To All those associated with IT Industry - Do you call yourself an IT Joe ?

This thread is aimed at getting views on whether you call yourself an IT professional outside your company to 3rd persons like autorickshaw drivers, House brokers, Generic Govt offices asking where are you employed etc. This thread is aimed at getting your experiences. For a head start, I do not call myself an IT Joe in public. When i was new to IT in 2004, i used to display my ID in public (Buses, while walking etc). Whenever i mentioned i work for a software concern, i used to get cheated. For an example, i started my career, I was looking out for a house on rent. The rent was 6,000/- for a 1BHK. The moment i mentioned i am employed with software, they told the rent was 10,000/-. As and when i realized that i did not mention i am in IT (I lied), i notice that i got more respect and better prices. When i was called to the police station for passport verification, i had to pay lesser bribe that an IT joe who payed up minutes before i payed up. House brokers quote me a lesser brokerage. 90% of auto drivers in front od IT parks are cheats, they quote flat rates. The same auto driver who picks up at a bus stand couple of meters away plies by meter. I seem to get more respect when i mention that i am NOT an IT Person. Please Note: This is my personal experience only. This is not posted to offend IT professsionals. Please mention your experiences here.

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