Why don't people want to say what they do for a living?

[pinchmeimdreamin]

deadtom said:

Maybe they just don't like the answer they have to give?

I am getting on for 30 but still work in a bike shop as a spanner monkey for a little more than minimum wage, so I sometimes feel a little sheepish when asked what I do as it's not a particularly impressive career path, but I still try to not be cagey about it when asked.

I help send out lots of POS advertising for a few household name companies, and probably earn less in a year than most PHer's appear to earn in a month.

However I am 100% happy with my life.

Don't ever be embarassed with your job, anyone who measure you by what you do for a living is not someone you should listen too.

[Playsatan]

At a fiends stag do we happened to stop in at a strip club, not the sort of place I usually frequent but I was happy to go along with the crowd. The girls obviously have a few stock lines of small talk before the topic turns to the real reason they're talking to you. The first girl who spoke to me went straight from what's your name to what do you do for a living, normally this would be cringe worthy (working in IT) but it went better than expected.

Her - So, what do you do for a living?
Me - Oh nothing exciting, I'm a problem manager.
Her - What's that.
Me - Well, when companies have a problem they come to me and I sort it out for them
Her - What, like Ray Donavan?
Me - Err, yeah baby. Exactly like that.

[schmalex]

My employer and our customers ask us not to disclose what we do.

[FailHere]

I just tell people I race cars, play tennis, and fondle women, BUT! I have weekends off, and I am my own boss.

[Blown2CV]

schmalex said:

My employer and our customers ask us not to disclose what we do.

99% of the people that are DV or in some way have a 'covert' career are actually just changing different values in a different spreadsheet. No one gives a fk. You're not James Bond.

[Monkeylegend]

schmalex said:

My employer and our customers ask us not to disclose what we do.

Must make looking for new business interesting.

"Hello this is Schmalex, I was wondering if I can make an appointment with you to discuss further business opportunities"

"Hello Mr Schmalex, what line of business are you and your company in?"

"Erm, I am forbidden under the official secrets act to divulge that information,......... hello......hello....can you hear me......"

[schmalex]

Blown2CV said:

schmalex said:

My employer and our customers ask us not to disclose what we do.

99% of the people that are DV or in some way have a 'covert' career are actually just changing different values in a different spreadsheet. No one gives a fk. You're not James Bond.

Absolutely. I'm not James Bond at all and didn't say I was.

[turbobloke]

schmalex said:

Blown2CV said:

schmalex said:

My employer and our customers ask us not to disclose what we do.

99% of the people that are DV or in some way have a 'covert' career are actually just changing different values in a different spreadsheet. No one gives a fk. You're not James Bond.

Absolutely. I'm not James Bond at all and didn't say I was.

And you couldn't say anyway

As a self-employed person my employer also asked for non-disclosure, and I agreed

[Thankyou4calling]

schmalex said:

My employer and our customers ask us not to disclose what we do.

Seems odd! What do you do?

[Thankyou4calling]

Blown2CV said:

99% of the people that are DV or in some way have a 'covert' career are actually just changing different values in a different spreadsheet. No one gives a fk. You're not James Bond.

Correct. If you really were "Deep undercover" you wouldn't be posting on PH.

People who say they aren't allowed to reveal their job will pretty much always have a boring job that they've been led to believe is top secret to make them feel important. Truth is they aren't.

[anonymous-user]

Blown2CV said:

99% of the people that are DV or in some way have a 'covert' career are actually just changing different values in a different spreadsheet. No one gives a fk. You're not James Bond.

How rude, isn't he just answering the op's question regarding why some people don't talk about their jobs?

[Countdown]

el stovey said:

How rude, isn't he just answering the op's question regarding why some people don't talk about their jobs?

If there ARE sensitive reasons for not discussing one's job I think the best thing to have done is not mention anything at all on this thread. Or, alternatively, just post saying "some people's employers don't want them to mention....."

This way it just alerts the PH Hounds to trawl through his posts to see if there's anything of genuine interest or anything that could help to identify him (or her).

Posting about how "secret" you job is is somewhat counter-productive.

[Fatboy]

doogz said:

Snap.

Although I can tell you I'm a structural engineer. And I work in a shipyard, that builds warships.

Which makes it not-too-difficult to figure out roughly what I do.

Drink coffee and eat cake whilst polishing tortoises?

[Cotty]

Guvernator said:

However we are quite reserved in the UK on the whole and have nothing on most other countries. If you think asking what job you do is being rude, try going to country were within 30 seconds of meeting someone, they will ask how much you earn in a very direct manner and then base the rest of their interaction with you on that answer.

What happens if you don't tell them? My company told us not to discuss what we earn.

[Countdown]

Guvernator said:

However we are quite reserved in the UK on the whole and have nothing on most other countries. If you think asking what job you do is being rude, try going to country were within 30 seconds of meeting someone, they will ask how much you earn in a very direct manner and then base the rest of their interaction with you on that answer.

That's my experience as well in developing countries. Discussing salary in the UK or US seems quite taboo, maybe because we judge people's status based on their job title or business card instead. In South Asia and SEA they tend to be very direct, I think because they are comparing status levels.

On PH there's far more kudos in pretending to be a "multiple business owner" than (for example) admitting to being a failed statistician

[turbobloke]

Countdown said:

Guvernator said:

However we are quite reserved in the UK on the whole and have nothing on most other countries. If you think asking what job you do is being rude, try going to country were within 30 seconds of meeting someone, they will ask how much you earn in a very direct manner and then base the rest of their interaction with you on that answer.

That's my experience as well in developing countries. Discussing salary in the UK or US seems quite taboo, maybe because we judge people's status based on their job title or business card instead. In South Asia and SEA they tend to be very direct, I think because they are comparing status levels.

On PH there's far more kudos in pretending to be a "multiple business owner" than (for example) admitting to being a failed statistician

Wow, I hadn't realised the immense kudos due from being a genuine multiple business owner and successful statistician (having taught it as part of a masters degree). Thanks for your quivering adulation Countdown

In keeping with my newly affirmed status I'll be away from PH for a while hunting down and scraping up bird poop as Mrs TB got her finches out recently.

[Countdown]

[JonRB]

turbobloke said:

as Mrs TB got her finches out recently.

*sniggers*

[Cotty]

Countdown said:

That's my experience as well in developing countries. Discussing salary in the UK or US seems quite taboo, maybe because we judge people's status based on their job title or business card instead. In South Asia and SEA they tend to be very direct, I think because they are comparing status levels.

Especially if it has a watermark.

[PurpleTurtle]

Playsatan said:

At a fiends stag do we happened to stop in at a strip club, not the sort of place I usually frequent but I was happy to go along with the crowd. The girls obviously have a few stock lines of small talk before the topic turns to the real reason they're talking to you. The first girl who spoke to me went straight from what's your name to what do you do for a living, normally this would be cringe worthy (working in IT) but it went better than expected.

Her - So, what do you do for a living?
Me - Oh nothing exciting, I'm a problem manager.
Her - What's that.
Me - Well, when companies have a problem they come to me and I sort it out for them
Her - What, like Ray Donavan?
Me - Err, yeah baby. Exactly like that.

From my (ahem) limited exposure to such establishments, that's standard MO for quickly establishing how much moolah they can rinse out of you, isn't it?

Telling them you are a) unemployed or b) a powerfully built company director, run several empires, but also spend a lot of time on PH has a directly proportional impact on the amount of time they will spend engaging you in banal chit chat before inviting you to see their minky. Apparently.