Yes they carry over, you keep the skills you get through leveling - Just so everybody knows, I will be adding more milestones for levels and class promotions (Level 10, will be the first class promotion)

What this entails, if you are a mage, and you feel that magic is not all you wish to be doing, you can merge jobs with a warrior - This being said will add different traits to your character - making them stronger with melee, but weakening magic spells. It can be a good thing, to learn an assortment of skills - but it has its drawbacks. As for moving forward (not merging) You have the choice of continuing the path of your current class (job) by strengthening the skills you have already learned while learning new ones.