What do you do for a living

[Shepa]

A good one, but (un)fortunately, I was working for some local privateers.
"OTIS" was "too corporate" for me, with their certificates, drills and such.
So... LOL to that...

[madjak30]

"What do you do for a living" the good ol' faithful party question used to gauge social rank, mentally guess income level, etc.

I don't usually answer this question, though a fellow at work and I have decided one good answer is, "I work as a laborer in a furniture factory." Another good one we came up with was, "I work as a process working in a tent peg factory and my job is to put the small sections of striaght metal into a machine which puts the bend in them creating a tent peg" - but it was too long winded. Furniture factory laborer was concise and unusual enough to be believable.

But see, Job Title isn't "what you DO". What you DO is an action.

And what I DO is: participate in the creation of things that represent the height of the ingeniousness of human beings.

Other answers I have used...

As little as possible
Enough to pay the bills
Whatever I want at the time

And I think, the question is better asked, "What field do you work in?"

Then there can be no social rank cause any and all teachers, professors, PhD lecturers, etc., would all say "I work in education". All food process workers could be "in the food business". Salesmen could be in "the auto industry" for a car salesmen. In this way, enough is revealed and enough is hidden.

I participate in the creation of things that represent the height of human ingenuity.

Michael

I've seen pictures...and some of the things you can see while "you do what you do" look pretty cool and impressive...

As for me...started out as an Electronics Engineering Technologist but couldn't find work in the 90s, went into Automotive Parts to pay the bills, then went into retail management...figured out that dealing with the public sucks, most people are morons...then got a trade (Electrician), moved my way up to Project Management...and now I am "Corporate Quality Advisor for Electrical and Instrumentation" for an oil field contractor, which sounds impressive but being an advisor means that no one really has to listen, just adivce!!

Who knows how that title will change over the next couple of years...

Later.

[ghostrider_23]

Mister, This question was not intended to be used to gauge social rank, mentally guess income level, etc

It was ask for fun and to see the different backgrounds of our GS riders.  Really calm down and take it easy, if you don't want to post click out!

The dog poo picker upper is more respected and makes more than me so what so move on.

It's all in FUN Nothing else

[dam]

OK, so I haven't had a job in years but I'm still a Toolmaker.

[Shaddow]

Mister I don't think I even subconsciously ranked people socially or income wise reading people's answers. I did rank them on how interesting I found people's jobs though. It is an interesting way you interpret and look at the questions.

So Mister how have your ranked everyone? Since you thought of that angle some part of you mentally was ranking people assuming you read everyone else's answers.

If i was to answer the question via your interpretation. What I DO for a living is analysis project performance and advise. I create lots of pretty pictures and charts for meetings. I create performance tracking schedules with and without cost tracking measurements. I make a pest of myself in managers sides.

[yamahonkawazuki]

Mister I don't think I even subconsciously ranked people socially or income wise reading people's answers. I did rank them on how interesting I found people's jobs though. It is an interesting way you interpret and look at the questions.

So Mister how have your ranked everyone? Since you thought of that angle some part of you mentally was ranking people assuming you read everyone else's answers.

If i was to answer the question via your interpretation. What I DO for a living is analysis project performance and advise. I create lots of pretty pictures and charts for meetings. I create performance tracking schedules with and without cost tracking measurements. I make a pest of myself in managers sides.

So basically you make one of two groups happy. the mgmt, or hte accountants. usually not both. if you make both happy. youre a hero, if one isnt happy youre looked down upon slightly

[mister]

To help clear up any misunderstanding I may have given...

My observations are based on MY experiences. As I said, "the good ol' faithful party question". And it is at such Functions that *I* have been asked this question as a means of social status gauging and income level estimating.

You know that scene in the movie Independence Day where Jasmine has rescued the first lady and they are talking. The first lady says, "what do you do for a living?" Jasmine says, "I'm a dancer". "Ah, ballet." "No, exotic". Wrinkle nose, "Oh, I'm sorry."

I have had so much pretentious wrinkle nose BS in my life based around that seeming innocuous question, so much "look down the nose" cause my job isn't Worthy or estimated to be high enough paying, or not having the right piece of paper from the right place, that I am very Jaded about that question, and simply stopped answering it. I intend no malice  toward anyone in my writing here, merely expressing my disdain at the question. That I answered in my way is more than anyone else has gotten from me in a lo-o-o-o-ong time. Which shows how comfortable I feel posting here.

@Shadow. I do not gauge anyone's social status based on their profession, nor guesstimate their income. Cause, frankly, I don't care. I don't wonder around at parties asking people what they do, nor do I discuss incomes. Again, cause I don't care.

I have had the most menial of menial jobs as a process worker standing on a line doing the same single task over and over, I've had jobs where everyone walked around like they were King Sh!t of Turd Island and I've had businesses where I employed people to work for me. I've done strict hard labor and had Soft work. I've done stuff for athletes that represented Australia, politicians, police force, military and some Very wealthy people (richest was worth $75mil) and I've also directly helped the down and out.

And through all this I have learned that, regardless of any Ornamental Magnifiers a person may have, they are still "just a person." They are no different than any other person. They are no better cause they have a certain piece of paper, or a certain job or profession or business, or cause they live in a certain place. Attending one school over another doesn't make one person have more value as a person over another. Neither does wearing a certain type of clothes. Or growing up on one side of the tracks or another. Or having a certain title. We are all "just human beings".

And as far as I am concerned, you are the most high in Your Life; Not some figure head who wears a funny wig or sits in some office or whatever. No King or Queen or Lord is any more important than you. They are certainly not worth bowing to in subjugation. They think otherwise, however. As such, I prefer the company of more unpretentious people - regardless of their job, income level, wealth level or whatnot.

Michael

[ghostrider_23]

Mister,

I feel your pain and without going into any stores understand where you are coming from. It's just your responce kind of set a bad note on a thread that was intended to be fun.

No harm no foul  thanks for clearing it up my brother.

Current, I am being forced to go on sabbatical because I don't have the right piece of paper and hopefully will return to my postion in the summer term.

Anyway, I am leaving for Culpeper Virginia in a couple of hours. 

Happy turkey day everyone. See you on the dark side.

[cbrfxr67]

I liked Mister's first answer.  Was even going to state 'another great answer from Mister.'  Would it be thread hi-jacking to ask everyone also 'ok, so now what was the worst job or most menial or socially unimpressive job you ever had?'  Aside from chain gang manual weed hacker, I worked in a soap factory where I had to climb into these giant mixers and scrape all the gooey soap leftovers off the blades of the machines.  Not too high on the social job ranking list there.  haha

[ojstinson]

I had a job with the circus circumcising elephants, It was dirty work but the tips were substantial-----and there is always the prospect of getting ahead.


I also had a job working for the Navy in the supply room, I was the one designated to dole out the days supply of Shore Line, Relative Bearing grease, prop wash, etc. Later on I was trusted with the huge responsibility of being in charge of the keys to the Chain Locker.

[ver4]

Worst job?  Cabinet maker/helper. 

It was my first job and I was also one of the youngest in the factory at the time.  I could do everything the "master" mechanics could do, but I was treated like crap and given no respect by quite a few of the older employees.  That's why I quit. 

[mister]

Worst job? Well part of my duties were: crawl through a small manhole in the side of a large silo that had stored beef tallow. Drag in a hot hose which was a mix of steam heated water and soap. Shovel out the remaining beef tallow crud and then wash down everything else to remove as much residue as possible. No fan blowing in air from the top, just the top hatch open. No "third man" present outside in case something went wrong inside. Just shovelling stinky smelly crud almost knee deep then washing it all nice and clean.

Michael

[NorwayGT1]

wow dude that sounds like a shaZam! full of fun mister

[slipperymongoose]

Ahhhh the fun if the meat works mister.

[The Buddha]

Worst job? Well part of my duties were: crawl through a small manhole in the side of a large silo that had stored beef tallow. Drag in a hot hose which was a mix of steam heated water and soap. Shovel out the remaining beef tallow crud and then wash down everything else to remove as much residue as possible. No fan blowing in air from the top, just the top hatch open. No "third man" present outside in case something went wrong inside. Just shovelling stinky smelly crud almost knee deep then washing it all nice and clean.

Michael

Sadly man, that's the work in the US we send illegal immigrants to do ... they apparently "do jobs americans dont want to do" ... sadly I call bs on it ... when I was a factory worker ... I'd have done it ... except they wanted to pay me minimum wage ... sorry aint happening ... I was 20 and stupid, but not that stupid. Immigrant or not ... I quit in spectacular fashion 11 months after that go nowhere job ... sorry yea I'll clean your sheite but not at 6 bones a hr ...
Cool.
Buddha.

[mister]

Ahhhh the fun if the meat works mister.

Nah. That job I was a yardman at a oil processing and margarine production plant. One of the yardman jobs was cleaning the tallow tanks.

Michael

[slipperymongoose]

Your just full of mystery and ambiguaity.

[mister]

Your just full of mystery and ambiguaity.

Why thank you.

Michael

[PachmanP]

Bike thief Engineer, but not currently in a position that does anything useful or productive.

[Dresnewtoy]

System Operator for an Electric Utility here in Maryland.