Everyone creates their own career and controls their own life. Now I work as an ordinary manager, but I have certain plans for the future, which I will definitely implement here.
Sure, everyone can do what they want. The point of the post though is to give people who are struggling some suggestions about careers and what you like and don't like about what you're doing. It's incredibly helpful for me to hear those things. That's the goal here, is to help everyone find a career they enjoy and to feel like they have found their purpose or are at least making progress in that direction.
Hey have you ever considered software quality assurance / software testing. Really not sure how I got in this career but I truly enjoy the purpose of making software better for customers, idealism and perfectionism come into play and add a high level of conscientiousness in the mix too.
I'm currently working in a shop but it's purely out of necessity. I honestly hate it because of the big amount of people I have to socialize with everyday. I'm also not big on the commercial side of things. It's just very tiring as an INFJ.
I've always known I wanted to work in the translation field (more specifically, English audiovisual translator). I previously started a college degree majoring in that but life got in the way... I feel like it'd be the perfect job for me because I could work as an independent, make my own schedule and not have to worry about having to socialize everyday and play the good employee. I haven't given up on that just yet so I'm currently trying to save money to reenter a translation training program.
My dad and uncle were really into this and traced our family back to a small village in Wales. I want to go check it out to experience what my ancestors experienced. What does it look like? Feel like? Smell like? What inspired them to take a big risk and set sail for this far away place they had never seen? Was it adventure? Was it to escape something? Was it to start over with a clean slate? Something else? Obviously, I will never know, but being in that place may provide clues…
I’ve always been a history buff; ever since about age 8 or 9. It is fascinating. My aunt got me interested in family history about 15 years ago. My “official“ family tree is still a work in progress; and a labor of love.
I wonder if we need certain types of work during one stage in life; but later on, we need to find other types of work. I think as we gain experience and wisdom in life…our needs for career/work can change. When I was in my early 20’s, my dream job was drafting and mapping in a rural county. After that, I worked in some ill-suited, utterly horrendous jobs. (The kind of jobs that wear down your health!)
At this point in my life ( I’m 3 days older than dirt😉), I would love to travel the country, interviewing people; making movies about people’s family trees…how “we” ended up where we are today. Several years ago, there was a series on tv called:” Who do you think you are”. They did family tree searches for celebrities. I would love to do that for us average folks. We all have some amazing people in our family trees…and putting that to video would be fun.
@allspavig I love your family tree idea! I love that stuff too. I was a history major, always looking to uncover truths from the past to explain the current reality. I love people’s personal and family history just as much, if not more than the Big moments in history. It’s fascinating.
I think you're right about needing different things at different times. When I was in high school and college I worked in retail and really liked it. I considered doing that as a career. I studied engineering and criminal justice in college and now I work in marketing, but am leaning towards writing now.
The main thing that I see is that I liked and needed other things in the past and it's funny how your wants & needs change, but it takes you a while to realize it. And it's difficult to let go of what you thought you wanted before.
Hello fellow INFJ's. I'm student teaching right now actually...just finished writing up lesson plans for the week. Prepping tomorrow. I'm going for a degree in Special Education. There are things I really love about the experience so far---the students, opportunities to design meaningful activities. I love that I work with small groups of 2-5 students and get to really hone in and provide instruction for their specific needs.
There are some struggles too. It is very mentally and emotionally demanding. I love people, but so much is needed to meet the needs of the students, then there's communicating with parents, the MOUNTAINS of paperwork with deadlines,, etc.
My mentor teacher tells me that I will make a great I.S. (Intervention Specialist) and I have had other supervisors encourage me that they believe I'm meant to teach. I have a hard time having confidence in myself though. There's a part of me that struggles to believe I can handle it...anyways, that's where I'm at right now. This experience is challenging , but I believe it is where God has me right now as well.
I have worked mostly corporate, structured, scheduled jobs (banks, retail, airline reservations, Disney parks...) and they nearly kill me. I was lucky enough to get into freelance copy editing and proofreading, and it has saved my life, ha. I make my own schedule and work on my own. My educational background is Biblical studies (MA) and spiritual formation (PhD Divinity), so I mostly work in those areas. I'm good at it, and it comes naturally to me. I don't feel like it's my calling, but it is a very good fit for me. My calling is small group and individual formation, especially spiritually. I'm working towards certification as a spiritual director and life coach, which will be in addition to my editing work. I don't know the pros and cons of the latter yet, the freelance editing has some. The pros are the flexibility and not having to deal with others all the time, the ability to work from anywhere, being able to turn down work when needed, and feeling like I'm making a difference in a small way to the advancement of knowledge and people's own learning. The cons are irregular and uncertain pay, procrastination turning deadlines into stress (my own fault, I know, haha), having to keep up with my own tax withholding... I guess it's all mainly financial, really. And if you a big picture person, it would not be good for you.
I can understand that being an INFJ you might feel drawn towards different things , but over the years I have tried to gain clarity and plan step by step that Let me do this in my career for example teaching then go on to coaching , personal development and meanwhile work towards writing then integrate all of that with public speaking . So you can imagine it is a web but not a messy one , a well connected one and I think it is our pile of great things.
This is THE question and struggle in my life. Still. I’m 45 and have what appears to be a really great job on paper, but I’m so stressed out by it.
I am a strategy consultant for a large bank and my work supports and considers the needs of diverse and women owned businesses.
Pros: get to do good with my output, get to think creatively
Cons: needing to talk to many different people all the time, navigating the politics involved, competing priorities, resolving conflicts, tons and tons of follow up on details, being in the “spotlight” and the face of important initiatives
I used to manage and coach people and preferred that work, but over the years was encouraged to “stretch myself” and take on leadership roles. I feel so vulnerable and alone being “the one” and in the spotlight. Sometimes I wish I were an extrovert because I would be so happy to have those eyes on me. But I’m not.
I am the sole breadwinner for my family, so salary is extremely important. I feel trapped doing this kind of work until I either die from stress related health issues or get the opportunity to retire. That’s extreme and not actually true, but it FEELS true.
If asked the question, “what would you do if you won the lottery?” I would say I would quit immediately from my job, would rest and recover from 20+ years of corporate life for a year, home school my son, travel, earn several degrees just because, learn how to play bass guitar, pick up playing piano again, perfect my Mexican food skills…and So on. Actually live my life.
I’m not seeing much there in the way of replacing my corporate income unfortunately. So I remain where I am, doing my best to navigate the extroverted world in which I operate.
I feel this in my soul, ha. I worked for Disney for a few years, and it was killing me for all the reasons you mention. I got lucky and got into a freelance career, but it's definitely a challenge financially at times. I hope you can find either a great balance for yourself or a different job/ position that works better for you. I know how awful it can be to feel stuck like that.
I have several different jobs/careers... Digital marketing manager - Idk if it's my purpose, but it's a lot of fun. It's fun because marketing, especially email and social media, are constantly changing, so there's always something to learn. It almost feels like a game that you're constantly figuring out.
Graphic design - I love the creative aspect of this and it works well with marketing.
Podcasting - While podcasting is fun most of the time, it's also really challenging for me. I don't like being on video or even audio really, but I know that it helps people to share my experience, so I push myself to do it. Plus, I love meeting other INFJs and knowing that I can help.
Writing - I really feel like this is my purpose in life. It's a personal growth process to process what you're going through and share it with others. Plus it's constant motivation to keep improving.
Everyone creates their own career and controls their own life. Now I work as an ordinary manager, but I have certain plans for the future, which I will definitely implement here.
I'm currently working in a shop but it's purely out of necessity. I honestly hate it because of the big amount of people I have to socialize with everyday. I'm also not big on the commercial side of things. It's just very tiring as an INFJ.
I've always known I wanted to work in the translation field (more specifically, English audiovisual translator). I previously started a college degree majoring in that but life got in the way... I feel like it'd be the perfect job for me because I could work as an independent, make my own schedule and not have to worry about having to socialize everyday and play the good employee. I haven't given up on that just yet so I'm currently trying to save money to reenter a translation training program.
My dad and uncle were really into this and traced our family back to a small village in Wales. I want to go check it out to experience what my ancestors experienced. What does it look like? Feel like? Smell like? What inspired them to take a big risk and set sail for this far away place they had never seen? Was it adventure? Was it to escape something? Was it to start over with a clean slate? Something else? Obviously, I will never know, but being in that place may provide clues…
I’ve always been a history buff; ever since about age 8 or 9. It is fascinating. My aunt got me interested in family history about 15 years ago. My “official“ family tree is still a work in progress; and a labor of love.
I wonder if we need certain types of work during one stage in life; but later on, we need to find other types of work. I think as we gain experience and wisdom in life…our needs for career/work can change. When I was in my early 20’s, my dream job was drafting and mapping in a rural county. After that, I worked in some ill-suited, utterly horrendous jobs. (The kind of jobs that wear down your health!)
At this point in my life ( I’m 3 days older than dirt😉), I would love to travel the country, interviewing people; making movies about people’s family trees…how “we” ended up where we are today. Several years ago, there was a series on tv called:” Who do you think you are”. They did family tree searches for celebrities. I would love to do that for us average folks. We all have some amazing people in our family trees…and putting that to video would be fun.
A career that possibly has one or all of these: creativity (aesthetics), sense of purpose and emotional investment.
Hello fellow INFJ's. I'm student teaching right now actually...just finished writing up lesson plans for the week. Prepping tomorrow. I'm going for a degree in Special Education. There are things I really love about the experience so far---the students, opportunities to design meaningful activities. I love that I work with small groups of 2-5 students and get to really hone in and provide instruction for their specific needs.
There are some struggles too. It is very mentally and emotionally demanding. I love people, but so much is needed to meet the needs of the students, then there's communicating with parents, the MOUNTAINS of paperwork with deadlines,, etc.
My mentor teacher tells me that I will make a great I.S. (Intervention Specialist) and I have had other supervisors encourage me that they believe I'm meant to teach. I have a hard time having confidence in myself though. There's a part of me that struggles to believe I can handle it...anyways, that's where I'm at right now. This experience is challenging , but I believe it is where God has me right now as well.
I have worked mostly corporate, structured, scheduled jobs (banks, retail, airline reservations, Disney parks...) and they nearly kill me. I was lucky enough to get into freelance copy editing and proofreading, and it has saved my life, ha. I make my own schedule and work on my own. My educational background is Biblical studies (MA) and spiritual formation (PhD Divinity), so I mostly work in those areas. I'm good at it, and it comes naturally to me. I don't feel like it's my calling, but it is a very good fit for me. My calling is small group and individual formation, especially spiritually. I'm working towards certification as a spiritual director and life coach, which will be in addition to my editing work. I don't know the pros and cons of the latter yet, the freelance editing has some. The pros are the flexibility and not having to deal with others all the time, the ability to work from anywhere, being able to turn down work when needed, and feeling like I'm making a difference in a small way to the advancement of knowledge and people's own learning. The cons are irregular and uncertain pay, procrastination turning deadlines into stress (my own fault, I know, haha), having to keep up with my own tax withholding... I guess it's all mainly financial, really. And if you a big picture person, it would not be good for you.
I can understand that being an INFJ you might feel drawn towards different things , but over the years I have tried to gain clarity and plan step by step that Let me do this in my career for example teaching then go on to coaching , personal development and meanwhile work towards writing then integrate all of that with public speaking . So you can imagine it is a web but not a messy one , a well connected one and I think it is our pile of great things.
This is THE question and struggle in my life. Still. I’m 45 and have what appears to be a really great job on paper, but I’m so stressed out by it.
I am a strategy consultant for a large bank and my work supports and considers the needs of diverse and women owned businesses.
Pros: get to do good with my output, get to think creatively
Cons: needing to talk to many different people all the time, navigating the politics involved, competing priorities, resolving conflicts, tons and tons of follow up on details, being in the “spotlight” and the face of important initiatives
I used to manage and coach people and preferred that work, but over the years was encouraged to “stretch myself” and take on leadership roles. I feel so vulnerable and alone being “the one” and in the spotlight. Sometimes I wish I were an extrovert because I would be so happy to have those eyes on me. But I’m not.
I am the sole breadwinner for my family, so salary is extremely important. I feel trapped doing this kind of work until I either die from stress related health issues or get the opportunity to retire. That’s extreme and not actually true, but it FEELS true.
If asked the question, “what would you do if you won the lottery?” I would say I would quit immediately from my job, would rest and recover from 20+ years of corporate life for a year, home school my son, travel, earn several degrees just because, learn how to play bass guitar, pick up playing piano again, perfect my Mexican food skills…and So on. Actually live my life.
I’m not seeing much there in the way of replacing my corporate income unfortunately. So I remain where I am, doing my best to navigate the extroverted world in which I operate.
I have several different jobs/careers... Digital marketing manager - Idk if it's my purpose, but it's a lot of fun. It's fun because marketing, especially email and social media, are constantly changing, so there's always something to learn. It almost feels like a game that you're constantly figuring out.
Graphic design - I love the creative aspect of this and it works well with marketing.
Podcasting - While podcasting is fun most of the time, it's also really challenging for me. I don't like being on video or even audio really, but I know that it helps people to share my experience, so I push myself to do it. Plus, I love meeting other INFJs and knowing that I can help.
Writing - I really feel like this is my purpose in life. It's a personal growth process to process what you're going through and share it with others. Plus it's constant motivation to keep improving.