Class and Job symbols: question.

[LuxLeonhart]

Ok so I think I will accept the Arcanist and the Thaumaturge one, but still the doubts remain about SCH and SMN.
I was thinking about the horn too, 'cause is a symbol for the summoners in the saga, but still I can't associate that "thing" to a summoner horn XD

[Enkidoh]

Well, this is just my interpretation as to what the class/Job symbols really mean, but to me it seems they're either a depiction of the weapon or tool of that class (the most common meaning), a metaphor for an ability connected to it, or something related to the class or Job's lore.

Accordingly, my interpretation of the class and Job symbols is as follows (includes two dummied-out classes from version 1.0, those two are in italics) - also spoilered for possible lore reasons as well as to save on space:

Disciples of War

Gladiator: two crossed swords, not only representing their main weapon, but also their lore as duelists in the Coliseum
Paladin: a shield, showing the fact the Job concentrates on defense as well as eluding to the Job's lore as 'defenders' of Ul'dah's monarch
Pugilist: a closed fist, representing the fact they're physical brawlers who literally rely on their fists to 'do the talking'
Monk: rather ambiguous, but the three diagonal lines could be representing a 'slash' of their fists, or an extension of their chakra
Lancer: a lance, obviously representing their main weapon
Dragoon: a stylized representation of a dragon head, referring to the Job's lore as dragon hunters (and their use of dragon powers to use against their enemies)
Archer: a bow and arrow, again representing their main weapon
Bard: a harp, obviously a common musical instrument used by bards
Marauder: two crossed great axes, representing not only their favoured weapon but also hints at their lore origins as the favoured weapon of pirates who would clash with authority
Warrior: an axe head, with the red colour representing the bloody nature of their combat
Musketeer: two crossed pistols, representing their weapon type (MSK was never implemented but the class icon existed in both 1.0 and again in ARR in the Coral Tower)

Disciples of Magic

Conjurer: a branch, representing the class's favoured style of weapon (literally, a branch or twig with no embellishments), as well as referencing the lore of the class as using the powers of nature.
White Mage: a staff, perhaps referring to the Job's Relic Weapon the Thyrus which is of course a two-handed staff (the egg shape of the Soul Crystal also perhaps eludes to the Job's lore as a metaphor of 'giving life', and especially the Job's literal rebirth from obscurity)
Thaumaturge:this one is a little ambiguous, but to me it seems to be a flaming urn. This could possibly elude to the class's lore as their origins as funeral directors (their school of magic derived from spells they used in the preparation of the deceased, hence an urn).
Black Mage: a flaming meteor, which like the White Mage symbol refers to it's relic weapon the Stardust Rod, which was made from a fragment of a meteorite (also traditionally Meteor is regarded as the ultimate Black Magic spell in the series)
Arcanist: another confusing and ambiguous symbol, to me it resembles what in past FF games has been called a 'celestial globe', but in the real world is known as an orrery, a mechanical device used for charting the movements of the sun, stars, planets and other celestial objects across the sky. What connection this has to the ACN class is anyone's guess, but given the fact the class was meant to be in version 1.0, but dummied out like MSK, and in fact was apparently a totally different design to how it was implemented in ARR (it's unclear exactly how it was going to work but the belief is it was meant to use mechanical staves and lay moving traps in battle), it's possible the movement of the heavens probably was planned to connect with that. But whatever it is, it's unclear as to it's precise meaning in connection to the class. EDIT: adn after a bit more research, in hindsight I think a closer real-life equivalent for the ACN symbol is a Armillary Sphere and not an orrery, although the two devices are similar, an Armillary Sphere is closer to the ACN symbol in design than an Orrery is.
Summoner: another ambiguious symbol, to me it represents the traditional series 'summoner's horn' which is the Job's AF headwear (and following on from that, as a horn is commonly used as an instrument to call or alert others, it's possible it could be a double meaning, a 'horn' referring to the 'calling' aspect of summoning an Egi).
Scholar: this one had me scratching my head. The best I came up with was it was meant to be a stylized representation of an open book, not only the 'weapon' type of the Job (as well as ACN and SMN), but also eluding to the 'learning' meaning of the Job's name. But nothing is known for certain.

Disciples of the Hand

Culinarian: a loaf of bread, clearly showing they're cooks.
Armourer: a helmet, referring to the fact they make armour
Blacksmith: an anvil, referring to the use of that tool in the trade
Goldsmith: a tiara, which is a common piece of jewellery made by goldsmiths
Leatherworker: an animal hide, which is the material they commonly work with
Carpenter: a saw, which is their most widely used tool of their trade
Weaver: a spool of thread, which is their most common material of their trade

Disciples of the Land

Fisher: a fish, which should be pretty obvious as to it's reasons.
Botanist: a bushel of wheat, a common plant often harvested by the class
Miner: a pickaxe, their basic tool used in mining
Shepherd: a pair of deer antlers, possibly eluding to what might have been the class's gameplay style (capturing wild animals and shepherding them). But as the class was never implemented and dummied out of 1.0 it's unclear.

Anyway, I'm sorry for going into detail like that, but I thought this was a really interesting topic that warranted an in depth look at the class symbol meanings, so take what I've said with a grain of salt. I hope Ferne reads this and can clarify our theories in any event, or else completely blow them out of the water, as is more likely the case.

[LuxLeonhart]

I'm sorry for going into detail like that

No no, I should thank you, this can become an interesting topic like this^^

Warrior: an axe head

D: I always saw that as a mitt, like the one the AF/AF2 got. You know, the hand small shield. Like, both tanks pass from "offensive" symbols (swords and axes) to "defensive" symbols (Shield and Mitt).
But the axe head works too!