When I was working I always had a knife, pen and EDC light- our building was windowless and experience showed that the emergency lights didn't always function.

Pens stay in the desk or bag. Since I like G2 pens, I do not carry them. I do keep a nicer pen in the bag when I want to be fancy.

As to items for the profession - various cards either to hand out or show.

Most items are restricted for me in many instances. Sometimes even a keychain flashlight is a restricted item depending on where I am.

Does the spare box of palpation sleeves in the truck count?

Fluke "widow maker, pen, Sharpie, inside/outside caliper, telescoping magnetic pick up and a couple "jumper wires".

I don’t really carry anything profession-related if I’m not working.

I carry a knife and a light every day, and my wallet has both a notebook and a pen in it.

All of that is just day-to-day life stuff. I constantly have to open boxes and packaging. I or my kids constantly drop stuff in dark places where a light makes finding it so much easier. If I have something to do I have to write it down or I am guaran-damn-teed to forget it.

I also have on my keychain (which is ALWAYS in my pocket) a small (about 2”) pry bar that sees frequent use, a titanium toothpick that I use surprisingly often for both stuff stuck in my teeth and random stuff I need to poke with something pointy, and generally but not always one of the tiny keychain Leatherman tools.

Less frequently used but always present because they are in my wallet are a credit-card-sized fresnel magnifier and a pair of compact titanium lockpicks. While I rarely use them, they are always there with no effort and very occasionally I’m really glad to have them.

My profession? Just my smartphone, which has various things on it I need for work. It's also a bit of a tether - I've managed to find myself in a senior IT role, so even when I'm not technically on call I'm always sort of on call to advise the guy who is (as needed).

The rest is just cause I don't like being unready for things. In my backpack I always have notebook, pen and a small FAK, for instance. In my pockets you'll find a full size SAK and also a tiny one (for keeping my nails neat and clean, mostly), a locking folder, a small multi-tool (yes, and the SAK), at least one each gun and flashlight. Micro fiber lens cleaning cloth, tube of lip balm (can supplement the FAK for some things)...

Various things. They IMO say more about my approach to life than my profession.