# Possible careers for an INFJ?



## Mauve (Aug 31, 2012)

I know that this kind of question is asked a lot, but I hope that you can all bear with me. I'm an INFJ entering university, who still has no idea what to take. I was thinking about doing the pre-reqs for pharmacy, but now I'm afraid that the job won't be as fufilling as I like. I was hoping that you guys might be able to suggest some career/major options that I may not have thought about before.

Here are some facts about me:
1. Biology was my ultimate favourite subject in highschool. I adored it, although I also found chemistry interesting.
2. I can deal with math, but am not particularly in love with it. (I would never last as an engineer)
3. As an INFJ, I find it hard to work at something that doesn't make some kind of positive impact. I've always had this feeling that I have to give back to the world around me.
4. Some other career options that have interested me include social work, clinical psychology, and speech pathology.
5. I'm an enneagram 1w9.

Based on the info above, does anyone have any suggestions for me? I'm not necessarily looking for answers, but rather more options to research that I may not have thought of before. Also, if anyone has any experience in any of the above fields (social work, clinical psychology, speech pathology, or particularly pharmacy) I would love to hear some insight. 

Thank you so much


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## Gossip Goat (Nov 19, 2013)

You should try Sokanu.com

its a free career test that asks sort of personality based questions, I think its pretty accurate, all you have to do is sign up


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## ForsakenMe (Aug 30, 2010)

Actor
Artist
Alternative Medicine
Clergy
Consultant
Church Worker
Chiropractor
Child Development
Child Care Worker
Doctor
Dentist
Designer
Entrepreneur
Educational Consultant
Human Resources
Librarian
Musician
Marketer
Missionary
Psychologist/Counselor
Photographer
Psychiatrist
Systems Analyst
Social Worker
Trainer
Teacher/Professor
Writer


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## WinterFox (Sep 19, 2013)

Mauve said:


> I know that this kind of question is asked a lot, but I hope that you can all bear with me. I'm an INFJ entering university, who still has no idea what to take. I was thinking about doing the pre-reqs for pharmacy, but now I'm afraid that the job won't be as fufilling as I like. I was hoping that you guys might be able to suggest some career/major options that I may not have thought about before.
> 
> Here are some facts about me:
> 1. Biology was my ultimate favourite subject in highschool. I adored it, although I also found chemistry interesting.
> ...



This passage below might be helpful for your situation, I quoted it from a website:


A common refrain among INFJs -- of EVERY age -- is "I don't know what I want to be when I grow up." Another variation is, "I don't know what to do with my life."Of course, many of them look like they DO know -- they are often successful and look quite "together" and on purpose. Especially the ones with M.B.A.'s or lawyer credentials. But sometimes that appearance is deceiving. Real deceiving, because I get more hits and feedback on this page than any other page on my entire site. So it's a bleeding wound for INFJs in some way.Careers can be funny things. Research has shown that most people just fumble around and finally end up somewhere in their thirties. That's when they start wondering in a more proactive way what they should be doing with themselves. (Oftentimes our tertiary or even inferior function has the most influence over what career direction we ultimately choose, and then we feel somewhat unfulfilled by our choice.)One of the most profound changes of the last decade is that each person today is now the architect of his or her own career. You can no longer rely on a corporation to take care of you and accept responsibility for your long-term success in your work life. Recent studies show that the typical adult now changes careers between 5 and 7 times during their lifetime -- a dramatic shift away from the sort of career path we were encouraged to follow as recently as 20 years ago. As a result, you must think and act for yourself, and act as if you are president of your own personal services corporation. Self-help experts insist that you are _always_ self-employed, no matter who signs your paycheck -- and the biggest mistake anyone can make is to suppose that they work for anyone but themselves.To make it worse, there are three kinds of work to be had. There are jobs, there are careers, and there are callings. (What INFJ would not like to find their "calling"?!)So let's break this work question down into some component parts.INFJs often ask what they're good at -- what they're naturally suited for. And the answer is that every type can and does succeed in any career if they set their mind to it. There is NO best-fit between a type and a career per se.So if you want to know what career to pursue, it's a good idea to be selfish (gasp!) and get in touch with _your_ interests, _your_ values, _your_ needs. Don't think about an occupation -- think about an occu-passion! And ironically, this can be one of the most difficult things for an INFJ to do, given that our introverted Feeling (the function that knows what we the individual want) shows up in 6th position in our function hierarchy. That configuration creates a handicap which must be consciously overcome in order to obtain optimum work satisfaction. If INFJs don't overcome it, it's all too easy for them to become "people-pleasers" and attempt to have the career their mother wants for them, or a favorite teacher, or their girlfriend. They might even take a "job" to get by in order to support somebody else's aspirations. It's vital for INFJs to act just a little bit "selfish" about pursuing work that is personally fulfilling, and not try to make somebody else happy. That may satisfy you for a while, but it will eventually grow stale, and then disappointment will come hard on its heels -- disappointment that you didn't fulfill your purpose on this earth.Real success is finding your life work in the work that you love. ​


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## sacrosanctsun (May 20, 2014)

If you like science, I'd suggest looking into scientific fields, like chemistry, biochemistry, biology. You might enjoy a research or chem. lab job. And if you like being outside, there are options out there with that too like forestry, zoology, environmental science, geology.


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## Hero902 (May 4, 2014)

Mauve said:


> I know that this kind of question is asked a lot, but I hope that you can all bear with me. I'm an INFJ entering university, who still has no idea what to take. I was thinking about doing the pre-reqs for pharmacy, but now I'm afraid that the job won't be as fufilling as I like. I was hoping that you guys might be able to suggest some career/major options that I may not have thought about before.
> 
> Here are some facts about me:
> 1. Biology was my ultimate favourite subject in highschool. I adored it, although I also found chemistry interesting.
> ...


I'm also an INFJ having trouble choosing a career. I loved physics at highschool and I never had any problems with math, so I thought I would be a good engineer. I have never been so wrong. I started studying Engineering in the beginning of the year and so far I'm hating it. I few weeks after I started university I found out about MBTI and realized I was really at the wrong field. I started studying psychology in general (not only typology) on my own and I absolutely fell in love with it. I will quit engineering and start studying psychology in the beginning of the next year. I want to work as a clinical psychologist in my early career and then I want to teach psychology at university. 

This story has nothing to do with you and probably won't help you decide your career, but my point is that when you find something that you really want to do you will know it. Nobody can decide your career for you, not even your mbti type. There is an INFJ in my chemestry class that absolutely loves what he is doing. The only advice I can give to you is to read a lot about the fields you're considering going into. Read interviews with clinical psychologists/social workers/speech pathologist. Read more about psycholgy in general, read more about social working, read more about everything you're considering and eventually you'll find what you really want to do.


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## Unnamed (Jul 18, 2014)

Mauve said:


> I know that this kind of question is asked a lot, but I hope that you can all bear with me. I'm an INFJ entering university, who still has no idea what to take. I was thinking about doing the pre-reqs for pharmacy, but now I'm afraid that the job won't be as fufilling as I like. I was hoping that you guys might be able to suggest some career/major options that I may not have thought about before.
> 
> Here are some facts about me:
> 1. Biology was my ultimate favourite subject in highschool. I adored it, although I also found chemistry interesting.
> ...


I'll start with bio related fields:

Since you said you want to do something you feel will have a positive impact, I wouldn't recommend research... or any other lab oriented jobs. It has a positive goal, but you rarely get the fulfillment that you're looking for because you don't see people getting their lives improved by your work and a lot of research ends up not getting grants etc.

Teaching Biology (college level): This is a really good choice, but it depends on where you teach it. A lot of professors don't really know their students, but if you teach at a smaller school where most classes are between 30 to 60 people, you will have time to help out any students that need it without a Teacher's Assistant.

Teaching Biology (high school level): Same as above, except the students will be a lot less mature and most of them won't care about biology and will only be taking it because it's mandatory.

Physical Therapy: Here, you will be helping people directly and will be able to put your love of biology to good use. I really don't know much about this job.

Psychologist: I know nothing about these people... -looks left and right- I'm insane but they've never caught me!

Nurse: It's a great job for those who want to help the sick in a time of need and doesn't require as much schooling as doctor.

Dentistry: This is a nice job that fulfills your requirements, but requires a LOT of school prior to beginning work.

Doctor of Medicine: Read Dentist. Since you're interested in Psychology, if you do this, I'd recommend Psychiatry.

I got lazy here, but I hit most of the non lab based jobs in Biology.


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## crazyforcocoapuffs (Jun 29, 2014)

I'm an INFJ and totally relate to this. My parents were super laissez-faire when it came to my educational and career choices, so I did a lot of soul searching and tried out a variety of things before I decided what I wanted to pursue. I think it's great you're taking the time to figure out what you want to pursue, rather than doing something others want you to do. I wouldn't worry about this so much - once the fall semester starts, there will be plenty of fairs and informational sessions that you could glean more knowledge from. Its OK to not know what you want to do yet. Good luck!


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## phantom_ecstasy (Jul 24, 2012)

I'm an INFP and have been volunteering at a center for kids with autism. It can be overwhelming for me at times, but it definitely has the potential to be very rewarding. If you really want to make a difference in the lives of people, being a speech pathologist seems like a good fit. Of course, being an introvert, it could get pretty draining.


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## Vaan (Dec 19, 2010)

You could be a biochemist or socio-biologist etc, that way you will be giving insights to humanity.


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## AriesLilith (Jan 6, 2013)

Yeah, the common issue for INFJs! I can relate to not being sure of what my calling is as well. Thing is, the education system I went through was not very helpful with helping us to pick the right career, and since I was not born with all the certainty of where my passion and calling lies, I ended up picking a course just coz it seemed nice, without knowing what truly awaited me.

I'm a programmer/developer with a few years experience already. I would say that I still wonder if this is the career for me (there is a side of me that is an artist and longs for something more expressive and creative), but I can tell you that right now I am sure that this is what I want, and I can elaborate on the why.

First, I do enjoy programming and such. It's great to build something, be part of something that contributes to this world, as the applications I write has an impact and helps the informatization of processes. See that web application that can provide e-banking services? See that big telco company providing fast services in order to assure the communication services of your mobile phone? I'm part of the magic behind them! And somehow thinking code is fun, I just like it. 

But if I'm happy then why am I wondering if this is the right path for me?

Coz thing is, this Ni and Fe, and maybe even Fi (my Fi is pretty well developed for INFJs, and I'm a 4w5) still wonders from time to time about the what ifs, and still longs for something expressive and creative.

But then dropping all my progress and even my like for software engineering is too much, as well as too much of a risk. So I have wondered what if I try to combine it with something else... perhaps web design? But then I have learned that the job conditions and opportunities are worse. People in that area mostly works as freelancers with a hard time finding clients, and are badly paid!
You might say that money doesn't matter, but thing is, I need minimum life stability and money in order to grant me a life free from worries so that I can focus on me during the personal times. I'm an introvert and I have my own life projects, and I don't want the worry over money take over my enjoyment of life. My personal life is also part of my happiness after all.

And then do I really need a radical change? I can tell you that I enjoy programming with 75%, while 25% goes for what ifs and longing for some creativity. So while it's not 100% perfect, it still makes me happy, I do enjoy it, have objectives to achieve and see meaning in it (I contribute to the world).

But then as an INFJ, those 25% still haunts me from time to time. Yet I can tell you my plans for that - during my personal times I can express myself in creative ways through drawing, figure out interesting projects, and perhaps someday learn web design and try to see alternate ways to a more expressive and creative career path. If a plan is realistic and risks are not too crazy, then I might consider taking a chance to make those aim for a closer % to those 100% of career safisfaction. 


So my advice for fellow lost INFJs is (after this long wall of text lol) to find something you enjoy even if it's not 100% perfectly ideal, understand how it contributes to the world (not every contribution looks big but the world operates with many contributions working together, like multitude of drops of water in the ocean), make sure if it is realistic (you still need to eat and pay the bills, and worrying about them is bad), don't get too caught up on what ifs and ideals (forget things like "if you love your career then not a day in your life is work", coz even in your perfect career dream you might have to do some irritating and boring tasks), figure out ways that can reconcile what you like to do (for example in my personal time I get creative), and be flexible and receptive to potential paths that can reconcile what you like with your current career.


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