Ask HN: Developers: How do you explain to people what it is you do? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Developers: How do you explain to people what it is you do?

8 pointsdclowd990111 comments

I try to explain what I do to people in a way they can understand. Rather than go into rote jargon about writing code and making objects extensible, I tell them that I have puzzles and tell a computer how to solve them as efficiently as possible. I think that sometimes gets through, but I feel like it still misses the mark.<p>So how do you guys do it?

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I usually try to keep it short and simple at first: "I build education software." If they show further interest by asking a follow up question, I get a little more technical. I don't know why, but it continues to surprise me just how few people know anything about how the internet (or computers) work.

if nothing, tell them "I build stuff that will change your life. So buy it now!!"

Jokes apart, first explain a problem that they understand. If they get the problem, then tell them that you help solve that problem by [add whatever here]. Simple.

"I work with venture-backed startups to develop new technologies".

Then, there are usually questions about some or all portions of that, "What's a startup?", "What do you mean by venture-backed", etc.

"I build websites".

I'm actually a developer for a full-service digital agency but when you get into developer territory it's rare that the conversation will go any further than "oh, that's cool".

I tell people I do user experience and user design for the web. Then follow that up with a Facebook or Google related example of it.

Keep it simple, I build software for phones.

I like the way my father explained my job to a golfer we were playing with: "He's a typist at a computer company."

depends on who I'm talking to. for technical people I can tell the exact web product I'm working on.

for grandparents and others, I "solve technical problems using a variety of tools. kind of like an engineer would by first drawing schematics, and then following them to construct a bridge"

i tell them "I make mobile games", in which case 99% of the time, they'll bring up Angry Birds.

"I make Apps for android, iPhone"

"I write software".

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