[INFJ] The Never-Ending Career/Major Dilemma

[fyrefly]

To get straight to the point, for the past two and a half years, I've been unable to pick a major and stick to it. I have a lot of interests, but nothing I'm really passionate about that also offers good career potential.

My list of past majors consists of:
Psychology
Political Science/Pre-Law
Japanese
International Studies
Biology/Pre-Med
Marketing
Elementary Education (Science and English)
Art (Photography)
Art Education
Anthropology

Everything I look up about my INFJ personality type suggests something along the lines of psychology, teaching, or art. Problem is, I don't particularly enjoy helping people. I don't like volunteer work, and in the past couple of years, I've become incredibly irritated by the petty problems people seem to have, unless they're someone close to me, and I have therefore completely eliminated psychology from the list. I absolutely hate teaching and training; I have no patience for it, and I get frustrated when they don't understand. It isn't fair of me to become a teacher and get frustrated at the students for something that's my own issue, so I have eliminated education in all forms (from elementary to the collegiate level). While becoming an artist (particularly a photographer) would be fun, I feel like I'm too lazy and not disciplined enough to take the number of photos I would need and market myself and my photography in order to actually be profitable.

The current majors I'm considering are: International Studies (in which I would become a translator, though the freelance work I would do is worrisome); Geology (specifically paleoecology and paleobiology, but the career prospects aren't very good, and I can't really picture myself being able to work at dig sites for extended periods of time); Biology (I have no idea what I would do career-wise with this, but I know I wouldn't be Pre-Med because I don't have the grades or volunteer work for it, and I am very sensitive to death and the idea of death); Physics/Astronomy (I would adore becoming an astronomer, and I'm great at physics, but awful at stand-alone math).

The only life goal I have at the moment is to travel. I don't know if I want to travel full-time or take long trips abroad to see the world. But I don't want to be anything like a travel agent (awful career choice nowadays, really) or a flight attendant (I'm done with the customer service industry after college, honestly).

I know that no one can just up and say, "Ya know fyrefly, ______ is the perfect career for you!" and it will all work out. But if anyone can offer me advice on how compatible these careers may be with an INFJ, or their experience with any of these fields, or possibly a different field I haven't listed. Any and all advice is great, because I am completely at a loss. Thank you all so much!

 

[sassafras]

I'm going to tell you something that I wish someone told me seven years ago. You don't "find" passion. You cultivate it. There is no such thing as the 'right' career for you and there's no destiny or personality theory litmus test involved in the process. You can find something you love in every single one of those choices, just as you'll find something you'll hate in each. No job is perfect. What it all comes down to is which one of these careers is going to give you the practical means to lead the lifestyle you want. Start with the basic parameters. Consider the salary you'd like to make (how much money would you need per year to be comfortable?), the amount of hours you'd work, the training it'd take, the environment you'd work in, or whether or not you'd be comfortable living out in the wilderness for x number of months in a year away from family and friends (such as is the case with field work in geology). Do you want to settle down and have a family one day? How much will your job depend on networking? How much will licensing cost per year? Is there a future in the industry?

At this point you also need to consider all that you know about yourself by now. If you have learned that you're not a self-starter and you can't function without structure or a steady pay-cheque, you're probably not going to do well in a freelance position. If you're not comfortable helping people, as you said, well, you won't be all to happy in a teaching or service position. If you're not a risk-taker/very sensitive to rejection, don't go into sales.

What I would do in your shoes is that I would interview as many people as possible who work in each of those fields. Ask them pro's and con's. Amass a huge list of information and differing perspectives. There is just no substitute for talking to someone who has been there, done that and who has insider knowledge into what it's like to be in the field--but make sure you ask a variety of people so you're not getting just one individual bias.

At the end of the day, however, keep in mind that a job is a job and that's where you have to do a cost-benefit analysis and figure out what sorts of things you can live with and what sorts of things you absolutely cannot compromise. One way or another we all have to work, we all have to pay the bills. I'm not saying that you should go for the job that pays the most... but at the same time, I kind of am. So long as you can marginally stand it, it will at least allow you to enjoy life outside of work.

 

[ThomasJ79]

A long, long time ago, I was a biology/pre-med student. I remember going through something similar to what you described. I had and still have an issue with motivation. I had dreams of becoming a general practitioner and helping people and their families overcome disease and illnesses. I wanted to become that family doctor, move to my hometown and be that doctor everyone knew, trusted, and came to for their needs. However, I spent way too much time in inactivity and pursuing other areas of interest, and as a results my grades were not good enough for for medical college. Now, like you, I could not see myself going out into the world as a "go getter," chasing dreams down and making them happen by sheer force, but something very different did happen. I found I was able to use my degree to get a job as a medical technologist, which I never planned on at all. It just sort of happened. It turned out, the job was in great need where I grew up and I decided to go back there and try to make a difference. You see, that's what matters. Most of us will never be lucky enough to have that dream job, but what you'll find after making it through all of that schooling is that it is what you do to make a difference in the lives of those you care about that makes life so meaningful, both for you and those around you. I work a routine, technical job for a living, and it can be draining at times, but I'm also making a difference by being there to help people. It is behind the scenes, and I don't have a lot of patient contact, but I have just enough to get that extra little bit of socializing. I have contemplated counseling and teaching, but it requires too much extroverting for my liking. Not all INFJs are social butterflies; remember we're still introverts. Besides, I only work 40hrs/wk, so I still get to spend a lot of time with my wife, kids, friends, and family, as well as pursue my art, and other interests. Now, I'm not advocating going into the same profession, but I am advocating finding a job that suits your lifestyle more, or the life you want to lead. Spend time reflecting what you envision your future to be like, how you want people to see you, how you want to help others, and use that as a guide in life. Only you can pick your major, just take your time, maybe something will come along that will help you decide

 

[Faye]

Here are some things to consider since I don't have any good overall advice:

Psychology

-You will almost definitely need advanced study, either a masters degree (i.e. in social work) or a ph.d. to get a job in this area. Unless you're research oriented, you will probably be doing some sort of counseling.

Political Science/Pre-Law

-If you want to go to law school, don't do pre law. Study economics or maybe engineering if you're interested in patent law. Philosophy and math tend to be good for law school as well, but be careful with philosophy as it pidgeonholes you in many respects (I should know- I majored in it). As for political science, consider carefully what it means to work in local/state/federal government, what getting a masters in public adminsitration or especially a ph.d. would be like (and I don't recommend getting a ph.d.). It might be to your advantage to double major in business or something marketable to the HR departments of your local government if you want to work in government, or at least that is my regret now since I am headed in that direction.

Japanese
-Unless you couple this with engineering, finance, or something that will get you hired in japan, you'll probably end up teaching english for a couple/few years until you get tired of that and move on. Japanese is amazing, but I recommend having some sort of plan of what yo uwant to do, how long you want to stay there, etc.. Also, be prepared to work incredibly hard since it is very difficult to learn, and plan to study abroad there and go back after you graduate.

International Studies
-These majors always require a langauge and study abroad experience. The story is similar as with japanese. They're another liberal arts major, so you have to have a plan about what you will do with them.

Biology/Pre-Med
-I don't have any good advice for the long, horribly difficult, and extremely expensive route of becoming a doctor. This is not an easy path to be taken lightly- make sure you look into it well. The same goes for law school or any other expensive post-graduate programs.

Marketing
-This can be pretty solid if you combine the communications aspect of it with business and get solid business credentials, maybe headed toward a marketing oriented MBA. The liberal arts communication discipline is another route (i.e. the study of public relations) that a lot of people take and some seem to make it work. Those people probably end up as PR managers.

Elementary Education (Science and English)
-I'm assuming you mean middle schoolers? The demand for science teachers is high; although, I wouldn't say being an english teach is a bad idea either. I have friends from college who have done it. You have to really take pleasure in teaching and being a teacher I think- because pay will be comparatively low as the years go on, and the demands can be high.

Art (Photography)
-Most photography curriculum have been gutted throughout the country. They take the art out of it and replace it with a hollow tech-oriented focus (i.e. people who don't understand photography and think you can do it all on the computer). Obviously, finding a job as a photographer will be incredibly difficult. Most people I have seen who love photography have majored in either education, business, or similar and done photography on the side.

Art Education
-There is less demand for art teachers than science and English, and I think you really need to enjoy teaching children about art to take this route. I don't have much to say about it though.

Anthropology
-This is another area where people are either stuck with a somewhat worthless degree or head off to graduate school for a ph.d. in anthropology. You have to have a plan and maybe another major or career in mind if this doesn't work out. I know someone with an anthropology degree who is still working at pizza hut.


So there you have my anecdotal opinions on the majors you listed. In general, studying liberal arts of social sciences means you're not very employable when you graduate, so you tend to be stuck headed toward graduate school or reinventing yourself in the business world. Look up The Economist article on getting a ph.d.. And read heavily on law and medical school.

I'm not against people doing what they enjoy. But now I am wishing I had doubled in finance. Most professors don't know or are outdated on their perceptions of the labor market, so you have to go out of your way to find out what it is like.

 

[Solongo]

I recently wrote a thread on this subject. Check it out:
http://www.infjs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26467