• You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community, you will have access to additional post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), view blogs, respond to polls, upload content, and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free, so please join our community today! Just click here to register. You should turn your Ad Blocker off for this site or certain features may not work properly. If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us by clicking here.

Career/major choice and type

Coriolis

Si vis pacem, para bellum
Staff member
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
27,230
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
Fairness in the workplace is a must. People must be held to account for what they do and what they produce in the workplace.

I hate last minute change but I'm briliant at dealing with it.

I love to work with sytems that have defined outcomes, deadlines and measurable results. I hate working in systems which are all about nebulous feel-good outcomes where everyone gets a gold star for participating

If there are rules just goddamn follow them. No need to set up a committee to discuss the rules and whether or not they are supportive of us as individuals blah, blah, blah...
You are lucky then. Most of the rules at my workplace actually impede progress toward organizational goals. It is very frustrating to those of us who take our jobs seriously and want to get things done. It has nothing to do with people-pleasing or being personally supportive, but rather with efficiency, duplication, and waste. I agree with the rest of the above. Those nebulous, feel-good "systems" do not deserve such a designation.
 
W

WhoCares

Guest
You are lucky then. Most of the rules at my workplace actually impede progress toward organizational goals. It is very frustrating to those of us who take our jobs seriously and want to get things done. It has nothing to do with people-pleasing or being personally supportive, but rather with efficiency, duplication, and waste. I agree with the rest of the above. Those nebulous, feel-good "systems" do not deserve such a designation.

In the context of my workplace those rules happen to be government regulations which are a requirement of the job and are in place for the protection of the general public that we deal with. So yeah, follow the rules I don't fancy losing my job because someone on my team went Pppftt! So what, nothing bad's going to happen.

The feel-good systems I spoke about have nothing to do with the actual work involved and are instead a system designed to make the workplace fun and happy. All well and good until that starts to overshadow regulatory compliance, which it has. There have been several incidents with rather undesirable outcomes all because people didn't follow procedure, decided to do it their own way because the procedures were in their mind, stupid. Trouble is, they had no basis of understanding as to why that procedure was created.

As with all things. Context is everything. I somehow get the impression the rules you are coming up against aren't quite the same. If I worked in marketing or some other creative pursuit I wouldn't mind backslapping, feel good systems at all.
 

kiddykat

movin melodies
Joined
Jul 27, 2008
Messages
1,111
MBTI Type
ENFP
Enneagram
4, 7
Currently right now.. the total opposite. My limited job opportunities are a reflection of my shadow functions in a shitty economy.

In days of higher success and prosperity- I imagine my job to consist of traveling, engaging with the outside world, immersing into various cultures, provide systemic change for inner-city communities. I'd love to work with at risk teenagers- they hold a lot of hope and potential at a short critical period.. oh and taking art/cooking classes and creating art or culinary flavors for the love of those collected experiences, a little bit of everything, and more. Yeh
 

Amargith

Hotel California
Joined
Nov 5, 2008
Messages
14,717
MBTI Type
ENFP
Enneagram
4dw
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
I am surprised this thread has not generated more replies. I would be curious to hear especially from people working in careers that are uncommon for their type. I am an experimental physicist, so the fit is generally good, though I have plenty of STJ and SFJ management/"support" people to deal with, which can be trying at times. I like that I can work for hours on my own, but still am part of a team that is very good about helping each other out and mentoring the new people.

:shrug: Most of my jobs have been ESFJ-oriented (receptionist, office assistant), with one being distinctly ESFP (charity fund raiser/salesperson for subscriptions).

The ESFJ jobs tired me out completely and I sucked at the keeping everyone's agenda straight-thing. But, I was good at the 'helping people' part, and the organisational part. It is just when they were combined that it threw me for a loop and drained the life out of me, as I always had the distinct feeling I was missing some obvious but vital detail (and I was :doh:).

I was actually more suited for the charity fundraising thing as it appealed to my idealism, whereas convincing people with sheer enthusiasm wasnt that hard for me. Unfortunately the pressure of the target as well as the repetition of the job wore me out completely (consistently being in the moment, in tune with people and making it quick and snappy goes against my nature).

Why didn't I get an ENFP job? Coz honestly, I cannot find one in the business world. At least not with my degree. In fact, I worked as a temporary office assistant for psychologists who determined who was good for what job for other firms (elaborate testing, interviews, etc), and they even got certified in MBTI. When I came across someone who was ENFP in the paper work, I saw she was rejected for the job she applied for, based on her interview (not her skills). I asked my boss what job she *would* be suited for. He honestly didn't know. And yes, the man was ESFJ and had been a shrink for 40 years, he knew what I was asking. All too well ( we used to play mind games on each other and he used to use me as a sounding board, although he had 3 other licensed shrinks working with him. I was quite flattered that he asked for my first impression on people :smile:)
 

wolfy

awsm
Joined
Jun 30, 2008
Messages
12,251
I work at the gym doing personal training, personal stretching and give studio lessons and general instruction. I guess it matches my type.
 

Coriolis

Si vis pacem, para bellum
Staff member
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
27,230
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
In the context of my workplace those rules happen to be government regulations which are a requirement of the job and are in place for the protection of the general public that we deal with. So yeah, follow the rules I don't fancy losing my job because someone on my team went Pppftt! So what, nothing bad's going to happen.

The feel-good systems I spoke about have nothing to do with the actual work involved and are instead a system designed to make the workplace fun and happy. All well and good until that starts to overshadow regulatory compliance, which it has. There have been several incidents with rather undesirable outcomes all because people didn't follow procedure, decided to do it their own way because the procedures were in their mind, stupid. Trouble is, they had no basis of understanding as to why that procedure was created.

As with all things. Context is everything. I somehow get the impression the rules you are coming up against aren't quite the same. If I worked in marketing or some other creative pursuit I wouldn't mind backslapping, feel good systems at all.
Our rules are requirements of the job, too (most are). Some make sense, while others do not. It is the second group that most of us have no patience with. We document the negative impact on productivity and do our best to negotiate workarounds or exemptions. Sometimes we succeed, sometimes we are overruled or just ignored. In any case, even this is a waste of our time that shouldn't have to happen. I don't know of anyone who circumvents a rule because they just don't like it. It is usually a deliberate decision made in consultation with coworkers. The problem in my organization is that the people who make these rules have no real understanding of the kind of work we do, and their (in)appropriateness to our "context".
 

Icarus

New member
Joined
Aug 10, 2010
Messages
26
MBTI Type
ENTP
Enneagram
8w9
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
This is actually very relevant for me. I'm an ENTP, my friend is (probably) an ISTx and we're in the planning stages of the law firm we want to start together. I'd handle civil litigation/criminal defense while he'd handle tax/divorce/etc. I think that correlated out pretty well to our types.
 

Hyacinth

New member
Joined
Mar 27, 2012
Messages
119
MBTI Type
intp
Enneagram
471
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
This is actually very relevant for me. I'm an ENTP, my friend is (probably) an ISTx and we're in the planning stages of the law firm we want to start together. I'd handle civil litigation/criminal defense while he'd handle tax/divorce/etc. I think that correlated out pretty well to our types.

*is your oddball introverted paralegal*
 

Grublet

Permabanned
Joined
Sep 11, 2012
Messages
269
MBTI Type
ISTJ
Enneagram
AVC
I feel I could either be a film colorist, a video compressionist, a psychologist, or a nurse. My shadow function Se makes me think I should be a comedian. :D
 

entropie

Permabanned
Joined
Apr 24, 2008
Messages
16,767
MBTI Type
entp
Enneagram
783
It's pretty pragmatic but anything else than down-to-earth
 

Savitri

New member
Joined
Aug 15, 2012
Messages
88
MBTI Type
ENTJ
Enneagram
1w9
Instinctual Variant
so/sx
My career choices and long-term goals seem to follow my Enneagram motivations more than MBTI stereotype even though it's not immediately apparent.

Edit: Just looked at context of OP and I'd say my qualifying job attributes fit Te/Se/Ni.

- Not detailed oriented, concept oriented
- Walk and talk meetings
- Like being out in the field
- Can work independently and on a team
- Unproductive when forced to work details or mundane office task (Unproductive = I plot how far I can procrastinate on it before it is necessary to have to produce)
- I like concept oriented meetings and detest logistic meetings
- I believe in schedules, gantt charts, timelines, performas available at all times and be constantly updated for the best chances at accurate projection of how the project will be delivered. (This is possibly the only thing I'm OCD about when it comes to my work and the only detail I really give a damn about.)

I'm at the infancy of my career. The internships I had in the past were ISTP/ISFP based (Architecture intern-draftsman; Design intern for an artist who needed to stylize urban planning/land SAT imagery to show asian trade networks from 1900s-2000s, worked primarily on the computer and historical first resources found in the creepy/secluded areas of libraries looking for old maps to vectorize and overlay current landsat maps)

My first step entry level was project manager for a board committee composed of CBO. I handled small to big housing/streetscape development to increase homeowner/community's economic equity, and some educational workshops and some community/campaign/marketing development work. Had to be Jane of all Trades for sometime and liked the challenge of learning something new quickly. Yeh this was fun but it also called upon some Fe-work which was more difficult.
 

Generalist

New member
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Messages
212
MBTI Type
ISFP
Enneagram
9
Instinctual Variant
sp
Hi, thanks to anyone who shows interest. I am sure there are multiple threads buried here on this topic, but I am curious as to what anyone's opinion is regarding type and career choice. Obviously a lot of people became interested or look to it, because they think it will really help them in choosing the right career. It is why I was originally drawn to it, desperate for answers.

So, do you think type is something that plays a major role in career decisions?

Or is it given too much of a role?

Does anyone feel type has helped them choose certain work paths and actually helped them?

Has anyone been screwed over by following the work recommendations of their types?

Dick Bolles (author of What Color is your Parachute?) suggests that typing systems are clues, not necessarily answers, that they just describe the family you belong to and you can be quite different from your family(e.g. INTJ is a family). Would anyone experienced in type argue against this, that it is more then clues? I ask this because I kind of get the general feeling that those who are more experienced with the typing systems don't necessarily make such a big deal about them, that most with experience would agree with this.

How many think that type shouldn't be a factor at all in choosing your career/major?

Thanks again

Thanks again.
 

Typh0n

clever fool
Joined
Feb 13, 2013
Messages
3,497
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
I don't make a big deal out of it. Just choose the career you like. I think you can't really know if you like a career if you aeren't familar with it hands-on, yet at some point we all have to make a choice, even if we don't have all the data we would like.

I think types are just clues as you put it and I'm not even sure about that. I've not found a typology system that is reliable in this sense.
 

Coriolis

Si vis pacem, para bellum
Staff member
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
27,230
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
Hi, thanks to anyone who shows interest. I am sure there are multiple threads buried here on this topic, but I am curious as to what anyone's opinion is regarding type and career choice. Obviously a lot of people became interested or look to it, because they think it will really help them in choosing the right career. It is why I was originally drawn to it, desperate for answers.

So, do you think type is something that plays a major role in career decisions?

Or is it given too much of a role?

Does anyone feel type has helped them choose certain work paths and actually helped them?

Has anyone been screwed over by following the work recommendations of their types?

Dick Bolles (author of What Color is your Parachute?) suggests that typing systems are clues, not necessarily answers, that they just describe the family you belong to and you can be quite different from your family(e.g. INTJ is a family). Would anyone experienced in type argue against this, that it is more then clues? I ask this because I kind of get the general feeling that those who are more experienced with the typing systems don't necessarily make such a big deal about them, that most with experience would agree with this.

How many think that type shouldn't be a factor at all in choosing your career/major?
An understanding of your type can help a great deal in choosing a career, but not in the obvious way. I don't think it is good or necessary to limit ourselves to lists of suggested careers for our type, or even worse: to avoid outright careers deemed a bad fit. Anyone is capable of succeeding in and enjoying any career. It's the how's and the why's where type can help.

Specifically, understanding type can help us understand our strengths and weaknesses better - how we think and make decisions, our blind spots and default choices. It can also help us understand what certain careers or work groups might be like, especially in terms of workgroup dynamic, typical communication styles, etc. Sure - you don't have to be an NF to be a counselor, but that job pairing is often suggested probably because there are alot of NF types doing counseling. If a non-NF isn't happy - or at least willing to try to be happy - in such an environment, he/she might want to reconsider.

If we are attracted to a career outside our type recommendations, understanding our own type can help us identify likely problem spots and how to address them. It can also show us what qualities we have to contribute that will bring diversity to the usual type mix in that field. It is the outliers in any organization that will break groupthink, and stimulate new perspectives and ways of doing things.

So, use type to help understand yourself and to evaluate all available and attractive options, not to limit yourself to this or that list.
 

Generalist

New member
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Messages
212
MBTI Type
ISFP
Enneagram
9
Instinctual Variant
sp
An understanding of your type can help a great deal in choosing a career, but not in the obvious way. I don't think it is good or necessary to limit ourselves to lists of suggested careers for our type, or even worse: to avoid outright careers deemed a bad fit. Anyone is capable of succeeding in and enjoying any career. It's the how's and the why's where type can help.

Specifically, understanding type can help us understand our strengths and weaknesses better - how we think and make decisions, our blind spots and default choices. It can also help us understand what certain careers or work groups might be like, especially in terms of workgroup dynamic, typical communication styles, etc. Sure - you don't have to be an NF to be a counselor, but that job pairing is often suggested probably because there are alot of NF types doing counseling. If a non-NF isn't happy - or at least willing to try to be happy - in such an environment, he/she might want to reconsider.

If we are attracted to a career outside our type recommendations, understanding our own type can help us identify likely problem spots and how to address them. It can also show us what qualities we have to contribute that will bring diversity to the usual type mix in that field. It is the outliers in any organization that will break groupthink, and stimulate new perspectives and ways of doing things.

So, use type to help understand yourself and to evaluate all available and attractive options, not to limit yourself to this or that list.

Fantastic response!
 

1487610420

Permabanned
Joined
Apr 13, 2009
Messages
6,431
Hi, thanks to anyone who shows interest. I am sure there are multiple threads buried here on this topic, but I am curious as to what anyone's opinion is regarding type and career choice. Obviously a lot of people became interested or look to it, because they think it will really help them in choosing the right career. It is why I was originally drawn to it, desperate for answers.

So, do you think type is something that plays a major role in career decisions?
no
Or is it given too much of a role?
yes
Does anyone feel type has helped them choose certain work paths and actually helped them?
no
Has anyone been screwed over by following the work recommendations of their types?
no
Dick Bolles (author of What Color is your Parachute?) suggests that typing systems are clues, not necessarily answers, that they just describe the family you belong to and you can be quite different from your family(e.g. INTJ is a family). Would anyone experienced in type argue against this, that it is more then clues?
no

I ask this because I kind of get the general feeling that those who are more experienced with the typing systems don't necessarily make such a big deal about them, that most with experience would agree with this.
yes
How many think that type shouldn't be a factor at all in choosing your career/major?
one
Thanks again

Thanks again.
yw
 

Norrsken

self murderer
Joined
Nov 27, 2015
Messages
3,633
MBTI Type
ENFJ
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
Hi, thanks to anyone who shows interest. I am sure there are multiple threads buried here on this topic, but I am curious as to what anyone's opinion is regarding type and career choice. Obviously a lot of people became interested or look to it, because they think it will really help them in choosing the right career. It is why I was originally drawn to it, desperate for answers.

So, do you think type is something that plays a major role in career decisions?

It helps some, sure, but you shouldn't let that rule your decision as something as critically important as choosing the career that makes you the happiest.

Or is it given too much of a role?

I know that high schools and universities have pushed the MBTI-career correlation thing a little too hard back then, and so yes, I agree it's given too much weight for this subject.

Does anyone feel type has helped them choose certain work paths and actually helped them?

When I was typed as an INFP at age 18 during high school, the career choices left a lot to desire. It just seemed to list careers that wanted me to live like a starving artist and it left a bad taste in my mouth. In general, NF careers seem to put us under the stereotype that we just cannot survive in a majority SJ world. I've even looked at other career lists for the other MBTI type and felt envy that they were given more stability. So no, it didn't really helped me, but left me more confused than I was started.
Has anyone been screwed over by following the work recommendations of their types?

I basically decided to just work as a secretary and while it's stable work, it doesn't celebrate my inner desires of truly helping others in ways that are creative.

Dick Bolles (author of What Color is your Parachute?) suggests that typing systems are clues, not necessarily answers, that they just describe the family you belong to and you can be quite different from your family(e.g. INTJ is a family). Would anyone experienced in type argue against this, that it is more then clues? I ask this because I kind of get the general feeling that those who are more experienced with the typing systems don't necessarily make such a big deal about them, that most with experience would agree with this.

He's right. Things like culture and enneagram typings can make one INTJ different from the next one.

How many think that type shouldn't be a factor at all in choosing your career/major?

It is but one part of making your final decision.

Thanks again

np
 

PuppyGoggles

New member
Joined
Sep 4, 2014
Messages
22
MBTI Type
ENTP
Enneagram
4w5
Instinctual Variant
sp
So, do you think type is something that plays a major role in career decisions?

Or is it given too much of a role?

Does anyone feel type has helped them choose certain work paths and actually helped them?

To a degree, yes. I feel like Ti and Si have been beneficial in cultivating my love of history and all the weird intricacies it contains.

Has anyone been screwed over by following the work recommendations of their types?


I don't like the presumption that Rationals are simply good at STEM related academia. They were really never my cup to tea (I'm more of a History/Literature buff), and quite honestly I think I have dyscalculia because math was never a strong suit of mine. That being said, I do enjoy indulging in a good history article every so often to satiate my curiosity.


Dick Bolles (author of What Color is your Parachute?) suggests that typing systems are clues, not necessarily answers, that they just describe the family you belong to and you can be quite different from your family(e.g. INTJ is a family). Would anyone experienced in type argue against this, that it is more then clues? I ask this because I kind of get the general feeling that those who are more experienced with the typing systems don't necessarily make such a big deal about them, that most with experience would agree with this.


That makes sense, imo, due to my own personal experiences.


How many think that type shouldn't be a factor at all in choosing your career/major?


Do you and what feels right. Really, who gives a flipping f***?
 
Top