Originally Posted by waterskisabersw

At least they're talking about their current profession, not their last profession. Some people love talking about what their name was at their last job and the fact that all of their pic time they used to get here was upside down and with only one very pointy "jet" engine. I know a ton of people like that against my will!

Seriously though, most people in Europe, when they ask "what do you do", they are actually asking about what you do for fun, not for your job. This actually aligns with people like RJS, many doctors/lawyers/even pilots, etc., AS LONG AS their hobby involves doing extra curriculars related to their profession (GA, doctors without boarders, etc). If you just say what you do for your job in response to "what do you do" it can be a cultural faux pas, and you will immediately identify yourself as an American (which you may or may not care about doing).