# INFP Scanner Personality in Academics



## Li_Monade (May 21, 2021)

Hello all, 

I have quite a particular question, which I do have to answer for myself, eventually, but:

I am currently doing a master's degree in political science, which has allowed me to dive into foreign policy and social policy, all largely related to the EU, but many courses are more general/comparative to prevent us from going blind. As the title indicates, I am also a scanner, meaning I am interested in quite a few things, and I tend to go in circles, meaning I eventually return to interests I've pursued before (its really reassuring to have discovered this). 

Now, with the master's thesis is not too far off, my scanner-induced choices has left me a bit undecided on what to branch to follow through with in my thesis. I have followed through with "go for whatever calls you" and NOT specialised, meaning that after a semester of international politics, I am currently drinking up the social policy branch and it feels quite correct due to my annoyance with social inequality being addressed in depth (INFP speaking). 

I also see how what we are learning there might come in handy in future jobs: I do have the ambition to be able to help others with what I know; Jobwise, I will probably be starting off in Public Relations to build up knowlege and skill, and then try to work my way into advocacy or something where its not just about nice words. I do have a knack for writing, and I get PR's importance and impact in the political world, but it becomes repetitive too quickly if I'm only allowed to reproduce and not learning something new. 

However. I also seem to have "clicked" with our international relations professor, and currently also follow a course that touches his area which is has significantly expanded my knowledge on what mismatches European agency can cause in other countries on the ground and with regards to conflict/long-term peacebuilding and development. I further seem to have a knack for analysing and asking the right questions in that area, and have sort of been hinted at that a phd might become an option, though currently, I definitely prefer going to the 'real world', and I kind of feel my values are not quite aligned with what international politics is looking at. 

At the moment, I definitely seem to be more "on fire" in social policy, yet this might change once the round ends, and I am kind of shocked at how whimsical my gut feelings have become, since last semester I felt the same for international politics. 

I know that things will eventually fall into place, but: has anyone had a similar experience? Sorry for the long read.


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## 8080 (Oct 6, 2020)

> I also seem to have "clicked" with our international relations professor


Having someone eating out of your hand is worth a lot!

The theme should be optimised for the INFP characteristic _creativity = originality_. Avoid topics where a lot of material has to be combed through diligently. Uncharted territory is highly welcome, but you should not be too ambitious either, as you do not have much time. It would be time-saving if you could be inspired by knowledge from (other) fields that you already have.

You should work with an *NT* *A**dviser*, preferably *INTJ*, who will keep merging your findings towards the goal, as *NPs* tend to always discover new things and end up with a huge pile that they are desperate to integrate into the text because they have grown fond of all the elements. You report to him _orally_ _from time to time_ on how your work is progressing. Ideally, you also have an *Editor* of any type who _reads everything_ again and again and advises you on the finer details.

NGOs are very useful for people who make money from them, as are PR agencies. You should see if there are INFPs at the top of the organisations you want to work in; otherwise, you will always have to adapt. A type who is so obsessed with independence should develop a plan B that is optimised for self-determination.


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## Li_Monade (May 21, 2021)

Thank you for your advice!

Your reading of how NPs alias I deal with written assignments was spot on ... I am in awe at how much I fit that form 😅 - I think I might know who to stick to as an adviser, too, then  He actually did say something about personality lately during feedback on a paper, so I might have struck it lucky, even if I am still anxious about showing that NP trait its boundaries (it's also been a coping mechanism).

And I am definitely still in baby shoes as regards social policy. I will simply scoop the maximum out of it for the moment, and then see where it comes in handy later (like a small dagger you could say). I've also planned on readjusting my extracurricular investment more towards my values. Maybe once the semester is over or this is done I will be all the wiser.

Ha, yes, for jobs ... my mum has switched workplaces (and from profession 1 to profession 2 and back again) very often, and my father reunites several sources of income as a freelance teacher, so I'm not really afraid of that. Still, if not able to "dive" in a straight line, I am still looking for something to grow with, something that will be useful for someone without having my energy run dry and without me running into financial, and I would say, character-deforming trouble, as my mum is. Its funny, since I really have a lot of cross-class conversations, and if I really do tread that path of PR/NGO/advocacy, it will become more difficult to actually give an idea of what I'm doing without sounding like an airhead. Not that I'm afraid if that is what I'm meant to be. 

Again, thank you very much for your advice! It got me out of this loop of "throwing it all out and over", which isn't always the best choice, especially if dried up desert flowers might only need another shower before they bloom up again, to put it symbolically. 😉


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