A talk with my kid's teacher made me question how we talk about our work

I was at a school thing for my daughter, and her teacher asked what I do. I gave my usual line about building and fixing big metal tanks and boilers. She said, 'So you make the things that keep our lights on and our water hot.' It was simple, but it hit me. We always talk about the hard parts, the tight spaces and the heat. We never talk about the good stuff we make for people. I've been in this trade for 15 years, and I realized I sound like I hate my job when I don't. I just complain about the bad days. Maybe we focus too much on the grind and not enough on the point of it all. How do you explain what we do to people who aren't in the trade without making it sound awful?

3 comments

3 Comments

amy_reed792mo ago

Start by saying what the thing you work on does for normal people. Instead of "weld pipes," say you connect the lines that bring heat to an apartment building. People get it when you talk about the end result, not the dirty steps in the middle. I switched to explaining it that way and folks actually seem interested.

gavinwood1mo ago

But isn't the grind the real story? People ask what we do, and they want the truth, not some shiny ad. If I just say I keep the lights on, it feels dishonest. The heat, the tight spaces, that's the actual job. Sugar-coating it makes our skills sound easy.

dixon.nathan2mo ago

Man, that's so true lol. I always just tell people I fix broken machines, but you're right, we should talk about keeping things running for everyone.