There is some truth in what you say, but I disagree with your last point. It doesn't have to be learned in the school of hardest knocks. In particular, learning from experience is best done in a context where experience doesn't cost too much, where you have room to maneuver; in this case, you're better off learning how to deal with pathological personalities in a commercial environment where you have much more freedom to walk away than you do in academia.

> how to spot different kinds of pathological personalities from a distance

Could you expand upon this? What catches your eye, what do you "look for?"