To just give a generic job title when asked?

[PrueLeith]

Was at a child-related event recently with a friend. Another mum came over to chat to both of us, and the conversation turned to jobs.

I said I was a university lecturer. Friend said she was a senior HR advisor.

Other mum left and friend was like 'why didn't you say your actual job?'. I said I did, and she said 'you're not just a lecturer though, your job title is Head of Department'. I said I felt like lecturer was more descriptive of most of what I do, and most people wouldn't care about my actual title. And that I'd feel like a bit of a knob going 'oh, I'm head of department' as if I'm trying to impress people.

This made me wonder what others do. Do you just give a general/generic description, or would you be careful to say eg 'Higher Level Teaching Assistant' or consultant rather than doctor?

AIBU to just give the general title for what I do? Or is it a bit cringey to be really explicit about exactly what level you are?

Haha. Reminds me of when I said I was a chemist and the bloke I was talking to said 'so do you work in boots?'

I usually just say I work for the council if asked. Most folk don’t question it.

I just say admin, its non committal

I just say Nurse. My job title doesn’t explain what I do or the breadth of responsibility

I say I work in mental health - most people don’t really care what your job title is, they’re just trying to place you and maybe have some conversation around it.

I work in a Primary school . Covers everything from cleaner to Head Teacher

I state my profession. I don’t state my specific job title or level of seniority, largely because it’d be meaningless to people outside the profession. Also, it’s a bit crass to start pulling rank and telling people I’m “Head of X”.

I say what organisation I work for but not what I do specifically unless the conversation goes that way.

Same. I’m in banking and tbh I’m not even sure what I do.

Snap, same here. Head of a department in a very niche finance industry. I just say accountant. Although this usually leads to questions about their own taxes and if I can help. So my actual line is "I'm an accountant, but not a normal accountant"

I definitely just say generic stuff.

Im an actuary but fed up of explaining what that is so I just say I work in finance.

<< goes off down mental rabbit hole >>

I wonder what men say in these situations. Do they go generic? Inflate their responsibilities? Would love to see research on this.

I do the same. Actually, I would never mention my title - one of those Head of ... things as one it sounds poncy to, and secondly it actually has a very specific meaning (regulatory role).
I usually don't even mention my profession - I just say I work in insurance.

I say secondary teacher because it’s a completely different job to a primary teacher. Or maybe I’m just a knob 🤣🤣.

I'm assistant headteacher. Is it dickish to say that then instead of primary school teacher? I choose one of those based on who I'm speaking to.

Snap @ActDottie 😀

I’ll say ‘I’m a copywriter’ (leaving off the senior bit) and usually the response is a mix of ‘oh what’s that?’ or ‘ah so you copyright ideas?’ 🤷🏻‍♀️

Yeah, I just say 'marketing'. I don't really want to go into specifics and I'm pretty sure the person asking isn't that interested either. Unless you find you both work in the same industry/area and then it can start a discussion.

I normally summarise my job as "spreadsheets and tea".

This is also me... I tell people i'm an accountant rather than title/industry and so on and my job is to "tell rich people how rich they are" which most people chuckle at, and then don't ask me tax questions (thank god).

No one understands my job title, I do think my husband even understands what I do. It's not a big deal.

I just give my job title, it is what it is. I think it's fine either way, whether you prefer specifics or just a general description.

Usually very generic but does depend on context. So at school gate, civil servant. If in conversation about a topic where it is relevant, I might specify the agency and if very relevant, then my specific role. But the latter would be the exception. People do not care if making conversation, just filling time, or getting some general context

At one time my job title was operations executive, I just said what it really was, customer service over the phone🤭

I say that I work on the Tube. My title is Customer Service Supervisor 2 (1s generally work on more complex stations than I do). Also, I don't just do customer service. I do health and safety. I'm a first responder to things which go wrong. I also deal with the ticket machines. So it's much more complicated than my initial answer but unless you are very interested in the role I can bore you very quickly.