What do you do for a living--How Rude!! (salary, financial, pay)

[chielgirl]

When people ask me "What do you do?" I usually respond, travel.
When they probe, for a living, I usually respond, work.
I understand that it's a conversation starter... not nearly as rude/intrusive as them asking about your reproductive choices.

I don't identify myself by what I do for a living, I do identify myself by what I do - travel.
I live overseas and don't want most people to know what I do for security reasons.
It's not a big deal but it's not an open conversation topic under most circumstances.
Sometimes I say that I'm a teacher.
I tend to move every conversation to travel.

[old_cold]

Under the specific circumstances the op described, the question was not appropriate.
That's far different from the other ,more ordinary and/or social, times it's asked.

[waterboy7375]

When Im on a sales call I always ask what the potential client does for a living. Different people buy for dcifferent reasons. If they say an engineer ( lot of em around here) I will take the time to explain all componants and how they work. A cop or a salesman would be bored if I did that. Their 2 main concerns are " how much and when can ya do it"

[nimchimpsky]

It varies culturally. In some cultures, it's rude, and in others, it's the norm. If you are from France and recently moved to the U.S., you'll have to get used to people asking you this, because it is part of our culture.

[GregW]

We use your job to estimate your income to see where you fit in the pecking order of American life.

[Kenneth-Kaunda]

sometimes people may ask 'what do your parents do?' - I would consider that a little rude for sure.

one could always say 'I'm a businessman' as that covers many things.

I think it becomes rude when people stop being discreet, and push the questioning too far.

for instance, sometimes people want to know what you did before what you do now, and before that even - ie: looking for the weak link.

that is rude I would say.

[Kenneth-Kaunda]

Originally Posted by GregW

We use your job to estimate your income to see where you fit in the pecking order of American life.

lol, that's true.

to make life easier people should just say 'how much money do you have in your bank account' ; that would cut to the chase!

[skeeter31]

I like when people ask what I do for a living. I worked hard to get where I am in my profession and I am proud of what I do. It's our culture to wonder what people do and it opens topics of conversation. I don't see it as insulting or rude at all. Our jobs are something that take a bulk of our time during the week, and they are something that we should feel some pride in. By not talking about them, it almost negates most of our week.

[Kenneth-Kaunda]

but what if your job is toilet cleaner at Macdonalds?

that may be something you may not be so keen to share.

[nimchimpsky]

Originally Posted by CaliTerp07

Nope, I don't think it's rude at all. Your job is a huge part of who you are, for most people, and it's an important piece of information about you.

And in response to the posts in this thread equating it to trying to "gauge" someone's socioeconomic status, I can usually gauge that from being in their house or going out to dinner with them. I don't really care either way.