Ask HN: What does your mother tell people about your work or employment?

Re:Ask HN: What does your mother tell people about your work... by stevenisageek on Thursday June 02, 2022 @06:47PM (#31601540)

My Mom tells people I "work on the internet".

She's not wrong... but it's kind of like saying construction laborers "work on the earth"

Good chuckle regardless

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Re:Ask HN: What does your mother tell people about your work... by bombcar on Thursday June 02, 2022 @07:11PM (#31601757)

He “does computers” is basically where we get to.

Amusingly enough, my dad, who has written kernel-level drivers, has basically the same answer for what I do.

Me? I’m a janitor for the internet plumbers.

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Re:Ask HN: What does your mother tell people about your work... by CoastalCoder on Thursday June 02, 2022 @07:40PM (#31602052)

> Amusingly enough, my dad, who has written kernel-level drivers, has basically the same answer for what I do.

Maybe he's just learned the futility of trying to give more detail.

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Re:Ask HN: What does your mother tell people about your work... by Barrin92 on Thursday June 02, 2022 @08:03PM (#31602276)

might also be a generational thing. A lot of older folks in my experience tend to be more plain and just say "I write software for a living" rather than doing the whole I am head of X in the Y division and I'm a code artisan".

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Re:Ask HN: What does your mother tell people about your work... by kjellsbells on Thursday June 02, 2022 @09:16PM (#31603008)

yes, i suspect that with age comes a certain zero-fucks-given modesty about what you do. youve got nothing left to prove and you are at peace with what you did. imagine Theo de Raadt aged 60 telling a room full of toddlers "i helped people on one computer do things on another" while all the grasping 25 year olds are claiming to be the Vice President of Interdomain Nodal connectivity (SSH Division 2)

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Re:Ask HN: What does your mother tell people about your work... by xcambar on Thursday June 02, 2022 @10:58PM (#31603733)

You nailed it.

I've spent 10+ years in SaaS businesses, and I've simplified my job description to: I work for a software company.

It does not say anything about what I do, it could mean engineering or accounting or... And if/when people want to know more, they just ask.

Bring rather vague helps everyone get just what they want. I always show up happy to answer and open for questions but also offer them exit paths regularly.

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Re:Ask HN: What does your mother tell people about your work... by formerkrogemp on Thursday June 02, 2022 @11:27PM (#31603924)

What sort of work do you do that involves software and accounting? Disclaimer: I work in accounting in industry.

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Re:Ask HN: What does your mother tell people about your work... by xcambar on Friday June 03, 2022 @02:10AM (#31604833)

That is a misunderstanding. When I say "I work for a software company", there are a myriad of job positions, not only software. Accounting was just another example, but also legal, HR, sales, etc. It is up to the audience to assume (or ask, resp.) what I specifically do.

I happen to be a software engineer, currently employed to manage an enginering team, since you ask.

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Re:Ask HN: What does your mother tell people about your work... by formerkrogemp on Friday June 03, 2022 @03:50AM (#31605443)

> I've spent 10+ years in SaaS businesses, and I've simplified my job description to: I work for a software company. It does not say anything about what I do, it could mean engineering or accounting or..

I see now where I misunderstood. I took that to mean the roles that you performed in the course of your work despite your job title, not that a variety of job roles are available in specific companies such as SaaS. Thank you for clarifying.

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