[jstx1]

> has a bad notoriety in the eyes of most people

I don't think that this is true in general; it's possible that you're influenced by a small sample or taking people's reactions way too personally. I tell people that I work in software (without any specifics because nobody cares) and I've never gotten a negative reaction least of all contempt like you mentioned. For the most part other people really don't care what you do.