What do you do?

Since I just moved here to Chicago recently, I'm still building up a social network out of the people I meet off of the floor. And meeting people, of course entails the question "What do you do?"

My official job title is "market maker", but I find that it is cumbersome and often requires further explanation, since most people wouldn't know what a market maker was. The clear title that most people would understand is "stock broker" but since I work at a prop shop, it's not like we really have clients to broker trades for. So I settle on "trader".

But something must be wrong with my pronunciation of the word, since most people hear "trainer" and proceed to confirm by asking "personal trainer"? Those who know me know how funny this is. But the one that really took the cake was "traitor".

"Like Paul Revere?"

I was flattered by the comparison to the American patriot, though betraying one's country isn't really what I would consider an honest day job.