Doormat without a wife beater husband.
Oh you need +40k? Become a succesful artist. Or marry rich.
Doormat without a wife beater husband.
Oh you need +40k? Become a succesful artist. Or marry rich.
“I tell you, freedom and human rights in America are doomed. The U.S. government will lead the American people in — and the West in general — into an unbearable hell and a choking life. - Osama bin Laden
I may not be IEI, but I'm working towards getting a job as a grant writer for non-profit organizations, particularly in the realm of sustainable agriculture and/or nutrition programs for low-income populations. Non-profits always need money, and the grant writers are some of the last people to go during layoffs. Experienced freelance grant writers can make $100+/hr. An IEI could use to foresee how a project will develop over time, and to persuade grant makers to give their money for the project.
Whatever that job would be, it's probably not going to be a normal one. Normal jobs with that high pay are for valuers. Obviously.
“I tell you, freedom and human rights in America are doomed. The U.S. government will lead the American people in — and the West in general — into an unbearable hell and a choking life. - Osama bin Laden
Most "stable" careers, unfortunately, require a lot of 1.) emotional investment, and 2.) educational commitment, usually at least a year or two of undergraduate prerequisites plus a masters degree. These factors may may them less appealing to IEIs, who often might prefer to live more "open-ended" and have time and energy left over for other, less practical, interests like music, art, or writing. I know, personally, that I've kind of burnt out on school after undergrad and the prospect of going back to take prerequisites is daunting. However, these careers can be very rewarding and suited to IEI's interests/natural dispositions.
Things to take into account:
1.) Your emotional and mental health. A lot of IEIs tend to experience depression and anxiety. This can make high-stress and high-responsibility positions (such and those that have sales quotas, engineering and surgical professions which require a lot of attention to detail, law enforcement, etc.) a bad idea. Take stock of what you are realistically willing to handle, but don't stress too much.
2.) Time and energy commitments. If you have other things you want to do with your life (e.g., be a musician, opera singer, actor, artist, etc.), you'll need to consider how much of a time and energy suck these professions are. If you want to have time on the side to pursue a less practical career, you'll want to think about careers with high flexibility, such as Speech Pathology.
The list:
Physician - If you are intelligent, want to be a doctor, have good study habits, and are social, there's no reason to discount this as a possibility. It's high-stress and medical school is probably the most academically demanding pathway you can choose, but for the select few whose heart is in it, it is worth the decade of hell between pre-med, med school, and residency. Still, only a very specific breed of person is meant to be a doctor: people who actually want to be doctors. That is a very small percentage of the population, but some of those people are IEIs and excellent at the interpersonal aspect of the career.
Speech-Language Pathologist and Audiologist - The former works with people with who have swallowing problems and speech disorders (aphasia, vocal problems such as nodules or chronic laryngitis, and with people with autism). The latter diagnoses and provides devices for those with hearing problems. Therapy can be rather boring and monotonous. One thing to keep in mind: these are highly female-dominated professions. I was considering speech pathology myself, but was sort of disheartened when I discovered that less than 5% of speech therapists are male (though this means that, if you're a male, you're looked on as highly valuable by admissions committees). They both require a masters degree, and entry into the master programs usually require a bachelor's in the subject or a year of prerequisite courses. Average income is around $60-70K a year, though, and SLPs and Audiologists are in very high demand with tons of flexibility.
Physical Therapist - Now requires a D.P.T., which is a three year program, in addition to about two years worth of prerequisite science classes (usually two semesters of Bio, Chem, and Physics, plus a year of Anatomy/Physiology, Psychology and Statistics courses). Entry into the D.P.T. programs are pretty competitive with a lot of applicants for very limits slots and the program itself is intensive and quite demanding. However, this is an amazing field and all the PTs I know a few of them IEI) love it. If the educational commitment is too much for you, perhaps consider the two-year associates degree to become a Physical Therapist Assistant. Salaries are considerably lower (around $40K for the assistant, compared to 80K for the PT), but you can get your degree from a community college for much less money and time. PT facilities, however, can be noisy places, with a lot going on all at once. This might be a liability if you are prone to sensory overload and emotional overwhelm.
Occupational Therapist - Similar to PT but more oriented toward rehabilitating people for activities of daily living. (Warning: this sometimes includes toileting.) Considerably easier to get into than PT and salaries are comparable (usually around $70-80,000 on average). Requires more Psychology courses than hard sciences in PT in undergrad, and a two-year Masters, as opposed to a three-year doctoral. A little boring, but requires less emotional investment.
Teacher - The pay is not great, but meets your goal of $40,000. It's pretty recession-proof as educators are always needed. If you aren't interested in teaching, educational administration can be an alternative career path. Teaching, however, can be emotionally draining and demanding. I would avoid this path if you are have any history of depression or anxiety, as these tend to be exacerbated by the daily grind of teaching. I'm not sure exactly why this is, but I've read of studies that show lawyers and public school teachers have the highest rates of depression among all professions.
Psychologist - requires a Ph.D., but IEIs seem to be drawn to this profession and thrive in it. It's not as stable as the previous options, but top earners can make anywhere from $60-100,000+ a year. It would probably be very rewarding, but also overwhelming if you tend to "absorb" other people's emotional turmoil. If I were motivated to go through another five years of school, this would definitely interest me. An interesting sub-set that pays better than clinical psychology is organizational psychology - basically the people to whom HR turn when they look for ways to boost productivity and happiness in the company.
Also, you may want to look into Public Health. An M.P.H. is a very flexible degree that can get you work in healthcare settings that don't require direct patient care, such as medical writing, government (state and federal) positions, and consulting positions in the private sector. It's a broad field, and you can specialize in a few different areas, some more science-based and others more policy/administration based.
Jobs that don't require so much schooling:
HVAC Technician - Boring, but stable. People's air-conditioning units and heaters are always going haywire. Income varies. It can be pretty low ($25,000) to quite high ($70,000), depending on how good you are at drumming up business.
Administrative Assistant (a.k.a., Secretary) - Doesn't require any specific degree, but you will probably be required to undergo on-the-job training, usually paid for by your company. There's a lot of these jobs out there, usually with vague names like "Program Coordinator" or "Project Manager" or whatnot.
Other, less stable options to consider: Arts Administration (e.g., working in the accounting department of a ballet company or museum - usually can work your way up from an administrative assistant), IT (hard to get into without a Bachelor's in IT or Software Engineering, but pays very well and is stable), Paralegal (requires a 2-year associates degree, which you can get from a community college), barber/hairstylist (you'll always have clients and always have a job, but you won't be making bank).
"How could we forget those ancient myths that stand at the beginning of all races, the myths about dragons that at the last moment are transformed into princesses? Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love."
-- Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
My favorite English teacher was an IEI.
But, for a certainty, back then,
We loved so many, yet hated so much,
We hurt others and were hurt ourselves...
Yet even then, we ran like the wind,
Whilst our laughter echoed,
Under cerulean skies...
You have suggestive Se - use it. Embrace risk. It is exhillerating. Choose nothing boring. RISK. It will calm you. You will find yourself drawn towards it.
Money comes from RISK.
Calms yes, to ready you for WAR!!!! You then release yourself into the chaos!!! Yippieee!
INFp Bezerkers!
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/pets_war
Whatever they like to do the best.
I know a good number of male INFps into web design, media design, light programming for games. Their creative skills and flamboyance are helpful, along with a certain detail orientedness they do tend to have while executing something they enjoy.
Others are in academia. I actually know two INFps who are pursuing a PhD in economics. I would strongly advise against such choice.
Obsequium amicos, veritas odium parit
I don't have any suggestions because we all have different areas of speciality, but as a general outline I'd pick a career that's 1. Not too social but not isolated.. i.e therapists, reporters, designers, pilots. 2. pays worth any stress, and suffient to support your lifestyle. 3. enjoyable and something you're proud to do.
Two people have suggested teacher, I couldnt see myself as a teacher tbh... my mums ESE and it drains her out, it's too exhausting for the pay. i'd write it off.
As odd as it sounds, I know multiple INFps that went into the IT industry. A lot of them seemed to go through ITT Tech. I am not sure why this is a pattern, but it is.
Thanks Starfall! I agree with hkkmr that you should be a star, lol. But dentistry is a pretty comfortable career. Nursing seems kind of stressful, to be honest.
I grew up with stereotypical Asian parents with dreams of me going to the Ivy League to pursue Medicine or Engineering. I am IEI. This was a recipe for disaster. I don't consider myself unintelligent. But I simply found myself unable to muster any passion for those career options. I think I could make a decent doctor... if I actually wanted to commit to being a doctor. Which I don't. I wish I did so I could ease my folks' worries about me having a stable life and let them brag about me to their friends. But I just can't do it. Believe me, I've tried, and there are moments where I still try. The guilt from not being able to be pragmatic and follow a "useful" career path was often crippling. In that crucible of shame, I ended up losing site of the sort of things that did bring me joy: music, writing, art. My perception of what was viable career-wise became very narrow and constricted (Law school seemed to be the only acceptable option for someone who couldn't hack it in the hard sciences... and so that's what I told my parents I'd end up doing, even after I interned at a law office and discovered I despise lawyers). And I lost site of very decent career paths that would allow me to be happy: particularly arts administration/management. I would love to work with the Metropolitan Opera or other performing arts institution, even if I don't do so as a singer. Medical writing also wouldn't be too bad.
This is probably a common bind people whose parents have different quadra value from theirs find themselves in. I left Socionics four years ago, but came back to it often to remind myself of the obvious: You can't please everyone. You are what you are. You life is what it is. There's no use beating yourself up over that which you can't change. The best approach is to be gentle.
Last edited by Animal; 03-02-2012 at 10:19 PM.
"How could we forget those ancient myths that stand at the beginning of all races, the myths about dragons that at the last moment are transformed into princesses? Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love."
-- Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
Ftr many dominant types (me included) hate accounting. Sure, I can do it, sure, I can force myself to go through accounting procedures in automaton mode. However even just thinking about having to do it every day for 9-10 hours can make me claustrophobic and panicky.
Obsequium amicos, veritas odium parit
Yeah, go for dentistry..all my co-workers wish they had done something else.
They even tell me to turn my major to something else, but...it's too late, too many credits towards nursing already. so. it's a crap job. too much drama/backstabbing co-workers.
Widow.
From the number of threads about IEIs and finding the right career (I remember at least three others before this one), this seems to be a pretty common concern. Meditation and remember self-love (as narcissistic as that sounds) helps with a lot of the doubt and cuts through some of the confusion and noise. There's a lot of noise out there in the general society about careerism and materialism. Your own motivations and intuition can get lost in the cacophony of sensationalized news headlines and people who are unhappy with their lives. Are you thinking of becoming a dentist, or dental hygienist? The former is a pretty decent commitment, but not as tough as med school. I think it's a great idea. My dentist's office is a really pleasant place and it seems to be really comfortable lifestyle-wise.
LOL! That list is great. Even as a dude, the part about getting married and having children applies - my mom is always going on about my future wife and kids.Originally Posted by octo
On one hand it's great to know I'm not alone. On the other hand, I hate that you had to go through that experience, too. That balancing act between self-expression and the people-pleasing tendency is definitely one that kills me. The best thing to do, really, is just be as honest as possible to your parents so at least you're running on a clear conscience. That long period of time (three years) where I was lying to them about planning to go to law school without any intention of doing so was like being in a prison of guilt and panic. Once I realized I had to be honest about what a hard time I was having, even though I knew they wanted me to be a prestige-winner for the family, it at least took away that particular source of anxiety (the guilt of having to lie/perpetuate this storyline). I also really want to make life easier on my own kids if I have them.
Last edited by Animal; 03-04-2012 at 10:55 PM.
"How could we forget those ancient myths that stand at the beginning of all races, the myths about dragons that at the last moment are transformed into princesses? Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love."
-- Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
My sister wanted to go into dental also, but couldn't even get into a spot to test into the program at her college, even though she worked in a dentist's office for about year beforehand. Nursing was wide open though for some reason, and she easily tested into it. She just finished and is an RN, and I think it's the CNAs and LPNs that end up with the jobs nobody else wants to do. She's a beta NF btw, and was previously in school for art education but decided the education part wasn't for her.
Scenario writing for games.
Yeah true, but there's so much competition for the great jobs-- I would love to work in pre-op and post-op and be doing medspa type of stuff, but..there's just too many medspas in my area and they're all going under-- all competing for the few people around here who can afford to spend a day getting facials/botox, etc.
I'd have to move to California or New York to actually make money.
My cousin is doing dental hygiene and absolutely loves it. She only works 4 days a week, makes over $50k a year.
choices..choices.
I have a question, what isn't the right career for you? to decide what is the right career for you.
good bye
This thread is a productivity code, thank you all
so far, jobs or careers for an INFp means:
1. getting funds for survival
what this simply means is to 'work' hour sof the day or night or week and get paid. It might inovlve challenges, routine, boring monotnous repetitive schedule too, or if the INFp is lucky there could be presence of other souls at the work place who would create internal voyages of discovery, and evolve him or her at the end.
2. applying skills and the INFp-ishness, bcos u r an INFp
this is not work. and this might not be something thats aimed for getting paid. It is an act that pours out like rain or snow...
- Song writing
- Applying knowledge from personal experiences for upliftment and enhancement of one soul, most times a stranger
- Travelling to new destinations / experiences
- Evaluating relationships past/present/future and releasing emotional baggage in form of a therapist
3. blending into the environment or habitat
- blending is with a little help from intuition, moving together with immediate family/workplace/community towards the goal (physical/spiritual/emotional)
- this will summon the INFpish traits of working along with people on a one-to-one level and as groups all the while focused on the common compass
- it helps or has the potential to help the INFp with self reflection, setting and acheiving personal goals so when the rainy day comes, theres little or nothing to be worried about for him and her folks too
It is important to have some sort of footing in the planes of an INFp's biographic cosmos.
there seems to be no limits to achievements
but then, where are the stairs and why does the mirror play small voices?
Military
Projection is ordinary. Person A projects at person B, hoping tovalidate something about person A by the response of person B. However, person B, not wanting to be an obejct of someone elses ego and guarding against existential terror constructs a personality which protects his ego and maintain a certain sense of a robust and real self that is different and separate from person A. Sadly, this robust and real self, cut off by defenses of character from the rest of the world, is quite vulnerable and fragile given that it is imaginary and propped up through external feed back. Person B is dimly aware of this and defends against it all the more, even desperately projecting his anxieties back onto person A, with the hope of shoring up his ego with salubrious validation. All of this happens without A or B acknowledging it, of course. Because to face up to it consciously is shocking, in that this is all anybody is doing or can do and it seems absurd when you realize how pathetic it is.
I found an old post of mine, from another site, and it reminded me of this thread.
I'm sick and can't sleep so nothing better to do.I took a career aptitude quiz (485 questions) and my top jobs were:
Counseling/Psychotherapy was also very high on my list.
Quote: YOUR TOP 3 IDEAL JOBS
We have compiled based on your personality profile the top 3 jobs most suited to you:
1. Funeral director <--
2. PERSONAL CARE AND SERVICE OCCUPATIONS
3. Medical Laboratory Technician
“My typology is . . . not in any sense to stick labels on people at first sight. It is not a physiognomy and not an anthropological system, but a critical psychology dealing with the organization and delimitation of psychic processes that can be shown to be typical.” —C.G. Jung
I know an INFp librarian.
The only IEI I can be pretty sure of works for the federal government in the department of health. She is also very active in her church and volunteers for a charity to do with infant care as well as evangelic travel. While her occupation is important to her, I find that the relationships with people in order to further her strong values are what is most important. This does not always come directly or most profoundly from her paid position as a civil servant. But it's a necessary ingredient. She gets most of her satisfaction in her private contributions, I believe.
"Moral crusaders with zeal but no ethical understanding are likely to give us solutions that are worse than the problems."
Charles Colson, How Now Shall We Live?
Fe - EIE Harmonizing 3w2
Married to my dual LSI 1w9
I think this may be the test I took that said said I would make a good funeral director.
http://www.funeducation.com/tests/ca.../taketest.aspx
bring out your dead!
“My typology is . . . not in any sense to stick labels on people at first sight. It is not a physiognomy and not an anthropological system, but a critical psychology dealing with the organization and delimitation of psychic processes that can be shown to be typical.” —C.G. Jung
What I do for a living:
Short job history: My dad runs a small TV production company, I worked for him all through high school and college, I got an internship at a larger TV company, now I have a semi-career started as an assistant editor working in the middle of the night. It's not ideal and kinda lonely when you're the only one working all night (and it's hard to see people during the day because like, other people have a real life schedule), but it has a nice balance of freedom and structure, and you can generally just work for the length of one TV show and then it's no hard feelings if you leave and do something else (I mean it's basically expected). I'm probably going to go teach for a year or two starting this September cause I lucked into a cool teaching opportunity in another country (yay adventure!). Also I can live SUPER cheap so I like to work for three or four months then take a few months off and live off of the money left over from the job.
Long term I want to direct plays, but thus far that has translated into directing things when someone asks me or I reply to an ad and actually get a call (email) back. You're supposed to create your own opportunities as a director and like just summon productions out of nothing, but I'm not really entrepreneurial enough for that (I always said I wouldn't want to run my own company; my parents both do more or less entrepreneurial things). Ideally I'd be the artistic director of a repertory theater company I'd start, but I dunno if I'll ever actually do that. I have to confess I occasionally daydream about finding some kind of theater-making partner or producer to work with---I always work better on a team than solo. That's probably a stereotypically socionics thing, right: IEI seeks External Sensation-loving artistic partner to generally inspired, nudge, prod, and encourage IEI into getting more work done. Not sure if the daydream is a consequence of too much socionics when I was a teenager or what.
More pragmatically, I might migrate over to the producer side and be a reality TV producer. That's not going to happen automatically but it's very likely if I worked long enough and asked enough people to let me produce. It's a little sleazy (I mean, there's just a lot of implicit lying in it), but I'd enjoy it enough, I think. And I can always write poetry on the side, like Wallace Stevens (TV producer by day, poet by night!) I've always wanted to be a field producer---flying out to random locations, interviewing strangers, sleeping in hotel rooms. That would be really fun for a few years.
Not a rule, just a trend.
IEI. Probably Fe subtype. Pretty sure I'm E4, sexual instinctual type, fairly confident that I'm a 3 wing now, so: IEI-Fe E4w3 sx/so. Considering 3w4 now, but pretty sure that 4 fits the best.
Yes 'a ma'am that's pretty music...
I am grateful for the mystery of the soul, because without it, there could be no contemplation, except of the mysteries of divinity, which are far more dangerous to get wrong.
For the IEIs out there (or for anyone who knows IEIs), what do IEIs do for a living? Do you enjoy it? If you are in school or unemployed what job/ career do you aspire to have in the future? I am very curious to know .
I got a uni degree in something I dislike and am currently attempting to change direction in my career path but not sure where to go. It raises the question: what are IEIs even good at? It seems like most jobs want someone very extroverted and energetic or they are more for a logical type like business and STEM fields. How do you deal with Te polr? Any psychologists out there? Anyone self-employed?
The IEIs I know and are very close to are absolute bookworms and are doing undergraduate in Electrical engineering (male) and Pharmacy (female). They read a lot, attend every class and pass their exams. A bit boring too; might I add hehe.
C-EII-INFj 4w3 Sx/sp 479
I made a list of most (about twelve) of the IEI's that I know and what they do. It's here on the site somewhere, but I don't know how to search for it and I don't feel like trying to reproduce it.
IEI's are good at Ni and Fe. The best, actually.
If you were an IEI-Fe, you could be an actor or a company diplomat/negotiator. But as an IEI-Ni, you might be better as an artist, writer, or possibly a therapist. You are running multiple scenarios in your head 24/7 and doing not much that produces tangible results, so you need a job that requires flexible thinking and not one where you put the left front tire on the car on the assembly line.
Furthermore, you need bosses or customers who appreciate your talents and let you do stuff in your own way at your own pace.
The IEI's whom I know deal with Te badly. When I (a Te-dom) try to help them, they often think I'm making fun of them or trying to prove they are idiots, which is not at all the case. It's just the stance of the vulnerable. I happen to have grown up with a favorite cousin who is IEI and I love her, but if I didn't accept her for who she is and appreciate her unique talents, I might think she had some large blank spaces where her brains should be. (This is not to say that IEI's aren't smart. Every single one I know is very much above average in intelligence. You just have to be careful about how you measure that intelligence.) This is going to be the impression most IEI's make with most LxE's. (My ILI-Te buddy can't stand her.) An IEI-Fe whom I know is a manager in a tech company but she is the most stressed person I know. She "manages" through diplomacy and clearly is out at sea when it comes to Te stuff. (I still like her. We've dated. )
A few of the IEI's I know are self-employed. Probably because they've had trouble with most bosses in most jobs. IEI's tend to like to do things their own way. Two of the IEI's that I know are counselor/therapists.
Best of luck.
Most IEIs I know are musicians like playing guitar, sax, keyboard, also DJ. Another one is event manager and runs his own company. Another one works in sales and marketing and has business suit, in husbands company.
During my career I also met some in Information Technology, like one in 3rd line support, one in network engineering, one in desktop support.
I also met one as vice chief of support in large multinational company.