I like this a lot. Just purchased and read. I think it has a flavor that no one else has produced. Modern magic without a horror element. I’ve never played a 24XX game but I am confused about skills. So a job has an associated skill but what are the associated skills? If I am to make them up that’s fine, but then what’s the point of a job having an associated die roll? Functionally it’s like having two similar skills, one being more narrow in scope but having the same ranking anyway.
Howdy! Thanks for your kind words about Secret People, and glad the world is resonating with you. You raise a good point about the "Job" skill - I can see how it is the most ambiguous compared to the Knacks and Hobbies.
The way I had envision Job Skill use allows creativity on the part of the player, though requires some discretion on the part of the Gamemaster. For example, the "Bartender" Job would obviously give a player mixology skills, but a player might also try employ their work experience in a situation that required them to give an empathetic, listening ear to a stranger, or manage a sudden barrage of complex requests. If the player can provide a compelling enough argument why their "Job Experience" is relevant to a non-bartending situation, the Gamemaster would allow them to use that skill.
Let me know if this helped to provide some useful guidance! I'm maintaining a feedback log, so I can make a note to address how players can use job skills in future versions.