Artists are flaky? LOL I resemble that.

On a date, maybe to learn her education or other things about her personality. One's job reveals much.

Not on a date, it's small talk or may branch to other more interesting topics.

I breathe, eat , drink & be merry for a living. No not that kind of MARRY. =0}

So work is something we do for a good portion of our lives. It's the start of a story. If I meet someone that is really smart and she is a waitress, that's interesting to me. Is money not important? Is she in school? Maybe she is a lawyer, do you work for civil rights, Chase ambulances? And then why? I think the why is more important.
Also, I have a curious mind, so I might know something about her job and we can discuss, but also might be able to learn something. The job we pick and why tells an interesting story.

I think people learn from an early age to put labels on everything and they like to lump similar things together, most kids will remember the Sesame Street game, 1 of these things is not like the others for example. So it is only normal for people to want to put a label on somebody they just met by finding out what they do for work because most people define themselves by what they do and by DO I mean work. This gives a whole pile of information about a person with just a few words because what we do often is an indication of how we think, what our income levels are, are we intellectually biased or more physically driven, are we extroverted or introverted, etc. etc. These are just superficial guesstimates because I have known structural engineers who are highly artistic and creative and artists who are very concerned with science and structure in their work or accountants who are extremely extroverted, etc.
When people ask me what I do for a living I now answer them in a way that is truthful but which suits me best based upon my superficial sense of what kind of person they are based upon looks, dress, handshake and how they present themselves. I might just say that I am early retired, or that I am a master builder, or a real estate developer, or a carpenter, or a writer, or a microbiologist, or a politician - all of the above are true but what I tell someone will depend upon who and what I take them for, what I might possibly want from them and just how I am feeling at the moment because I know that they will modify their opinion of me based upon which answer I give them.

It's not something I would think to ask right away. Though if I were going to invite her to go outside to smoke some pot, it would be a good idea to make sure she's not a cop.

I don't mind being asked what I do for a living. And anyone who is going to make assumptions about me is not going to be someone who is going to be compatible with me anyway.
I guess I ask the question as a small talk get-to-know-eachother type of question.

Mostly as a means of rounding out the conversation and learning more about the person in question. Realistically, on very few occasions where I have asked, did the answer really spur the conversation to new heights.

I would not ask the question as bluntly as you posed it. If I were to ask the question, it would be to add substance to my image of who that person is and what makes them tick.

I'd imagine in many cases it really is as simple as something to talk about once the weather's been dealt with and awkward silences loom. Though I agree it's poorly thought out, a much more useful question would be what do you like to do with your spare time.

It's not a question I ask people, dates or otherwise, as I'm not overly happy being asked it myself. It's information better offered at a comfortable time, or at the very least asked at a point where it doesnt significantly affect what you've so far learnt about the person, once it's established that you basically get on and are happy sharing information.

An unoriginal icebreaker, but it alludes to their motivation and education and perhaps interests, Women usually ask me within the first 5 minutes.

It's a reasonable question. It says a lot about a person, and gives the other person some ground to make further comment.

Women do the same, ask the very same question. I'm noticing it to be the first question they ask. I believe for a good portion if women, money and job status is a deal-breaker.

For me personally, I don't care too much what a woman does...her money doesn't mean a lot to me...drf. not a deal-breaker or even close. I want attraction in and out more than anything...andtrust w integrity.

This is a good question! Most men do not have the conversational skills to "break the ice" and get to know a woman. As a result, they end us asking a lot of ham handed questions like, "What's your occupation?" or "What do you do for fun?"

When I was growing up in the 80's and 90's, there were simply no resources to learn this information and develop these skills. However, there is a lot of create content for today's younger men to learn these skills.

As a man I generally hear it before we would even meetso what's the problem

I don't see how expressing an interest in an important part of a person's life should be threatening. Or even, particularly, how you can avoid it coming up fairly quickly in any relationship the objective of which is to ascertain compatibility for long-terms intimacy.

I do know that outside of the US, total strangers meeting for any purpose tend to regard questions about what you do for a living to be intrusive and boorish, whereas to Americans it's pretty near the first question we ask. So from this, I deduce that at least in the US, a lot of the reason men ask the question is that they have been socialized to do so in a variety of contexts and they tend to regard it as a "safe" and acceptable conversation-starter. And let's face it, men are insecure and nervous about meeting and impressing new people, same as anyone, whether or not they admit to it. So they are going to gravitate to what they know to do.

When I asked this question of a date, I would not have been stereotyping. I would probably factor the answer into a rather complex calculus that includes many other factors. There's a big difference between women who have seldom worked, who do low-level work, executive level, professional level ... these things imperfectly signal ambition, curiosity, education, intelligence or lack thereof, but at the same time I would not assume for example that a stay at home mother was dumb or incurious or unlearned or that a successful professional was smart and educated. It would have to be factored in with other things.

Another thought-provoking question posed by you, Athena. Why am I not surprised? I think a woman's occupation could be a starting point for a "getting to know you" conversation but doesn't have to be. I don't know why so many guys start off in that manner with you. There are so many interesting facets about your personality. Your occupation would be just one beginning point. But if a guy saw the way you write or heard you speak (I'll have to imagine this "heard you speak" point for obvious reasons), then in my biased opinion they should go down a plethora of different avenues in pursuit of getting to know you. That would be my observation of the very-insightful you in particular. In general, I think it may be nervousness or habitual or just really important to guys who open up conversation with women this way. I guess it's really up to the individual guy.