Something I noticed early on was a lot of different labels and titles for roles and jobs in the industry; and a fair degree of anxiety and discussion about who calls themselves what and who should be allowed to call themselves what.
I was told many times how there are no real formal qualifications for being in the industry, to be called a perfumer. For me, I kept using a gradually better qualified statement: "I've always been interested in fragrance", "I'm hoping to launch a fragrance some time"; "I'm launching the modernist in (insert forever extending date here...).”
In retrospect, a lot of verbs in search of a noun. It was easier and more comfortable to tell people what I was doing than what I called myself.
I am not a perfumer and don't think of myself as that or describe myself in that way.
I'm a Fragrance Designer. If you meet me at a party, that's what I'll tell you.
About perfumers, more later.