Is it okay to lie about having a job to strangers?

[Inexpensivefurniture]

Okay hear me out. Whenever I go for a haircut, or to the store, or any time I have to make small talk with someone I'm probably never gonna see again, they always ask "so what do you do for a living?"
I'm not working due to a disability. It's nothing obvious you could see by looking at me, so it's usually followed up by questions about what's wrong with me. It's awkward and it makes me and them uncomfortable and I don't want to tell a stranger my medical history.
I'm never gonna see these people again, can I just make up a boring job to keep the conversation impersonal? Or talk about jobs I had in the past and act like I'm still working there?

[zeitgeist057]

I would suggest honesty combined with some gently set boundaries. The way you worded it to us is actually close to perfect:

P: "What do you do for a living?"
Y: "I'm actually on disability, though you wouldn't know it to look at me, I understand. It's actually a bit private and I prefer not to discuss it right now."

followed up by a redirect to avoid awkward silence, in the form of:

A. "I used to work at __________. I miss it because __________. and it was a great job because ___________. Do you like working here?"

B. "If I could do anything, I'd like to _____________. Another thing I'm interested in is ___________. What do you enjoy about your work?"

or any number of other options but you get the idea.

The reason I would go with this over making something up is even though you may not see them again, you just might and you never know. Lying to strangers means you are preventing new people from getting to know you. It's totally okay to not want to talk about your medical issues with a new person right away and most people will understand that. If they don't or are pushy/curious, then it's them being inappropriate about respecting your boundaries rather than you being inappropriate lying to them.

[Anonymous]

As long as it's not lie about being an doctor or being in the Military. Or anything very important

[Inexpensivefurniture]

Oh yeah, I agree. No, I would go with something generic and boring. Nothing where I'd be impersonating someone who has a degree or anything

[pleasenoticeme]

I think it's fine, you're not gonna see those people anymore...