Do I look inexperienced?

I've been working at the DC office of Capital One for a little bit over a month now. There's two short conversations that makes me wonder what sorts of "vibes" I gave to people.

First week at the office, another product manager in his late 20's thought that I was a summer intern:

PM: "So, you must be pretty excited to go back to school in a few weeks, huh?"
Me: "Huh? What do you mean?"
PM: "The internship program is coming to an end in a few weeks, right?"
Me: "Uh... right... about that... I am actually a full time employee on the data science team..."
PM: "...."

Then, from a few days ago, I met another colleague who only graduated from her bachelors degree a few month ag, who thought that I am a fresh college grad like her:

Her: "So how far do you commute?"
Me: "Oh, I ride all the way down to <some> metro station".
Her: "Wow that's far! Is it because you are still living at home?"
Me: "Huh? Yeah, I do live at home. You don't?"
Her: "Oh, I meant if you are still living at your parents' house. Many of us who are fresh out of school still do that."
Me: "No... I live with my wife and two kids!"
Her: "What? Wait, how old are you?"
Me: ".... Let's just say I got my PhD a few years ago, and this is my third job..."
Her: "..."

Let's see how long m youthful (and experienced) vibe will last at the new job!

Comments