What to tell the averge person when asked what my job is...

just say you're a stock trader. its the closest thing that people will understand

The only douchey thing going on here is the fact that you think answering the question "what are you doing next year?" with a clear, succinct and accurate statement like "I'm learning to trade equity derivatives" is douchey.

Your worrying about something that doesn't matter. No one actually cares what anyone else is doing, just tell them.

I usually answer depending on the person. If its someone I know has no idea (or its just a casual question) I usually just say working in finance. Otherwise I'll say trader or options trader.

They asked what your doing, its not douchey to answer them.

Just say you're going to be a trader on Wall Street. Job done.

Say your a derivatives trader and if they ask for clarification say that you are a trading assistant (which is what a trainee is) at a prop shop.

maxc, i stand corrected. It's true, chicks do.

chasbo:

am I worrying over something that doesn't matter?

yes

Thanks for the prompt replies. I figured that it really didn't matter. I just see the kids who have finance jobs and either shove their self-proclaimed illustrious title down people's throats or, more commonly, people try to be humble and then end up seeming conceited when they end up answering 3 or 4 questions ultimately to say, "I investment bank/trade for 'insert top Ibank'." But more importantly, monty09, please share your great story. I was kind of hoping that this string would take a turn for humorous stories "about that time I...."

I like to tell people I'm a photographer for Playboy.

yeah some people really eat that stuff up but to avg joe it means little to nothing.

I'm not sure "investment bank" is a verb, let alone an intransitive verb. But it should be.

so when i first read this post im thinking hmmm... this kid is totally bluffing. when i was in his shoes the last thing i thought about was what to tell people i do. what a stupid ass question.

and now this kid comes back and thinks "I investment bank at Morgan Stanley." is a normal thing to say. i bet all my silver bananas this kid has never stepped foot on a trading floor

Clearly when rooster was a senior in college he had no reason to wonder how to answer the question, "what are you doing next year?" This is most likely because no one cared what he was doing except for his mom, who was also most likely his only friend from ages 6-24. As I mentioned before, I do not want to seem like a ass for quickly chirping out my official, loquacious title. I would, however, much prefer to have a simple, not pretentious response for these professors, friends, adults, et cetera who are curious to know my plans. I realize that this is a pretty random question to be posting on this forum, but then again, is this not an appropriate venue for a question regarding trading? Thanks for all the help.

if you really want to impress a chick tell her ur a bank teller at a major retail bank in your hometown....line works every time

lol,as a girl, i wont care what a 21-year old guy gonna do. seriously, go get a life.

lol,as a girl, i wont care what a 21-year old guy gonna do. seriously, go get a life.

I second that. quality girls aren't going to care what a young guy just starting his career is doing. My ex-GF said her ex-BF (stay with me) worked at an analyst at a bank. That was the extent that she knew or cared.

In your case I would just say "equity derivatives trader" or "stock trader" depending on who's asking.

Yeah, I appreciate the input. I didn't intend on the advice to be interpreted as a necessity to snag girls. I was just looking for some insight. And if I was trying to convince a girl by telling her what I did, I would just tell her I was a pro athlete or something cool. I'm not trying to use the job title as a pick up line. In fact, I was trying to figure out a not pretentious/humble/simple way of describing my job.

the way i explain to my mom, a woman without any interests in finance whats trading is, just buy and sell stocks all the time. i dont think she understands it now and i dont think she has ever tried to figure it out what it is.

If you're in Chicago or New York, just say "trader" and that will be the end of it. No one cares what instruments you trade. The average person doesn't know the difference between a stock and a bond.

When I'm outside a major financial city, I just say I work in finance. If they ask follow up questions I answer them. Usually they don't.

Say you are a secret agent.

Scientist is never beautiful. Period

You should just do what I did when I went to college. I didn't like telling people where I went since then they'd be all "zomg you're smart" and then they get all these preconceived notions so I'd just say that I went to school right next to . That would usually be the end of it.

What's wrong with media studies major

What an elementary question; totally inappropriate for a forum such as this. Chasbo is probably some kid from the south who went to school up north because he was good at sports, didn't try hard in school despite his above average brains, got by on good looks and personality and cruised through school getting all sorts of hot girls. Then when he entered his senior year at a small liberal arts college, probably NESCAC, he again used his good looks (he's probably really tall, like 6'7 or 6'8) and personality to land himself a sweet job in New York or Chicago. I'd guess Chicago, purely based on this question. Now he doesn't know how to explain his plans to all the friends he has made in school who are genuinely interested in his future endeavors. My recommendation to you is to just be yourself, chasbo. You're a great guy and no one will frown at whatever answer you give. Plus, let's be realistic, you don't need to tell girls what you're doing in the future to get them to your house.

I usually tell girls I'm a walrus

couldn't tell ya, never met an averge person...

people could care less what your job is, it's more of a conversation point. talking about work is generally very uninteresting unless you have some good stories like monty09 about banging cougars.

Tell her you blow up bridges. Works alright for Don Draper.

Tell her you blow up bridges. Works alright for Don Draper.