PeggyO said:

Certain professions tend to attract them as well; Law, Medicine, Entertainment, Politics, Religion.

There is a need for continual validation and a craving for power and control.

that would be textbook sociopath...

"To be diagnosed as having NPD, people must have:

• an exaggerated sense of self-importance
• fantasies of great success, power, attractiveness or intelligence
• believing themselves to be special, and only able to be understood by others who are also special
• an increased sense of entitlement
• a need for constant admiration or attention
• taking advantage of others, envying others, or believing others envy them
• arrogance or haughtiness
• a lack of empathy"

Sources: Mayo Clinic (Narcissistic personality disorder), ReachOut.com (Personality disorders), SANE Australia (Is narcissism common? The answer might surprise you), The Royal College of Psychiatrists (Helping someone with borderline personality disorder)

To diagnose a person with antisocial personality disorder, the individual must show the following symptoms:

• making decisions based on one's own needs and desires, without considering the needs of others
• lacking concern for the needs, feelings, or pain of others, and lacking remorse after hurting others
• exploiting others in relationships, making it difficult to have relationships
• using lies, domination, or intimidation to control others
• exhibiting manipulative behavior, including using charm or ingratiation for one's own benefit
• exhibiting dishonest or fraudulent behavior
• not being concerned about how others feel; some people with antisocial personality disorder enjoy sadistic behavior, such as hurting others
• feeling hostility, anger, or aggression, particularly in response to relatively small problems
• lacking inhibitions, which may cause a person to disobey rules, abandon their commitments, or take unnecessary risks

To help maintain a relationship with someone who has ASPD:

• Acknowledge that they may not be able to fully understand your emotions.
• Explain to the person how their behavior affects others and causes harm.
• Make your boundaries explicitly clear to them.
• Offer specific consequences for harmful behaviors.

• American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
  psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm
• Antisocial personality disorder. (2017).
  psychologytoday.com/conditions/antisocial-personality-disorder
• Brown D, et al. (2014). Clozapine: an effective treatment for seriously violent and psychopathic men with antisocial personality disorder in a UK high-security hospital. DOI:
  10.1017/S1092852914000157
• Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). (2016).
  nhs.uk/conditions/cognitive-behavioural-therapy-cbt/how-it-works/
• Matusiewicz AK, et al. (2010). The effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy for personality disorders. DOI:
  10.1016/j.psc.2010.04.007
• Mayo Clinic Staff. (2017). Antisocial personality disorder.
  mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/antisocial-personality-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20353928

The 10 professions with the most psychopaths

https://www.businessinsider.com/professions-with-the-most-psychopaths-2018-5#8-clergy-person-3

5 perfect jobs for narcissists

As difficult as it is to deal with narcissists in the workplace (and vice versa for them), the poor sods also need to pay the rent and buy groceries.

So, if you’re trying to get rid of your narcissistic colleague, you may want to suggest they follow one of these alternative careers. (It will be pretty easy to convince them – just tell them how magnificent they will be in the role and that there’s simply no one else who ever did or ever will do it as well as they will.)

Social media influencer

Being a social media influencer is the perfect job for a narcissist, as it allows them to ‘go rogue’ without the annoyances of inferior colleagues and bland office life.

Apart from this, it also gives them the opportunity to create larger-than-life personas for themselves online and gain millions of doting admirers.

There’s also nothing that says ‘superior’ like constantly being flown off to participate in events and campaigns all over the globe with important brand partners.

Reality TV Show Star

In many ways, narcissists and reality TV shows were made for each other.

Reality TV shows offer narcissists attention, attention and more attention – which we all know they love. And, of course, the ability to create opportunities to get even more attention while they’re at it.

Narcissists offer reality TV shows over-the-top behaviour, very willing lime-light recipients and a good dose of shock factor. All the things that get ratings skyrocketing.

YouTube Star

For narcissists, becoming a YouTube star like the perfect blend between being a social media influencer and a reality show star.

It offers them the freedom to do things their way while enjoying a similar type of attention that they would on stage.

Whether they sing, talk or do make-up tutorials, YouTube puts no limit on video length, which suits them just fine. Also, because they make sharing so easy, it also offers greater potential in going ‘viral’ than any other social media platforms.

Politician

The two things narcissists desire most are power and money. If you manage to claw your way up through the ranks (which wouldn’t be too hard for a narcissist), politics offers plenty of both.

Motivational speaker

While the job of the motivational speaker may seem so pure – helping others reach their full potential and all – it also offers the ideal space for talking about yourself and your achievements. A LOT. And since – beyond money and power – there’s nothing narcissists love more than to gloat, they’d be a weirdly perfect fit for the profession.

IMPORTANT NOTE: We’re not saying all social media influencers, reality TV show stars, YouTube stars, politicians and motivational speakers are narcissists. Quite to the contrary. All we’re saying is these are the types of professions in which you narcissistic friends will thrive. By Nadia Krige

Only if it's about me.