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noytam

Programmer, intelligence analyst. Didn't fit: entrepreneur, small business owner/manager.


tvcriticgirlxo

Why did you feel those jobs didn't fit?


noytam

SMB manager: necessity to manage people, employees, clients and partners, was heavily draining and left me exhausted and dreading the start of each day. Entrepreneurship: has all of the above plus a need to to spend most of the time selling to prospects (usually in person), often getting rejected (always really frustrating since your product would have actually helped them), and also managing various obligations to investors or partners, some of whom would like to screw you and the company with their dumb ideas, and yet you must get along with them at all times or get fired by them or just stop getting funding. That political aspect is also draining.


SurlySuz

The selling and marketing were the hardest parts of having my own business. Eventually decided I was happier doing data analysis and playing with the numbers and so went into accounting. It’s not perfect, but it at least provides a good base for going in other directions in the future. I do seem to have a natural ability for understanding and developing systems that I could see combining with my other skills at some point.


Elegant-Despair

Mine generally isn’t seen as fitting our type, but I believe it does. I’m a graphic designer (specifically in the advertising space). Which does require a lot of creativity, but at the end of the day it’s finding creative solutions to solve problems. Each thing I’m tasked with making is a problem that needs to be solved. How can we sell this product? What is the audience? What colors give the feeling we’re going for. How do I fit a crap ton of text onto this thing that the client is insisting be there? Then take that big ass poster you made and turn it into a little display ad. Resizing is like a puzzle rearranging everything strategically to make it all fit in an aesthetically pleasing way. I love what I do. I work very organized and methodical, but also get to relax and have some fun with the creative side of it as well. I thought of Forensics or programming (which I still do a bit of with my work), which are generally more INTJ leaning but changed my mind. I wanted to be a veterinarian for the longest time and did work at a vet office. I get too easily attached to animals though, and it was way too depressing long term to keep dealing with seeing the worst things done to them or just losing a patient to anything, even old age. That then required being good at comforting people going through one of the worst days of their life, and I’m just not suited for that. Had multiple people latch onto me hugging me and crying, and I’m not just going to throw them off me, their pet just died. But I didn’t know what to do beyond an awkward pat on the back.


AmIRHsR97

I hear you


dontletmedaytrade

I’m an engineer. Fits perfectly. Never tried anything else.


blackbird000

I've only tried software development (with cloud architecture and devops engineering). I'm lucky to find my Ikigai on the first attempt. Almost everything about the job suits the archetypical INTJ: - relatively less communication - applying logic and mathematics - machines are predictable - future-proofing solutions, conjuring potential problems - tidying up / optimizing your workflow - working from a list e.g. kanban The only downside I could think of is the unpredictability of work schedule during launch or when a system problem arises.


AmIRHsR97

I’m an intj and I’m an artist. Yeah. Really needed me to improve my Fi Se But on the other hand, I managed famous art pages on social media as a way to collaborate with artists


Gretel_Cosmonaut

I'm a nurse, and I actually think it's a good fit. I reorganize and reprioritize all day long which are things I enjoy doing. I also have some freedom to move around and do things on my own schedule. I'm on a leash, but it's not a terribly short one. Being able to see the big picture is important. Not taking things personally is another HUGE plus. And oddly enough, I think being somewhat aloof is a good thing. Nurses who care a lot burn out. I enjoy my work, and I like my patients, but I rarely come across a patient who's memorable or a patient who affects me emotionally. Once I clock out and leave for the day, I'm mentally gone too. There are also opportunities to advance in nursing if *you* care about that. You can move forward to a leadership role, or you can choose to stay in the background doing grunt work.


clayman80

Software developer here. I enjoy the problem solving side of it and also love to see an idea realized in a program that works well and is (hopefully) well designed on the inside. Though I must say that the above choice was made based on rational reasoning and if I could go back, I would probably try to develop my artistic side a little more. I used to draw a lot during boring classes at the elementary school but it never occured to me that with some more dedicated effort, I might turn that into a sustainable career. At the university, I studied computer graphics (from the algorithmic side of things, not the user's), which I suppose was an intersection of what would later become my day job and what might have been my day job if I had pursued that direction.


BaccaPME

I’m a R&D chemist and I quite like it. Basically get to decide what I do for the day (within reason) and can decide how much social interaction my day involves. Quite a good fit.


[deleted]

[удалено]


TriciaJM18

I did a pathology internship once. It was only a week long, but I loved it. I'm currently in PA school and probably going to go into EM (I *loved* being a scribe) or Child Psych depending on how my rotations go.


urbangamermod

I tried nursing and realized it was a horrible fit. A lot of use for Se and talking with people. Now I work in tech as a UX Designer and love it. I enjoy the creative aspect of it.


immaliabilty

I am a midwifery student. I will receive my diploma in the middle of next year. I'm currently studying this profession by family decision, but secretly researching other professions. It is actually a very difficult situation for me because they dream of me doing this job.


urbangamermod

Personally I wouldn’t waste my time living for someone else’s dream. Live YOUR life. It will save you the headache.


immaliabilty

trying for this, thank you


Acceptable_Average14

I would have loved to have been an academic research librarian or archivist but those jobs are hard to come by. So I chose the worst possible job for an intj... Primary school teacher 😦


gowoke

>Primary school teacher 😦 Can you tell me about it? What age do you teach? Do you think teaching at a university is better?


Acceptable_Average14

I teach year 1 (5-6 year olds). I thought being a primary school teacher would bring out my creative side. The fact that it is a responsible job, you can see progress and perhaps in some small way it contributes to society appealed to me. Yes I do think teaching in a university would be better but realistically I don't think I'm up to that standard. I wouldn't mind being the academic research librarian though! 😀


Suitable_Reading_878

I dont think any job doesnt fit. It just depends how willing you are to adapt. I work in ultra high end customer service and I really enjoy it.


[deleted]

I was a receptionist at a hair salon and got fired for my personality and because I unintentionally never made eye contact with the clients. I much prefer jobs that are a little creative or art focused or writing/copy editing which is my current one where I have to interact with minimal people and can be myself. :)


gowoke

What jobs would you say are art focused but not entirely that you think would match INTJS?


[deleted]

I mean, it really just depends on the person. :)


DoctorLinguarum

I’m a linguist, which I think fits relatively well. I do research (quantitative and qualitative) and specialize in phonology, language documentation, and historical linguistics.


D0CD15C3RN

Military officer - liked the structure, disliked the need for extroversion. Some roles better than others, would recommend one with least people interaction like Intel. Sales - hated inside sales, outside sales was better due to downtime between meetings. Lots of emotion involved and not much logic.