Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site crystal.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!uwvax!crystal!shp From: shp@crystal.UUCP Newsgroups: net.singles Subject: Re: "What do you do for a living?" Message-ID: <487@crystal.UUCP> Date: Fri, 12-Jul-85 12:03:57 EDT Article-I.D.: crystal.487 Posted: Fri Jul 12 12:03:57 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 16-Jul-85 01:45:11 EDT References: <1030@trwatf.UUCP> <33100024@ISM780.UUCP> Organization: The Life Is A Rock Foundation Lines: 35 > At my job I work on C compilers, for a software company > that specializes in doing Unix ports. When I meet people socially, a > frequently asked question is "What do you do for a living?" How can I > answer without being boorish or boring? For example [Examples deleted] > How can I answer this without making them feel like they are stupid, but > also avoiding the path "It's a very technical job, you wouldn't understand > without a longwinded and boring discussion"? > (--Darryl Richman, INTERACTIVE Systems Corp. I've found the following works quite well: [?] "What do you do for a living?" [!] "I'm a computer programmer." [ A good many people will let it go at that; not everyone, though] [?] "Oh, really? What do you do?" [ I attribute this stage to politeness ] [!]"Oh, you know." [ Or some equally non-committal remark ] Sometimes people will pursue this furthur, and then the Reader's Digest Condensed version of my job description follows (unless I'm really in a bad mood; then the full detailed description comes out). Once in a while, someone is genuinely interested (I've made a couple of good friends this way)(besides my mother, dammit!). Point is, most people seem to be just being polite. The shrugged response is close enough to protocol to satisfy conversational needs, and from there you go on to other things ("So, huge weather we're having, isn't it?" :-). =shp [ Steve Patterson, Computer Sciences, UW - Madison ] "That rabbit's dynamite!"