Why do we define ourselves by our careers?

Whenever you meet somebody at a social or mixer or just out in the street, why is "what do you do for a living?" the usual conversation starter?

Everytime you read little magazine articles about "most eligible bachelors/bachelorettes," they're always people with "respectable" careers. Why can't a janitor be an eligible bachelor?

Fuck my job... it's just numbers. I'd rather talk about music or current events or even my favorite color.

 

It's small talk. Your career is not likely something too private or personal to discuss.
Magazines are out to make money, no one will buy a magazine about eligible janitors, except people who dream of marrying janitors...

 

Plus, it is how you spend at least a third of your typical day. And people think they can generalize and "know" you based on the job you have. Not that it is right...

Whether you like it or not anything you spend that much time doing does define you to some extent.

 

somebody's got a mouse in their pocket again. i damd sure don't.

i do know what you mean by the "do for a living" question. thankfully i'm not social enough to get asked that very often.

the short answer is clean up after my wife, and breathe.

but i absolutely do not define myself as anything other then an awairness, ocupying a life form, and attempting to avoid deceiving myself.

=^^=
.../\...

 

With alot of people the also spent many years in school to get the job that they have so It's not just a job it is more than that. I spent 9 years in college so that I can have the job that I want.

 

because its how they spend half of their waking hours.

 

I try never define who a personis by their occupation, I usually ask people but just out of curiosity. Who a person is and their job only comes into play if I have business with them in some way involving their job/career, but not in an away from the job social environment ( like DR's, or Judges, military Officers etc.) . More often I find it is some people who don't know who they are as a person without depending on their job or title, kinda sad I think.