What do you do for a living
Cosin
Posts: 765 Forum Member
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When you first meet someone is it considered against protocol to ask someone this? Whenever I play golf with someone I've never met before, I spend most of the round resisting the urge to ask this question as it might show a lack of imagination. Even when conversation runs dry, I fight quite hard not to ask this question. I hate it when someone I first meet asks me this. Don't you?
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My wife always nags at me as I break down my job role to the lowest denominator to make it look like I have a menial job, which always kills the conversation stone dead whenever some nobber is informing me that he has a successful job in the city buying and selling commodities, whereby they are probably flogging tea towels out of a suitcase down the market.
The problem is that people ask what you do in order to gauge your worth in society, although some simply do it as a conversation piece, like my neighbour saying "you can do mine if you like" whenever I am washing the car. Whilst I have a good work environment and are well paid, nice car, own house, gadgets etc, it is of no consequence to my perceived self-worth, as I see myself as no better in society than the cleaners who empty my bin in my office.
Sometimes it opens up stories you can relate to each other. I once met a bloke who installs chandelliers in the homes of the rich and famous. It's not something I knew much about so it was quite interesting.
If it doesn't benefit me to stay in the good books of whoever is asking, I reply with "this & that". It takes all my strength to refrain from replying with the truth which is 'none of your f-ing business!'
For those that persist, I say that I am currently looking into High-temperature Superconductors for Electrical Transmission Systems.
I am then invariably forced to listen someone's lengthy story about their faulty new Toaster.
We don't do elocution.... >:(
https://youtu.be/LFuYIi5-igc
Not very glamorous.
Thoughto add, had someone point a gun at me once.
I wish people wouldn't ask that question so often.
Oh and for a living I teach computers how to be useful
"Not coming up on RTE - 1 because it's over...f.eck all"
ETA: Sorry, somebody already beat me to it
In mine too.
A friend of mine is the wife of the Headmaster of a famous public school. She has to do many, many 'meet and greets' with pupil's' parents/potential parents. It is her standard ice breaker when circulating. Being a public school, the format is 'May I ask what line are you in?'
The light on my sandwich toaster doesn't come on any more - any idea what the problem might be?
Well, if you said 'Research Scientist' without expanding on the area of research, I'd figure you were trying to shut me down.
Hey ho, I don't do human interaction too well and generally avoid it.
We're rather reserved about talking about what we earn aren't we? It's considered rather vulgar, unlike in the US where they are a bit more open about it. It wouldn't be seen as quite so crass to mention over there that I make well in excess of £100k, but it is here for some reason.
Don't put yourself down by calling yourself a nobody.
Fully seconded.