Almost every personality typing website out there likes to list science-related careers as a good fit for ENTPs and INTPs. We are said to have an inherent aptitude for and interest in scientific fields. The INTP type has been nicknamed the “Scientist,” “Engineer” or “Architect”, while ENTPs have been dubbed the “Inventor,” “Visionary” or the “Mad Scientist”.
You aren’t totally happy with your current career. Maybe it’s just a mild dissatisfaction or a yearning for a change of pace that keeps nagging at you. Or, perhaps it’s full-fledged misery that makes it difficult to pull yourself out of bed in the morning.
Either way, you feel itchy, restless, and like something needs to change in your professional life.
Ideally, everyone would get up, drive to work with a big grin on their faces, and feel just as fulfilled in the workplace as they do in the evenings and weekends. Sadly, that's not the reality for most of us. So many people are in jobs they don't hate exactly, but they don't love either because they haven't found the one big thing they want to do with their lives.
And the reason they haven't found the one big thing is because they didn't ask the right soul-searching questions before they chose their current career, and chose a direction they regret as a result.
As another year rumbles to a close, you may be starting to wonder, "Hey, am I in the right career?" On the surface, it sounds like a dumb question. If you don't like what you're doing, you don't like what you're selling, or you can't get behind your company's mission, then it should be obvious that you're in the wrong job.
Most INFJs long for a career that lines up with their personal vision and profound sense of mission. They want to employ their insight into the human mind as well as their abundant creativity to make the world a better place.
For eight years, I've taught elementary school. It's been a good fit for me in many ways, but it’s also been challenging. I work with people all day long, teach the same content every year, and have to manage 25 students from 9:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. By the end of each day, I’m physically exhausted.
“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” - Jorge Luis Borges
The INFJ personality is a complex type. We live in a world of hidden meanings and symbols and often struggle to fit in with a world that values action over contemplation. But while many INFJs feel misunderstood, we also share a love and passion for expressing ourselves creatively, most often through writing. So why do so many INFJs want to write? And how can we use the natural traits of our personality to enhance, rather than hinder, our writing ability?
A range of 3 to 7. That’s what you’ll find when searching online for how many times an individual changes careers within their working life. While this range is just an approximation due to the ambiguous parameters used to define career change, it’s pretty clear that, at some point or another, everyone will most likely ask the question, “Am I in the wrong career?”
For the INTP, choosing a career is not as simple as looking for the highest salary or the strongest job market. Because you are an independent, creative thinker you need work that will allow you to theorize, innovate, and problem-solve (preferably on your own). Stuck in a job that's too process-driven, detailed, or menial, you can quickly become listless and unmotivated, and perform poorly.
So how do INTPs navigate the rough and rocky road of job hunting? Start by asking these four questions to help you figure out where your ideal job prospects lie.
Do you like your job? For many Americans, the answer to that question is a big "no." Around 70 percent of us hate work or are actively disengaged from our jobs. This figure doesn't get any better with tenure. Among the over 45 age group, 80% of workers have considered changing careers to eliminate the Monday morning blues. Disappointingly, only 6% actually do.