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

Patrick Stewart
Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Tributes Pour In For 'Star Trek' And 'X-Men' Icon Patrick Stewart After His Death At 86

On Thursday, people received the news of the passing of lauded stage, TV, and screen actor Sir Patrick Stewart. Already an accomplished actor in his beloved Britain, in 1987 Sir Patrick gained international fame as he joined Starfleet and the Star Trek universe for the first new television series since 1969.

For the next seven seasons, Captain Jean-Luc Picard would command the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) on Star Trek: The Next Generation on the small screen, then follow as it made the leap to the silver screen where Stewart would play the role for four feature films. He would don the uniform again for his own series, Picard, for three seasons.

Keep ReadingShow less
Jesse Ventura; Donald Trump
KSTP-TV; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Jesse Ventura Brutally Rips 'Coward' Trump For Avoiding Military Service After Trump Touts Himself As Great Military Leader

Minneapolis-born ex-pro-wrestler and former Reform Party Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura minced no words when he shared how he feels about MAGA Republican President Donald Trump.

Once rumored to be a potential running mate for the former reality star President, Ventura has been a very vocal critic of Trump for some time.

Keep ReadingShow less

Robert Irwin Hilariously Mortified After Prince William Makes 'Python' Joke About His Racy Photoshoot

Prince William has a sense of humor. I know. I'm processing this information, too.

The future king made an unexpected detour into comedy during The Graham Norton Show, where Robert Irwin's infamous underwear photoshoot became the evening's main attraction. Unfortunately for Irwin, William had questions. Well, more like observations.

Keep ReadingShow less
TikToker @kori_latham; Luke Skywalker from 'Star Wars'
@kori_latham/TikTok; Disney/LucasFilm

TikTok Mom's Church Outfit Gets Hilariously Roasted By Her 10-Year-Old With Brutal 'Star Wars' Comparison

There's nothing like finding an outfit that you love and feel really confident in, only to realize that you bear an uncanny resemblance to a popular film's costume stylings.

And that's exactly what happened to TikToker @kori_latham, who was getting dressed for church.

Keep ReadingShow less
Newborn baby with full mustache
@MarioNawfal/X

Viral Video Of Newborn Baby Allegedly Born With Full Mustache Sparks Flurry Of Hilarious Jokes

Some people are born to make an entrance—but one baby took that so seriously that he immediately became an internet meme when he was born, thanks to rocking a full mustache.

Parents are typically "warned" about little "abnormalities" they might notice when their babies are born, like birthmarks, a lot of hair on their head, no hair on their head, different eye colors, and maybe even a little facial hair.

Keep ReadingShow less