this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2023
1188 points (98.2% liked)

Asklemmy

43963 readers
1206 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy πŸ”

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

  1. Open-ended question
  2. Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
  3. Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
  4. Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
  5. An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_[email protected]~

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
 

I think most all of us here on Lemmy are people with technical background. Most of my professional contacts remained using Reddit, Twitter and even excited when Threads launched.

If you are non-tech background, please comment and share what you do for life.

If you have tech background, upvote this to help promote this post so that we can find more non-tech users on Lemmy.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 287 points 1 year ago (30 children)

Work on/build racecars. Some of it's very technical, but probably not the type you're asking about. Also a woman. I'm checking off all the abnormal demographics here. Right?

[–] [email protected] 83 points 1 year ago (35 children)

We should normalize what you do. Woman can build racecars or do any other work a man can. Great work, keep it up!

[–] [email protected] 47 points 1 year ago

@techconsulnerd I agree!!! It's been a very, very slow process, but I have been seeing more women in motorsports, which is awesome. Even F1 has a new series F1 Academy, which is an all women series. I'm way too old, but if I was younger, I'd sure be trying to get in.

load more comments (34 replies)
[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Yeah the only other abnormal demographic I can think of is being totally normal and well functioning mentally.

But I mean c'mon, this is an internet forum, we are all nuts here haha

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (28 replies)
[–] [email protected] 196 points 1 year ago (3 children)

62 years old woman, semi-retired, only work part time now. I was in the travel business. Found Lemmy thru a Reddit comment a few months ago. Felt the need for a change. Currently with Lemmy, Kbin and Mastodon, trying to find my place.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 year ago

That's like the coolest thing. I hope you feel super welcome here.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 165 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Non tech background here. I work in a steel mill and see social media as entertainment. A time killer.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Dope, steel mills always seemed like a cool place to work. The large mechanical machines everywhere and the way that Liquid Metal pours is always cool AF.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 106 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (5 children)

I'm a substitute teacher, and definitely not technical but my husband is, and he introduced me to Reddit many years ago. It was fun but I only ever used it on the RIF app. When I saw what was happening last month, I read a thread that suggested Lemmy as an alternative so here I am.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago
load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 100 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm an assembly line worker and have been for about five years now at different factories. Refrigerators, car parts, ag equipment, etc.

There's a job opening coming up at a plant that offers college benefits though, so hopefully I get to join y'all in tech in a few years. Hopefully working with so many robots and machines will give me an advantage through sheer osmosis lol

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 80 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I'm a stay at home mom, no professional tech background. I came here to get away from Reddit. I am considered the "tech support" for my family and friends though. :-)

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 69 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm a biologist, but have always been fairly techy in my own time outside of my work. Definitely not much of a tech person though, I can't code or anything like that. Can troubleshoot most of my own technical issues though and built a PC.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think if you can troubleshoot your own built PC, that's pretty much a tech person, even though you can't code.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 60 points 1 year ago

I'm non tech.

I just work as essentially an administrative assistant in a real estate-esque office making $20 an hour.

Just a married woman in her 20s who is sick of Reddit's shit.

[–] [email protected] 56 points 1 year ago (11 children)

Arborist. No real tech background or skills but always been interested in tech trends and issues, so I keep up with those things more than the average person.

load more comments (11 replies)
[–] [email protected] 51 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Therapist. I'm not very techy at all.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 50 points 1 year ago

Non-tech Background. I work for a big union and migrated here from reddit, which was my only social media site I would use.

[–] [email protected] 50 points 1 year ago

I do not have a tech background. I am a baker in my mid 30's. I became sick of reddits shit, and once RIF was gone I was done.

I really like Lemmy, even though I admit it is a bit confusing at times, but I've gotten the jist of it I think.

[–] [email protected] 45 points 1 year ago

Am just a poor peasent fastfood worker lol, I joined Lemmy because I was looking for reddits alts and I saw some people saying "don't try to understand it too much just sign up" so I did.

[–] [email protected] 41 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Before becoming a stay-at-home dad, I was a state investigator (and a police officer prior to that). I investigated medical doctors and nurses on behalf of their respective state licensing boards, investigating things like application fraud, substandard care, unprofessional conduct, and drug diversion.

My tech skills are limited to building a PC and basic troubleshooting.

My wife is a therapist and she’s considering making the jump from Reddit to Lemmy.

Fuck spez.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Non-tech background. I'm a book editor and when the Snoopocalypse happened, most of the niche communities I was a part of were shut down in protest, so I decided to give Lemmy a try. Loving it so far, as it seems way less toxic.

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] [email protected] 38 points 1 year ago

I'm disabled and unemployed with only a GED education. I'm not a programmer or anything. I taught myself basic HTML in 1997 when I was 10, but that's about as far as I go. I know juuuuust enough about tech to understand and appreciate that Lemmy is decentralized and open-source.

But I think you'll find that a lot of new users are only here because Spez is ruining Reddit. All they're looking for is a Reddit that doesn't suck.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 year ago (5 children)

I'm a baker. Found lemmy through a friend

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Very technical. Technically, I build chairs!!

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 year ago

Just a regular 'ol retail worker. I'm so glad Lemmy was here to save my lunch breaks from reddit.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 year ago

I work in a bakery. I used to be a nurse. But my husband is in tech otherwise I wouldn’t know about Lemmy more than likely.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 year ago

Stay at home wife. I used to work as a bookkeeper, now dealing with some health issues. However I am 55 and have used computers since as long as i can remember, I learned how to use punch cards in what you yanks would call middle school. So I don't work in tech, but it doesn't bother me to learn new things. Lemmy reminds me of the good old days of BBS and just trying things out to see what stuck.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm a massage therapist just blundering my way through this space...

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 year ago

Legal field for me, but I'll be honest. I was planning on quitting Reddit cold turkey and doing something else with my free time but my software project manager husband kept talking about Lemmy, so here I am.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 year ago

non tech, i currently am not working but i have a bachelor’s degree in paleontology and am currently studying for my master’s in museum studies. my partner is a programmer but i’m the one that introduced her to lemmy

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago (1 children)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Family law attorney who hates bullies. Fuck spez!

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago (5 children)

I'm a truck driver though I do have a Master's in maths. Make of that what you will.

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Union ironworker, mainly do heavy rigging and crane work. Not tech related at all, but I've helped build data c enters all over the US

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Classical composer here, and choral conductor. I've always been a computer person, but I don't have a background on tech stuff.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I'm a mom that works part time in accounts. Definitely not IT technical.

Here because Apollo and RIF have gone and I saw reddit posts directing me here. Might leave because 50% of the posts here are "reddit is shit" and I'm just not that interested in that circle jerk.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 year ago

I'm a music teacher!

[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I'm non-tech. I swing a hammer for a living.

The extent of my knowledge is building my gaming PC and a bit of HTML 20 years ago. I'm still a bit confused as to what is going on, but I'm managing.

I think more people will migrate here once more apps create accessibility for the layperson.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago (17 children)

Not technical at all, I work in Learning & Development at a company. I am always reading the comments and try to learn, but sometimes I have really no clue what you guys are talking about haha!

Yesterday someone was expleaning about adblocker and all the comments were like: "Yeah, who can live without it..." Well, me I guess? And I saw one that was highly recommended so I downloaded it, because why not try it out right? But apparently it's not for your phone. Or I didn't have the right app to support it on my phone.

I was thinking about asking it in the comments of the thread, but like you said: I think a lot of people here have a tech background and although everyone is very nice, I think the explanation might go over my head.

I don't want to give people the feeling I get when I'm trying to explain to my mom over the phone how she can e-mail a file on her computer. It can be very frustrating ;)

load more comments (17 replies)
[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago

I'm a social worker at an elementary school. My tech abilities are limited to addressing cyberbullying amongst 9 year olds.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago

Pre-Med student here. Just ya average non-average queer neurodivergent zoomer. I'm not from a tech background, but I do use Linux, which basically makes me a programmer 😎

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago

Not a techie. Paramedic / firefighter - I'm not the most tech literate, but I manage to get by lol

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago

I'm a security officer. Reddit pissed me off with all the rules and I was looking for somewhere that the internet felt more like the good old days. Haven't found it yet but lemmy is like a breath of fresh air

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago (2 children)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Non- tech: I’m a psychiatrist, generally working with offenders in hospital and prisons. The clinical work is always interesting, and im usually thankful for openness at which people spill their life stories to me.

Tech: I’ve kinda thought myself software development since I started working as a doctor. There’s just too much inefficiencies in the way we work clinically day-to-day due to the sheer amount of defensive practice inherent in the health system. Started off with personal tools to β€œassist” the electronic systems in place. But since then I’ve launched and maintained a number of digital clinical tools in a few local hospital which I’m pretty proud of.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago

Non-tech. Just a healthcare worker who got sick of Reddit's shit and is open-minded to new tech.

Would be great to get places similar to meddit, r/pharmacy, and r/nursing here.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (1 children)

All of my friends are either programmers or are in I.T. I'm a lowly handyman who just happens to be tech literate enough to get by.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments
view more: next β€Ί