I’ve never been offended by people asking what I do. My first degree was in broadcasting. I quit working to homeschool my children with the intention of taking freelance jobs as they got older. When people asked what I did I told them I was a broadcaster. The husband of one of my (also) college educated friends used to delight in telling us we were wrong – no matter what degree we held we were SAHMs. He quit when I pointed out that when he and his construction worker friends were between jobs they still considered themselves electricians and plumbers, etc. They networked by talking about their line of work, so maybe people taking offense to the question is career related. Those who depend on networking to find jobs probably won’t be offended by it.