So...how do you make a guess on what somebody does for a profession?

I had some pleasant morning surprises in the Swiss train this morning. See, I am on my way to Holland and for some stupid reason I booked a way too early ticket. So early that yesterday night when I was working and someone was asking me what I would be doing Friday night I said something about having dinner with some friends. They asked which place exactly, and I mentioned a Dutch name.

There came the surprise. Because how could I still be working the whole night, travel to Holland, have dinner somwhere and also sleep in between as well. Good guestion, I am wondering the same actually

Pixabay

So here I am kind of messed up in this train, when the guy who comes to check my ticket seems totally into a little chat. Maybe it was because I am travelling to Holland all the way by train, maybe it was because he recognized the name of my destination, I don't really know but he asked about where I was heading to. So I said something with family and BF and he asked me thenin Swiss if had brought then any gifts. You know typical Swiss stuff. So I replied with 'chocolate, fondue and some watches'

Maybe he didn't quite understand my joke because taking all of these typical things...that would be a little bit too much, but he kept on going and he asked me what kind of watches I had with me. Now I had to explicitly tell him that I was messing with him and that I can't afford giving multiple watches as a gift.

So we chatted on for a bit and then he left. Then I got into this conversation with the lady across from me and for some reason she asked me what my profession is. And when I answered her with that I am a scrubnurse she was totally surprised. I laughed and said something on that is why I was looking so shitty, I had just finished work over the night. And then she said the magic words: 'ow, I didn't think that would be a profession that you would be doing by the look of you'

And that is where it gets interesting. Because how can you see on someone what kind of job that they do? Would it be more suitable to think that I spend loads of time on blockchains just by looking at me? Did she think that I was a sales rep because I was travelling with my laptop? Did she think I was a cleaner? Did she think I was a doctor? What did she think?

Could she see from me that I was listening to some serious metal music all the way over to hiphop. What was she expecting of me of a person to be? And at the same time I was immediately doing the same thing. I was assuming that she was not a working person, supported by her too wealthy husband and was kind of out of the normal side of society. Why I assumed this? On how eloquently she spoke and on the big ring on her finger combined with the coat.

Was this wrong of me to jump in this conclusion? I don't know? Somewhere this is a also a overseeing the situation kind of mechanism, something that you learn when you work with people alot. Trying to find out from a few words on what kind of person you have in front of you, and going on from there.

Does this also turn out wrong sometimes? Yes it does..assumption is the mother of all f*ck-ups