What do the majority of members of the Psi Corps actually do?

Question

As far as I can tell, these are some roles within the Psi Corps we know about:

• Psi Cops, who track down and re-acquire rogue telepaths
• New recruits (mostly children) being taught about their telepathic abilities (such as how to suppress scanning by reciting nursery rhymes over and over)
• Teachers of the above
• People who promote the Psi Corps by producing promotional videos etc
• People who administer the telepathic inhibitor drugs
• Commercial telepaths
• Those who work with the police, scanning victims
• Ship crews (for mothership and shuttles)
• Maintenance crews (for the above as well as Black Omega Squadron)
• Leaders who do covert things like collaborate with the Shadows
• People who "re-habilitate" rogue telepaths and "re-integrate" them into the Corps (not sure if these are also counted as Psi Cops)

Does this account for the majority of members? I'm just thinking, if someone like Talia wanted to take a different route than being a commercial telepath, what would be her options? And what does she do when she doesn't have any clients at the moment?

I'd be particularly interested to hear from anyone who's read the Psi Corps Trilogy novels, which I haven't.

Answer 1

Commercial telepaths

Almost certainly, the majority of Psi Corps members are commercial telepaths. Babylon 5 episodes repeatedly demonstrate that business negotiations rarely take place without the presence of trained, Psi Corps-licensed telepaths to ensure the good intentions of both sides of the negotiating table. Hence, there is a strong demand for commercial telepaths.

Psi Cops and other elite functions of the Corps require a much higher Psi rating than commercial work, and so there is a biological limit on who can serve in these roles. Also, Psi Cop work requires additional mental training, combat training, and a willingness to put oneself in harm's way. People who teach and rehabilitate at the Corps may not be putting themselves in harm's way necessarily, but probably require a similar level of training and mental power to Psi Cops.

As with any academy, there are probably many more graduates in the field than current students, and most of those graduates would be commercial telepaths. A commercial telepath does not need to be especially physically fit, requires no combat training, requires little or no mental defensive training (for sustained mental incursions), and is a generally low-risk job. Most importantly, it does not require a high Psi rating.

At the same time, being a commercial telepath is somewhat lucrative and allows for some personal freedom. It is likely the closest thing that a telepath can have to a "normal life".

It stands to reason that most people who graduate from the Corps become commercial mediators.