For my entire career I’ve had a hard time explaining to people what I do for work. It was especially tough when I was single, and I always longed for an instantly-recognizable job like nurse, teacher, or plumber, but I settled on the lines, “I sell doors,” or “I sell locks,” way back then. If I tried to explain beyond that, eyes would glaze over and the chances of a second date were not good.
When I started dating Ben, I heard him on the phone telling his friend that I was a software engineer. When I met my friend Karen I told her that I was a hardware consultant, and she said, “Really?! I work for IBM!” When Aliya was in preschool, she told her class that she wanted to be a “hard work insultant” when she grew up, like her mom. I’m not even sure my mother knows what I do for a living, but I haven’t asked if I can move back in with her, so she’s ok with whatever I’m doing to pay the mortgage.
Since I started my other blog (here it is), more of my friends and family are starting to understand what I do. And at this point in my life, I don’t have as great a need for people to understand the specifics anyway. If I really don’t feel like explaining it and I know I’ll never see the person again, I might even make something up. If a potential customer (architect, facility manager, hardware supplier, or security consultant) asks me what I do, I just have to say that I’m a door hardware consultant and they get it. Easy.
Anyway, since I’m asked about my job less often, and care less whether people understand, today’s conversation with my favorite Egyptian bagel-guy caught me by surprise:
🙂