Is it possible that this is just an easy and concise way of answering a common question? I have a somewhat unusual job in a field that is not well-known and sometimes rather than go into a long-winded lecture to someone just to explain in a small-talk setting what I do, I simplify and say I'm an administrative professional or something like that. Maybe rather than going into the intricacies of the grad student situation, it's easier to just say, 'I'm a teacher." I'd say that's a better conversation starter than the LW's convoluted explanation.