Explaining what you do

[Clay B.]

This is a bit off topic but I found it rather funny.

My wife and I was talking last night about her new job. After being laid off for a year she has new job and is working again.

Well like any new job people want to get to know you. She said the hardest part is explaining to people what I do. She is in the legal field so explaining what I do has proven to be difficult.

Her way to explain what I do. " He makes the boxes that have all the buttons in them that runs machines"

Well one asked her if I write programs as well. Her answer "Yes, thats when he cuses his computer"

I think now I am going to try and work at home less.

 

[Bill Wheeler]

At least the picture is clear

You think that’s bad – try describing to someone what I do working for a company that manufactures Silicon wafers. The first thing out of a person’s mouth is – You make silicon; the stuff they make breast implants out of - right?

At this point I just shake my head and say “yes that’s right”. Anything further is anticlimactic and beyond the persons level of comprehension and a waste of time. At least you’re wife can put together a picture that at the surface has some factual basis.

 

[hanziou]

When asked what I do I used the cusses at computer line. One time someone then asked me, "Doesn't everybody?"

Since then I've told people I make machines do what the computer wants them to do.

 

[JeffKiper]

95% of what I do is troubleshooting on existing systems.
My wife says that I fix other peoples screwups. Or I make machines stop mis-behaving.

Side note have you ever noticed that nobody ever programs as good as you do and the guy before you must have been off his medication when he wrote that program.

 

[dogleg43]

When asked the same question I've asked people if they had ever seen the movie "The China Syndromw" and said that I design and program those boxes with all the lights & buttons (although at the time the movie was made a lot of the stuff was probably still hardwired).

 

[Tom Jenkins]

I'm in the business of automating wastewater treatment facilities. When asked what I do I just say "I'm in the used food business".

I have lots of time on the plane to read my books!

 

[Steve Bailey]

and the guy before you must have been off his medication when he wrote that program

Even when the guy before me was me!

 

[Stationmaster]

That's all well and good as far as small talk or family goes.... but the REAL challenge is when you have to get it across to someone like a government agency, workers comp, liability or auto insurance carrier, etc, etc, .... These people think they've "heard it all" and when they haven't heard YOURS they start to doubt you.... come to THINK of it sometimes "I" start to doubt me....

 

[Paul T]

Simple... I just smile and say "I'm the guy who makes it go!"

 

[Mickey]

One of the jobs I did my last few years of working was
an instrumentation inspector for large capitol projects.
When people ask what I did I would say I watch other people work.
There response was “Oh you are one of those”.

 

[Ron Beaufort]

you never know who you're talking to ...

to cut out the necessary definitions, I gave up (years ago) telling people that I "teach PLCs" for a living – and I just started saying that I teach "industrial computers" instead ...

then a few years ago I was moving into my new office and the trim little property management lady who unlocked the door for me asked me what I do for a living ... I gave her the standard line: "I teach people how to troubleshoot industrial computers" ... she seemed to want to know more – so I went through the "wire up the inputs and the outputs" and "the program is written in ladder logic" and more along the same lines ...

when I got finished, she said, "That sounds a lot like PLCs. Do you work with Allen-Bradley's?" ...

it turned out that her husband works at the cement mill up the road – and she'd been hearing all about PLCs over the kitchen table for years ...

 

[dmroeder]

I have always struggled to describe what I do so that people that don't know the industry can understand it.

Now days I just tell people that I automate industrial machinery. People generally say "so you program computers?". I typically just say sure.

 

[Brijm]

This is a bit off topic but I found it rather funny.

My wife and I was talking last night about her new job. After being laid off for a year she has new job and is working again.

Well like any new job people want to get to know you. She said the hardest part is explaining to people what I do. She is in the legal field so explaining what I do has proven to be difficult.

Her way to explain what I do. " He makes the boxes that have all the buttons in them that runs machines"

Well one asked her if I write programs as well. Her answer "Yes, thats when he cuses his computer"

I think now I am going to try and work at home less.

My job is to not have a clue what I'm doing, and still have it fixed when I'm done.

 

[Rube]

I love it when I get asked "have you ever worked on one of these before". My answer (a lot of times)--"Nope".

When I leave and their problem is fixed "I thought you said you never worked on 'XYZ' before"

My response "Well now I have".

 

[pacifico]

I ask if they've seen How It's Made on Discovery - "Oh yeah, I've seen that show." "I do that."