Sounds like a few of the trades would be good for him. God knows, there are enough of them retiring that he'd be a welcome asset.
Really.
What kind of information do you have about that?
Sounds like electrician is a possible career path then? Not sure how long of a course that is...fairly sure that's a college course. A lot of courses in college are only 2-3 years, though I imagine the most complex (and higher-paid) jobs would be longer courses. I don't know much about college though, since me and most of my friends are in university.
I don't think there are many opportunities for jobs without going to college or university, unless you happen to be extraordinarily gifted in some area. I would say that college would be the best bet if he wants to do hands-on work for a career.
Has he talked to a career counsellor yet? There should be something like that at his high school, and they can sometimes be very helpful--though a lot of them over-emphasize university education. Someone like that could tell him about some possible career options that he and your family might not know about.
EDIT: wait, in the US university is called college and college is called something else like trade schools or technical schools or something, right? When I said college above, I meant "one of those places where you're taught a trade through mostly hands-on learning".
Ok thanks.
I guess I'm wondering what other ISTPs do, or want to do.
My sister is an ISTP also and she's having the same issues your son is having about the direction of her life.
Our family is basically learning not to pressure her and let her make her own decisions about what she eventually wants to do. It is a bit difficult though because she tends to float from job to job and we're worried about her having security and skills that can eventually stabilize her.
The idea that she expresses most frequently about her career is that she doesn't want to have a boss hanging over her head. The job she's been most content with so far is field representative for two different companies. All she had to do is provide her own transportation. I think that position required her two greatest assets: troubleshooting with customers and freedom to make her own schedule. These type of jobs exist and they actually pay quite well. The downside is they're very high turnover/stress.
Maybe your son can figure out what his best qualities are and find jobs (yes plural, he may not want to just do one thing) that align with what he naturally does best. My sis has a lot of different interests that she manages to capitalize on. She is cameraperson on the side and does amateur work for people's weddings and parties. It's quick and easy and she enjoys it. She also has an online store where she sells wholesale car audio equipment. I think she's very quick to seize on opportunities for herself and follow them up.
You can also check out the
Occupational Handbook to see what careers are available that he would enjoy and are not going to dead-end soon.
Thanks for that.
It's important not to force our children to do something they don't want to do.
My thinking is that of "Do What You Are" the career book.
I'm hoping to help him discover what options are out there for him that he might enjoy-
sort of like a career counselor.
...But it's still hard being a parent -- wanting to give the flex, yet also wanting to make sure that our children have not been shortchanged just because we did not intervene or guide them as we might have.
Exactly how I feel.
...In any case, I've noticed that ISTPs tend to prefer localized problem solving - trades is a good option. After that, it seems to break down into if they like working with their hands, how they feel when they finish something and how people orientated they are (ie: How S, how P and how IT). The ISTPs I know tend to like like building something, anything, just for the sake of building it. It could be a car, it could be a house... it could be a spreadsheet. A couple I know like doing helpdesk support (weaker T, I presume) simply because it lets them work a variety of problems in their field. ...
Thanks!
That's some information I didn't have before.
What makes you an exception?
This is a good point. From my perspective what would be ideal is having many different types of careers introduced, in a very no-pressure sort of way, while having lots of information available to look up on my own, and then being trusted to be capable of choosing my career path totally on my own.
I'm grateful that my family pretty much ignored the topic of careers until I'd chosen a vague area (actually they still pretty much ignore it), which they seem to be reasonably happy with anyway.
I know you're right.
I am trying to suggest options he might want to consider.
I don't think I can ignore it altogether.
You know why that's so hard for me?
Because I didn't go to college and I don't type fast.
The only jobs I qualify for are jobs I hate and am not suited for
like waitressing or sales or receptionist.
Actually, I once worked at Dunkin Donuts
and after a probationary period of two weeks,
they decided they didn't want me!
It's pretty bad when Dunkin Donuts won't take you!
If I hadn't have gotten married and had a husband to support me,
I probably would have ended up working in a bar for the rest of my life,
and I'm sure would have blown my brains out by now.
I don't want to see my son go through life broke.
I think my dad is an ISTP. He is pushing sixty and he never decided what he wanted to do when he grew up. When his GI Bill was about to run out he just went for a default degree in electronics technology because that's what the Marines trained him to do.
It's hardly his greatest passion, but it was easy for him. He was good at it. Go with the flow, you know?
It did pretty well for him most of his life. Health problems, age discrimination, and US manufacturing tanking has hurt him in recent years, but I don't think there's really any avoiding that kind of thing.
Thank you.
My husband is an ISTP also.
He received radio technology training in the Navy.
That's what he's been doing for 30 years.
Some aspects of his jobs have used his special talents,
so sometimes he has enjoyed what he's doing.
One position allowed him to travel 6-10 times a year, for a week at a time.
He went to Hawaii twice.
He liked the travel a lot.
Thanks for your input.
Well, not sure how the trades work in the US, but in Canada you actually work under a journeyman as an apprentice for a certain amount of hours with times for courses plugged in every year. Apprenticeships tend to last between 3-5 years depending on the trade. Basically most of your training is done doing the thing rather than someone preaching to you about it.
I think it's that way in the US, too.
He would like the hands-on learning approach.
I had a teacher in high school (in his mid 30's at that time, I believe) who had switched jobs 7 times in 7 years. He was also one of the coolest teachers I have had, and is still teaching at that school (As of two years ago, at least. I don't know when he retires).
He was a Mechanical Engineer, a writer, an NFL referee, and through various job changes ended up teaching at that school. He didn't regret his job changes one bit, and I think it served him well. While he was teaching, he would sometimes travel to referee in an NFL football game.
He took the MBTI and tested ISTP (I was told by another teacher), but I think a little exploration of careers, early on, is a good thing for any type.
I don't think anyone would have "typed" him to be a high-school teacher (taught "principles of technology" and "engineering professionalism"), but that's where he ended up and he is good at that job too.
Hmmm...
Thank you.
I'll remember that.