StSebastian
New member
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2017
- Messages
- 5
- MBTI Type
- INxP
- Enneagram
- 5w4
So guys... I guess I'd like to read your opinions on this...
For exactly two years now, I've been employed as a graduate student at an university - department of chemistry, and... well, this career choice has proven rather thornier than I anticipated. I've always shown an inclination towards science - indeed, even as a kid, I'd hear predictions of future achievements in the academia. The problem is, after seven years of doing chemistry, I seem to have lost interest in it. It's making work rather painful, even though my Thinking trait should mean I derive pleasure from solving scientific problems. It's not that I'm not cerebral - far from it. Given my way, I'd spend all my time reading, and the range of subjects I enjoy reading about is wide and constantly changing. It's just that as soon as I bind myself in some formal way (such as a job contract) to pursue a specific interest within a specified time frame and towards a goal set by somebody else, all the fun goes out of it, and it becomes torture. That pattern has been clear since I was a student: I'd get thrilled by the prospect of laying my hands on an exhaustive textbook for this or that subject, but come exam time, I'd shudder at the thought of even having to look at the cover of the very same textbook that seemed so interesting only a while ago when the knowledge it contained wasn't urgently needed. I'm afraid that, if this pattern holds, I'm simply not going to have a single enjoyable day at work in my entire life, ever.
My growing discontentment with my current job has led me to entertain other possibilities, and it's starting to look like I might be able to make a relatively painless shift into software development. The aspects of my current job that I expect the jump to improve on the most are: the amount of interaction with other homo theoretically sapiens (the less, the better), more specific job tasks and a more flexible schedule (starting the day WAY later than 9, work from home would be ideal). Of course, there's the question of passion (or lack thereof) but I figure if I can't have a job that makes me happy, maybe I should aim for one that doesn't get in the way of me being happy, at least.
Borne with me until this point? Good, cause this is where you guys come in. The questions I have are as follows: in your experience as similar types/to the best of your knowledge, how would you expect that kind of shift to work for an INxP? Have you ever found yourself in a similar predicament, i.e. that any satisfaction from the things you normally enjoy doing seemingly disappears as soon as you turn it into your livelihood? How did you deal with that? Any contribution is welcome, I'm in rather a pinch here cause it's getting about time to decide whether or not to make the transition into IT... Sorry if this is somewhat chaotic, this is the first forum post I've written in years. Cheers!
For exactly two years now, I've been employed as a graduate student at an university - department of chemistry, and... well, this career choice has proven rather thornier than I anticipated. I've always shown an inclination towards science - indeed, even as a kid, I'd hear predictions of future achievements in the academia. The problem is, after seven years of doing chemistry, I seem to have lost interest in it. It's making work rather painful, even though my Thinking trait should mean I derive pleasure from solving scientific problems. It's not that I'm not cerebral - far from it. Given my way, I'd spend all my time reading, and the range of subjects I enjoy reading about is wide and constantly changing. It's just that as soon as I bind myself in some formal way (such as a job contract) to pursue a specific interest within a specified time frame and towards a goal set by somebody else, all the fun goes out of it, and it becomes torture. That pattern has been clear since I was a student: I'd get thrilled by the prospect of laying my hands on an exhaustive textbook for this or that subject, but come exam time, I'd shudder at the thought of even having to look at the cover of the very same textbook that seemed so interesting only a while ago when the knowledge it contained wasn't urgently needed. I'm afraid that, if this pattern holds, I'm simply not going to have a single enjoyable day at work in my entire life, ever.
My growing discontentment with my current job has led me to entertain other possibilities, and it's starting to look like I might be able to make a relatively painless shift into software development. The aspects of my current job that I expect the jump to improve on the most are: the amount of interaction with other homo theoretically sapiens (the less, the better), more specific job tasks and a more flexible schedule (starting the day WAY later than 9, work from home would be ideal). Of course, there's the question of passion (or lack thereof) but I figure if I can't have a job that makes me happy, maybe I should aim for one that doesn't get in the way of me being happy, at least.
Borne with me until this point? Good, cause this is where you guys come in. The questions I have are as follows: in your experience as similar types/to the best of your knowledge, how would you expect that kind of shift to work for an INxP? Have you ever found yourself in a similar predicament, i.e. that any satisfaction from the things you normally enjoy doing seemingly disappears as soon as you turn it into your livelihood? How did you deal with that? Any contribution is welcome, I'm in rather a pinch here cause it's getting about time to decide whether or not to make the transition into IT... Sorry if this is somewhat chaotic, this is the first forum post I've written in years. Cheers!
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