I've always tried to phrase it as "What do you do?", skipping the "for a living" part. That opens it up to more than just work. It could be "What do you do for a hobby?*", or "What do you do *for fun?*", or "What do you do *in your free time?", etc.

Sure, it's not the best conversation starter, but when I know nothing about someone, it's a good way to get the ball rolling.