At least in my state I have seen this (Tx).
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Different states have different rules, dealer plates are a little different, those are not tied to a vin (so a dealer can have 100 cars and 10 plates and move the plates for test drives, no paperwork needed).
As for occupation, the HAM radio plates are somewhat intended for emergency response, as in a disaster it makes these people easy to identify (and they can contact people with the phones down), their plates are their FCC license ID (so you can read their plate and then ask for them over the radio), and I know Texas let’s them register multiple cars with the same plates. The same can be said about doctor plates, and here in NY they were used during weather shutdowns, they banned the public from the streets, but those with doctor or nurse plates were automatically allowed and it also functioned as a parking permit.
The rest are mostly just to advertise your occupation, I’m an engineer, you can get Engineer plates, mostly just to say you passed the PE exam (which is difficult), CPAs have the same option, it really just shows off you have a state certification. Then there are a whole bunch of others, like military plates, veteran plates, etc. Mostly just to show off what you did really, and the state usually charges then a few bucks extra for the privilege
Different states of course will be a bit different. Dealer plates means the car has not been sold to a buyer, but all vehicles require plates and the states give dealers these plates so law enforcement doesn’t think they are stolen.
Ham radio plates are a plate that radio operators can get with their call sign on it. In years past, ham operators were considered part of the emergency services in area and could help out in communications in an emergency. Today they hey seem to just be a point of pride. Some states will issue farmers special plates which in think are somehow related to how that vehicle is taxed as a farm implement and not a regular passenger vehicle. Some states do the same for construction workers, etc. these may say “Weighted” or similar.
Then many states offer themed plates like for your local sports team or for animal lovers, etc. some of those plates might be related to some occupations. You might find a teacher with an education plate, but it’s purely for fun. These theme plates to cost more and frequently raise money for a charitable cause.
Dealer plates do not denote the occupation of the driver, they are literally the plates that car dealers have and put on cars so they can be taken for test drives/driven to customers’ homes/used until the regular plates arrive for the customer . Radio Operator is new, I’ve seen MDs have customized plates in NYS and see why you’d want to know if there’s a doctor around, but radio operator seems like any other vanity plate
I’m from Texas too and I’ve seen these a lot. I think the dealers plates are so they don’t have to keep up with registration? Because the car is in transition of being sold? Not 100% though.
In my state there’s a law that you need like 10,000 signatures or something to get the state to make a specialized plate. When someone realized this, they set about getting enough signatures to allow for a specialized plate foe alumni of their school. When other organizations realized this, they did the same. So there was an explosion in new, specialized plates. Any group with someone sufficiently organized to set up a petition could do it. And that’s how you get a special plate for your particular organization or job.
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