I have an invisible illness and telling people I'm on disability usually is a conversation killer with people I don't know well.

thats an easy way to weed out the potential undesirables; if they attribute your worth to how you make your livin then theyre not the kind of person that you ought to associate with. dont worry, there are lots of us other folk out here

..of getting to who you are as a person. just except it and move on, as they will also ask many other questions about you. so get over it.

I read that in France, asking somebody what they do for a living is a rude conversation starter because unlike us, they work to live and not the other way around. Instead, they ask which region of France you're from, and that starts a conversation about the wonderful food and wine specific to that region.

By the way, you don't know pain (or maybe you do) until your own family is so ashamed of your job that they demand that you lie about it to strangers, relatives, and acquaintances.

Do an Obama. "I'm a community organizer." Ta-daaaa!

He's really a constitutional lawyer, but never mind that, it doesn't scan as warmfuzzy as the first title. Not slagging the guy, he's just a great example of structured presentation.

Find one that you can wear comfortably. Your other gig becomes something you also do, but really, just to help pay the bills, it's not important...

So how's the escort / strippers life working out for you ?

I work in a well-paid job that invites constant public commentary, so I have been telling people for 25 years that I'm an electrician. People usually smile and change the subject immediately.

When someone asks me what I do (I retired at 52) I tell them what I am currently working on - "What do you do" "Right now, I'm building a coffee table out of reclaimed cedar and granite" "No what pays the bills" "My wife...."

I bet a lot of the people asking don't even care what you do, they are just being conversational. I usually retort with "what DON'T I do?" since I do have more than one 'job'. Or like geeknomad said, be creative. "I make people happy", "I keep society from falling apart", or the old Carl Showalter classic "I'm just in town on business... just a little of the old in'n'out..."

For me, shoe is on the other foot. If I tell them I'm a lawyer, then people either start fawning all over me, or become stand-offish. I don't like either response. (Why do I want to be friends with someone who decides we 'must' be friends because I have a professional job? Sheesh.)

I used to get away with saying 'I work in a law office' and everybody assumed I was a legal secretary, which was okay.

Now I often just avoid answering the question and some people have known me for years without knowing what I do. I think that's much better; then they can like me or leave me based on who I am, not what I do.