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My family have little idea about what am I doing
but obviously they don't know the brief.. and I do not expect it from them 
some of my school friends are not in IT/CE field...
I remember an incidence. I was traveling in bus with my two friends; I was doing discussion on some technical issues with my friend who is also in IT firm
at that time my another friend's expressions were like below...
Me: Today there was a problem with javascript...
My friend: oh ya! what was that?..
another friend:
 ... javascript! what is that???
 ... Leave it.
 ... it's better to get sleep instead of this mysterious conversation.
After some time...
 ... oh god! they are still talking on same topic 
 ... Thank god I am not a software developer!
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They definitely know that "I make the part of the computer that you can't physically touch" because that's what I've been drumming in to their heads for almost 40 years.
BUT they have NO concept of what I actually do, day to day. Especially since it seems to be more babysitting and management of other people's expectations than anything else.
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The wife thinks i'm a money making machine and my mates think i'm a millionaire, if only...
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My father knows what I do, know what it is about, but doesn't understand how (he was project manager of machine manufacturer, he knows about PLC and their importance, but he is a mechanic ing., so no idea about the internals)
My mother doesn't understand what I do, but at least she knows it is something difficult and that I am good at it. Her answer to "what does your son do?" is (actually I use it to answer the question too):
-Have you ever seen how cars are produced?
-Yes/no/whatever
-He makes it possible.
My brother does know what I do very well, he does it too and asks me when he gets stuck.
My GF knows about what I do, but she doesn't understand anything of this world.
For the rest... I just sit in front of a computer, and I am the one to call when something doesn't work properly in their own.
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Well my wife calls me a Code slinger and understands. My director at work has not the faintest, my supervisor understands I am like a bull dog with a bone no matter what the project is it gets done. The people at work like the fact they can write it on paper and give it to me and they don't hear a no I can't, but let me look at it. People just don't understand how I am able to walk into a place and see it in my head on how to complete a mission(project). I tell them it's in the force  . I see my self spending allot of time banging my head against the wall and drinking coffee until I see results. How do you tell anyone is the question. So I look at a computer and drink alot of ![Java | [Coffee]](https://codeproject.global.ssl.fastly.net/script/Forums/Images/coffee.gif) to the rest.
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Oh, you mean the people in whose basement I live!
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My girlfriends boss thinks I can service his digital x-ray machines. Cos I 'work with computers'. And they have the word digital in the name.
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"I don't think they give a rats a** as long as I make sure to get paid at the end of the month..." 
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
-----
The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine
Winston Churchill, 1944
-----
I'd just like a chance to prove that money can't make me happy.
Me, all the time
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Heh, maybe if that picture was on top of Quick Answers section, some of them would at least tried to google first... 
--
"My software never has bugs. It just develops random features."
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deflinek wrote: some of them would at least tried to google first.
That's what you think they would do. 
Signature construction in progress. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Damn you have the perfect signature - CBadger
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It is true
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My mom knows I'm a developer, that I write codes, even made a game. And she always ask me about facebook.
My boyfriend is a gamer and a RadTech. He knows I'm a developer. But doesn't have the courage to ask me what I really do. He thinks he will suffer from nose bleeding if I explain everything I do.
PS. When someone (not a member of the family or my boyfriend) ask me what I really do, I always say that I'm the one who makes coffee at the office.
That, makes my career easier to explain to others and avoid people who thinks I am a computer genius who can fix all of their computer problems.
PPS. Sometimes, some high school students go to our house and ask if I can proofread their essays, project documentation, etc..
Don't mind those people who say you're not HOT. At least you know you're COOL.
I'm not afraid of falling, I'm afraid of the sudden stop at the end of the fall! - Richard Andrew x64
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Karen Mitchelle wrote: He thinks he will suffer from nose bleeding if I explain everything I do.
like this?
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Na uh. Can't see. Wait 'til I get home. 
Don't mind those people who say you're not HOT. At least you know you're COOL.
I'm not afraid of falling, I'm afraid of the sudden stop at the end of the fall! - Richard Andrew x64
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Karen Mitchelle wrote: He thinks he will suffer from nose bleeding if I explain everything I do
At least he has the balls to admit it, be thankful he is not a fellow geek, can you imagine the fights over coding practices, like taking the Lounge home gak!.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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Yes he's that courageous to say that. But he's also willing to take a crash course (even a basic programming) for him to understand what I am saying.
He even visited CodeProject. I warned him not to visit the Lounge and just go straight to the Soapbox.
Don't mind those people who say you're not HOT. At least you know you're COOL.
I'm not afraid of falling, I'm afraid of the sudden stop at the end of the fall! - Richard Andrew x64
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Go home and try and discuss your work in detail with them, makes for a fascinating monologue at the dinner table and it is fascinating watching their eyes glaze over. I used this as weapon to get the kids to talk to me, you talk or I will
While they know precisely what I do thay have no idea how it is achieved.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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Them: I was telling Jim at work about what you do and I gave him your contact info, he's looking for a Web Designer.
Me: Oh. Ummm. I'm not a web designer.
Them: Yeah, but you do web pages.
Me: Actually, I'm an Integrated Technology Solutions Consultant. I solve business problems by engineering custom hardware and software to automa---
Them: ---BUT I've seen you do web pages, and you did that nice site for XYZ Inc.
Me: Well, yeah, but that was part of a bigger project, I was creating an extranet to expose an e-commerce component that I integrated with their legacy back-end information system.
Them: Yeah THAT ONE, that's what I mean, you made it look really nice.
Me: Actually I outsourced the design for that project, I just assembled their---
Them: ---AND you designed that site for ABC Ltd. and it looks nice.
Me: Yeah I guess, but that project had a slim margin and I just made do with my own---
Them: ---PERFECT. I'm sure that would be fine for Jim.
Me: I'm really trying to focus on Industrial Automation. What sort of business is Jim in again?
Them: I think mousetraps..., or maybe its metal scrap...
Me: Uh huh---
Them: ---It might have been house wrap... I wasn't really paying attention.
Me: Right.
Them: He was wondering what it would cost.
Me: Well, I usually don't touch anything for under $5000--
Them: WHOA why does it cost so---
Me: --- well, there are a lot of factors to consider, is it data-driven, there's the cost of writing a proposal, I write a project plan, analyse his needs, define the scope, stakeholders, risks, define metrics for success, I need to hire a designer and a photographer, the content needs to be written and proofread, I do A/B testing and penetration tests, there's documentation to be written, and of course I have to cover the overhead of rent, my assistant, insurance, etc.
Them: No, no, he just needs something simple, can't you just whip something up?
Me: Well, projects that seem simple have a way of bloating into megaproject---
Them: BUT he said a guy from the Yellow Pages called and said they'd do one for $70/month if he bought an ad, and it would have Flash, and---
Me: Well I've seen some of those sites... umm... if that's all he needs I'd say go for---
Them: ---But then he said his nephew was good at computers and he could do it cheap.
Me: Actually that's a great way for young people who are learning to gain experience, he should take him up on---
Them: ---but he wants it to look professional.
Me: Uh huh.
[awkward silence]
Me: Hey! I heard an ad for SquareSpace on TWiT -- it actually sounded like you can make some pretty nice sites from their templates and it's only like $8 a month.
Them: Yeah, I think his business is really going to take off. It's going to be BIG. You know, you need to take these small jobs to build up a reputation---
Me: Actually I'm really well respected among my peers. Remember all those articles I wrote and how well received they were? And I've never had to look for work since I started the business, my skills are actually specialized and there is a lot of demand---
Them: ---look, if you don't want to do it just say so.
Me: I don't want to do---
Them: ---I was just trying to help, and Jim's such a nice guy and I just thought---
Me: Fine. Tell him to email me.
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99% of my development work is on classified systems of one nature or another, so I really can't discuss details of what I do. Fortunately that also means that once I leave the vault I work in, I can't do any work. So no after-hours or weekend work for me!
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So long as I bring home the check, they Don't Care what I do*
<EDIT>
Theydo remember to call me when they're PC or router is sick
</EDIT>
*KSS - or I'd be a very rich gigolo by now
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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W∴ Balboos wrote: call me when they're PC or router is sick
Wife: "Unlike you, the computer is hung."
You'll never get very far if all you do is follow instructions.
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Ouch!
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
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PIEBALDconsult wrote: Wife: "Unlike you, the computer is hung."
Him: "Well, did you try diddling with its extension?"
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W∴ Balboos wrote: Theydo remember to call me when they're PC or router is sick
Bingo! and I have been called 7+ time since Xmas, its like once a month from different relatives.
You can have all the tools in the world but if you don't genuinely believe in yourself, it's useless.
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