[ISTJ] ISTJs - what do you do for a living?

[narrski]

Are you an ISTJ who enjoys your career?
What do you do? Did you enjoy the coursework that got you there?

At 29, I am a structural engineer w/ my PE. This fall I started taking night courses. I am enrolled in an accounting program but am definitely not passionate about learning how to audit or do taxes. I may be good at it, but just about any liberal arts class would be more exciting (sociology, history, psychology, heck even art or music.) Not sure what I would do with those liberal arts classes though.

 

[Saslou]

OK, i am curious .. If you are not passionate about it .. Then why are you going to do it??? Why not do something you are passionate about?

Sorry ..

 

[narrski]

Because I struggle to figure out what I am passionate about....and something in the accounting/finance field always pops up in the past 6 career tests I have taken.

Although I would enjoy taking a bunch of couses in liberal arts, it just doesn't seem to be very practical.

Also, sometimes the tasks you are doing outside of school are different then what you learn about....e.g. in engineering school there was always a firm solid solution, but in the real world much more creativity is involved and 3 different engineers solve the same problem 3 different ways.

 

[Ruthie]

I don't know for certain that I'm ISTJ, but right now it fits the best. I work in politics, and I've always been drawn to the social sciences in general. I love history, sociology, (some) macro-economics, campaign strategy, demography, justice, etc... I admit that I can get bored out of my mind with some of the public policy details though.

Most of what you described as your interests fall under the social science umbrella as well (I always associate liberal arts with literature, art, creative writing, philosophy, etc...) There are a number of careers you can work toward with a social science education: law, education, management, policy analyst, social work, marketing, etc...

Have you considered any of those careers?

 

[Gerbah]

I do enjoy my career. I'm a translator.

What you're talking about is similar in some ways to career issues I used to have. When I was younger my dream was to be a concert pianist, at the same time I was good at traditional academic subjects, although more humanities-related. I was really passionate about the music but less good at it than I was at the academic subjects, but I wasn't passionate about them.

I went for music but left conservatoire because I couldn't handle it. After that I went to university and studied languages and found that I was happier doing something I wasn't so passionate about but was good at. I also found I was happier if my studies/profession was not so feeling-based, as music is. Another thing I found was that my profession doesn't have to be the be-all and end-all, once I found out what my overall dream and passion for my life is, and I found that wasn't my profession. So I'm very happy with my profession because it fits into my overall picture of what I want to achieve.

Don't know if that makes sense. Another example of someone I know: he is a nurse. He likes the physical work of being a nurse and that it doesn't need a lot of his intellectual power because he spends that intellectual power on reading and studying a lot in his spare time on the subjects that really interest him and that he is passionate about. He needs freedom in his mind for that so that's why he's a nurse. He likes it but isn't passionate about and he's happy with that.

It's just something to maybe consider when making the decision. Good luck!

 

[Take Five]

I'm a student. After graduation (I'm in college) I'll be getting a job with some government agency involving national security. I love politics and military issues--mostly foreign policy politics.

About being a student: my daddy never knew any big shots so I suffer from not having the contacts that some lucky bastards have. That is frustrating. Also frustrating is how lazy and ignorant my generation is. I blame the baby-boomers

 

[Ruthie]

Also frustrating is how lazy and ignorant my generation is. I blame the baby-boomers

Don't forget to add selfishness to your blame the Boomers theory...

Good luck with your career in government/foreign policy. Seems like you and I probably wouldn't agree on a lot of those issues, but you always seem to take a thoughtful approach and that's a needed asset in government.

 

[Take Five]

^thanks

 

[IZthe411]

I'm a CPA. I audited financial statements and now do internal audit for a fund company. It's just okay, but the hours are way better here than with the big 4 firm. I hope to eventually do some kind of financial analysis in the future; at the least I'll move over to operations.

 

[Moiety]

Also frustrating is how lazy and ignorant my generation is.

Why frustrating? As an industrious and knowledgeable individual, you can be sure to succeed if forced to compete, right?

 

[IZthe411]

Why frustrating? As an industrious and knowledgeable individual, you can be sure to succeed if forced to compete, right?

It can help, but in some industries and or organizations, it's not what you know more so than who you know. So if the other guy's dad was frat with the CEO of the organization, he'll have an unfair advantage.

 

[Moiety]

It can help, but in some industries and or organizations, it's not what you know more so than who you know. So if the other guy's dad was frat with the CEO of the organization, he'll have an unfair advantage.

In some industries and/or organizations, people with no inventive juice, good at obeying orders and work method have an unfair advantage too.

It's how the world works I'm afraid. The question is...why would you want to work in a company that favored you because your dad was frat with its CEO in the first place?

 

[IZthe411]

In some industries and/or organizations, people with no inventive juice, good at obeying orders and work method have an unfair advantage too.

It's how the world works I'm afraid. The question is...why would you want to work in a company that favored you because your dad was frat with its CEO in the first place?

That's easy money!!

In the firm I used to work, there were a few people that came through based on their parent's relationships with partners. And some of them were complete idiots, but since their daddies and mommies were important, they got by.


I'd say a truly smart person will put in the time doing the mindless stuff if it leads to opportunity to use more of their talents in the future.

 

[Moiety]

That's easy money!!

Ah, now we get to the bottom of it.

In the firm I used to work, there were a few people that came through based on their parent's relationships with partners. And some of them were complete idiots, but since their daddies and mommies were important, they got by.

If they end up successfully completing their tasks I don't see a huge problem with it. If it's a private company that is. In some ways friendship is just as arbitrary a criteria as...say, grades out of school. Always had a problem equating good grades with talent.

I'd say a truly smart person will put in the time doing the mindless stuff if it leads to opportunity to use more of their talents in the future.

I'd say truly smart people have different goals in life. And that stoicism isn't necesserilly the harbinger of happiness.

 

[miss fortune]

my istj is the office manager at a sales firm... he knows all and from the looks of it does all

 

[IZthe411]

If they end up successfully completing their tasks I don't see a huge problem with it. If it's a private company that is. In some ways friendship is just as arbitrary a criteria as...say, grades out of school. Always had a problem equating good grades with talent.




I'd say truly smart people have different goals in life. And that stoicism isn't necesserilly the harbinger of happiness.

I wholeheartedly agree with the first point- that good grades does not equal talent. But in a world of tangibles, it's a good (not perfect) indication that you have some kind of understanding and can work hard.

If you don't have to work for it through the good and the bad ,then is it really happiness? Nobody's saying you have to be stoic- there will be times when stuff just outright sucks, and you will be frustrated, but in the end you feel a sense of achievement copared to looking for the path where everything is handed to you, or easy.

Besides what career or course of life is there where you don't put in your time before you start getting the major props?

 

[iamthemonkeyman]

I sub-contract to an onsite IT technical support company.
So does that mean that i work for myself? haha.

But bassicly since i left school... i've done everything from construction/demolition - to floor sanding... but i've always been into computers (since i was about 6)
Oh and i'm sure most of you guys from the US are thinking "What... he left school????" yup.. left when i was 15. which isnt that uncommon here... but is looked down upon.

I dont regret this decision at all...... but i had to compensate by doing 12 months 'training' with an IT company.. earning $6.50/hour (I could've got more working for McDonnalds?). but just having the 12 months experience, allowed me to get a role working in an "IT Helpdesk", earning $26/hour.

And using the 8-10months experience with that company.. i now earn $45/hour........
Life is what you make of it... not what college you goto/what contacts you have. just look for opportunities, dont get attached to jobs... and move up the ladder quickly/or if you cant... move on.

Feel free to question any of what i've said

 

[Donna Cecilia]

I work for the Ministry of Tourism, and I like it, but I know I won´t be there for much longer, because I´m working hard to leave it and land on a job that I REALLY like.

I know that I will be more comfortable in a job related with what I´m studying now, Advertising. Not for the creative but for the strategical side to it. I´m more of a thinker than of a doer, so creating Advertising campaigns seems far more attractive than making tourism information databases.

 

[swordpath]

Currently military (ready to move on) and aspiring cop.

 

[HezCoz524]

I'm also a student, going to grad school to eventually earn a degree in Counseling Psychology. It's hard to explain, but I've always been really interested in learning how people reach their potential and if I could be a part of that I think it would be a really positive and enjoyable job.

Obviously much more goes into Counseling Psych, and it's not all pretty, but I still feel very content with the path I've chosen profession-wise.