Enquiring Minds: Questions You Get [SURVEY]

In the US, we're fixated a little bit on work.  We need to thoroughly understand it.  We demand that you let us know what "vocation tribe" you're in – salaried, manual or new high-techy .  Essentially, we would like everybody to stroll around with their business card connected to their temple, yet since that is a bit absurd, we attempt to gather the same data by making inquiries – frequently heaps of them – about your work.

The majority of us mean well when we pose these questions. We're attempting to get to know you, and in our nation, your profession is a noteworthy piece of who you are.  It's just part of the social process.   I guess you could also think of it as a conversation starter. Since it's something that's important to all of us, it's something we can easily connect over.

I know whenever I go somewhere, and people ask me what it is that I do for a living, they always have follow up questions.   They always want to know how you come up with stuff to talk about, and how is it that you never run out of things to say.  Sometimes people will ask me about the little pre-recorded comedy bits that come along with what I'm saying, and sometimes they'll just want to know if I get nervous.  Either way, there's almost always the same question every time.  One  thing that's strange about it is that you either get the person who thinks that what you do is the most difficult thing in the entire world, or you get the person who is completely dismissive and thinks that you have an easy job.  So it's either "I could never talk on the radio, I'd mess up all the time" or "All you do is talk! I could do that all day!"

A friend of mine is his third-year of medical school, and eventually wants to be an ER trauma surgeon.  And whenever he tells people what he does, they ALWAYS ask him to diagnose some medical issue they're having. Even if he's just walking through the grocery store in  scrubs, someone will come up and show him some issue on their body.  It's weird.  Luckily I don't get THAT.

So what do people ask when they find out what you do for a living?  Is it always the same question?  Have you ever fibbed about what you do, so you don't have to answer those exact same questions?

Questioningly yours,

Behka