[nailer]

I think The Big Bang Theory is pretty awful too, but I think how you describe what you do makes a difference:

- "I'm a programmer" (people think about typing)

- "I make apps" (people think about the amazing things you create...by typing)

[wongarsu]

That works well for customer-facing software, but I'm not so sure about the general case.

"I make a quality control system for a large factory" (people think about all sorts of boring things)

"I make payroll software" (people feign interest for a moment, then change the topic)

[ForHackernews]

I mean, most jobs are boring. Some are boring in the broad view, and actually interesting in the particulars (many software jobs fall into this category); a few are the inverse (some science jobs sound fascinating but actually involve lots of tedious, repetitive work). The majority of jobs are boring in both the big picture and the details.

If you want a job that will interest/impress people at a cocktail party, that is an extremely short list of careers.

[nailer]

> "I make a quality control system for a large factory" (people think about all sorts of boring things)

Sure. But making a quality control system is (for most people in most cases) actually boring. The same skills could be applied elsewhere for something far more compelling. But if you framed them how you achieved them - "I'm a programmer" - they'd sound like the same jobs, which they're not.