Good grief, where did you ever work where physical abuse was okay? (Though verbal and emotional is a given.)
It’s hard for me to squeak this out, but…engineers? How many have known so little but liked it a lot? As a populous, they’re usually dicks.
But, extrodinarily, they can be the most faithful. They really care, they just don’t know why.
Surgeons. World Class status, most of them.
mmm
My gf is a lawyer, so I end up interacting with lawyers a lot and…wow, that profession really does seem to attract an above average number of needlessly aggressive headcases.
One of the management consulting firms I worked for (you can put management consultants on your list as well) worked mostly with law firms. Most of the lawyers were giant assholes, particularly as the more junior associate levels where they think they are hot shit, but are actually nothing since they aren’t partners yet.
People think engineers are dicks because they always have to say “no” (usually for good reason…it’s called the laws of physics). Engineers think everyone else is a dick because they are too stupid to listen to the person who actually knows what they are talking about.
I’m going to say “computer programmers” are up there as well. With their constant condescending sense of superiority towards anyone who doesn’t dress like a 15 year old and spend their formative years holed up in a room writing code day and night. No matter what job they work on, they act as if they are creating the next freakin Google. Bunch of pretentious nerds.
I bet they say “no” to you a lot as well.
A nurse recently told me that one of her instructors in school told them to never marry a cardiologist. I asked why, because of their ego? She said no, because they are all ugly. So, anyway.
Only in the movies. In reality they tend to be regular people who want to get through the day with the least amount of problems. Those that cause problems in the jail don’t last too long because they make everyone’s job difficult.
My girlfriend works very closely with doctors in the pharmaceutical field. She never had a problem until she started working in cardiology.
Which profession has the most scope to be a right bastard without reprisal?
Prison guards, and Psychiatrists/PsychNurses have power over social pariahs who do not have the freedom to go elsewhere.
Re: Surgeons, their ego might be huge, but it is at least partially justiied by their measurably high talent and ability…
Politicians. Evangelists. Human resource workers.
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.
I don’t think there are many fields that are immune. Philosophy professors, lawyers, high-ranking executives in most fields…etc.
Stand-up comedy
Wow, that’s pretty specific. How did your feelings get hurt?
I’ve dealt with a lot of different make-up and hair people professionally and this conforms with my experience. I can’t think of a single one that struck me as an asshole. They tend to be empathetic, positive, and kind.
They happen to be the academics I know best. As I said, I am sure there are plenty in every field.
Hard to narrow down, I’m going to have to go with “humanity”. Not “the humanities”. Just humanity.
Philosophy professors have a very bad reputation for being jerks and assholes. This is all too typical:
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.
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.
Of course, an infinitesimal proportion of military people enjoy killing. But still, there is a higher percentage William Calleys, Steven Dale Greens, and Robert Bales drawn to the service than, say, sadistic crossing guards who lead the kiddies into the paths of dump trucks.
And we’ve had the debate “if the average man could get away with rape, would he?” Again, rapists are a small percentage of the men in uniform, but it’s still a rotten place to send your daughters.
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.