Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down Which Professions Attract The Most Psychopaths

People Break Down Which Professions Attract The Most Psychopaths
Photo by Isai Ramos on Unsplash
Make us preferred on Google

Ever since watching Christian Bale tear his way through sex workers, homeless people, and even some of his own coworkers, I've been convinced that people working on Wall Street are psychopaths. Reading American Psycho for myself only entrenched me in this thought process further.

Okay, not entirely, but the 2008 recession didn't help matters.

After Redditor newaccountwhodis asked the online community, "What careers or jobs attract the most psychopaths?" people weighed in with their experiences.


"It included..."

There's been a study on this. It included corporate executives but also surgeons and chefs (both of whose work tends not to require not much actual socialization, or at least only with subordinates, not customers who have to be greeted pleasantly).

Poorly_Drawn_Beagle

"It's known..."

Sales. It's known that psychopaths excel in sales because they do whatever they can to get ahead, learned about it in Psych in my undergrad and it always stuck with me.

Mr_get_the_cream

"The higher you advance..."

Banking. The higher you advance in the hierarchy, the less empathy you have. Exponentially.

sedsiv

"To get away with..."

One career that doesn't immediately come to mind but makes a ton of sense when you think about it is charity worker, especially if you get to management.

What do psychopaths want? To get away with abusing power over others. What better way to do that then to surround yourself with powerless people who desperately need whatever the charity is providing, and typical charity workers that are extremely helpful, caring people who are most inclined to want to see the good in others.

I have a friend with PTSD from being abused by his boss and being forced to witness his boss abuse the people who needed the charity while working at a nonprofit, and his therapist told him his story is surprisingly common.

Hautamaki

"I'm talking about..."

Government management

And I'm not talking about politicians. I'm talking about your department managers and execs. I've worked for some insane people.

jenskal

"I've had a number of interviews..."

I'm going into the aerospace industry as an engineer soon and I feel like a lot of those engineers who work for defense companies building weapons that kill people are just different. I've had a number of interviews with defense industry people and every time the interviewer puts me off with the ways they describe their work building bombs and missiles and s*** that definitely blow up human beings. Maybe it's the way they always frame it as "supporting the warfighter" and how their products are "innovative kill chain technologies" and s***. I would bet money that the defense industry has a measurably higher rate of psychopaths.

xthatguy339x

"I have worked with people..."

Overseas military contractors. I have worked with people that I swear had bodies in their basements or people tied up down there.

EastBayRae

"They're generally useless..."

Middle management. They're incompetent jerks that can't make it to actual positions of power, they sit and tread in their little puddle of victory. They're generally useless and have no real use other than being a toilet for upper management.

Evisceration_Station

"If you ever wonder..."

No bankers? Man, these guys always slip under the radar.

If you ever wonder why the U.S. government and economy is a cruel, rigged mess, it's bankers, they're major shareholders in every public company and major creditors to the rest... every major political decision goes through them. They are the system.

myspaceshipisbroken

"I'm not sure..."

Nurses. I'm not sure if it's because people just want the pay or what but nurses can be so evil. Like the ones beating on old people and s***.

"The real investment banking..."

Investment banking. The real investment banking, not retail bankers. The bankers who will screw your mother for a penny, and advise your pension fund to liquidate and file for bankruptcy so he can get paid to go on his best friend's stag-do.

wetug

"One just recently..."

Lying, cruel, misogynistic, arrogant, nationalistic, brutish, con-artist, fake billionaires, with dreams of becoming POTUS. One just recently achieved that goal.

PastCar7

"I can confidently say..."

I would say nursing and then teaching hands down. I can confidently say that this comes from a place of experience.

Taraybian

"Seriously."

Management.

Seriously. Most managers are diagnosable psychopaths.

HotDogManRidesAgain

"Sales is a job..."

Sales is a job that requires changing one's personality to mirror the potential buyer which is a trait of psychopaths.

MargotWakefield

"You need to make a decision on the fly..."

Politics. Psychopaths actually excel in politics. You need to make decision on the fly, some of which can possibly hurt others. Empathy is not a strong suit in politics. You cant be thinking of everyone.

A_nubiz

"Almost every murder mystery..."

Hedge fund trading, maybe? Almost every murder mystery I've watched where there's a hedge fund trader involved has turned out to be a psychopath of sorts.

DemonCyborg64

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Screenshot of Mark Carney; Donald Trump
@sarobertson_/X; Aaron Schwartz/AFP via Getty Images

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney Trolls Trump With Perfect 'Conspiracy' Joke After Technical Glitch During Speech

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had people laughing after he made a clever "conspiracy" joke aimed at President Donald Trump after his teleprompter cut out mid-speech on Wednesday.

Carney was addressing the press and supporters as part of his government's pledge to build more rental homes. A press release announced that "over the next three years, Canada’s new government, in partnership with the City of Toronto, will invest over $2.7 billion to build more than 18 housing projects across Toronto."

Keep ReadingShow less
Nurse Hadley Vlahos
@nursehadley/TikTok

TikToker Speaks Out About Just How Difficult It Is To Get A Divorce In Mississippi—And Wow

While we're well into the 21st century, it's becoming increasingly difficult in the United States for women to execute what should be basic social rights, like getting a divorce. But states like Mississippi and most of the "Bible Belt" are making it practically impossible for people like Nurse Hadley Vlahos to fully separate from a former partner.

Though Vlahos is known on TikTok and YouTube for being a hospice nurse and wrote about end-of-life care in her New York Times bestselling book, The In-Between with How to Let Go to follow, she's now dedicating much more of her platform to documenting her three-year process of just filing for divorce, not including all that happened in the years before and in the year and a half since.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Donald Trump
C-SPAN

Trump's Bonkers Quip About What He'd Do If He Coached In The WNBA Just Resurfaced—And It's A Doozy

President Donald Trump is raising eyebrows again after a resurfaced clip showed him trying to bring NBA star LeBron James into the debate around transgender athletes while mocking the WNBA.

The WNBA has been at the center of controversy after Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham said she wants "to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.” She called her beliefs "common sense," stressing that "it’s really important to protect children, and that’s little girls who are also involved in that category."

Keep ReadingShow less
Billie Eilish
Savion Washington/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Photos Of Billie Eilish From Her Upcoming Movie Just Dropped—And Fans Barely Recognize Her

The latest film adaptation of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar is led by Women Talking and Splice director Sarah Polley.

As of March, Billie Eilish was cast in the leading role, Esther Greenwood, who goes through a form of mental burnout and psychosis over the course of the book, with a plot that becomes increasingly unhinged and unreliable.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Donald Trump
Fox News

Trump Hit With Reality Check After Giving Himself An 'A+' On The Economy In Delusional Interview

President Donald Trump was criticized after he claimed in an interview with Fox News that he should be given an "A+" for the current economy after claiming the "costs are all coming down now."

A recent Gallup poll found that 55 percent of respondents felt their finances were worsening, a level of pessimism exceeding that seen during both the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2008 financial crisis. This comes as the highly unpopular war in Iran continues to rage, sending gas prices surging. Americans have spent an additional $59 billion on fuel since Trump launched the war.

Keep ReadingShow less