To find it awkward explaining my job?

[Bluebluesea321]

Does anyone else find it awkward/tiring trying to explain their job to people e.g. when being asked in a social setting? Unless you’re a vocation like doctor, teacher, accountant etc it just feels quite difficult without either sounding boring or show-offy! I work in a senior role in financial services and although it’s a very good job I have people asking what I do!

I work in HR and just say that - no one is interested but I like it! The worst is when in social situations with my husband. He's got an amazing job so I have to go first as mine is such a let down after.

It is extremely lucrative but it's dangerous so can't tell anyone.

Drug smuggling?
Assassin for hire?
Arms dealer?
Melania Trump impersonator?

I once met someone at a hen party who collects sperm from bulls then inseminates cows with it. By hand. Yes, really. My job as a nurse seemed incredibly full by comparison!

I have what I think is a fascinating job, also tough to explain, but I’ve realised that no one cares, so I say ‘work in marketing’ (not really accurate, but as close as I can get) and leave it at that.

People always seem to give me weird answers when I ask them like ‘I help people ‘ , which turned out to be a financial advisor. Or ‘medic’ which I still don’t know what they do.

It is extremely lucrative but it's dangerous so can't tell anyone.

Do you work for The Twelve? And like fashion

I say that I work in the security services (which is true) but follow up with, "if I told you any more I would have to kill you". People are mostly unsure of what to say after that.

I work in the public sector too, for exactly those reasons.

@BikeRunSki I love it, I don't think I'll ever leave, at least not to the private sector anyway 😁

I don't tell people what I do.

I get questions and people expecting free advice when in reality it would cost them £30+ an hour (personal trainer)

If people who don't know me outright ask I use my old job which was a cleaner.

As an aside, does anyone hate that that's the first thing people ask. Not, what are your hobbies/ interests, hopes or dreams. What job do you do? Like it defines a person.

@iamclaireandfleabag I hope this doesn't sound weird, but thank you for what you do. It must be stressful and distressing, and yet so vital, and your comments are really reassuring in that you sound absolutely the right person for the job.

I am happy to talk to anyone about what I do now, smallholding, animals, blah blah, but hated with a passion talking about the paid employment i did to get me here.

I spent years trying to think of a reasonable response to what i 'did'. I was actually a CEO of a research company. It was a great company and a brilliant job, but i always felt showy offy saying what I did.

I would actually just mumble that I worked in research.
'Animals'? was always the first question, but when I said 'no, research in humans', their eyes glazed over and that was the end if their interest😁

I liked the money though😁

I used to work in financial services and had the exact same problem. Mind you, my bosses had no idea what I did either! I’m glad to say that when asked now I can easily say I run the entire office for a manufacturing firm. People have thought I sound a bit of a nob when saying it though.

I love hearing about other people's jobs. There's such a wide range, always interesting. No need to lie if I ask you!

I'm a SAHM so I dont have that problem anymore. My dh is a car salesman.... people really dont like car salesmen. My dh is lovely. He doesn't rip old women off etc. But whenever its mentioned people always have a story of how dodgy salesmen are. It gets tiring.
My friend recently moved into a house share, got talking to his new flatmate, asked him what he did for a living.... his reply..."I catch chickens" then just said bye and left. Apparently it's his actual job and he works nights/early mornings.

I work in recruitment. We run a small consultancy. No, I can't get you a job in a field I know nothing about. No, I can't do your c.v for you. No, I don't want to employ you. No, I don't know anything about the job centre and I'm not an employment lawyer either.

I used to feel like this when I worked in financial services, but actually I never went into too much detail, as I knew they didn't really want to know! The only people who did were in FS themselves, and that was fine!

I work in mental health. I get told everyone's stories or asked advice about various relatives and friends ad infinitum. Sounds harsh but I'm usually pretty blunt now and tell people to make a GP appointment. I'm not in a position to give out freebies and my job is draining enough without doing it for free in my free time! (Close mates and family excepted)

I’m the odd ball. I like hearing about people’s jobs. The details of all the jobs I didn’t even know existed are fascinating and help me understand how the world works.

I love hearing about other people's jobs too, I know it's often hard to explain quickly. I think 'yes, but what do you actually do all day'. I'm an adult care social worker and people usually say 'oh.....that must be rewarding' er, no, not often. Absorbing and interesting but I don't rush about helping all day. 90% of the day on a computer. Or they say 'you must see some sights'. Which I definitely have, but prob not as much as say a housing officer or environmental control

Sometimes to avoid being roped into a free mental health assessment I answer with one of my previous jobs which include a life model or a cage dancer in the nightclub (both in the 90s)..

I have a similar thing. I try and simplify it to say that I work with vehicles, but then I get asked if I'm a mechanic.

On the plus side, everybody has a vehicle related story that I can talk to them about.

My husband is a landscape architect, He designs outdoor spaces, such as hospital grounds, community parks, gardens of manor houses, school playgrounds and then the bread and butter is like all the drives and spaces of big housing developments. He has no idea about gardening other than the basics of mowing a lawn but the amount of people who assume he is a Gardner, and ask him about paving their garden, or trimming their hedge infuriates him.

He has to study for the same amount of time; and pass the same amount of exams as a typical architect! So now when people ask him what he does, he just says ‘architect’ as opposed to ‘landscape architect’

Imake money from gambling sites is pretty much the explanation of my 'job' but people get a bit 🤔🤔 when you say that.

I had a quite a good job when I graduated, and recall going on holiday with a friend. She was a nurse so easy to explain, when I did try to say what I did , with a group of people our age she said it sounded like I was trying to be better than them and said don't complicate it, just say you work in admin.

All I know is, no man I know ever downplayed his job.