# per capita, which professions have the most assholes **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 8, 2014, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/per-capita-which-professions-have-the-most-assholes/685605 "2014-04-08T01:45:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Melchior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Melchior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melchior)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/per-capita-which-professions-have-the-most-assholes/685605/41 "2014-04-08T15:48:36Z")
> [@ThisUsernameIsForbidden](#): > > Um, you are, what do we say, “over-generalizing”. I could find a crime committed by any type of person, that doesn’t imply all of those types of people are assholes. I had been in universities for years and Philosophy professors were, by far, nowhere near the most assholest of instructors. That would have to go, not to computer science, not to engineering, but mathematics. But then again, I’ve met several mathematicians that I enjoyed their company. Also English professors tended to be a PITA, and far worse than Philosophy. It all depends…just saying that the ones I have dealings with are in philosophy. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/per-capita-which-professions-have-the-most-assholes/685605/42 "2014-04-08T17:04:35Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > **Surgeons**. World Class status, most of them. Exactly what I was going to post. > [@Namkcalb](#): > > …Re: Surgeons, their ego might be huge, but it is at least partially justiied by their measurably high talent and ability… Agreed, with emphasis on “partially.” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Greenjeans](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.greenjeans/32/551_2.png) [@Mr.Greenjeans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Greenjeans)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/per-capita-which-professions-have-the-most-assholes/685605/43 "2014-04-08T17:16:12Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Urologists. > > (I know you immediately thought of proctologists, but we’re speaking of _being_, not viewing.) No, urologists aren’t assholes. They’re dicks! ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/per-capita-which-professions-have-the-most-assholes/685605/44 "2014-04-08T19:35:52Z")
> [@Dave\_Hartwick](#): > > I bet they say “no” to you a lot as well. But their eyes say “yes”. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/per-capita-which-professions-have-the-most-assholes/685605/45 "2014-04-08T19:54:06Z")
Professors/academics tend to be complete blowhards. Get them in a room and I swear that they arrange themselves in order of degree. I’ve never seen such obvious awareness of rank outside of the military. ---
**Author:** ![Melchior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Melchior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melchior)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/per-capita-which-professions-have-the-most-assholes/685605/46 "2014-04-08T20:01:43Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > Professors/academics tend to be complete blowhards. Get them in a room and I swear that they arrange themselves in order of degree. I’ve never seen such obvious awareness of rank outside of the military. Yep! ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/per-capita-which-professions-have-the-most-assholes/685605/47 "2014-04-09T11:05:11Z")
> [@ThisUsernameIsForbidden](#): > > Man, that was cold. You must be a programmer! > > Agree with STEM people to some extent. When I was a kid, we were nerds and it wasn’t cool. We are now cool and smart at the same time. Some people interpret the arrogance that goes along with being smarter about some particular thing as asshole. Fair enough. Realize, though, that (particularly outside STEM “cultures”) we are held back by people afraid that we will take their jobs because we are smarter. Usually the excuse is lack of experience, which we believe can be made up for by intelligence, in many cases. People interpret the arrogance that goes along with being arrogant as asshole. The reason many STEM (science, tech, engineering & math for you Little Brains) folks are “held back” is because while they are good at the STEM skills, many are absolutely horrible at the non STEM skills that one needs to advance to leadership roles. ---
**Author:** ![Melchior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Melchior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melchior)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/per-capita-which-professions-have-the-most-assholes/685605/48 "2014-04-09T13:39:09Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > People interpret the arrogance that goes along with being arrogant as asshole. The reason many STEM (science, tech, engineering & math for you Little Brains) folks are “held back” is because while they are good at the STEM skills, many are absolutely horrible at the non STEM skills that one needs to advance to leadership roles. Yep. ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/per-capita-which-professions-have-the-most-assholes/685605/49 "2014-04-09T14:08:57Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > The military. Every O6 (colonel, navy captain) and above I’ve ever met was pretty cool, and I assume that’s what it takes to get up there. But there’s a lot of people who’ll never rise that high whose consolation prize is getting to treat subordinates like it’s _Conquest of the Planet of the Apes_. /snip/ Working as a government contractor, having daily contact with those in uniform, I have to narrowly concur with the above statement. Primarily, O3 (Army Captain, specifically) seemed to be particularly asshole-ish. They seem to have their “eyes on the prize” of O4 (Major). I even had one admonish me a bit when I responded to a question of his with a simple “yes”. He eyed me and said “sir?” I said “pardon me?” and he reminded me that _HE_ is an officer. I reminded him that _I_ am a civilian and not his subordinate. ---
**Author:** ![ThisUsernameIsForbidden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b4bc9f/32.png) [@ThisUsernameIsForbidden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisUsernameIsForbidden)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/per-capita-which-professions-have-the-most-assholes/685605/50 "2014-04-09T15:51:01Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > People interpret the arrogance that goes along with being arrogant as asshole. The reason many STEM (science, tech, engineering & math for you Little Brains) folks are “held back” is because while they are good at the STEM skills, many are absolutely horrible at the non STEM skills that one needs to advance to leadership roles. I’ve heard that criticism from non-STEM folks, but having been in both the public and private sectors in engineering, that has not been my experience. What I have seen is a conflict between engineers and architects wanting to do things correctly ( from the point of view of the responsible person in charge ) and others holding purse strings. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/per-capita-which-professions-have-the-most-assholes/685605/51 "2014-04-09T16:33:00Z")
The first thing I thought of even before reading anyone else’s response was finance/investment broker kinds of guys. Interesting that so many other people thought the same thing - they really have quite the reputation. Second thing I thought of was college professors. I know a number of people who work in college administration and have horror stories about what assholes they are. As for the military, much though it pains me to say it (being the son, brother, and nephew of them), military _officers_ do seem to have a higher than usual incidence of assholishness. Enlisted guys are usually all right. But officers have the very psychologically unhealthy experience of having great control over a lot of people from very early in their career. Too many of them are used to walking around base thinking they’re the cock of the block. The only sweet revenge is that the moment they step _off_ base no one gives a shit what rank they are. > [@GrizzRich](#): > > Working as a government contractor, having daily contact with those in uniform, I have to narrowly concur with the above statement. Primarily, O3 (Army Captain, specifically) seemed to be particularly asshole-ish. They seem to have their “eyes on the prize” of O4 (Major). I even had one admonish me a bit when I responded to a question of his with a simple “yes”. He eyed me and said “sir?” I said “pardon me?” and he reminded me that _HE_ is an officer. I reminded him that _I_ am a civilian and not his subordinate. Good for you. Sounds like he needed to be knocked down a peg or two. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/per-capita-which-professions-have-the-most-assholes/685605/52 "2014-04-09T16:33:08Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > People interpret the arrogance that goes along with being arrogant as asshole. The reason many STEM (science, tech, engineering & math for you Little Brains) folks are “held back” is because while they are good at the STEM skills, many are absolutely horrible at the non STEM skills that one needs to advance to leadership roles. What I’ve noticed in STEM fields is usually a lot of people are angry, miserable, frustrated, etc. I wonder if that is due to people in those fields having below average interpersonal and intrapersonal skills. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/per-capita-which-professions-have-the-most-assholes/685605/53 "2014-04-09T17:33:38Z")
> [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](#): > > With this as the definition, then I’d have to say sales executive. This. Any high end sales organizations are usually 80% assholes. Especially consulting, software or hardware sales, chemical or engineering sales. People that can make 10% commissions from four million dollar deals, and close several deals a year. That level. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/per-capita-which-professions-have-the-most-assholes/685605/54 "2014-04-09T17:58:19Z")
Shipping clerks, if that could be considered a profession. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/per-capita-which-professions-have-the-most-assholes/685605/55 "2014-04-09T20:43:50Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > This is going to get me in trouble, but many if not most of the most bullying, authoritarian, condescending people I’ve ever known have been teachers. I’ve got to second teachers. Try to convince a teacher that she’s wrong about something. Anything. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/per-capita-which-professions-have-the-most-assholes/685605/56 "2014-04-10T00:14:41Z")
Porn. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/per-capita-which-professions-have-the-most-assholes/685605/57 "2014-04-10T00:39:56Z")
Needing to write a prescription the proctologist grabbed his thermometer and said, “damn, some asshole has my pen.” ---
**Author:** ![ThisUsernameIsForbidden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b4bc9f/32.png) [@ThisUsernameIsForbidden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisUsernameIsForbidden)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/per-capita-which-professions-have-the-most-assholes/685605/58 "2014-04-10T01:08:56Z")
> [@](#): > > Try to convince a teacher that she’s wrong about something. Well that’s true. I’ve tried arguing with professors in class before and as they visibly get angry the rest of the class develops goose bumps and their spine shrinks about 2 inches because they know wrath and judgment are coming. Ahh…my days of youthful indiscretion. ---
**Author:** ![Melchior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Melchior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melchior)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/per-capita-which-professions-have-the-most-assholes/685605/59 "2014-04-10T01:16:16Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > I’ve got to second teachers. Try to convince a teacher that she’s wrong about something. Anything. I remember some ‘female’ English TA marking my freshman English essay with a big red mark concerning the spelling of ‘judgement’ as ‘British spelling’. I brought a copy of a Merriam-Webster Collegiate to her and shoved her nose in it and made her aware that ‘judgement’ is a \*\*\*correct \*\*\*alternate spelling, and made her change my grade. This was when papers were hand-written, by the way. ‘Judgment’ is a stupid spelling anyway. Do we have ‘managment’? The ‘e’ is necessary to indicate the soft ‘g’ sound! Most TAs think they are so smart. They are not! ---
**Author:** ![randompattern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@randompattern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randompattern)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/per-capita-which-professions-have-the-most-assholes/685605/60 "2014-04-10T01:30:23Z")
I’m surprised this hasn’t been added already. Professional Athletes. There must be at least two a week on TV proving it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/per-capita-which-professions-have-the-most-assholes/685605.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/per-capita-which-professions-have-the-most-assholes/685605.md?page=4)