Bitcoin Forum

Does it annoy you when people ask "what do you do?" as a way to find out about you?

I find this really annoying in most contexts. 99% of the time what someone does is because they dont have a better option to acquire money to purchase resources to survive no? People might aswell ask "so how are you trapped?".  

Only the very rich must truely "enjoy" this question? or maybe those who are proud of their work, like doctors etc

2 contexts i find it acceptable someone asks me what i do:

1.) A bank or estate agent, basically something to do with business. They are asking to protect their business/investment.

2.) Someone close to you, or someone you getting on with very well asks because of reasons like... they wanna do something in the future with you and wonder if you have free time.

Most folks who become annoyed at this, have figured out friendly ways to walk and talk around it.

:)

Sometimes.
"What're you doing on the computer all day, how're you making money?"

Just answering as: "I'm private investor" ;D

Really those are your reasons? For me it's the fact that every time I tell people what I do I have to explain it and they still don't get it, the only people who know what I do are people who either do what I do already or use the internet regularly. To keep things simple I often just say I work with Jewellery because that's something people understand, I won't even get into artwork the majority of the time because people don't fucking understand the idea of manga etc. and you have to explain it.

I work nights, and can't sleep during the day.    ;D

I tried that, but then they started asking what Synagogue I went to.    ;D

Yeah thats what i need to work on maybe.... not very good at working out why people are asking, still seems a very silly/aggressive question in many contexts. Because even if it is a geniune friendly question, how many people % wise are proud of what they do? cant be a very high %.  Its statistical suicide asking people this question especially if they are a stranger.

Maybe its just me :)

"Hi. How are you?" "That's personal."    :D

Well thats another reason.

Those reasons i give are my main reasons yes, if im speaking to someone its because i want a decent connection ideally.  What someone does rarely defines them..

Yeah i dont find that the same assuming body language geniune. Its an opened ended question, its a great question, you can connect better asking/answering this.

 

YES  >:(

It annoys me so much, mostly when people who are not related with my life in anyway ask me what do I do. For ex. my milkman, I don't know what is that guy's problem. I don't want to bash him off coz he brings milk and he could mix nasty things in it but.. it so gets on my nerves.

This reminds me of a situation when you visit your girlfriend's house for the first time and once her folks see you they immediately ask "what do you do, what do your parents do and what are your future plans". The best answer would be "i'm going to university to be a doctor, my father is a lawyer and my mom just baked cookies for you guys which I happily brought with me" Fuck you society! :D

lol yes thats it in the very extreme form, it is like society talking to you rather then the person. Funny answer!

Few months ago i went camping, ended up in a big tent with about 8 strangers sat in a circle, kinda cool until within 10 minutes in some dick decided it would be a good idea we'd go around individaully and find out what eachother did.  Just so happened he was extremely proud of whatever the shit it was he did, some kind of managment trainer BS. Typical clueless baby boomer type.

If only two girls could make a baby. They'd be happier than ever.    :D

Sometimes it annoys me lol it depends on who is asking and why.
Some people just ask to see if they can find something to criticize, but if it is an honest question it doesn't annoy me.

When you meet enough people in your life, you get used to it. Some people are nosy and you learn to brush them off with witty replies. I don't get annoyed because I take pride in what I do, even if it earns next to nothing. I believe it's more to do with self-esteem than the question itself. Most of the time, the question is just an ice-breaker.

Does it annoy you when people ask "what do you do?"

Does the topic assume most of us do not have "regular"/mainstream type jobs?



My feelings are the same, you get used to it.

I travel, I appreciate lots of artistic endeavors, I do outdoor sports like climbing and canoeing, I play video games, etc... Why does it have to be about money?

me I don't answer, they can't understand, at a physical lvl  :P. it would be like trying to make an IA32 process run on a ARM cpu...  :-\  So I let them go... to their destiny. Why shall I break the veil on those wanting to stay in it? it ain't cool.

Answer: drinking.  ::), what  :o your glass is empty... then they say no to more drinking (they have to be clean to scam or predates), so they move along... and I am  :D. fuck them.

when a girl ask it's just to know your income lvl... then she will try a question about your spending habits to see if you are a good (side) provider, the next ones is already being channeled trough what ever app they use now (like second date, be fucked by a second guy while on a date with a first one... whooa).

the 21 American century, greatest achievement of (anti)mankind!

In the DC area, you definitely get used to it, since it's as common a greeting as "hello." It's easy to segue into more interesting topics.

Still, I'm glad I left the area. Lots of boring people.

Tell 'em you're a sun-gazer.   :D

Could it be that you're actually annoyed with yourself and not with the people asking the question? The moment you realize you're 'trapped' (or whenever you're facing any other problems for that matter) is also the moment the solution becomes clear to you. However people usually convince themselves that there is no solution or that they cannot do anything about it simply because the solution would negatively(?) impact other 'dependencies' that they would rather leave intact. This feeling of knowing what you should do and yet not wanting to do it can tear you up inside and is frustrating. It's easier to direct this frustration/anger at others rather than oneself. The barrage of reason preventing you from resolving your problem seems unsurmountable only because you accept it to be so. Maybe you should review your priorities.

Maybe it seems like an ice-breaker to you because you are proud of what you do?  I cannot say im proud of what i do really (like most), i've just tried to make money however i can for all my adult life.  The question shows my potential and limitations but doesnt say much more about who i am.  Most of my moral and ethical energy gets put into other areas of life.  I do still make money legally and consdier what i do "morally" ok whatever that means.

Yes i am partly annoyed with myself for not achieving a "better" occupation but how many occupations are acceptable or impressive to society anyway?  Its very unrealistic to be annoyed with yourself for this most of the time.  Even if you have an "impressive" occupation, thats not always acceptable to other people anyway - private business man etc.

I dont think there is much a solution for this, society is in a state of enlightenment/transition as regards these types of things.  We cannot just force the change with something so huge.  Some things just aren't worth fighting.  If i asked this same question to baby boomers most of them would respond differently or be confused why its even an issue.  

I do agree i have a confusion about priorites.  But having seen a few others annoyed here with the same question that feels good to know.  Probably best i start working out some decent replies to the question in various different contexts since its something that comes up occasionally.

Can't say I was annoyed when someone asked me what I do in a long time. But I have seen people who were annoyed when I asked them that question. They usually had a reason for that. They were either in a job they hated or between jobs longer than they liked. I didn't know it was a touchy subject with them ATM. I didn't like it when people asked me what I was studying when I just dropped out of college.

So you basically have to change your perspective (that's what I did) if this is the sort of thing you don't like being asked. People will do it. Out of pure politeness actually. They just met you and are showing interest in you, to make you feel they care about who and what you are.

That's why we ask: "What's your name?", "Where are you from?", "What do you do?", "What are your hobbies?", "Read any good books lately?", etc...

That's my perspective anyway.

no i dont mind because i have cool things to tell them

Out of those questions, i'd rank the what are your hobbies question or the read any good books as the best thing to get asked or ask someone - assuming that list is the only choices.  Hobbies are very likely something you truly choose.. Although you can easily change your name i guess.

But how do you make money tho?

Not really. The only time it would annoy me when I am embarrased of what I do , maybe due to the circumstances. But I would never be annoyed by someone just asking me.

I'm not a rich guy and I'm not getting annoyed if someone asked me such thing.
As long as I'm work at legit way, why should I get annoyed ?

Depends on whos asking. To any female friends i avoid giving a honest answer, saying i work privately for a small firm, but to my buddies i tell everything, but they still dont know what it realy is.
There are alot of people that will judge you on what you are doing in life, and im trying to avoid that as much as i can.

cheers

True , some people asking that only to judge how Big / Rich / Famous we are and they will use it for their purpose.
Answer them with common answer is the best, it will be hard for them to dig more information about us.

ha ha, right
i hate when people ask me "what you are doing nowdays"  :P

Once I start talking about my job, they regret asking me this question.  :P