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0 pointsastine16y ago0 comments

A doctor can casually drop something into the conversation about all of the lives he's saved or kids he's helped and instantly score points. That new webserver is slightly less enthralling to the uninitiated. It's easier to turn some kinds of work into an interesting story than others.

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mixmax16y ago· 2 in thread

I think that's a case of "the grass is greener on the other side"

You can just as easily come up with fun stories, things you've done, etc. as a programmer as a doctor.

- Next time you're on facebook try pressing up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, enter and see what happens. No I won't tell you but it's fun. If you can't remember it here's my number so you can text me and ask

- Yeah today I've had more than half a million people come through computers I run. Without me they would be in serious trouble. Pretty wild huh?

- I've helped so many kids with computers you wouldn't believe it.

A little thick maybe, but you get the point :-)

astineOP16y ago

I've never had any success with that approach, unfortunately. :(

wallflower16y ago

Like in tennis, the point is not to try to hit a winner when the question gets asked but to stay in the game. Volley it back by focusing on something you'd like to know about her.

For example:

Her: "What do you do for a living?"

You: "I write software that thousands of people use every day to get their own jobs done. And my real passion is cooking. I love French cooking from scratch.(pause)What do you enjoy doing?"

Her: "What do you do for a living?"

You: "I write software. Office politics aside, I like the creative aspect of building something up, from a blank screen in my editor to something that people actually use on the Internet.(pause). What do you do to exercise your creativity?"

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