Why don't people want to say what they do for a living?
Discussion
OpulentBob said:
Ruskie said:
OpulentBob said:
Ruskie said:
"So what's the worst thing you have ever dealt with?"
Yeah cos I really want to go through that harrowing incident that has scarred me for life, just for your amusement.
To assume makes... oh forget it. You're obviously a bit tired and having a sense of humour failure.
Moonhawk said:
I'm careful about telling people I don't know - you never know who may an animal rights nutter and put a brick through my window just because I happen to work in an industry that conducts animal testing (even though my role has nothing to do with it).
I used to be an electrician in a university estates department. One evening, I walked into my local, and a girl I had known for quite a while jumped up and started yelling 'murderer' and other insults. I told her to calm the f
k down, before asking what the fk she was on about. There was a small animal lab at the university (which I had never had to work in) so I was apparently guilty of rubbing shampoo in fwuffy bunny wabbits' eyes.When I left the university, I went to work for an M&E consultancy. On my first day, we received a parcel. The secretary interrupted my induction to ask the manager to open it, as we were on bomb alert. He told me they did some work for a well known cosmetics and cleaning product manufacturer, which led him to the next item on the induction checklist - we are under strict instructions never to tell anybody we worked for XXX, and I was shown a copy of a threatening letter received by one of our directors at his home address.
Thankyou4calling said:
It's called conversation. You meet someone and generally one of the first things most people ask is "What do you do" it's perfectly normal.
In Thailand 'what do you do for work?' may be one of the very first question asked of you when you meet a person who knows nothing about you, swiftly followed (in some circs) with the 'how much do you earn?' bomb! It is the only way that they have of establishing whether they are superior to you or vice versa. If they are 'superior' then it is they who must get the round in and you who must bow lower when you next meet them. In UK it is just a big fat no-no. Each to his own....GC8 said:
God bless British class system.
I spend a fair bit of time in France as I have family over there. I soon learnt that it is forbidden to ask what somebody does for employment.How highly you're considered is based on your social position, which university you went to, your diplomas, and who you socialize with, the latter being very important.
They are more class conscious than us, but the guidelines could apply here.
PurpleTurtle said:
I'm an IT Contractor if we meet at someone's party. That's usually end of convo! Do you want to know about support/development on mainframes? Probably not. Can I fix your laptop? Well I'm happy to try, but am probably no better than you can, have you tried Google?
Having said that, I've met loads of really interesting people in the IT game, but interesting for the things they do outside oif work rather than in it.
Generally I find that people who are "in business" with no follow-on description are either doing something borderline illegal/would prefer the taxman not to know/thought they'd hit on the next .com revolution but are struggling to make ends meet.
why would you say "contractor" and not "consultant"? Why is it relevant that you're freelance? I find that the type of people who describe themselves as contractors are desperate to be asked what their daily rate is.Having said that, I've met loads of really interesting people in the IT game, but interesting for the things they do outside oif work rather than in it.
Generally I find that people who are "in business" with no follow-on description are either doing something borderline illegal/would prefer the taxman not to know/thought they'd hit on the next .com revolution but are struggling to make ends meet.
Blown2CV said:
why would you say "contractor" and not "consultant"? Why is it relevant that you're freelance? I find that the type of people who describe themselves as contractors are desperate to be asked what their daily rate is.
Really? I would never disclose my rate or ask another freelancer their rate. Hell, I don't even tell agents when they ask me. Also, your use of the phrase "the type of people" rather speaks volumes about you.
JonRB said:
Same here, although I generally say "Code Tart", "Code we" or "Software Mercenary", depending on who I'm talking to. 
Edit: Actually, I usually just say "Computer Programmer" and people just nod and file me under "dork".
I generally tell people that I attempt to put random numbers in the right order, seems to work.e" or "Software Mercenary", depending on who I'm talking to. Edit: Actually, I usually just say "Computer Programmer" and people just nod and file me under "dork".
JonRB said:
Blown2CV said:
why would you say "contractor" and not "consultant"? Why is it relevant that you're freelance? I find that the type of people who describe themselves as contractors are desperate to be asked what their daily rate is.
Really? I would never disclose my rate or ask another freelancer their rate. Hell, I don't even tell agents when they ask me. Also, your use of the phrase "the type of people" rather speaks volumes about you.
When I used to get asked what I did for a living, and replied "I'm an accountant" people would either ask for free tax advice or suddenly see someone at the other side of the room that they hadn't seen in ages and have to rush off to talk to them.
Now that I am a computer geek, I tend to get people asking for help with their ancient, clapped out, spyware infested computers, and because I am spineless, I end up wasting my life fixing them.
I'd happily give up my spare time for free to help a friend fix their car or their washing machine, but it really irritates me when I fix someone's computer for free when I could get paid for it if it was for a client rather than a "friend".
Now that I am a computer geek, I tend to get people asking for help with their ancient, clapped out, spyware infested computers, and because I am spineless, I end up wasting my life fixing them.
I'd happily give up my spare time for free to help a friend fix their car or their washing machine, but it really irritates me when I fix someone's computer for free when I could get paid for it if it was for a client rather than a "friend".
Zoobeef said:
Yep that's usually in there too. "This is Mark, he's a royal marine and he's got a Noble" The new person then looks at me blankly as though wondering if I'd told them to say that to try and impress them.
To counter this thread, I remember having a really interesting conversation with your brother about his time in Camp Bastion.Pesty said:
75% of phers work in it.
Not actually counted but it seems like every other post
Even though I work in IT, I forget how mainstream it has become in recent years. I was walking past a pub mid afternoon last week and 2 guys were talking loudly about SEO and increasing their online presence. Not actually counted but it seems like every other post
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