Comments on: So, What Do You Do?

By: Jake

Jake — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:19:35 +0000

Nice, support and operations jobs are a bit easier to explain. Seems like those of us in development run into issues describing the nuances of designing and building software.

By: Andy

Andy — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:30:41 +0000

I tell ppl that I make expensive computers run more efficiently and reliably, which is fairly close to the truth (I'm a systems/network admin).

By: Jake

Jake — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:35:09 +0000

Yikes. I suppose a joke about shrinking already tiny heads might be in order

Wow, that virtualization problem must have happened in a pretty technical conversation. I'm guessing that was an pretty heady event.

I'll bet you'll be using “open, integrated and complete” a lot more in the months to come.

By: Jake

Jake — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:30:46 +0000

I was being sarcastic, natch

By: Floyd

Floyd — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:30:17 +0000

“I do technical voodoo” – if my eyes look wild and frantic when I say it, the conversation or the people move onto something else. If that doesn't do it, I offer to show 'em the shrunken heads of users I've collected. That usually wraps it up.

BTW, I started with the term “virtual voodoo” – liked the alliteration but found myself too easily hooked into a conversation on virtualization. “Technical voodoo” works much better. Still thinking on how to work in the phrase “open, integrated and complete” into the mix…

By: Floyd

Floyd — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:29:31 +0000

By: jpiwowar

jpiwowar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:03:55 +0000

Lucky you! Me, *I've* administered systems that used a 10g RDBMS, 9i App server, and an 8.0.6 ORACLE_HOME to drive the forms interface. And that was before hooking it into external systems of dubious quality.

By: Jake

Jake — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:55:07 +0000

Nope, we only ever build “new hotness” apps

By: jpiwowar

jpiwowar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:32:49 +0000

What, you've never (at least mentally) used the term “Frankensteinian” to describe a cobbled-together system of “old and busted” and “new hotness” apps?

By: Jake

Jake — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:45:33 +0000

Apparently great minds struggle to quantify what they do to laymen I wouldn't say I'm a tailor, knowing what Fried does and knowing, well, what a tailor does. I guess PM would be the clothing designer, sketching, cutting patterns, etc.

I might have to rip off your thoughts here and combine them with John's.

Leading with “I practice the Black Arts.” When pressed, “I type and swear at computers for a living.”

By: Jake

Jake — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:40:35 +0000

Helpdesk is something people get. When I worked in sales support back in the day, even then, people got it. I guess like John says above, everyone understands that computers break, and someone has to fix them, whether on the phone or in person.

You mention the point my friend had years ago about engineers vs. developers. Engineers build cities and bridges and circuits, etc. tangible things that require certifications and training b/c they might kill people if they're not done right. Right/wrong/indifferent, software development doesn't have the same rigors.

Interesting take.

By: Jake

Jake — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:36:10 +0000

This is why I lead with “I work for Oracle”, which either leads people to a general conclusion or leaves them with a blank look. I'm all for people making their own assumptions

It is funny to think that the buggy computer that plagues us all is a pretty common image to everyone. Wonder what that guy would look like in cartoon form?

By: Jake

Jake — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:33:39 +0000

OK, that's just sick.

By: Jake

Jake — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:33:11 +0000

Good point about doctors, but unlike we geeks, they have to relate to n00bs all the time. Maybe support is the exception.

By: jpiwowar

jpiwowar — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 04:11:24 +0000

Well, you know, the “next big thing” changes so rapidly in software development that the splicing dead pieces analogy isn't too far off.

By: jpiwowar

jpiwowar — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 04:09:25 +0000

Well, as noted above, it depends in the audience. For non-techs, I often follow up with, “I'm an IT guy, but not the kind that comes to fix your PC at work. I'm mostly hiding in a cube somewhere working on databases that run large business systems, making sure they don't go down.” Even if they don't use a computer a lot for work, the idea that there's a big computer running things that “goes down” at inconvenient times is pretty commonly understood. After that, people tend to either fill in the blanks on their own (“I have a cousin/sibling/uncle who does that!”) or move on to more interesting topics, like themselves, assuming I remember enough of my social skills to ask, “What about you?”

By: oraclenerd

oraclenerd — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:15:06 +0000

Great minds and all that stuff...opened up reader to catch up, read Jason Fried's article and then yours. It has to be great minds right?

I thought tailor was a good analogy, especially for him (and probably you). Computers, to the vast majority, are basically left to the practicers of the Black Arts. Now you want to talk about software?

I think if I were a helpdesk guy, I would find it far easier to describe what I do. I fix computers and networks and stuff.

Databases? Forget about it. Which by the way is how ORACLENERD came to be...most people had heard of Oracle (the company) so it sort of made sense.

By: oraclenerd

oraclenerd — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:10:28 +0000

Dan: “I always worry that if I don't try to explain it, I'll sound insulting–as though they couldn't possibly understand it. And if I over-explain it, they really won't understand it. It's a thin line…to satisfy requires you to take into account the audience and often, their mood or demeanor.”

Jake: “Audience definitely matters.”

Kris and I have experienced this…in regards to Kate and the doctors. Like us (software, err, oraclenerds?), doctors feel more comfortable in their own language. When Doc comes in to speak with us I can always see he/she is trying to gauge our medical intelligence. Usually Kris will pipe up with the equivalent of, “Yeah, Kate's running a 3 node Oracle RAC Cluster on 11gR1″ and Doc is off and running in his own language, i.e. he doesn't have to dumb it down (for Kris anyway).

By: Jim

Jim — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:29:16 +0000

I say “I work on a helpdesk”, which I do some of the time. The rest is working on developments, working with business users to work out what they want, writing SQL reports, doing UATs. It all sounds very dull and tedious. People get the helpdesk – they probably think I work in a call centre. My official job title, when I look at it on Oracle HR, is something daft like “Systems Engineer”, and I think, I'm so not an engineer, it's funny. In my mind, engineers make stuff with real life things you can touch. I can imagine the conversation: Q. What do you do? A. I'm an engineer. Q. What do you make? A. Nothing much, I just sit on my butt all day long and move my right hand around a bit, and click a mouse.

PS. no negative reflection on those who are proper software / systems engineers, I'm just talking about myself here!

By: Jake

Jake — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:04:28 +0000

I love it and may borrow it, but you're dodging the question a tad. When pressured to give a real answer, how do you elaborate?