Personality Type and Career Choice

Salami · Jun 21, 2011

I need to find a career where I can be more of a dick head without worrying about loosing my job.

Says I am INTJ.

Introverted Intuitive Thinking Judging
Strength of the preferences %
56 25 75 22

Sounds about right. Link says I should be in management which I am. Being a dick head gets me in trouble though. I guess I need to learn to be a better dick head.

jimmydean · Jun 21, 2011

My entire team at McAfee took that personality test and I learned that management isn't in my future. I forget what my classification was. I could NEVER work in sales, that much I know.

I'm not a customer facing person, but I am a team player. Working as a somewhat silo'ed engineer works out well, but that lack of outside exposure leads people to think I don't do a whole lot.

There isn't a unit of measure that can be applied to my line of work, so quantifying what I do to people who don't know is often tough.

<edit> I just took the test in the first link and got an INFP, not sure if it's the same as I tested last time. The "official" test we did at McAfee was something more like 200 questions.

4xBoy · Jun 21, 2011

Your Type is INTP
Introverted Intuitive Thinking Perceiving
Strength of the preferences %
44 38 50 67

Other test was
47 70 17 88

I fit the job I do, just not who I do it for.

amishmatt · Jun 21, 2011

ISTJ, Strength of the preferences % 67/38/38/33.

Still in my first career, and I think it fits. I manage a big program, but a small office. Hate managing people, but love running the program.

If I was in anything finance, I think I'd definitely look for something else.

KavuRider · Jun 21, 2011

ISTJ Strength of the preferences: % 88/29/17/17
And the career descriptions fit that.
Basically a file clerk for the last 10 years and sure enough, that is listed.

I prefer to be given a task (or many tasks), then left alone and not have to interact with anyone until its done. I have yet to find a job that lets me do that...

jutny · Jun 21, 2011

Salami said:
I need to find a career where I can be more of a dick head without worrying about loosing my job.

Says I am INTJ.

Introverted Intuitive Thinking Judging
Strength of the preferences %
56 25 75 22

Sounds about right. Link says I should be in management which I am. Being a dick head gets me in trouble though. I guess I need to learn to be a better dick head.

this. to the letter, wow.

(well maybe not the percentages, but i'm a proven INTJ)

1a) INTJ and Yes
1b) **** no

2a) yes but not really on a career level
2b) i may actually have been happier in positions where I was outside my personality type

3a) yes and no to both kind of...
3b) a job loses me once it becomes predictable, i'm a problem solver and critical thinker at heart, and I need a constant flow of challenges in order to enjoy what I do. Management is SORT of like that, but I really don't like people all that much so I'd rather not have it be my career. Of course it would help if my wage was even close to fair for what I do, but that's for another thread entirely.

Da Peach · Jun 21, 2011

E N T J
Strength of the preferences %
1 12 50 22

AngryMetalsmith · Jun 21, 2011

ENFJ

Carreer options :

entertainer
recruiter
artist
newscaster
writer/journalist
recreation director
librarian
facilitator
politician
psychologist
housing director
career counselor
sales trainer
travel agent
program designer
corporate/team trainer
child welfare worker
social worker (elderly...services)
interpreter/translator
occupational therapist
executive: small business
alcohol/drug counselor
sales manager

Sounds about right.

Quo Fan · Jun 21, 2011

Your Type is
ISTP
Introverted Sensing Thinking Perceiving
Strength of the preferences %
33 62 50 44

Interestingly, the test said I should fix things for a living, which is what I used to do.

Famous people of your particular type
Charles Bronson, Bruce Lee, Meg Ryan, Ronaldo

Sherpa · Jun 21, 2011

Your Type is
ENFJ
Extraverted Intuitive Feeling Judging
Strength of the preferences %
89 62 12 22

I should work in education or management. I'm slave in the world of high finance, and it's interesting and well paid enough to be do able for a couple years.

jimmydean · Jun 21, 2011

I didn't look at the career choices.

Writers
Counselors / Social Workers
Teachers / Professors
Psychologists
Psychiatrists
Musicians
Clergy / Religious Workers

I don't see software qa asshole. But it works for me.

Pesqueeb · Jun 21, 2011

INTJ : 52, 58, 35, 35.

1. yes
1b. I do actually, its the fvcking people I can't stand.

As for the other questions, I don't think I could rightly say. Unless the little market in the tiny tourist town I grew up in counts, I've pretty much been in aviation my entire working life.

Like Salami, I am considered something of an "asshole", and I have long contended that that is in fact accurate. I bump up against regret that I didn't finish college on a fairly regular basis. I like my job, but its not something I find particularly important or satisfying on a macro level. I would love to do some sort of Law/Financial/Health thing. I have a friend in Cali who is a Health Care Lawyer and have found her job incredibly fascinating. The Profile seems explain my interest fairly well.

FWIW I had my wife read the personality profile and she said, "Sounds right to me." I'm not difficult to get along with if you just meet my expectations. :think:

jimmydean · Jun 22, 2011

The Joker said:
One of the other links had software assurance.

antimony · Jun 22, 2011

Entj - 89, 38, 25, 89

norbar · Jun 22, 2011

antimony said:
Entj - 89, 38, 25, 89

Also ENTJ but everything moderate. 56 38 50 1

The jobs discriptions for ENTJ are silly because it basicly claims I can do sales, be an enginner, teacher, politic, military man or work in law. It would be easier to say everything but an artist.

binary visions · Jun 22, 2011

We took a pretty detailed personality test at work last year. I was out of town for the results discussion meeting where the firm that did it set up time to discuss the results. I did get a copy of the scoring, though, and the conclusion was this, after some numbers and actual scores:

(labeled NSFW only to hide it because it's long... come to think of it, maybe I'll create a new "hide" tag to differentiate)

Personal Style

BV's view of the world is concrete and specific although he will occasionally be more spontaneous than he appears at first sight. Although quiet and reserved, he can articulate well on a subject to which he is devoted. He likes to make sure that he knows what is going on and tries to make sure that everyone is pulling their weight. His strength is his ability to work independently. He tends to be good with practiced tasks, interested in the how and the why of the working.

Although he will never ask for it, he does need positive feedback and a rationale for what he is doing. He can be a great “designer” of systems, which he prefers to leave to others to build. He prefers to discover, learn and understand the principles which underlie the information about the world he has perceived through his senses. He approaches people and events as a dispassionate observer, with the objective of arriving at the most comprehensive truth. Outwardly quiet, reserved and detached, inwardly he is constantly absorbed in analysing problems or situations.

He may find it hard to express his ideas as clearly or as concisely as he experiences them. Enjoying theoretical, complex and global concepts, BV is a strategic thinker who can clearly see the benefits and flaws of most situations. He is a “no-nonsense” person who is not often attracted by the strange, exotic or unfamiliar. He is unlikely to be comfortable expressing his inner feelings to strangers. Material wealth may interest him only for the independence it buys and for the additional opportunity it provides for his own private study.

He is highly independent and can live and work quite contentedly in modest surroundings. Whatever he is doing he will accomplish with orderliness and reliability. BV is careful and orderly in his attention to facts and details. He is thorough and conscientious in fulfilling all his responsibilities. Work that doesn't involve intellectual stretch and the opportunity for mastery may soon become a drudgery for him. He is persevering, with a singleness of purpose that he devotes to long term achievement of the mind. He is an ideal academic who continually seeks knowledge for its own sake.

He may appear more tolerant of others who prefer to operate in a moderate or controlled way. The process of analysis is often more challenging to him of itself than actually doing what needs to be done. His commitment to his obligations comes much less in words, and much more in getting things organised and done. He is keenly interested in how and why things work. He tries to use logical principles to make sense of the ideas that constantly arise in his mind.

He tends to take a sceptical, critical attitude to information that has not been verified by the senses and is likely to distrust people who are careless about facts, sloppy about details, and who favour imagination or novelty over facts. He is outstanding at establishing and implementing orderly procedures, rules and regulations, and may show impatience with those who don't carry out their designated tasks or work by the rules.

I actually found it pretty interesting because a substantial portion of that is right on with my personality (though some of it not so much), and a lot of it is important to my current job.

MMike · Jun 22, 2011

Your Type is
ENTP
Extraverted Intuitive Thinking Perceiving
Strength of the preferences %
89 12 6 11

Almost exactly what I got when I took the test in a mgmt training class at Bell.....

mklie · Jun 22, 2011

If I may suggest do what you like or love, otherwise there is no way you want will want to do it each day. Resume and connections get the interview, passion and knowledge get the job. BTW been in finance for 20+ years and no matter what anyone says its all about the $. If you are a profitable producer you can be pee in the board room and get away with it.

eaterofdog · Jun 22, 2011

Type is
ICP
Strength is not intelligent thinking

eric strt6 · Jun 22, 2011

INTJ and I am the Director of a small company so I guess it fits

ire · Jun 22, 2011

I took the first test and it suggested IT as a career...perfect! I'm an IT Director, so it all worked out!

CBJ · Jun 22, 2011

It suggested I should be a sleazy male stripper - yeeeees. Career starting NOW.

4xBoy · Jun 22, 2011

The more I read this the more I feel it is like Ms. Cleo talking, anything you want to hear can be pulled from any of the responses that get generated.

Toshi · Jun 22, 2011

The Joker said:
1) What do you 'test' as and are the results applicable to your career?
1b) If yes, do you enjoy your job on a personal level? If no, same?

2) Have you done a career that is not 'in-line' with your "personality-type", but are now?
2b) If so, do you find life in general is more enjoyable since changing?

3) Has anyone made a complete change in their career path to both a different industry and role within that industry?
3b) How has that worked out? Better lifestyle, enjoy your job more, etc.

I'm an INTJ. Tested multiple times, most recently officially for my hospital as part of my role as one of the chief residents in my department.

Here's the INTJ list, for what that's worth:

Scientists
Engineers
Professors and Teachers
Medical Doctors / Dentists
Corporate Strategists and Organization Builders
Business Administrators / Managers
Military Leaders
Lawyers / Attorneys
Judges
Computer Programmers, Systems Analysts and Computer Specialists

Given that I trained in computer science, worked briefly as a programmer, have published articles in both cardiology and radiology journals, and now am a physician in a tech-heavy specialty (radiology) I think I've picked what comes naturally.

I do enjoy my job. I find that many of the other people in my particular specialty--but not medicine in general--are of a similar disposition. I like the partial isolation and abstraction: we are provided limited inputs (medical history in one sentence, anywhere from a single image to several thousand images depending on the type of study, and prior lab/pathology/imaging results on the electronic medical record) and from this we synthesize this information and provide our "front-line" colleagues a diagnosis or set of possible diagnoses that they then proceed to treat.

This form of interaction appeals to me because we're essentially the brains behind the operation, the work is limited by our own speed (not by practical matters such as the exam room or operating room not being turned over yet or a patient being late), and the people who I talk to are largely other doctors. I also like that I'm not responsible for executing whatever plans our diagnoses suggest--it's like the difference between solving a math proof (us) and working out the bugs in implementing the idea as a programmer (them, the front-line clinicians).

I never really worked in a field totally out of my personality-type water. The closest would be when I was nominally the IT Director for a hotel group based in Portland. I had to wear a suit every day and my interaction was basically only with the half dozen fellow suits in the executive office. I didn't like that very much, as I was at their beck and call and their demands were often either petty ("fix my WinMo phone's email now!") or ridiculous ("set up text-message based coffee ordering for a single hotel with no budget").

I did make a complete sea-change, field-wise if not personality-wise. As I mentioned above I did my undergrad degree in computer science. Halfway through I realized that I didn't like where that put me 10 years down the road: I'd have been in the middle of the ranks in some company in Silicon Valley or Apple, very much a cog in a big machine. At that point I turned to medicine for the greater perceived freedom, and did the pre-med prerequisite courses on top of the CS ones, finishing everything on time.

Although I'll still be a cog in a machine to some degree when out in practice as a radiologist, especially as many more people these days join large groups or work directly for a hospital as a salaried employee, I'll be much closer to the top of the cog-chain, as it were. That I'll be paid a hell of a lot more (in exchange for 10 years of being paid either nothing (4 yrs as a med student) or a hell of a lot less while working long hours (5 years as a resident, 1 year as a fellow)) sweetens the deal, too.

I Are Baboon · Jun 22, 2011

ESTJ...says I should be in business management. ROLF...talk about a bull's eye.

To answer all the questions in the OP: "Sometimes."

TheMontashu · Jun 22, 2011

Doesn't this mean I win Joker??

stevew · Jun 22, 2011

TheMontashu said:
Doesn't this mean I win Joker??

hahahaha....

Westy · Jun 22, 2011

INTP
67 75 50 11

I took a similar test as part of a leadership course when with GE. It was a lot more detailed and your boss and other coworkers answered questions about you. Two types of results were given, your natural and learned tendencies. My learned tendencies essentially flipped my two strongest natural tendencies. I saw it as a sign that the corporate machine had ground up my soul and stamped out yet another drone.

jimmydean · Jun 22, 2011

binary visions said:
We took a pretty detailed personality test at work last year. I was out of town for the results discussion meeting where the firm that did it set up time to discuss the results. I did get a copy of the scoring, though, and the conclusion was this, after some numbers and actual scores:

(labeled NSFW only to hide it because it's long... come to think of it, maybe I'll create a new "hide" tag to differentiate)

Personal Style

BV's view of the world is concrete and specific although he will occasionally be more spontaneous than he appears at first sight. Although quiet and reserved, he can articulate well on a subject to which he is devoted. He likes to make sure that he knows what is going on and tries to make sure that everyone is pulling their weight. His strength is his ability to work independently. He tends to be good with practiced tasks, interested in the how and the why of the working.

Although he will never ask for it, he does need positive feedback and a rationale for what he is doing. He can be a great designer of systems, which he prefers to leave to others to build. He prefers to discover, learn and understand the principles which underlie the information about the world he has perceived through his senses. He approaches people and events as a dispassionate observer, with the objective of arriving at the most comprehensive truth. Outwardly quiet, reserved and detached, inwardly he is constantly absorbed in analysing problems or situations.

He may find it hard to express his ideas as clearly or as concisely as he experiences them. Enjoying theoretical, complex and global concepts, BV is a strategic thinker who can clearly see the benefits and flaws of most situations. He is a no-nonsense person who is not often attracted by the strange, exotic or unfamiliar. He is unlikely to be comfortable expressing his inner feelings to strangers. Material wealth may interest him only for the independence it buys and for the additional opportunity it provides for his own private study.

He is highly independent and can live and work quite contentedly in modest surroundings. Whatever he is doing he will accomplish with orderliness and reliability. BV is careful and orderly in his attention to facts and details. He is thorough and conscientious in fulfilling all his responsibilities. Work that doesn't involve intellectual stretch and the opportunity for mastery may soon become a drudgery for him. He is persevering, with a singleness of purpose that he devotes to long term achievement of the mind. He is an ideal academic who continually seeks knowledge for its own sake.

He may appear more tolerant of others who prefer to operate in a moderate or controlled way. The process of analysis is often more challenging to him of itself than actually doing what needs to be done. His commitment to his obligations comes much less in words, and much more in getting things organised and done. He is keenly interested in how and why things work. He tries to use logical principles to make sense of the ideas that constantly arise in his mind.

He tends to take a sceptical, critical attitude to information that has not been verified by the senses and is likely to distrust people who are careless about facts, sloppy about details, and who favour imagination or novelty over facts. He is outstanding at establishing and implementing orderly procedures, rules and regulations, and may show impatience with those who don't carry out their designated tasks or work by the rules.

I actually found it pretty interesting because a substantial portion of that is right on with my personality (though some of it not so much), and a lot of it is important to my current job.

A tl;dr tag would be awesome.

amishmatt · Jun 22, 2011

binary visions test results said:
He is outstanding at establishing and implementing orderly procedures, rules and regulations, and may show impatience with those who don't carry out their designated tasks or work by the rules

Oppressor.

CrabJoe StretchPants · Jun 22, 2011

Ahhh yes, cognitive assessment tests. I took some BS course in college that went over them quite a bit. I rank them up there with Tarot cards and Quiji boards.

Pesqueeb · Jun 22, 2011

jimmydean said:
A tl;dr tag would be awesome.

Please, let us not encourage intellectual laziness.

amish_matt said:
Oppressor.

CBJ · Jun 22, 2011

CrabJoe StretchPants said:
Ahhh yes, cognitive assessment tests. I took some BS course in college that went over them quite a bit. I rank them up there with Tarot cards and Quiji boards.

Especially if you take them yourself.

rockofullr · Jun 22, 2011

Come on guys. Do you really need a test to tell you what kind of job you should be doing.

Joker, I don't know apart from on this board but here goes:

You would enjoy a job in which you spend at least some of your time outdoors preferably in a wooded or otherwise natural setting (bong rips optional).

Jobs for you:

Park ranger
Climbing/biking/skiing/whatever guide
Photographer
Geological surveyor
Forrest service employee

Check out these links for jobs that will make you happy rather than rich.

http://www.fs.fed.us/fsjobs/openings.shtml
http://www.nps.gov/personnel/
http://www.outdoorindustryjobs.com/index.asp
http://www.nols.edu/alumni/employment/

P.S. I am continually envious of my friends who got into geology.

ridiculous · Jun 22, 2011

Wow, that made we feel like I am doing something right.

I am an ESTP
29 29 17 64

real estate broker
chef
land developer
physical therapist
stock broker
news reporter
fire fighter
promoter
entrepreneur
pilot
budget analyst
insurance agent
management consultant
franchise owner
electrical engineer
aircraft mechanic
technical trainer
EEG technologist
radiological technician
emergency medical tech.
corrections officer
flight attendant

I just happen to be a mech. engineer for an aircraft company. A retail stock (option) trader, just recently started cooking a lot, and dream of having my own business.

TheMontashu · Jun 22, 2011

The Joker said:
Come back when you're 30 and we'll have a good comp. You still haven't had a real job or responsibilities.

I'll have you way beet by then dude, and as it sits now I think I'm still winning

unemployment cause you hated working for the scummiest most filthy crooked industry in the country < Happily employed student getting a degree where my job DOESN'T involve scamming people and involves creating things.

Personality Type and Career Choice

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde

Turbo Monkey

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey

Turbo Monkey

Turbo Monkey

Turbo Monkey

Monkey

Outwitted by a rodent

Business is good, thanks for asking

don't make me kick your ass

Basking in fail.

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde

bicycle in airplane hangar

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey

M.N.F. Beer Wench

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause

The voice of reason

A fowl peckerwood.

Monkey

ass grabber

Resident Curmudgeon

Turbo Monkey

year old fart

Turbo Monkey

Harbinger of Doom

The Full Dopey

Pourly Tatteued Jeu

resident influencer

the teste

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey

Turbo Monkey

Reincarnated Crab Walking Head Spinning Bruce Dick

bicycle in airplane hangar

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde

year old fart

confused

Turbo Monkey

Pourly Tatteued Jeu