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Professions with the biggest egos that you have observed ?

#83
jmattbassplaya said:
It's really not the jargon - at least for me because I can keep up with them. My issue with engineers (especially engineering students) is that most of them honestly believe that they are smarter (and by extension, better) than most other people.

Truth of the matter is that they're not smarter, they just possess different skill sets. But then again, I'm sure they need to tell themselves they're better than others because most of them have almost no social lives and they seem depressed all the time (or at least the students seem that way).

Agreed. But there are quite a few self-proclaimed engineers on this forum who are no different than those students. They still have the egotistical, self-righteous attitude where they think they are better and smarter than everyone else when they aren't.
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Oh indeed, I can think of a very prominent poster who s just so childish and obnoxious.

I will be an.engineering student next year,and can easily see what you are talking about.
 
#84
Nedmundo said:
Professors have been mentioned a lot in this thread, but very few of my colleagues have big egos. Almost all of them are extremely down to earth and care about the students, but it was different where I went to school. Most professors were cool, but quite a few had monster egos, so I've definitely seen the phenomenon.
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From what I've been told, the university and its culture have a lot to do with it. I've been through a teaching-oriented state university system from undergrad to doctorate, and just about all of the profs I've had were down to earth and approachable. About half of the profs in my department are Ivy League educated. While they all know they're pretty smart, they're all pretty cool too. However, I know people who have went to other colleges that may have been private or more research-focused and have felt differently about their profs.

I have a classmate who met Cornell West twice. He said that Cornell came off as an elitist douche both times.
 
#91
PSPookie said:
That's what happens when you spend 6 years studying a field that is devoid of facts and objectively verifiable data; I'd have a chip on my shoulder too :p

And I hear ya on trying not to make people feel dumb.
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Psychologists must make predictions all the time of things that are "objectively verifiable"--predicting risk for suicide, criminal recidivism, disciplinary offenses for police officers, you name it. There are decades of studies indicating which procedures can make these predictions at levels that exceed chance. Certainly, the accuracy rates aren't near 100%, but then again, the rates for engineering don't seem to be perfect, if the Challenger shuttle, the I-35W bridge, or my 1985 Pontiac Fiero are any indication.

Of course, I'm not trying to make you feel dumb....
 
#93
Many engineers have big heads, but I have never met an egotistical engineer that wasn't fantastic at his job. Typically, when an engineer has an ego, he is an engineer that realizes how important it is that he be correct 100% of the time. My one professor says all the time that engineers should get paid more than doctors, because when a doctor screws up, one person dies, when an engineer screws up, hundreds or thousands of people could die. I can see how some think that is being egotistical, IMO it is just being realistic.

lowsound
 
#94
iamlowsound said:
Many engineers have big heads, but I have never met an egotistical engineer that wasn't fantastic at his job. Typically, when an engineer has an ego, he is an engineer that realizes how important it is that he be correct 100% of the time. My one professor says all the time that engineers should get paid more than doctors, because when a doctor screws up, one person dies, when an engineer screws up, hundreds or thousands of people could die. I can see how some think that is being egotistical, IMO it is just being realistic.

lowsound
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Says an engineering student ;) And usually, it's the students who are the worst.

Thinking you're better than someone else or have a more important job isn't realistic, it's elitist. You can design buildings, bridges, and cars all you want and call it important, but if the trash men didn't pick up after everyone else then we'd be living in a smellier and less sanitary world. If the farmer didn't grow his crop then we'd be living in a hungrier world. And if the elementary school teacher didn't educate our youth we'd be... well, we wouldn't be engineers that's for sure :p

All I'm trying to say is that people should be humble about their position and respect people who are in different positions. Everyone is playing an important part, and no job is more important than any other once it's all said and done.
 
#96
Jim Nazium said:
Investment bankers and traders, by a huge margin. I have yet to meet one who didn't think he was smartest person and the biggest chick magnet in the world.
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Nedmundo said:
I agree. The high finance guys are in another league, and I've met a few.
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Oh God, yes. And I thought this long before I read the last couple pages of the 19mm spacing Stingray thread tonight.:D

I've talked to and met many investment managers over the past decade. Sure, some are truly humble people. But many of them, when they get even a whiff of success and hype, you can practically smell the sense of entitlement.
 
#98
Biggest egos??? Politicians, Cops, and Musicians...probably in that order too! (I agree with the assessment of engineers and IT guys too..except I know just enough to keep my head above water and keep my mouth shut to see how much jargon they use on me first.)

:D
 

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