Why are skilled trades such as carpentry a bad choice for INTJs?

[rocco]

Why is carpentry and electrician a bad career choice for INTJs? It say's this in the ebook INTJ: Portrait of a Mastermind. Does it have to do with the inferior Se? On the contrary, ISTPs are known to be usually good at carpentry, electrician.

 

[highlander]

I would personally be bored with that kind of a profession but that's just me. The reason is that it wouldn't be intellectually challenging with respect to solving new problems. It would be too routine.

 

[Yuurei]

Why is carpentry and electrician a bad career choice for INTJs? It say's this in the ebook INTJ: Portrait of a Mastermind. Does it have to do with the inferior Se? On the contrary, ISTPs are known to be usually good at carpentry, electrician.

Maybe because they tend to be independent businesses? You have to do all of your own marketing and sails and you really need people skills for this.

I have one such "job" and while I am a great social Chameleon some of the people that I have to appeal make me feel all dirty inside ( Hipsters) I don't think an INTJ would put up with it for long, if at all.

 

[Carpe Vinum]

My father-in-law is the only INTJ that I know really well, but this has been my experience with him. He's an incredibly handy guy: built a gazebo in his backyard, installs electrical outlets and switches, constructed a patio, you name it. I remember when I first realized how many skills he had (the guy is a genuine polymath), I asked him straight, was he ever a contractor? He said no. The closest he came was working maintenance for a few years after he got out of the military, and as [MENTION=8936]highlander[/MENTION] said, he got "bored" with it. His exact words. He wants to do make/repair things on his terms when he feels like doing it, as a passion or hobby, not a job.

Now he works in the martial arts / fitness industry and owns his own business. (And just to confirm what [MENTION=29849]Yuu[/MENTION] said, his wife does 90% of the marketing). Thus, just going by my own limited experience, I would have to agree with what's already been said.

Of course, any type can excel in any field, if they're so inclined. Calling it a "bad career choice" may be a poor choice of words because I'm sure there's at least one INTJ out there who enjoys being a carpenter. I just don't know if most INTJs would be drawn to it as a career.

 

[balloongod]

I would personally be bored with that kind of a profession but that's just me. The reason is that it wouldn't be intellectually challenging with respect to solving new problems. It would be too routine.

At the least, I wouldn't discredit it as a choice because it's not intellectually challenging. I worked in construction for years with my father and he has to problem solve multiple times a day, on the spot. That's not even considering all the designing and blueprints he does before he gets to the physical work, which I would consider creative yet structured pursuits. I mean, if a client wants a wall down and it's a load bearing wall, what are the options? If a client wants to re-build their deck and you find out after tearing it up it's not even attached to the house and local variance laws say you can't actually have what they have, what are you going to do for them? If you tear down the ceiling in the living room and raccoon feces and bees nests fall in droves, what next? And what if the squirrels eat straight through the new siding you just put up to get to their babies that were living in the walls and will not stop eating through the siding? (None of this is from experience... not at all.)

Is it high-level intellectual work? It is not. Does it require a degree of mental capacity and involve problem solving? Toats ma goats.

Who ever said that construction wasn't exciting?



Cheers!

 

[Metamorphosis]

I could see INTJs enjoying this kind of work, depending on the individual, particularly if they had passions outside of work that this allowed them to pursue without stressing about their job all the time.

 

[highlander]

I mean, if a client wants a wall down and it's a load bearing wall, what are the options? If a client wants to re-build their deck and you find out after tearing it up it's not even attached to the house and local variance laws say you can't actually have what they have, what are you going to do for them? If you tear down the ceiling in the living room and raccoon feces and bees nests fall in droves, what next? And what if the squirrels eat straight through the new siding you just put up to get to their babies that were living in the walls and will not stop eating through the siding? (None of this is from experience... not at all.)

Is it high-level intellectual work? It is not. Does it require a degree of mental capacity and involve problem solving? Toats ma goats.

I could be wrong, but that's not the kind of problem solving that a typical INTJ would find exciting. It's not to say it isn't problem solving. It just requires little abstract thinking.

 

[balloongod]

I could be wrong, but that's not the kind of problem solving that a typical INTJ would find exciting. It's not to say it isn't problem solving. It just requires little abstract thinking.

Okay. I can see that. I'm not too good at getting inside the mind of INTJs... Although, I always found them particularly attractive...

 

[Lark]

I would personally be bored with that kind of a profession but that's just me. The reason is that it wouldn't be intellectually challenging with respect to solving new problems. It would be too routine.

I wouldnt be so sure about that, are you talking some sort of low skills joinery or are you talking Ron Swanson levels of expertise?

 

[Megatron]

What is intellectually challenging to one INTJ may be different for another. Plus, I think it's important to consider their social status. One INTJ may have come from a moderately wealthy family, was capable of pursuing an advanced degree, and find the intellectually challenging job of their dreams. Another INTJ may have grown up in a lower middle class home where college really wasn't an option available to them. So when they go to look for a job that intellectually challenges them, it may have to be more labor based like how [MENTION=32250]balloongod[/MENTION] described.