Couldn't agree more. I absolutely hate being asked what I do for a living. I spend a large part of my life doing it, I don't want to spend my free time talking about it, or trying to explain it. It doesn't define me. It doesn't mean anything, I do it to get paid. The end.
I always make a point of never asking people what they do for the same reason. Indeed there are people I have now known for years and I have no idea what they do for a living.
I don't mean to be antagonistic, but could this just be due to poor job satisfaction on your side. There is nothing wrong with not loving your job. Maybe you use it as a means to an end but I personally really enjoy talking about what I do for a job because I love my job
I write software. The end. Its boring, even to other people that write software.
At previous employers I was more specific about what I do for a living: walk around a park, go to phone meetings, stare out a window. In those cases I generally only wrote software as a personal hobby.
A little more context can make it interesting to others though. I used to struggle to explain embedded software to non-technical people (and even to technical ones!), so instead I started saying "I write software that controls mailing machines" or "I write software for medical instruments." Having a real-world "anchor" that they can relate to helps others understand what you do and if they want to continue a conversation along those lines.
I always make a point of never asking people what they do for the same reason. Indeed there are people I have now known for years and I have no idea what they do for a living.