INTJ Careers: A Brief Guide to the Best Ones

Certain career choices are best for people who have a certain type of personality. So many professionals recommend that people stop and take the time to find out what their exact personality consists of before jumping into a life long career. You can do this by taking a personality test.

This will be of great importance to those who are on track to get an associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree, or master’s degree. This is also of great importance for those who are out of school and trying to advance their current career. If you are an INTJ female or an INTJ male, this article is for you! Keep reading to learn about good careers for INTJs.

What is INTJ Personality Type?

The INTJ personality type is one option that can be found of the 16 personality types that exist. This is known as the Architect Personality. It stands for introverted, observant, thinking, judging, and assertive characteristics.

For those that have INTJ Personalities, they may be somewhat of a conundrum to those who are around them. Why is this? They are often completely opposite in terms of how they think. They have complete self-confidence and are rational. Yet, they may often find that small talk and social gatherings are useless and a waste of time. They also tend to have introverted feelings.

INTJ Personality Traits

The personality traits of an INTJ personality are very unique in their matter of cognitive functions. They have both strengths and weaknesses. Some of their INTJ strengths include the following:

  1. They have a quick, imaginative, and strategic mind: they strive to improve their knowledge and they are always curious. Thus, they can be up for any challenge that is presented to them.
  2. They are highly self-confident. So high in fact that once this person decides they are right, they never change their mind. They will have things no other way than what they see as right.
  3. They are highly independent, INTJ personalities take responsibility for their own actions and they are not impressed by much
  4. Very decisive, which can be a product of being so self-confident and independent.
  5. They tend to stay detached from emotional issues, yet they will give their opinion. They simply do not put their emotions into their arguments.
  6. Super dedicated to their work in a way that makes many people feel as though they are workaholics.
  7. They are always determined to find a solution to a problem, making them great problem solvers.
  8. They are open-minded to new ideas, technology, or whatever.
  9. They are considered a jack of all trades. Since they take to new ideas, are determined, and the like, many people see them as someone who can put their mind to anything and accomplish this.

While the INTJ personality has several strengths, there are also weaknesses that these personalities possess. These weaknesses include:

  1. Due to their confidence, they are often perceived as being arrogant. Since they are so confident, they often look at those who do not agree with them as being beneath them.
  2. They are judgmental to the point that they seem to judge those that use emotions as a way to rationalize an argument as being simply unintellectual.
  3. They are often considered perfectionists, which can put a strain on relationships.
  4. They are someone who does not like to follow rules, especially if they do not understand why the rule was made, to begin with.
  5. They may an issue with authority figures if that figure never questions the rules or the like.
  6. They are clueless when it comes to romance since they tend to overanalyze things and judge things differently than others.

INTJ Careers

When it comes to careers, those with an INTJ personality are not going to be happy in a career that does not give them some freedom. When an INTJ feels as though their freedoms are gone, they often get agitated or even combative to those who are around them. They need to have a goal for their career, a way to use their rational thought process, and a career that is going to challenge them to think of new solutions to new problems that arise.

INTJ Jobs and Career List

There are several careers that those with an INTJ personality are going to find rewarding and that fits their personality perfectly.

Realistic careers that focus on their realistic thinking include the following:

  • Computer science, systems analyst, informatics, or programmer
  • Software design
  • Any type of engineering
  • Urban planning
  • Chemist, mathematician, astronomer, physics
  • Architect
  • Environmental science, geography, or geology
  • Applied science or technology
  • Technician of applied science

Investigative careers that will keep their interest piqued include the following:

  • Lawyer
  • Scholar/researchers
  • Economists
  • Biochemistry
  • Actuary
  • Publisherr
  • Nonfiction writer
  • Physician
  • Financial planner
  • Working in the social sciences

There are also some artistic careers that can be a fit. These careers include the following:

  • Graphic designer
  • Website designer
  • Journalist
  • Editor
  • Film producer or director

Enterprising careers include the following:

  • Being any type of consultant
  • Being an upper level or executive manager

Basically, when looking for a career, someone with an INTJ personality needs to look for a job that is going to provide them with a logical, structured, and efficient work environment. They will want to work with colleagues that are intelligent, productive, and competent. They also need to look at a career that is going to allow them to problem solve in challenging situations.

INTJ Careers to Avoid

There are some career paths that INTJ personalities are going to want to avoid. These include anything in the social career paths. These types of careers often deal with a lot of emotions and require direct contact with people constantly.

Due to the way that an INTJ often presents himself or herself, they are not going to be someone that is perfect at refined communication. Since they often state that what they believe is the solution and are not listening to reason, working with others that need advice, may not be the best situation.

A few careers that are noted as major no’s for people with an INTJ personality include the following:

  1. Receptionist, since this may not be as intellectually stimulating as they need to keep their attention.
  2. Recreation workers require intense communication skills and since INTJ’s enjoy being alone, this is a huge red flag career.
  3. Television personality.
  4. Executive personal assistant.

Basically, any career that is going to require a person to take orders, do the same task day after day, or talk with large groups is frowned upon by those with INTJ personalities.

For someone with an INTJ personality, they are going to find that they are going to function best in careers that are going to help them to use all of their brainpower. They are not going to be happy working in a location that does not challenge them. They also won’t be happy when working with large groups of people.

Each personality that is out there is best suited for a certain career. When a person does find a career that matches their personality, they will find that the stress of a job almost melts away since they love what they are doing. In addition, they often find that they are content with their career, rather than wishing they had done something differently before.

author avatar
Angel Rivera
I am a Bilingual (Spanish) Psychiatrist with a mixture of strong clinical skills including Emergency Psychiatry, Consultation Liaison, Forensic Psychiatry, Telepsychiatry and Geriatric Psychiatry training in treatment of the elderly. I have training in EMR records thus very comfortable in working with computers. I served the difficult to treat patients in challenging environments in outpatient and inpatient settings

Leave a Comment

Scroll to Top