I've always thought this was one of the laziest questions in RL and my answer was: lie. No-one should be judged by what they 'do', which I always assumed was reason for question. What do you do? What does it matter? What do you believe in, what do you think about this or that, that's different.
Apart from being unimaginative, it's a classic 'gold-digger'-question, along with "what car do you drive?" -personally I've always ignored that kind of questioning and asked right back: "what are you reading at the moment?" -Those my question doesn't leave flabbergasted are the ones I like having conversations with -and it rarely matters what their answer actually is
What's wrong with the question of 'what do you do for a living?' It's small talk (call me Hutch) like the weather and sports.
Perhaps some of us think it's "
too small talk"... At least; that's how I see it.
But; yes! -a lot of 'blue collar' work pays quite a lot more than some 'white collar' work does; I'm pretty sure you could make 'a bundle' being a roofer in the US -where you could choose to make 'a living' sitting in a cubicle (
if you had the college degree to become locked up like that).
I think it's very interesting to find out what people do for a living. We're all (or mostly) Star Trek fans, and that is how we know one another. New avenues of familiarity are nice!
Yes,
on here it's a decent question -but then, we already know A LOT about each other (what we had for dinner, our dick-size, our latest purchases.... )
My mind is being blown by how defensive some people come about this question! Some have commented that the it is perceived differently in the UK and the US, and I can see how that would be; I can also see how, under very specific circumstances, anyone, anywhere might feel they are being imposed upon or judged, however, I think most people ask simply for the sake of creating small talk, and have no hidden classist motives. Also, just because one recognizes that we can learn a lot about people by their response, doesn't mean one passes judgement about another's work or career.
So true -but the simple fact of asking such an unimaginative question tells volumes about the person doing the asking!
/../ who wouldn't want to be a celebrity/.../
Me!
Sound but definitively not safe.
Statistically speaking: I'd feel much safer sitting next to
Squiggy on
any flight -than anyone else on this board
/.../ I remember the customers names, ask after their families, am happy to sit and chat if they want, and enjoy flirting with them ~ it makes their day as well as mine.
I once was the (return-) bottle-guy in a supermarket, ^those things (plus being the guy on the telephone and not being specialised in any way (apart from the return bottles)) made me a very popular guy in the place -but as I was only working there because the Social Department (or whatever it might be called in your part of the world) paid the company a substantial part of my salary it was a somewhat limited employ and I eventually was replaced with someone else (The SD only pays part of the salary for so many weeks
)
I like asking people what they do because it can make great conversation and I can learn about careers and ask questions about people who are more knowledgeable in those fields than me. Or if they have a crappy retail job or something like that, we can have a laugh and swap stories.
Indeed, all of those! -but the question has to fall WAY into a conversation -not in the beginning of one!
/.../, one shouldn't use the economy as an excuse to settle in at a crappy job. I think people should always try for better.
Exactly! -"the economy" opens up for people to re-strategize what jobs are actually good and which ones aren't. It used to be that a good degree and a job in a bank was a good job -these days you're better off being able to repair peoples cars!
Me? -I'm a pensioner
-I do
nothing for a living.
RoJoHens thread about 'hobbies' did however give me a couple of ideas about what I could do in my basement, ideas that could eventually make me rich beyond my own dreams...
