INFJ stands for Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging in the Myers-Briggs universe. It is believed that INFJ personality types make up somewhere around 1-2% of the population. By gender, roughly 2% of women are INFJs while just 1% of men are classified as such. Out of the 16 personality types in Myers-Briggs-speak, INFJ is the very rarest. In this article, we’ll explain the INFJ personality type and then reveal the best careers for INFJ personality types.
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INFJ Meaning
While INFJ technically stands for Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging, but let’s break those terms down and examine how this personality type manifests in real life. INFJs tend to be morally conscious and possess a great deal of empathy for others. Known as “Advocates” folks in this category tend to be altruistic and seek meaning in their work.
INFJ Characters
A useful way of imagining what an INFJ personality truly looks like is by examining some characters from the worlds of fiction, television, or film who exude these types of characteristics. A few classic easy-to-recognize INFJ characters are:
Lisa Simpson from The Simpsons was not born into a family of INFJs…not even close. Instead, Lisa, in the face of indifference (or even outright opposition from Homer, Bart, and corrupt members of the Springfield community), never backs away from a cause she believes in.
Best Careers for INFJ (Continued)
Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series is a quintessential INFJ personality. Throughout the series, he shows tremendous wisdom, empathy, and willingness to put others before himself.
Jon Snow from Game of Thrones maintains his commitment to justice and honesty even in the face of harrowing and deadly challenges. His deep moral purpose and unwavering decency is so very INFJ.
What fields attract INFJs?
Broadly speaking, many INFJs feel at home in workplace setting such as:
- teaching
- counseling
- healthcare
- spiritual leadership
- nonprofit work
Of course, those fields only represent a handful of possibilities for individuals with this make-up. Below we will explore 25 specific careers that can be a fantastic fit for an INFJ.
INFJ Strengths and Weaknesses
It goes without saying that INFJs come in all shapes and sizes and do not all share the exact same positive attributes or challenges. That said, generalizations can be of some use when considering what may set you up for not only career satisfaction but aptitude and success as well.
INFJ Workplace Strengths
- Don’t need much supervision to get the job done.
- Trustworthy and can therefore be given autonomy and important responsibility.
- Creative problem-solvers.
- Not fooled by surface-level impressions – can see through superficiality.
Best Careers for INFJ (Continued)
INFJ Workplace Weaknesses
- Can be very private and not thrive in teamwork-heavy environments.
- Sensitive to criticism can arise in workplace settings.
- May wish to avoid conflict-heavy careers like trial lawyer, politics, or sales.
- Burnout risk due to level of passion and commitment.
For each career presented, we will highlight the following:
- A detailed description of what an individual in that career does on a daily basis.
- Related College Majors: Which academic majors are a good fit for someone seeking to enter this job in the future?
- Related Occupations: What other jobs require similar similar skills and training and may be worthy of your consideration.
- Projected Job Growth: The projected percent of new jobs that the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects will be created (or lost) in the next decade.
- Median Salary: The median salary for those in this profession in the United States.
- Education: The minimum level of education required to enter this profession.
- Employment: How many people in the United States present work in the capacity?
- Projected Job Openings (through 2032): An extension of the projected job growth by percentage, this quantifies the number of projected job openings over the next decade.
