Hi All,
I'm new to the forum and was recently contemplating whether or not a certain form of “altruism†(in quotes because it may not be the best word) that I experience is common to ENTPs, and also some implications from a career standpoint.
Quick Background is that I am pursuing a PhD in engineering and previously worked as an entrepreneur and management consultant. I loved some aspects of the business jobs, and the PhD can be fun in the sense that I love creating and exploring new ideas. (On the other hand, the PhD was sort of by accident and quasi-outside of my interests … and I am not all that interested in some of the requirements.)
In any case, I find that while I'm typically working in areas that are technical, logicy heavy, or (dahhh) Mathy, I can't help but be drawn to and even slightly (if only temporarily) obsessed with issues in politics, sociology, psychology, and basically anything that relates to human systems and feelings and social dynamics.
Furthermore, I am often struck by altruistic/humanitarian/benevolent impulses that make me think that I should really be devoting my time to working on something more human-oriented that will benefit other people.
I think that perhaps I should drop what I’m doing and go into something that would let me use my more "verbal" and human-oriented skills in a way that benefits others and lets me work out my social angle. On the other hand, my logic + my strength in my current positions plus the lack of apparent upside (in many ways) usually makes me not want to make any huge changes here (e.g switching programs or professions), even though I am typically very risk-seeking.
(I'm considered to be incredibly risk seeking to others, and maybe I am -- but in my own mind I view it as a mix of being very calculated and very optimistic ... so right now I'm staying pretty still.)
I'm 92% sure that I'm an ENTP (5 years ago I felt like 100% matched all of the pros and cons of being an ENTP, but have sort of evolved away from that.)
~~
What I'm curious about:
1. Is the constant itching social-impact thing and dilemma a common trend across ENTPs (or any other type?) and/or does it fall outside of the MBTI spectrum?
a) Any deeper sense/explanation of what it is driven by in the ENTP type? I don't think anyone close to me would accuse me of being an F and I am generally considered pretty unemotional (unless enthusiasm counts as an emotion) ---> but I also can't help but want to improve everything in my environment.
2. Has anyone ever looked at (or know about) the breakdown of ENTPs in more "Verbal" (e.g. Lawyer, strategic consultant, politician, philosopher) fields/careers vs. more "mathematical" (e.g. pure mathematician, computational biologist, algorithms programmers {not to be confused with software architect}), do they tend to thrive in one area or another?
3. Any other compelling ideas I should think about?
Thanks!!
(P.S. I’ve read lots of light MBTI stuff for a while and always taken the quizzes for fun, but am somewhat new to it in terms of discussion. Don’t hesitate to send me to sources or provide ideas on typing in general!)
I'm new to the forum and was recently contemplating whether or not a certain form of “altruism†(in quotes because it may not be the best word) that I experience is common to ENTPs, and also some implications from a career standpoint.
Quick Background is that I am pursuing a PhD in engineering and previously worked as an entrepreneur and management consultant. I loved some aspects of the business jobs, and the PhD can be fun in the sense that I love creating and exploring new ideas. (On the other hand, the PhD was sort of by accident and quasi-outside of my interests … and I am not all that interested in some of the requirements.)
In any case, I find that while I'm typically working in areas that are technical, logicy heavy, or (dahhh) Mathy, I can't help but be drawn to and even slightly (if only temporarily) obsessed with issues in politics, sociology, psychology, and basically anything that relates to human systems and feelings and social dynamics.
Furthermore, I am often struck by altruistic/humanitarian/benevolent impulses that make me think that I should really be devoting my time to working on something more human-oriented that will benefit other people.
I think that perhaps I should drop what I’m doing and go into something that would let me use my more "verbal" and human-oriented skills in a way that benefits others and lets me work out my social angle. On the other hand, my logic + my strength in my current positions plus the lack of apparent upside (in many ways) usually makes me not want to make any huge changes here (e.g switching programs or professions), even though I am typically very risk-seeking.
(I'm considered to be incredibly risk seeking to others, and maybe I am -- but in my own mind I view it as a mix of being very calculated and very optimistic ... so right now I'm staying pretty still.)
I'm 92% sure that I'm an ENTP (5 years ago I felt like 100% matched all of the pros and cons of being an ENTP, but have sort of evolved away from that.)
~~
What I'm curious about:
1. Is the constant itching social-impact thing and dilemma a common trend across ENTPs (or any other type?) and/or does it fall outside of the MBTI spectrum?
a) Any deeper sense/explanation of what it is driven by in the ENTP type? I don't think anyone close to me would accuse me of being an F and I am generally considered pretty unemotional (unless enthusiasm counts as an emotion) ---> but I also can't help but want to improve everything in my environment.
2. Has anyone ever looked at (or know about) the breakdown of ENTPs in more "Verbal" (e.g. Lawyer, strategic consultant, politician, philosopher) fields/careers vs. more "mathematical" (e.g. pure mathematician, computational biologist, algorithms programmers {not to be confused with software architect}), do they tend to thrive in one area or another?
3. Any other compelling ideas I should think about?
Thanks!!
(P.S. I’ve read lots of light MBTI stuff for a while and always taken the quizzes for fun, but am somewhat new to it in terms of discussion. Don’t hesitate to send me to sources or provide ideas on typing in general!)