifty bards on Shireon at any point of time, usually fewer.
Operations
Tools
The tools of a bard vary by their focus expertise. Some focus expertises don't really need any specific tool, like storytelling or dance. Others, like playing a specific instrument, need specific equipment, possibly with additional tools to maintain or mend the equipment in question.
Also, if magic can be called a tool, all bards have some magical tricks up their sleeve. Some help with social interactions, by nudging emotions ever so slightly in one direction or another, but never in a very impactful way. Yet, it does help slightly in some situations. Many inspiring speeches have been told by bards, and you're never quite sure if it is their speechcraft that inspires you, or if they add just a tiny bit extra with magic.
Provided Services
A bard won't only entertain in public venues, though this is their main activity.
A lot of upper class people will at one point in their lives hire a bard as entertainment at some private gathering. Hiring a bard as entertainment is an easy way to hold a party that other members of the nobility will envy, which is always a goal within nobility circles.
Although bards are mainly entertainers, this isn't all they're good for. Their social skills can easily be usable in numerous situations, like as diplomats, or if someone needs to be convinced of something without using threats of violence. Some bards will even convince people with threats of violence, if that's what you need, though usually it's cheaper to hire a thug in those specific situations.
Dangers & Hazards
There are few dangers related specifically to being a bard. One of the few are the slim danger of stalker fans who want to hurt their idol, but luckily these fans are extremely rare.
Some of the activities included in the bard profession bring a small degree of risk, however. The most common one is robbers along the road while travelling, but this applies to all people who travel, so it's definitely not a bard specific risk. However, bards do generally travel more than most other people, so it is an occupational hazard, in a way.
Oooof you had me at bards! Lol well done as always.