Could an INFJ be happy/successful as a physicist?

[Neuropedia]

namely me haha. It's that time of year when I apply to universities and make all sorts of horrible monetary commitments which will dictate the course of my life.

I've taken physics, in high school and I was good at it, and found it to be interesting and challenging. I can be pretty good at using S & T (although I naturally use NF if its an option... like in a social interactions and solving personal problems), and I found math and physics in high school to be someone relaxing and an escape from my normal state of mind

I was wondering if pursuing physics in school full time at an university level, and later as a career would be to ST heavy for an NF such as myself.

(I speculate that if I needed to later I could go on to teach physics if I need to fulfill my F more in my career)

herpederp
I don't expect anyone to make career choices for me, but do you forsee a career in physics to be a viable option for an INFJ type?

 

[kucala]

I think that if you enjoy it and find yourself good at it, then go for it. In this case, I don't think type has so much to do with it as you personally.

 

[rawr]

MBTI while it has some influence, really does not have a ton to do with career choices, it's more about the individual (at least from a holistic aspect.) so, yes.

 

[IndigoSensor]

It's just a matter of what you find interesting. Type has little bearing on what you will be good or bad at. As proof of this, there is pretty much an INFJ on here for every career choice possible. I don't know of anyone on here who is majoring in physics, but I bet someone does that I just don't know about.

I am a chemistry major (in the process of applying to grad school), and that is about as close to physics as you can get. I am an INFJ. I love chemistry and I am quite good at what I do and I am 100% positive I am on the right career path.

Just go into something you like and are good at, that's all there is too it (more or less).

 

[ShIndigo]

Basically what everyone else has said. If you enjoy it, and you're good at it, it seems like it would be an excellent potential course to take. Not many people can find something they like and they're good at.

It might be worthwhile considering whether you can see yourself being happy with doing something somewhat detached from the human touch, for a long time. There could be a difference between doing physics as a single subject, and so it relaxes your mind, and doing something with most of your time in school, at a deeper level. The intensity of it might change your experience of physics.

 

[Norton]

Do what you love. Life is too short to do anything else.

It could be disputed, but I've always thought that Andrei Sakharov was an INFJ. INFJ's are quite capable of being excellent scientists. My wife is one. You should see her slip into her "INTJ mode" during an argument or when doing rounds with residents and other house staff.

 

[Faye]

MBTI shouldn't dictate what you do; what you do should dictate MBTI.

If you like math and physics, then by all means go ahead and study them! It is at least worth a shot.

I've found that taking a class in something is a very sure though difficult way to find out how much I like doing it.

 

[44sunsets]

I don't expect anyone to make career choices for me, but do you forsee a career in physics to be a viable option for an INFJ type?

There's no reason why you couldn't do this. Everyone's different. An INFJ woman I knew was one of the most brilliant maths students in the country. I think the trick is to find something that engages you and sparks your passion.

As you say, later on you might go on to teaching others, which would scratch the INFJ itch/tendency to want to help people.

Or you might end up in a completely different field altogether. No worries, that's life, and a lot of people have to experiment and explore to find the right niche for them. It's part of living, and growing up.

 

[randomsomeone]

Agree with the rest....sound fascinating!!! From an MBTI perspective I find this might come into play in work/team environments and in-career postion decisions, and there are lots of ways to engage in a career and you can surely navigate that as seems best to you as the years progress. The important thing is to love your field of expertise. It really helps if you are naturally good/keyed-into it, too.

 

[enigma]

My thought is this: if you like it,and it makes you happy, you can do any job you want. ANY. We may be infj's but even then we are as diverse in what is 'right' for us as any group of people. Who woul dthink that an emotional, easily drained, often high strung infj (me) would make a good cop? And yet, I excell here. And I love it! So, if you enjoy it, DO it, until it isn't fun anymore, then do something else!

 

[invisible]

Please try to ignore all of the helpful responses on your thread. All INFJs should be in Arts, as I am.

 

[aela]

I don't know much about MBTI, but I was a physicist for a little while and I'm pretty sure I'm an INFJ, so... my answer is yes, as long as you're mindful of your work environment. It's less important as an undergrad, where the focus is on physics as a subject, than in graduate school, where the focus is on physics as a career. I ended up in a place where I didn't like any of the professors I'd be working with, and I was miserable and eventually decided to switch fields. If you're asking about physics just as a subject, yes, it's absolutely possible to be successful and happy there.

 

[Norton]

Please try to ignore all of the helpful responses on your thread. All INFJs should be in Arts, as I am.

Nonsense. INFJ's can do anything that interests them. My INFJ wife is a medical scientist (physician researcher) at a prominent institution, well known in her field and a prolific publisher in peer reviewed journals. I'm sure there are prominent INFJ physicists out there and I'm sure, with their strong intuitions, they're making important contributions. They see things. I also think that mathematical prowess, so important in physics, is unrelated to MBTI.

 

[DevilDoll]

Any type can be in any career field they choose. It's all about what that specific person is good at and what they want to do with their life. If you want a career in physics and you feel it would make you happy, then that is the only thing you need to know. Your MBTI type should have very little, if any, influence on your career choice.

 

[Jorge]

Nonsense. INFJ's can do anything that interests them. My INFJ wife is a medical scientist (physician researcher) at a prominent institution, well known in her field and a prolific publisher in peer reviewed journals. I'm sure there are prominent INFJ physicists out there and I'm sure, with their strong intuitions, they're making important contributions. They see things. I also think that mathematical prowess, so important in physics, is unrelated to MBTI.

I think that was sarcasm from that user... note the word "helpful" .

As I've said before... INFJs have Ni and Ti, the dominant functions of INTJs and INTPs (both known as the 'scientific' types). You will be fine .

 

[Siamese cat]

As someone in a field filled with STs and NTs of all sorts (I'm a control engineer) all I can say that the main difference is in the approach taken while searching for a solution and learning. In my opinion knowing your type could be an advantage, not because you should find a niche that would suit your personality, but because you can comprehend better the ways you function and thus find the approach to learning new things and later working within your field that works best for you.

 

[poshlost]

Please try to ignore all of the helpful responses on your thread. All INFJs should be in Arts, as I am.

That advice would work better for INFPs. While INFJs are inclined to the arts, they are much more driven by being useful. Hence you'd find many thriving in the medical or scientific fields.

 

[GarmGarf]

I'm going to disagree with many people here who are belittling the relevance of personality type with career choices - why embark on a career which drains your mental energy all the time when you can do the opposite?

But, with regards to the OP: the life of Ni dominates is to stare natural law itself right in the eyes. I am a physics major myself (as well as being an INFJ), and on Tuesday I will be giving my own class (as in, my peers) a tutorial in quantum mechanics. Now, I have developed my Ti a lot prior to college, but you should be fine. It may take a little extra time to digest each whole system into that Ni of yours (if you are, in fact, an INFJ), but it pays-off in the end.

Also... ST heavy? I would have thought NT heavy, if anything.

 

[Mogura]

It's an interesting question. With enough interest, aptitude, and passion for a chosen subject, an INFJ could certainly be happy and successful in that (any) field.

However, note that I said "field". Field occupies the space between you and the subject--you own the space.

However, career--as in, "Could an INFJ be happy/successful in a career as X?"--is a whole different animal. In a career, you are surrounding yourself with and submitting to the authority of others with the same interest, aptitude, and passion for that field. You don't own that space (yet).

Now, if those surrounding yourself (co-workers, colleagues, etc.) and those you are submitting to the authority of (bosses, managers, etc.) are of the same or similar type (and values), then you could conceivably thrive and flourish. However, if those same people are of significantly different type (and values), then you may have some challenges ahead of you, and you'll need to draw on your communication skills, as well as your flexibility and adaptability to navigate and surmount those challenges.

That said, if you are the lone NFJ in an uber-STJ environment--or even an uber-NTJ environment--you may soon find that despite good communication, good will, and a healthy dose of flexibility, etc. you'll be dreaming of your eventual escape. This is probably not so much the case if you are an NFJ in an NFJ environment--unless you happen to be an NFJ with a well-developed Ti (or low Fe), and you're trying to get along in a super Fe (or low Ti) environment (e.g., you are the lone INFJ Astrophysicist at a cocktail party with INFJ Astrologers).

So, yeah, if you love physics then go for it. But it probably wouldn't hurt to minor in education or get a teaching cert or to look for other avenues to channel your human connectivity and idealism--just in case...

 

[SillyGoose]

Of course you can. I have an ENFJ friend who is physicist. Its all about passion for some things, not type.