The Top 10 Best Careers for INFJs
As an INFJ, have you ever felt like your career was draining all the energy and inspiration from you? Today I want to explore some key things INFJs crave in a career as well as what they naturally excel at. I hope that this article will encourage you to go after the career you’ve always wanted – even if others have said it wasn’t “safe” enough or wasn’t traditional enough.
Let’s get started!
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Table of contents
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
What INFJs Want in a Career:
Before we start listing off all the careers your type tends to dominate, we want to explore the reasons why you crave those careers.
1 – Idea Freedom. As an INFJ, you want a career that will let you flex your intuition and create new opportunities, possibilities, and improvements. Feeling caged into a very limited scope of rules and procedures will suffocate you. You need a job that allows you to think outside the box and stretch your imagination.
2 – Ethical Integrity. You want to work somewhere where you really believe in the message of the company. Spending 40 hours a week of your life dedicated to a company that has no valuable impact on the world will exhaust you.
3 – Friendly Environment. If you’re tense about your work relationships you’ll have a hard time concentrating on the tasks you need to accomplish. You need an environment where people are considerate and patient. A little competition can be a good thing (I’m a competitive INFJ), but a harsh/domineering environment can stifle your best work.
4 – Privacy. Open-air office settings are the bane of the INFJ’s existence. In order to focus you need to be able to block out the rest of the world around you. Noise, commotion, and interruptions throw you off your game and it can take a while for you to get your focus back under control. This is why having a private cubicle or office is vital for your productivity (and happiness).
5 – Structure. You want to know what your goals are, what the timelines are, and have a clear idea of the specifics. If the tasks you’re given are vague or constantly-changing this will create a lot of stress for you.
INFJ Career Strengths:
Understanding your unique INFJ skills will help you to make the most of them in the workplace.
1 – Careful Thinking
You aren’t someone who rushes into decisions or judgments rapidly. Yes, you like having closure (you are a Judger, after all) but you want to consider all the perspectives carefully first. People often count on you to carefully and considerately weigh many sources of information before making a decision.
2 – Establishing Rapport
Yes, you’re an introvert. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make good connections with people. Getting in tune with other people’s feelings and needs comes naturally to you (unless you’re in a Ni-Ti loop). Because you’re naturally insightful into human needs and feelings you can create rapport with clients without feeling overbearing.
3 – Creative Problem-Solving
You naturally think outside-the-box when a problem arises. Rather than just sticking with the tried-and-true way, you consider innovative angles and look ahead so that you don’t drown in the frustration of the present difficulty. No obstacle is insurmountable when you’re allowed the time to get creative and intuitively process solutions and alternatives.
4 – Ethical Focus
You have a vision and integrity that inspires people to believe in you and your ideas. You’re usually not driven to a career that gives you cold, hard cash with no impact (like we mentioned previously). Because people know you’re focused on improving the lives of people they’re apt to get fired up by your goals and ideas.
5 – Anticipating Problems/Needs
You have a long-range vision that enables you to predict future needs or roadblocks. In the workplace, this can show up in an ability to create strategic plans, initiatives, and solutions. People learn to count on your perceptiveness and insight into future outcomes.
6 – Concentration
As an INFJ, you like to curb distractions and focus intently on one thing at a time. You’re skilled at single-mindedly pursuing your goals without dabbling in a lot of distractions or side-interests at the same time. People know that if they give you a project and a deadline, you’re going to get it done on time (barring a disaster of some kind).
10 Careers INFJs Excel At:
1 – Counselor or Psychologist
INFJs are over-represented among therapists (per the MBTI® Manual) and it’s not hard to see why. Counseling allows you to use your empathy and insight together in order to help people work through their struggles. You connect well in one-on-one situations and easily draw people’s stories out of them. Your ability to consider multiple perspectives at once can help you to have insights that help people overcome their difficulties.
2 – Teacher
INFJs tend to excel in teaching, especially gravitating towards subjects like art, music, social sciences, or drama. You get fulfillment from helping people learn in unconventional or creative ways. That said, teaching can also be a fulfilling but exhausting job for you if you don’t get enough alone time after your job is done.
3 – Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship offers you the independence and creative freedom you’ve always craved. I know literally dozens of INFJ entrepreneurs who are happier than ever going after their true dreams. Entrepreneurship takes a lot of work and dedication, but with the ability to make your own hours and set your own course, you can make great things happen. Whether this means starting a blog, opening up a shop, or selling art online, entrepreneurship challenges you to put your best skills to work. You can find out more about INFJ entrepreneurship here.
4 – Religious Worker
INFJs are over-represented among religious workers (per the MBTI® Manual) and it’s not difficult to see why. You are naturally fascinated by the spiritual world and can be gifted at presenting these worlds to others in a patient, empathetic way. You are less likely to seem authoritative or pushy than many other types, gently guiding others to forge their own path into the spiritual sphere. Not all INFJs are spiritual, but if you are, this is an area where you could make a really positive impact.
5 – Artist
Whether you’re painting a portrait or jotting down a poem, INFJs like you are often drawn towards artistic expression. You bring concepts, poetry, and symbolism to life in your work and can help people to glimpse something meaningful and otherworldly in your creations.
Related: Which Famous Artist Has Your Myers-Briggs® Personality Type.
6 – Writer
Being a writer enables you to express yourself in a personal way, to get your feelings, ideas, and insights out in the world. Many INFJs clear their heads through writing and find it extremely therapeutic and enlightening. Dante Alighieri is an INFJ and J.K. Rowling has also stated that she is an INFJ!
7 – Social Worker
Being a social worker enables you to be with people and help them during their toughest times. While this isn’t an “easy” career, what it lacks in ease it makes up for in meaning. Making a difference in the lives of children, people with disabilities and people with addictions is trying work but it’s also the stuff that makes your life count in the grand scheme of things. Just take time for rest, recovery, and self-care when you come home!
8 – Librarian
If a whiff of leather binding, paper, and ink, gives you a feeling of nostalgia and exhilaration, then maybe being a librarian is the job for you. As an INFJ you love the magic of the literary world and the freedom it gives you (and others) to explore new ideas, fantasies, and perspectives. It’s only natural that you’d love a 9-5 job being surrounded by hundreds of books. After all, the average INFJ reads 67 books per year!
9 – Marketer
Insight into human desires? Check. Strategic, long-range vision? Check. If you’re an INFJ and you’ve worked on your Intuitive and Feeling sides, you can develop a tremendous skill in marketing. You naturally think ahead and imagine how things will affect people. You’re also creative, which means you can come up with long-range, effective marketing efforts that will actually be compelling and one-of-a-kind.
10 – Sociologist
As an INFJ you are keenly interested in people and all the “why’s” behind their actions. A career as a sociologist would make use of all your mental strengths as you study patterns in human behavior. You would be able to analyze the activity of social, religious, political, and economic groups and understand how that impacts humanity on a larger scale. With your interest in people and the big picture and patterns, this career choice is a natural choice for many INFJs.
Get Your INFJ T-Shirt!What About You?
What is your career and what do you love/hate about it? Share your thoughts with other readers in the comments!
Find out more about your personality type in our eBooks, Discovering You: Unlocking the Power of Personality Type, The INFJ – Understanding the Mystic, The INFP – Understanding the Dreamer, and The INTJ – Understanding the Strategist. You can also connect with me via Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter!
I know it’s not listed as a career but I found “bartending” a good fit as a male INFJ.
Involves a lot of what you wrote: creativity, laser focusing of an introvert on drinks and cleaningness, natural ability to put people in a good mood in our extrovert mode, sensing when someone is down and being a counselor, calibrating to a variety of different personalitie, and unlike being a waiter or waitress you do have some power to walk away from others, small talk, and it won’t affect your tip, making $75 to $100 an hour… it’s not too bad.
And if you’re lucky, like me you get to work at avant-garde artsy nightclub which does creative entertainment and serves A-list celebrities.
I love your perspective on this! Such a good recommendation, thank you!
Growing up I wanted to be a counselor because I wanted to help others. I have my Bachelor’s in Psychology. However, I ended up racking up too much debt, and cannot afford a Master’s, so I became a teacher. I was hesitant at first, but I’ve always loved being in an academic environment, learning new things, and I’ve always loved helping kids too. It can be exhausting at times (especially this year due to Covid), but I really enjoy my job.
Amazing post!
I’m a 4 wing 5 INFJ. I’m really interested in the Arts and looking forward to pursuing a career in it.
I have a BA in English and Psychology and and MAR in Christian Doctrine. My favorite class was sociology, but the single sociology professor was such that I choose psych instead. I have always been extremely interested in the intersection of those fields. What do the fiction books and movies we watch communicate about trauma, culture, and religion?
I have been a missionary for years, but the sexism in the field has made it impossible to utilize my gifts in a healthy way, and I am also disturbed by a number of subtle and open doctrines which are spiritually abusive. I have begun doing a lot of writing specifically on abuse/oppression/social justice issues as well as taking apart unhealthy doctrines and other social tenets expressed in various media, examining them and their impacts critically.
I think as an INFJ, I can thrive as long as I am in a field where I can speak up about problems and offer solutions. That has always been where I have thrived. I actually hate teaching, but I like tutoring, where someone comes to you with something they just aren’t getting, and you have to figure out how best to teach it to the individual in front of you. My brain goes in high gear when I’m helping someone understand something.
I also think as an INFJ that practical philosophy would be a great field if there was such, for example if companies would hire a practical philosopher to consider the implications of their policies. I am very philosophical in a practical way. I have to be able to look at the philosophical or theological underpinnings of any social group or organization and understand how the philosophical/theological belief plays out in real life. It is interesting because so many of our stated beliefs are belied by our actions or consistently produce the opposite results.
I have often been in spaces, such as churches or political parties, where people cling dogmatically to doctrines or tenets which are actually producing the opposite of the intended result. That is so bizarre to me. Why wouldn’t you examine the results to see if it is working? Examining your beliefs just seems the most natural thing in the world.
I have been trained in the military as a counselor as part of my duties (back in the 90s), and I left that career to be an escort for gay men in Montreal, which has been my work for over 2 decades now. This switch allowed me to have more time for myself to pursue my own interests.
During this time, I have played the role of a psychedelic Trip-Sitter for the gay community, which enabled me to help them integrate their experiences into understanding their traumas that cause their unsolved physical symptoms. I find this career very rewarding, however it is so unconventional that many family and friends are worried that I may talk about my work openly in public settings, and that I will embarrass them. While this upsetting situation allows me to confront them on their beliefs, it also helps me avoid unwanted social invitations.
I want to mention that I really appreciate your blog posts and newsletter, keep up the good work!
I’d love to know if there is any engineering/IT field we INFJs can work in.
I am an INFJ, and my job is Software Engineer. Of all the sectors, manufacturing was the one that felt the best. Writing software that makes others’ jobs easier feels incredible and I’ve found a lot of manufacturers are in need of new internal software. Look for a company that has a smaller office staff so you can get more autonomy(Trust me this is HUGE). AVOID big tech companies like Google, Twitter, ECT. Not only will the work feel shallow, you will hate the bureaucracy that comes with a big company
I have an undergrad degree in art and went back for an MBA after I entered the workforce. I’ve worked in Human Resources for the last decade, and enjoy the parts of the job that allow me to have a hand in making policies, processes, and systems to create better experiences for employees. This has allowed me to make a decent living, sometimes helping people and companies.
However, I often find the work feeling increasingly purposeless, as actions of any publicly traded company are at the mercy of the stock market. I spend more of my day than I’d like answering questions people could find answers to on their own, or listening to people complain about things I have zero influence over.
I stumbled across this because I’m thinking about going back to school to be a therapist. I’d rather my job be all about helping people than companies.
Thank you Susan for yet another valuable article. I have rolled through the first 6 throughout my life. Only once trying an office job, which numbed my brain horribly, lol. I am currently a professional artist, but am transitioning my primary focus back into spiritual counseling and healing work. Teaching, counseling, writing, fantasy art, it all works together for me. I love seeing this as part of a pattern as described here, I thought I was just mismashing because I couldn’t make up my mind! So so valuable, thank you!