Ask HN: Developers: How do you explain to people what it is you do?

Posted by dclowd9901 on Tuesday August 14, 2012 @12:40PM
from the ask-hn dept.

I try to explain what I do to people in a way they can understand. Rather than go into rote jargon about writing code and making objects extensible, I tell them that I have puzzles and tell a computer how to solve them as efficiently as possible. I think that sometimes gets through, but I feel like it still misses the mark.<p>So how do you guys do it?

( 11 comments | 8 points | on HN )

Re:Ask HN: Developers: How do you explain to people what it ... by chill1 on Tuesday August 14, 2012 @01:06PM (#4381931)

I usually try to keep it short and simple at first: "I build education software." If they show further interest by asking a follow up question, I get a little more technical. I don't know why, but it continues to surprise me just how few people know anything about how the internet (or computers) work.

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Re:Ask HN: Developers: How do you explain to people what it ... by codegeek on Tuesday August 14, 2012 @02:08PM (#4382263)

if nothing, tell them "I build stuff that will change your life. So buy it now!!"

Jokes apart, first explain a problem that they understand. If they get the problem, then tell them that you help solve that problem by [add whatever here]. Simple.

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Re:Ask HN: Developers: How do you explain to people what it ... by brk on Tuesday August 14, 2012 @12:50PM (#4381837)

"I work with venture-backed startups to develop new technologies".

Then, there are usually questions about some or all portions of that, "What's a startup?", "What do you mean by venture-backed", etc.

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Re:Ask HN: Developers: How do you explain to people what it ... by EnderMB on Friday August 17, 2012 @07:57AM (#4395922)

"I build websites".

I'm actually a developer for a full-service digital agency but when you get into developer territory it's rare that the conversation will go any further than "oh, that's cool".

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Re:Ask HN: Developers: How do you explain to people what it ... by AtTheLast on Tuesday August 14, 2012 @03:09PM (#4382575)

I tell people I do user experience and user design for the web. Then follow that up with a Facebook or Google related example of it.

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Re:Ask HN: Developers: How do you explain to people what it ... by jamesjguthrie on Tuesday August 14, 2012 @12:57PM (#4381878)

Keep it simple, I build software for phones.

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Re:Ask HN: Developers: How do you explain to people what it ... by shrughes on Saturday August 18, 2012 @02:01AM (#4400385)

I like the way my father explained my job to a golfer we were playing with: "He's a typist at a computer company."

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Re:Ask HN: Developers: How do you explain to people what it ... by orenmazor on Tuesday August 14, 2012 @01:02PM (#4381904)

depends on who I'm talking to. for technical people I can tell the exact web product I'm working on.

for grandparents and others, I "solve technical problems using a variety of tools. kind of like an engineer would by first drawing schematics, and then following them to construct a bridge"

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Re:Ask HN: Developers: How do you explain to people what it ... by bazookaBen on Tuesday August 14, 2012 @02:00PM (#4382220)

i tell them "I make mobile games", in which case 99% of the time, they'll bring up Angry Birds.

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Re:Ask HN: Developers: How do you explain to people what it ... by piyushco on Thursday August 23, 2012 @01:52AM (#4421106)

"I make Apps for android, iPhone"

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Re:Ask HN: Developers: How do you explain to people what it ... by davidjnelson on Wednesday August 22, 2012 @01:16AM (#4416151)

"I write software".

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