Of all the many long-running jokes in Friends, one of the most memorable was the characters’ consistent confusion over exactly what it is that Chandler Bing, played by Matthew Perry, does for a living.
This uncertainty came to a dramatic head in the fourth season episode “The One with the Embryos”, when Rachel and Monica lost their apartment in a high-stakes quiz because they couldn’t say what Chandler did for a living.
“Oh gosh, it has something to do with numbers…” Rachel stumbles, before noting that he carries a briefcase to work.
As the pressure mounts, Monica offers: “It’s, um ... it has something to do with transponding!”
“Oh, oh, oh!” says Rachel. “Oh, he’s a transpons—a transponster!”
As Monica points out, not only is that not Chandler’s job — it’s not even a real word.
So what did Chandler Bing actually do all day? The answer was kept deliberately vague for much of the show’s 10-year run, but it was eventually revealed that he worked in the field of “statistical analysis and data reconfiguration”.
He later quits that job to start a new, less well-paid career as an advertising copywriter. In the ninth season episode “Where Rachel Goes Back to Work”, Chandler contemplates a return to his old workplace. “I’ll just get my old job back,” he tells Monica.
“No, I want you to have a job that you love,” Monica says. “Not statistical analysis and data reconfiguration.”
To which a bemused Chandler can only reply: “I quit, and you learn what I do?”
