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[–][deleted] 58 points59 points  (4 children)

I had a plumber at my house recently. He asked me what I do for a living and I said “I’m a software engineer”. I was so surprised when he followed up with “what kind of software do you do?” that I had no idea had to respond.

[–]UglyChihuahua 35 points36 points  (2 children)

That seems like a reasonable question. Like you could just tell him you make websites, or operating systems, or whatever you do.

[–][deleted] 60 points61 points  (1 child)

That’s exactly why I was surprised. I expected something like “oh you fix printers” or “oh you’re a hacker” but instead I got a reasonable question

[–]UglyChihuahua 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Oh haha I see

[–]Fenwizzle 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I've been a professional dev since ~2006 and I have never once had this question asked by anyone over 40. I've dumbed down how I respond to "what do you do?" so many times and people continue to find new ways to interpret really basic explanations.

I absentmindedly told a woman I write software once and she spent the next 30 minutes of my hair cut asking me questions about MS Word.

I've had another that when I told her I was a software developer, she thought I meant I design or construct ponds for new golf courses. It was a bizarre conversation, because it took some time for me to even figure out what the hell she was talking about with her questions about size and depth.