# What jobs have the highest concentrations of socially maladjusted people? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 5, 2003, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-the-highest-concentrations-of-socially-maladjusted-people/146789 "2003-01-05T17:06:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mephisto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@Mephisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mephisto)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-the-highest-concentrations-of-socially-maladjusted-people/146789/21 "2003-01-05T22:15:06Z")
Perhaps I should add that I sort of interpreted maladjusted as “crazy,” which doesn’t necessarily mean rude, mean, sociopathic, etc. In addition to those things, I was also considering personal quirks, depression, self-esteem issues, egomania, and a host of other things. There’s a lot of nice crazy people out there. ---
**Author:** ![jacksen9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@jacksen9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacksen9)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-the-highest-concentrations-of-socially-maladjusted-people/146789/22 "2003-01-05T22:18:19Z")
Bounty Hunters Professional Athletes ---
**Author:** ![XJETGIRLX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9fc29f/32.png) [@XJETGIRLX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XJETGIRLX)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-the-highest-concentrations-of-socially-maladjusted-people/146789/23 "2003-01-05T22:22:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Murcielago \* > \*\*Professional politicians (I’ve done consulting for a few). > > Sadly, it seems that those who pursue office most passionately are the most likely to abuse their power. \*\* I’d have to second this. I work in political operations now, and it seems to me that most politicians, whether their intentions are good to begin with or not, usually end up with such a completely convoluted view of reality that they should never be released back into the wild. I think we need a special reservation for former politicians. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-the-highest-concentrations-of-socially-maladjusted-people/146789/24 "2003-01-05T22:37:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by XJETGIRLX \* > \*\*I think we need a special reservation for former politicians. \*\* We send ours overseas to be diplomats and consuls. Gets 'em off our hands, and they can embarrass themselves all they like over there. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Haywood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Haywood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haywood)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-the-highest-concentrations-of-socially-maladjusted-people/146789/25 "2003-01-05T22:38:48Z")
Automobile salespersons, either new cars or used cars. This group of people putting the screws to the public. ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-the-highest-concentrations-of-socially-maladjusted-people/146789/26 "2003-01-05T23:12:55Z")
UK School Inspectors. They freak me out - and i’m a professional geek! ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-the-highest-concentrations-of-socially-maladjusted-people/146789/27 "2003-01-05T23:13:58Z")
Advertisers. People who spend their time trying to think of ways to make people feel bad/unnatractive/dirty/uncool/less worthy if they don’t use Product X. ---
**Author:** ![ghandi5569](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@ghandi5569](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ghandi5569)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-the-highest-concentrations-of-socially-maladjusted-people/146789/28 "2003-01-06T00:55:49Z")
Everyone that works in the animal hospital where I work tends to be a bit crazy. We all prefer animals to people and hate dealing with children. If only it weren’t frowned upon to lock the kids in kennels. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-the-highest-concentrations-of-socially-maladjusted-people/146789/29 "2003-01-06T02:15:13Z")
Motorcycle mechanics, without a doubt. In four years as a bike wrench, I worked with:[ul][li]an apocalyptic speed freak,[/li][li]a con artist,[/li][li]a bunch of rednecks who thought traffic tickets were how you kept score and proof of insurance was something you forged,[/li][li]a boss who yelled at the customers and effectively quit his job before the end of the week, leaving the rest of us to run the shop on Saturday,[/ul]and I knew:[ul]a greaseball (and proud of it) who dug holes in the wall between the men’s and women’s bathrooms,[/li][li]an otherwise normal guy who talked mostly in rock lyrics and talked only in lyrics for a year (just to prove the point.)[/ul]These guys worked on Jap bikes. Trust me, the Harley dogs were the normal guys.[/li] Admittedly, this years ago, but I only knew one well-adjusted motorcycle mechanic, and he quit to work on cars shortly before we actually met. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-the-highest-concentrations-of-socially-maladjusted-people/146789/30 "2003-01-06T05:34:20Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by MandaJo_ > University Libraries. Note that I think this a point in favor of libraries. To narrow it down a bit further - Catalogers. These freaks make accountants seem like Oakland Raider fans by comparison. Seriously messed up people. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-the-highest-concentrations-of-socially-maladjusted-people/146789/31 "2003-01-06T06:13:15Z")
Once again, the jobs that I’ve done seem to be popping up a lot. Cab driver. Maybe it was just me, but the hours of semi-isolation always left me kind of loopy at the end of the night. I enjoyed it, but being a cataloguer was more fun. ---
**Author:** ![Mammie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/49beb7/32.png) [@Mammie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mammie)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-the-highest-concentrations-of-socially-maladjusted-people/146789/32 "2003-01-06T06:18:20Z")
Most people I know in law enforcement are very paranoid. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-the-highest-concentrations-of-socially-maladjusted-people/146789/33 "2003-01-06T06:29:22Z")
Flame me if you will, but pre-school teachers are just a little whacked in the head with the happy stick, if you know what I mean. T’ain’t natural. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-the-highest-concentrations-of-socially-maladjusted-people/146789/34 "2003-01-06T06:36:49Z")
I don’t know any, but I imagine that being a prison guard could seriously screw you up. Yes, I too have known a few very screwy cops. I also used to register potential cops for police academy courses at the local community college. THEY were a particularly scary population. Nobody’s mentioned Postal Workers yet? AFAIK, not professions in America, but certainly somewhere: Executioner Torturer/Interrogator ---
**Author:** ![Themis00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/13edae/32.png) [@Themis00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Themis00)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-the-highest-concentrations-of-socially-maladjusted-people/146789/35 "2003-01-06T14:57:08Z")
Bartenders!!! ---
**Author:** ![WortMeWorry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@WortMeWorry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WortMeWorry)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-the-highest-concentrations-of-socially-maladjusted-people/146789/36 "2003-01-06T15:20:22Z")
Restaurant workers. Wait staff that love to " be on stage " for the customer. The kind of people who make pickled lark’s vomit sound appetizing. Servers who flirt with everyone, I’m not talking about polite conversation. I mean the kind of people who were teases when in school, and still are. Bussers that will eat from someone elses retrieved plate. Kitchen staff that defies classification. You’ve not seen wierd ,until you’ve seen grown men doing Ethel Merman impressions, including choreography. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-the-highest-concentrations-of-socially-maladjusted-people/146789/37 "2003-01-06T15:59:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Walloon \* > \*\*Night watchmen. I apologize to the well-adjusted night watchmen who may be out there, but my experience is that people take that job when they have no other marketable skills, not much ambition, and really would rather be alone. \*\* That would be me in my early 20’s. I did a stint as a security guard but on the 4-midnight shift. After 7 most everybody was gone and I’d put my feet up and read or type letters to friends or free association gibberish. ---
**Author:** ![lauramarlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a5b964/32.png) [@lauramarlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lauramarlane)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-the-highest-concentrations-of-socially-maladjusted-people/146789/38 "2003-01-06T16:18:18Z")
**Lamar Mundane** , I hear you! I think I mentioned this in another thread once. Catalogers are the strangest of the strange. Weird little xenophobic geeks who enjoy the AACR2R as light, weekend reading 🙂 And I should know, I was a cataloger once–but not one of those, honest! ---
**Author:** ![SC\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@SC\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SC_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-the-highest-concentrations-of-socially-maladjusted-people/146789/39 "2003-01-06T16:49:56Z")
Wal-Mart. ---
**Author:** ![Corrvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bbce88/32.png) [@Corrvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corrvin)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-the-highest-concentrations-of-socially-maladjusted-people/146789/40 "2003-01-06T17:09:22Z")
Nobody’s mentioned tech support yet? Well, I suppose most of us techs don’t notice, because the folks that are a little socially off are so glad to find something they CAN talk about, that they’re sparkling wits about it. On the other hand, I think that’s all phone jobs. We certainly don’t tech computers where I work now, and the boss just this week had to announce “Will everyone PLEASE put some shoes on when the clients show up at work.” What? Fuzzy house-slippers don’t count? Corr [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-the-highest-concentrations-of-socially-maladjusted-people/146789.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-the-highest-concentrations-of-socially-maladjusted-people/146789.md?page=3)