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Michelle Palasek has 20 years in the staffing industry working in sales and marketing operations. She currently serves as a Sr. Marketing Communications Specialist at SGA.

Best Career Paths for Each MBTI Personality Type

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Many employees search for positions that suit them both personally and professionally. While you may know the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) as a personality test, you may not know that you can also use it to help you land your ideal job.

If you’re searching for a way to take your professional life up a notch, learn how you can find the best career by MBTI type and see which path might be right for you.

ENTP: The Innovator

ENTPs want to be experts who offer creative solutions that overcome challenges. They want jobs in which they can take the entrepreneurial approach and avoid routines and limiting expectations. They do well as lawyers, art directors, sales managers, engineers, and analysts.

ENTJ: The Commander

ENTJ personalities are the epitome of strategic leaders. They are rational and analytical thinkers who crave structure, create order, and solve problems. The best MBTI careers for these ambitious goal-setters include business administrators, CEOs, judges, physicians, researchers, real estate agents, and project managers.

ENFP: The Champion

ENFP personalities are creative, inspiring, and intuitive. They enjoy freedom of expression and space for inquiry and imagination in their work. They love encouraging others through roles like HR professional, event planner, copywriter, teacher, musician, mediator, and news reporter.

ENFJ: The Teacher

The ENFJ personality loves cooperation and harmony. They support others through problem-solving, often taking on mentor roles. They want jobs with collective, people-centered missions. Hence, HR specialists, public relations coordinators, nonprofit administrators, customer service representatives, guidance counselors, and training specialists are ideal careers for MBTI types like this.

ESTP: The Dynamo

ESTPs are concrete thinkers who use logical reasoning and a hands-on approach to make difficult decisions. Still, they want fun, adventure, and flexibility in their work. They thrive in roles as project coordinators, investors, detectives, sports coaches, first responders, and marketers.

ESTJ: The Supervisor

Organization is the ESTJ type’s biggest strength. This personality likes control and enforcing the rules. They are hardworking and responsible, and they like structured work with clear expectations, such as that of a manager, insurance agent, auditor, attorney, judge, or coach.

ESFP: The Performer

Those who lead with ESFP are social and spontaneous. They like service-oriented work that engages the five senses and gets tangible results. They crave flexibility, which makes event planning, entertainment, cosmetology, flight attendant, interior design, and special education teacher roles particularly suitable.

ESFJ: The Provider

ESFJs have good interpersonal skills and love working in groups. They are sensitive to others’ needs and want to help people practically. They love structure, organization, and details, which makes them great for roles like HR manager, receptionist, speech pathologist, elementary school teacher, and museum curator.

INTP: The Architect

The INTP personality loves to solve abstract problems by blazing their own trail. They are more concerned with theory than practicality and prefer ideas over implementation. This makes them perfect for MBTI careers as software developers, accountants, professors, writers, or composers.

INTJ: The Mastermind

INTJs are focused on making abstract ideas a reality. They love figuring out complex, logical systems and finding pathways to improvement. As analytical and structured people, they often enjoy working in jobs as executives, financial advisors, editors, astronomers, teachers, photographers, and computer systems analysts.

INFP: The Idealist

INFPs love time alone but also want to help others in roles that match well with their internal value system. They desire individuality and autonomy and do well as UX designers, HR specialists, physical therapists, psychologists, mediators, and creative writers.

INFJ: The Counselor

Those with an INFJ personality desire to work hard toward the greater good of humanity. They are organized and orderly, preferring independent work to group projects. They do well as graphic designers, scientists, psychotherapists, lawyers, social workers, librarians, and customer service managers.

ISTP: The Craftsman

The ISTP personality is motivated by mastery and wants to apply skills they learn to troubleshoot and solve practical problems. They prefer action over planning and suitable careers for MBTI types like this include software developer, engineer (any type), forensic scientist, inspector, carpenter, pilot, and paralegal.

ISTJ: The Inspector

The ISTJ personality is detailed and deadline oriented. They are independent workers who like to follow clear expectations and plans to solve problems. This is why they thrive in positions like financial analyst, chemical engineer, agricultural specialist, business analyst, medical professional, or managerial roles of any kind.

ISFP: The Composer

ISFPs like hands-on work and tangible results. They long to express themselves and participate in causes they care about. They prefer harmony, autonomy, and anonymity. A role as a social media manager, designer, physical or occupational therapist, archeologist, or bookkeeper is perfect.

ISFJ: The Protector

People with the ISFJ personality type want work that allows them to uphold their traditional values of working hard and helping others. They like low-key work and observable results. Ideal careers include research analyst, receptionist, veterinarian, chef, safety officer, teacher, librarian, and financial clerk.

Finding a Fulfilling Role Starts With Knowing Who You Are

While trying to find the best career by MBTI type may not lead you to the perfect position, it can certainly help point you in the right direction. With a lot of careful thought about your wants and needs and a little consideration of your individual personality, it’s possible for you to find a career that excites and engages you.