The tertiary function in Myers-Briggs type theory is a tricky function. It has rightly been called “tertiary temptation” because it tempts you sweetly out of your main ego orientation, which is the dominant function. The tertiary function is a function that we have facility with but it is called the tertiary function for a reason, because it should be considered third in priority in the economy of our personality type. It actually shouldn’t be considered at all because it will come as a natural by-product of using our best and easiest functions, the dominant and auxiliary functions.
So, for an INFJ, which is using introverted intuition as a dominant function and extraverted feeling as an auxiliary function, there is a temptation in the introverted thinking tertiary function for them to bypass their auxiliary function in order to stay locked into introversion.
You should develop the dominant and auxiliary functions of your type before you focus on any of the other functions. The tertiary is tricky and it is best to exclude serious activities or professions related to it as a rule. The tertiary is like the hobbyist function, the amateur, it is what you like to do to stimulate yourself and to grow as a person.
The mistake many people make is to pursue what the tertiary function symbolizes outright. It tempts many INFJs into thinking they could be professional computer programmers for example. It is because of their introverted thinking tertiary that they may begin to become interested in machines and how they work and this is where there tertiary is pulling them off course. It is pulling them towards their inferior function of extraverted sensation. As a rule, there is a great fascination with the inferior function but unlike the tertiary, it is something that we feel we are not able to be, and this is true. But, through the use of the tertiary we may be tempted closer and closer, and by subtle degrees, toward the things of the inferior function. This wouldn’t be so bad if we were already very well-balanced individuals who were using our dominant and auxiliary functions on a consistent basis. But most people aren’t.
If you want to be a happy person, then do your first two functions. It is as simple as that. I will use the INFJ as an example. INFJs are naturally good at writing and anything to do with the comprehension of literary elements. I would call this a facility with language and the understanding and communication in a language. INFJs are also natural-born psychologists, having the ability to understand other people’s characters and motivations extremely easily. They would have to make an effort to not be good at these things.
The problem that INFJs have is that they are attracted to the prospect of being intellectuals in the cold and austere way that an INTJ is naturally good at. INFJs are attracted to the idea of sitting in some remote corner in isolation and figuring out how the world works.
The thing that they wish to bypass is their extraverted feeling, which would entail going out into the world, or at the very least, including the human element in their investigations. INFJs are humanists by nature and they have a natural bent towards humanistic subjects and themes, such as we see in drama and literature. But, INFJs are tempted by their introverted thinking into dealing with things rather than people. This won’t work for them. They are tempted into an objective and impartial analysis of situations and people. Many INFJs begin to feel that they are introverted thinking dominant types the more they travel this road. However, as a rule, this will lead to their disintegration and downfall. They are not built to be cold and remote philosophers. They are not INTJs.
INFJs are people that need people, in one way or another. They wish to escape this but it is not in the cards for them. INFJs cannot ignore their feeling preference. Another way to say it is that they are tempted to be scientists when they are really artists.
Now, it is tricky because INFJs do have some facility with the theoretical aspects of science because of their dominant introverted intuition when paired with their tertiary introverted thinking. This is the “pure theory” combination par excellence. The problem is that the sciences as a rule tend to ignore the human element of their investigations, that is, the feeling element.
INFJs have a real gift for human expression, probably more so than any other type. The reason for this is because of their auxiliary function of extraverted feeling. The auxiliary function is like a present waiting to be unwrapped. In some ways, the auxiliary function is the greatest gift of any given type. The primary reason for this is because you can do something with it. You can produce a product with it. The dominant function is more of an ego-orientation function such that it is too busy keeping things together for it to directly do anything. It is like the operating system in a computer. It is scheduling processes and making sure other processes don’t step on other ones and making sure things that are scheduled to happen get done on time. Another way to put it is that the dominant process is an ingoing and receptive process while the auxiliary is an outgoing and transmitting process. This is true even for extravert dominant types.
Anyway, the INFJ with their extraverted feeling will have the spotlight for anything related to this function and will do it better than any other type, when combined with their dominant. This means they are excellent at transmitting in human terms the information that they are receiving via their introverted intuition dominant function. Much of this information is abstruse and difficult to understand, even to themselves.
But, magic happens when an INFJ chooses to express themselves through an extraverted feeling medium. This would be writing, image-making, music, and in short, anything that is artistic. Conversely, the moment the INFJ starts thinking, “Hey, maybe I could systematize these abstruse thoughts into a closed system or philosophy of some sort”, they are on the road to ruin.
Now, this systematization can happen for them but it will only happen as a byproduct of doing the activities that are most natural to them. If they go directly for the closed system they are going to get stuck and become very unhappy. It is tricky because it does feel good at first. The tertiary is like a dessert or a delectation. It is meant to be used sparingly and as a fitting end to some main course. Pink Floyd said it best, “How can you have any pudding if you don’t eat your meat?” You can have your tertiary function but you must eat your main course first. You see how that works?
Another way the slippery tertiary function will come into play with INFJs is in their beloved writing itself. Here they will become obsessed with the most perfect expression of what they are trying to say in the form of getting stuck on one word. This is an introverted thinking thing to a large extent. Introverted thinking is very concerned with proper definition of terms. And so a struggle will ensue between extraverted feeling and introverted thinking. Extraverted feeling needs to flow in expression and achieves the exact opposite effect in its writing than the introverted thinking style of writing, Extraverted feeling paints an overall picture or atmosphere with the words they use that convey in their entirety the thing that the INFJ wants to express.
There is something elusive in this way of communicating because you may not be able to point to any one term, phrase, or paragraph that is responsible for the magic. There will be some subjective element there that can’t be adequately reduced into its constituent parts. But with introverted thinking stepping in, there will be the temptation to do this. This can only be done as an afterthought with INFJs. It will come of its own accord when they have done their extraverted feeling duties.
The introverted thinking style of writing is akin to legal writing, where all terms and conditions are rigorously defined. INFJs will get hung up on the proper definitions of the terms they are using but they are advised to keep rolling forth. The only requirement that extraverted feeling has is for fluidity and flow. It wants to be prolific. If you are an INFJ, let it. Let the thing that you want to express emerge. Don’t give in to the introverted thinking temptation to block the flow because of a hang-up it is having about the veracity of a particular term. It is a recipe for disaster.
Disaster for an INFJ is to let the search for an absolute and objective truth impede their emotional flow. Many INFJs have not turned on their emotional flow to begin with. But, they should and they must. Once they do they will be happy and see how easy it was for them to be happy, which they couldn’t see when they were caught in the immense abstruseness of their tertiary introverted thinking paired with their dominant introverted intuition. If INFJs get locked into that loop, it is like being promised heaven, but always ending up in hell.
It will feel superficial at first if you are not used to this type of expression and you will probably want to abandon it in favor of your introverted refuge in an ivory tower . You will feel like you are missing great expanses of information in your communication and that you have glossed over important facts, points and considerations. But, that is okay. Extraverted Feeling is supposed to be superficial. All extraversion is superficial relative to introversion. However, this is where the balance is necessary for those INFJs locked into their double introverted function loop.
It will feel good to use extraverted feeling but you may distrust this as you have been accustomed to the belief that anything worth attaining entails suffering and extreme complexity. However, you are unlikely to attain anything at all if you are locked in this loop. It is like the carrot leading the donkey forward. There is the promise but never do you get closer to what it is that you wish to attain. The only way out of this debacle is to use extraverted feeling. It is that simple.
If you need help with any of the INFJ issues outlined in this article, consider consulting with me. I have been helping INFJ’s since 2015 find their way in a world not made for them.
Thank you for you! These articles and links can strip one land-locked lass like myself down and put in place a connector to the sea again. I guess feeling guilty really isn’t necessary. It seems like it can kill someone eventually. Actually, I think it does in some cases. And fighting hard to just be myself is not the way. As you have indicated, it is just the opposite that must be done. As I read, I recalled the comments I received from others in the past and incidences where I have chosen to hold my breath in regards to the sheer belief that it was not right in some way flashed through my mind. After some practice, it is clear that expression is the way. I know there is not enough time to care. I just didn’t know how to stop caring after a traumatic time. And you have said it simply enough: Fe. And warning about the “tertiary temptation” has saved me a few trips to “hell.” Thanks again.
I’m glad that you have found this article helpful. Thank you very much for your long and detailed reply. It inspires me to continue writing. And yes, feeling guilty on a continual basis is self-destructive. The antidote for it in an INFJ is through extroverted feeling expression. Draw a picture of your guilt. Write a poem or story about it. Sing of it. Just don’t sit there and let it eat you up. INFJs can turn their scars into stars when they find a way to approximate and express what they are feeling. Also, if you spend a lot of time alone, then find people, or even a person, that you can express with or to. I know it is hard when you get landlocked to see that there is still an ocean out there that requires your participation in its mystique.
Hello !
That are very interesting Topics you have on this site!
I have a strong Feeling that i am an INFJ but i almost always come out
as an INFP on the test, and somtimes as INFJ . How this whole thing
relates to Astrology ? . Could i find out my Cognitive Functions with a look at my
Birth horoscope ?? And when yes, how? It would be very nice, if someone could
help me. Im confused and really try to figure out my type!
Sorry if my english is not that good , im from Germany !!
Hello lilly,
I’m glad that you find the site interesting. It is very common for there to be confusion in people whether they are an INFJ or INFP. Since you left a comment about this I will make my next article about this topic to clear up some of the differences between INFJ and INFP. The best way I can sum it up here is that they are similar in a general sense, and very different in the specific sense. They both belong to the Romantic Class of temperaments, as do the other two Intuitive Feeling types, the ENFP and the ENFJ. So, all four of these temperament types are similar in the general sense but quite distinct in the particular sense.
How temperament relates to astrology will be in a series of articles that I will write, but suffice to say that this is really why this site exists in the general sense, to relate Myers-Briggs types and astrology. Look out for those articles.
You cannot find your cognitive functions by looking at the birth chart, which is one of the primary things I wish to address and clear up, as some astrologers have attempted to do this in the past with unconvincing results. But, that is a very good question that you asked. It is exactly the thing I am trying to address with this site. You cannot find find your temperament in the birth chart but there is a very important relationship between temperament and the astrological birth chart.
I could help you find out your type by talking to you via Skype and/or seeing some pictures of you, or even better, videos where you are talking and gesticulating, however I am not currently offering any services in this regard. I type people on a physiological basis on the principle that function follows form. INFJs and INFPs are easy to distinguish between in this way. I’ll describe some of this in the article that I will write to help you and others who are having this particular problem.
Don’t be sorry about your English. It is better than my German, I’ll tell you that.
Thought-provoking as usual, which makes for another great post.
I’m really interested in hearing about your take on “unhealthy” and “healthy” INFJs though. Is this primarily based on the “level of happiness or satisfaction” of a person? On whether he/she is making the most out of his/her dominant and auxillary functions WHICH THEN leads to a certain brand of contentment?
I agree that taking refuge in my ivory tower and refusing to get out certainly take a toll on me sometimes that eventually I’m propelled to seek out any form of human interaction to “feel better”. Or I write (btw, I can totally relate to diligently looking up definitions and assessing whether I’m headed towards the right direction that, in the end, editing and fixing ate up all my time when I could have used it to write instead ahahaha ahaha ha). Anyhow, I guess what I’m trying to say is what if I want to tap into this tertiary temptation? How would I know if it’s the perfect time to move past the auxillary and welcome the dreaded Ti?
I apologize for the barrage of questions, but I can’t seem to come up with a decent conclusion on my own.
Yes, the tertiary introverted thinking function is a doozy for INFJs. To answer the last question you asked, you will not likely know when there is a time to move past the auxiliary of extraverted feeling and into into the tertiary of introverted thinking. My take on it is like this: Avoid the tertiary function at all costs because it is something incidental rather than intentional. The tertiary function will come naturally as a result of pursuing the mode of the auxiliary function. Why? Because these two functions are opposed to each other, exact opposites. Picture it like this. When you flip a coin, only one side can be up at any given time. It is physically impossible for a coin to come up heads and tails at the same time. In an “unhealthy” INFJ there is often a bypassing of the auxiliary in favor of the tertiary. This is true for any type.
I don’t necessarily know why many people of different types tend to bypass the auxiliary in favor of the tertiary but one hypothesis is that the dominant introverted intuition has a strong desire to stay introverted but wants a balance in a judging function to see if it is making sense. So, it opts for the introverted form of judgment of introverted thinking rather than the extraverted form of judgment of extraverted feeling. What the INFJ thinks this is going to provide is some kind of absolute and fixed truth about the flood of perceptions that they are having via their dominant introverted intuition. However, like the proverbial carrot in front of the donkey, it only provides the promise of that and in the meantime it exhausts the INFJ because they never feel like they are getting the kind of closure they need. That is why it is called a loop. The INFJ just keeps reiterating back over the same perceptions again and again. Introverted thinking promises them that “perfect” closed definition or closed system that will finally and elegantly sum up all those crazy flooding perceptions that they have.
BUT, the best thing to do is fully and heartily engage the opposite function to introverted thinking, the extraverted feeling. It is the exact antidote to that problem you were discussing of diligently looking up definitions and editing and reediting until you are at nerve’s end. Like it or not, INFJs aren’t really meant to be that precise in their communication as a main goal. Here in the West, we are usually taught to do things, like writing, in a thinking function way, especially extraverted thinking ways, the latter of which is extremely difficult for INFJs.
In a nutshell, INFJs have a fine measure of introverted thinking at their disposal. The caveat is that it comes as a byproduct of the use of the extraverted feeling function, which is all about expressiveness and flow. INFJs are very expressive and have a way with words but it is not likely to be the precise and formally neat way that they would exactly like. So, basically what INFJs need to do is to flow. What this means as applied to the example of writing is instead of focusing on planning and execution and the right words, just say what you have to say about whatever you are trying to talk about. As you open up the flow and the expressive feeling nature of the INFJ, the right words will naturally come of their own accord. Of course it will take practice, which means getting used to the feeling of what flow is, but that is the very thing for an INFJ, they have to pay attention to the feeling of what they are doing. Does it feel good? Alright, then keep on doing it. Does it feel bad? Are you blocking and getting stuck? Then you are doing something wrong. The only prerequisite of extraverted feeling is flow and feeling good, even if what you are expressing is painful, which it often is for INFJs, but the flow heals the pain. INFJs need to express. Expression is an extraverted thing. It has nothing to do with introverted thinking.
In a further nutshell: Introverted thinking will come naturally and incidentally as a resultant of using the auxiliary. Don’t bypass the auxiliary in favor of the tertiary or you are headed to a hell of sweet promises. INFJs often perfect things by means of introverted thinking. It gives their works that touch or accent of elegance and clarity. But, stay away from it if you are having problems getting stuck in it. It will be difficult if you are in the habit of overusing the tertiary introverted thinking (which many INFJs are)because all problems will attempt to be solved analytically. Introverted intuition with introverted thinking is an extreme machine of thought and analysis. Together, without any outside (extraverted) stimulus they will either fly too high or go too deep. And unless you engage an extraverted function, you will not be able to tell where you went wrong.
But, you will begin to tell by a FEELING, a very simple FEELING, a very alien thing to NiTi complexity, a very simple FEELING. Ask yourself, does it feel good? The tertiary is tricky and tempting for a good reason. It does feel good. But it feels good in a kinda sick way, like when you are overdosing on a sweet. You take one too many cookies from the cookie jar, that type of thing. It feels good at first and in small amounts. It is not the main course. To get a proper context on the tertiary function, the auxiliary function is like the main course, the dominant function is like the plate the main course sits on and the tertiary is like the dessert that follows the hearty meal.
If you need any more clarity on this let me know. Don’t apologize for asking questions. Asking questions is good and if I can help in some way, I’m more than happy to. That’s why I’m around.
Thank you Blake for these amazing articles you have written. I’ve been studying the MBTI for the past six months and I’ve been frustrated with some of the overly positive descriptions of the types (while I know we all have a dark side, too) and with the fact that few sites really explain the functions beyond the obvious(?) “Ni is the abstract perception in the inner world of thoughts and emotions.” Today I have learned so much more — thanks to you — that I feel I’ve gained a new level of understanding of the functions and their relations. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
As for Tertiary temptation, here’s what I figured out: I graduated as a translator years ago, went to study it because I loved languages and writing, but then I never really fell in love with translating and only had one job as a translator since then. In fact, I mostly felt translating is too detail-oriented, too structured with no room for me to express myself in any way. More than anything, translator is just a mechanical tool you use; its outcome it analogical to a cleaner’s work: you only notice the mistakes, while a proficient outcome is so fluent you won’t notice it. My point: I think translating requires too much Ti, and thus doesn’t make me feel good. Translation is never finished, it can be improved eternally… you can tweak and proofread it for ages, and with my personality type (INFJ), no thank you.
Blake, I think you just answered my question of why on earth don’t I like translating even though I know I could never survive without writing. It has haunted me for years, I think I just found peace. Thank you. 🙂
Yes, I think that description you gave of loving languages yet finding translating too mechanical is a wonderful instance and description of tertiary introverted thinking in INFJ. Generally speaking, anything that involves too much analysis, even if it is abstract analysis, is deadening to an INFJ. Though it often doesn’t start that way. And like you said, anything that is “too detail-oriented, too structured, with no room for me to express yourself in any way” would be a dead-end for an INFJ. INFJs are creators and expressors. And THEY MUST have work that is in accord with this capacity of theirs. EVEN IF, that work involves following the proverbial road less traveled. As a matter of fact, I would say in most instances, INFJs will have to take this road as their main road. Why? Because creation involves bringing something new into the world, and as such, there are no roads for it as yet. They have to make their own road. More so than most types, and, in one way or another. That is just the INFJ lot in life. They different, you know.
How should they go about bringing something new into the world?
Expression via the feelings. NOT through their tertiary introverted thinking. I repeat, NOT through their tertiary introverted thinking. Far too many INFJs get caught in this trap. It is a subtle and tempting thing. Which is why it is so dangerous.
Suggestion: A good exercise for any INFJ will be to do some stream-of-consciousness writing three times a week. Try doing it when you are fresh, right after you wake up. This is an exercise from the book, The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron. In one way or another, INFJs are artists. They have the artist’s soul. Even if they don’t necessarily practice a fine art or pursue art profession-wise, they will massively benefit from expressing themselves without analysis or thinking. It is a really good exercise for them to get into. The results it can yield for someone of this type in particular are massive.
And the thing with the tertiary is that it is really hard to know when you are getting into it. It is tricky by nature.
The good news is that INFJ’s beloved tertiary introverted thinking will manifest naturally as a byproduct of them pursuing their auxiliary extraverted feeling. So flow and be willing not to know. That is the secret. It is more difficult than it might sound. Especially if an INFJ is in the habit of using their tertiary a lot. Which is why I recommended three pages of stream-of-consciousness writing as the exact antidote to this. Your tertiary introverted thinking will balk at this and come up with a 1,001 reasons why that is too simple, too uncomplex, and not worthwhile to do. No, the solution lies in further analysis, getting a little closer to that closed system that will explain all your problems, dilemmas, and existential quandaries once and for all.
Well, that tertiary is an endless well. You will never be sated. Understand?
Hello,
This is the third article I’ve read regarding INFJ s that you have written. I found this one particularly interesting as I am currently studying Biology and plan to obtain an Associates of applied science degree since I am already 32 and have 4 children to care for while attending school. I don’t feel I am particularly gifted in artistic expression with the exception of dancing on a moderate level. I am drawn to research, specifically psychological. I wonder if this sounds like an area where I am allowing my tertiary function to supercede the primary. I feel utterly lost while trying to find a career that can support a family. Thank you for any insight you are willing to offer.
4 Kids! Jesus! You hear that all you twenty-somethings? If you think you got problems now, you don’t.
Anyway, my heart goes out to you poor woman with four kids to support. First of all, I don’t know if you are an INFJ, so take any advice that I offer in that spirit. If you are drawn to psychological research, then I would advise you to pursue it. I don’t know how much income potential that has but aside from the question of the tertiary function, if this is a field that you feel an energy around and is something that calls you (or draws you), I’d say go ahead and pursue it.
I feel for you when you say that you feel utterly lost trying to find a career that can support a family. That is difficult, especially if you are an INFJ.
The thing is if you are an INFJ, then you might be getting lost in analysis paralysis, and that is due to the tertiary Ti in combination with the Ni dominant. I don’t know if this is true in your case without consulting with you in some manner.
If you aren’t gifted in artistic expression or don’t feel a strong bent towards it, don’t pursue it. INFJs are typically naturally gifted at and drawn to psychology as a pursuit. It basically sounds like you need some advice with the career.
What are your motives for pursuing psychological research? Is it a good money field or where your interests lie or both? What can you do with this associates degree? Do you not like biology anymore? Are you planning to transfer to a 4 year university?
All I can say is that if you are an INFJ watch out for the tertiary pull towards introverted thinking matters. Those would be sciences, technical matters, math-based things, professions involving things and information over people. Actually, those last two in combination describe the INFJ aptitude very well; people and information. If you combine people with information, an INFJ is happy. Just don’t let it drift too far from people or humanistic things. That is more what I was talking about with the tertiary. For example, computer programmer would be out for an INFJ. I would advise against that for someone I had assessed as an INFJ.
So, psychological research is based on people and deals with information related to people. Check and check. What am I saying? Psychological research is INFJ’s raison d’ etre! Of course you should pursue it with these two caveats in mind:
a. that you are actually an INFJ. Feel certain that you are.
b. since I don’t know what the monetary potential of this field is I couldn’t advice you if it is something that you could support four kids on. But, I think that is secondary (yes, I really do).
My whole-hearted advice is to find a field of endeavor that you really resonate with and pursue it regardless of monetary reward. For an INFJ this is particularly true as they seem to be one of the least motivated by money. If you were an ESTP I would say yes, go pursue something financially lucrative because that tends to be their primary interest, making a lot of money. But, INFJs should pursue their muse, whether it is art, psychology, or whatever. Whatever they feel strongly drawn towards. At the very least, it will make you happy and give you that feeling that you are doing something meaningful. INFJs can’t do things that aren’t meaningful to them. Meaning is very important to them.
So, that is my advice. Hope it helps and my heart goes out to you.
This was a great article and describes why I always test as INTP when I take the Myers-Briggs test. I recently discovered I was an INFJ and have been doing a ton of research into it. The problem is I’m trying to figure out what career path I want to take. I’m trying to be realistic at this point because I’ve been out of school for over 4 years and haven’t made any progress. I don’t want to be poor and living pay check to pay check.
With that being said, I’ve been exploring a few options. My dream job has always been to be a travelling photographer/blogger. But the chances of that happening are slim. So I’ve been torn between becoming a User Experience Designer or Nurse. I’ve even thought about becoming a dietitian but there’s not a lot of jobs for dietitians. So here’s my thought process with the other two options:
User Experience Designer: It’s creative, and combines psychology with technology which seems interesting. Studying it in school seems fun, it pays pretty well, and there are jobs. My fear however is being stuck in an office job trying to please clients and stakeholders *bleh*. A lot of technology being developed these days is completely useless and as a UX designer I might get stuck in the whirlwind of the whole tech culture.
Nurse: This career provides some security in that there will always be nurses need (for now at least), it pays pretty well where I live and offers lots of room for advancement – nurse practitioner. I’d get to potentially help people, and I won’t be coped up in an office all day. However I constantly hear it’s a very high stress job, constant interaction with all types of people, long hours, and constant use of Fe. I’m also worried I’m not as fast paced or detailed oriented as I need to be. I do like the flexibility nursing offers though and it’s just a 4 year degree. Sure being a psychologist would be great but I don’t want to spend 8 years in school.
So I’d love your thoughts on it and frankly if you think one may be better suited for INFJs vs the other?
Thanks 🙂
Hi there Amanda. I can’t really give you that much advice without talking you in a more extended manner because I wouldn’t feel comfortable with it. For one reason, I don’t know what your type is. You say you test as an INTP and you think you’re an INFJ, which you may very well be. That is not that uncommon a mistyping, and yes, it would be due to a highly-developed tertiary introverted thinking for INFJ.
That being said, I am going to give you advice assuming you are an INFJ, but understand, this advice is blanket advice for INFJs and I am giving it based on the question you asked regarding career choice and what would be a better fit for an INFJ.
So, for INFJ, any career that involves a lot of interaction with technology and a climate and culture of technology is going to be deadening to them most likely. May be exceptions to this but I’m speaking generally. There are exceptions to every rule. But, that is the rule: INFJs should stay away from tech careers. There may be a draw to them because of the tertiary temptation dealio, but as I have said in this article and some of the comments, INFJs should avoid careers that deal with the combination of things (such as computers, networks, and machines) and information. Information type careers are fine as long as they deal with information regarding people. Psychological research, for example, would be a good fit for an INFJ. Psychology deals with people and research deals with information regarding them. That type of thing.
One exception to the technological culture thing I just mentioned may be in a job like UX designer because as I understand it that job is mostly concerned with how a product feels. And I could see an INFJ excelling here for the reason that this is a technological product focused with the end-user experience in mind. So, people and their feelings. The question is how much other stuff you are going to have to put up with that is besides that primary role, and whether you will be able to do your job effectively without being weighed down with other more pressing imperatives (politics, policies, management, relative hierarchy of a UX designer, companies bottom-line of money etc.). I can’t answer that question for you and to me it would really depend on how strongly you feel about being a designer in a technological environment and culture. That being said, it is relatively hard in today’s world to escape technology and its pressing influence into many domains of life and work. I definitely think many INFJs are artists, creators, and expressors of human sentiments and values at heart. So, I think design work could be a good choice for them, assuming some level of interest.
Nurses are in high demand and I think will continue to be. I don’t see it as being a particularly good fit for an INFJ because of the primary introverted sensation component of the work. And yes, it could stretch one’s powers of extraversion (whatever they may be) to the limits. I think INFJs are excellent at helping people but not primarily in a physical way. The extraverted feeling component of nursing is a good fit for the INFJ setup but I would advise against it in general for an INFJ. You will likely be frustrated at the lack of ability to bring your dominant introverted intuition into play in this field (and trust me, they ain’t gonna let you bring that into play). However, it may be a good option if you want to be traveling nurse. I heard they are in big-time demand and get paid quite a bit. Since you said you want to travel and blog and photograph, that may be a good way to get both some money and your dreams going.
The final thing I’ll say is that if your dream job is to be a traveling photographer/blogger, then find a way to make it happen. Do not treat it as some impractical luxury that you could only afford yourself in an ideal world. There is magic in decision and action. The universe will give you what you want if you start taking action towards what your heart desires. It may be hard (but many things that are worthwhile are) but it will be meaningful. And if you are an INFJ, you can’t live without meaning.
Hi Amanda, Blake
I’ve been reading this blog, but had to write a comment for the first time because I am a User Experience professional. I think it’s a great career for an INFJ, because it is first and foremost about people, not products. (The salary/pay keeps getting better too!) However, I’m finding it very difficult designing in a corporate world with all the politics and designing for the 1%.
The best thing for an INFJ who is a UX professional is to have a high degree of autonomy (freelance, remote work, consulting etc), so you can choose the sorts of projects you can work on, how your time and energy is managed etc but d on’t make the mistake of working on your own for too long, (1 month max, in my case and I start to feel a bit depressed) and yes you can go traveling! (I love travel and have a travel blog as well)
Ultimately, this is my path, design, writing, travel and couldn’t imagine doing anything else. When going into school I did consider Zoology, Dentistry, Psychology and Architecture, but I figure looking back that I might have had to be ISTJ or INTJ to be that specialised in any of these.
Do not ignore your introverted intuition, ignoring will only bring pain. Do what is burning in your heart, really. I can only tell a fellow INFJ this. Bear the costs, do UX, get the money and travel.
All the best.
Antonia
Well, there it is. Out of the mouth of an INFJ UX’er herself.
Thanks for chiming in.
Thanks so much Antonia, I’ve just finished with a degree in design and wondered if design is the right career for me. I love art but I even love design more in the way how it can improve the lives of others and make things easier for people. Now that I know UX design is a good choice for INFJ, I can focus on that and save a lot of time. This is a very precious comment to me, it changes my life. Thanks again.
And thanks to Blake as well. It takes a very very long way to this blog. I thought that I was an INTJ as I expressed many INTJ traits but actually deep inside I still remember how tortured I’ve been just by seeing others suffering since I was a kid. I’ve trained myself to be more efficiently dealing with these feelings anyway, not by neglecting them but accepting them and trying to understand myself better. This blog satisfies and helps me a lot. I don’t know if you’re an INFJ or not but the way you talk about INFJ is deep and thorough. I also like astrology and can see a lot of connection between the two fields. Carl Jung is influenced by astrology also.
Best wishes to two of you 🙂 .
Glad to be of service. Thanks for the wishes.
I am an INFJ who became an RN and it’s something I deeply regret. It looks like it should be a field that involves human interaction, but it is actually a very analytical medical field. Becoming a Doctor would be a job what combines human interaction with medicine- not nursing!
I refuse to ever go back to that job no matter what anybody says. After the first year of nursing in a hospital it became so mechanical I felt like robot. Don’t think you have time to talk or interact with your patients, because they are charts and case studies which you manage from a computer.
I do think Nursing would be a great career for someone who was more analytical and less feeling. It is a very demanding job with very little emotional rewards (the doctor gets all the thanks from the patients).
Before you go through all the effort to become a nurse, try to find a nurse and follow them around for awhile. I don’t think a personality type determines anything absolutely, but for my personality nursing does not mix. I cannot stand being a small cog in a giant machine where I do not think my boss even knows my name. (I really think the only reason any of my bosses ever said my name right was because I wore a name tag).
Hello Blake,
Great site, I find it really interesting! So, I am an INFJ. I was an engineer/scientist and left work to travel and do a master’s abroad (in something unrelated). Now I’m making the decision about whether to return to science, and while I really enjoy figuring out problems and the sciences, I find the atmosphere of just dealing with scientists and engineers all day to be less than inspiring. It’s so narrow. It’s definitely hard leaving stability and a well-paying job, though. Any thoughts on whether one can have a day job in science while also pursuing a bohemian/artist life?
Many INFJs love science. I have generally advised against them making it a professional pursuit but you already have, so, you know what it’s like. You are thinking about returning to that field for the monetary reward and the stability.
An interesting point you bring up is how the culture of science and technology is draining. I think this is more to the point than saying something as general as avoid science at all costs. But, a big part of pursuing a scientific or technical career is that you will be steeped in a culture of science. And it is the culture and not necessarily the pursuit of science that can be draining for someone as innately artistic/romantic as an INFJ.
The thing is that an INFJ, in many cases, is a borderline rational type. An INFJ is capable of thinking logically, rationally, and with emotional detachment for short periods of time. In those moments, they are scientists.
No, the problem for an INFJ in this regard is the matter of the efficiency and power of the introverted thinking function, not it’s qualitative aspect, which in some respects is better than any of the NT types put together, while it is operant. An INFJ is genuinely excited by new discoveries, new information, puzzles, and logic. They also often tend to see science with new eyes, like when a child’s eyes are wide open in wonder before some new facet of the world. And this is one advantage that an INFJ has in the culture of science, that they don’t tend to get caught up in the dogma of science. It is all so beautiful, innocent, and endearing the way an INFJ sees science.
But, back to reality. There is science in that romantic and idealistic sense, that primary sense of wonder and fascination that a child has, and then there is the motherfucking adult world of science, and it is a serious business mister. There ain’t no time for your eyes of wonder in today’s world of science and technology with its scaling up of the amount of transistors that can fit on a integrated circuit, with the analytic and math-driven models of engineering, with the busyness of these technicians and their overseers, with their lack of sympathy for naivete and wonder…
Sorry, got carried away.
So, can you have a day job in science while pursuing an bohemian/artistic life?
I don’t see why not. For some reason, I get the feeling that you are capable enough to do both. I get a together feeling from you. You have experience in the field, so it is not like you are considering entering it for the first time with some naive attitude of what it would be like. You have already said that you find it uninspiring and narrow to some extent, but I don’t know if that extent is enough for you to leave the security and monetary comfort of the field. Maybe you could find a niche in that field that combines more of the INFJ feeling abilities, which basically means people or art. Something humanistic. Not mechanistic.
Is the master’s degree in some artistic thing? Why did you get a degree in something unrelated to your current field if you weren’t planning on shifting to something else?
Suffice to say, I think you could do both, but the question is how sick are you of your former scientific/engineering career. It doesn’t sound like you are sick enough of it to make the decision to leave it behind (obviously, or you wouldn’t be asking me about it). If you are looking for me to say yea or nay, I won’t.
So, that’s what I have to say on that matter. If you are an INFJ, you are more of a bohemian/artist than a scientist by temperament. But, you have the freedom to pursue science or any other thing if you wish. Also, every person is an individual so just because you have a certain temperament doesn’t mean that you can’t pursue endeavors that fall outside the natural range of that type. It will just be more difficult.
And best of wishes to you what ever you decide to do.
Thanks for the response and the wishes, Blake.
I pursued another degree because I have a leave of absence from work so it was relatively low-risk leaving my job for a few years and because the program is very international and interdisciplinary, and I could travel and just have some time and space to explore. The program is so interdisciplinary that I could launch into a lot of different fields from here- policy, anthropology, etc. But when it comes down to it, the only thing I am actually good at now with tangible skills is science, just because I’ve been doing it for so long. If I could somehow tie my science skillset together with something that has meaning, and somehow have a group of artist friends outside of work, I imagine I would be set…
Yes!
Hi Blake
Thank you for this page. I am an INFJ and i have basically done everything that you have advised against. I have a PhD in Engineering and i have reached a state in life where i need some meaning in the work i do and i have a burning desire to communicate with people/help people. I cannot agree any lesser with you on how draining scientific research is (oh yes..i meant the culture!)and there is absolutely no romance or whatsoever (anymore!). I am 34 now and i have made a decision to leave. I am looking at all options ranging from management consultant to oil/gas trader to being a teacher in a high school. Been networking….About the compensation right now (its a joke to be a postdoc now…i dont even want to get into this now).
Once again thank you for the article!
If you have a burning drive to communicate with and help people, then, that is what you should find a way to do. Burning drive takes precedence over all other considerations, bar none.
You can leverage the scientific and technical skills that you have in some other capacity. An INFJ that has these sort of skills is very formidable indeed.
You just have to be creative about how you want to reapply or transfer them to another endeavor. It certainly doesn’t mean that it has been a waste of time to have been educated and employed in the capacity that you have been. You have actual experience to know that you don’t want to participate in that culture and its imperatives. That’s awesome.
And while I have generally advised for INFJs to stay away from scientific careers, it is certainly a benefit to have had a go at them, whether the INFJ wishes to continue to pursue them or not. Because it is experience and because knowing about science and technology is rather important in today’s world, whether we use that knowledge or those skills in a career capacity or not.
INFJs will generally not be satisfied working in an engineering environment. It relies too heavily on too many functions which they don’t generally have enough efficiency and strength in; Ti, Te, Si, Se, and Ne. Yes, they have some measure of Ti and it tempts them toward the world of how things work. Which is fine. But, in due proportion to the strength of this function for them, which basically amounts to pursuing those kind of things as hobbies or amateurs. In their free time. As an entertaining diversion from their main world of Ni and Fe, two functions that have very little to do with the world of things in the sense that engineers work with them.
So, best of luck to you KJ. I do sincerely hope you find a way to communicate with and help people.
Thank you for this article!
It helped me understand myself more.
I’m also INFJ who got stuck in Ni-Ti loop and ended up frustrated and without meaning in life.
I finished Law School thinking that would be great way to help people but I understand now that was my Ti speaking. As you can imagine, I’m deeply frustrated and wish I finished psychology or something artistic. I’m trying to compensate that by doing creative writing for hobby and it helps.
My pursuit is now to find a law career which is more people oriented like human rights.
Yeah, that’s a great idea. Take the Ti education that you already have and apply it to humanistic things. That is a great option for an INFJ that went their tertiary Ti route. And like I said before an INFJ that has science/technical training is very formidable. And many INFJs excel in academia. It is more just a matter when they have to deal with real-world expectations in the application of these things, that they can feel that characteristic lack of humanism, which they in no way are willing to accept. An INFJ, for example, would make a great university teacher in something like philosophy, psychology, or even, perhaps, something like math, physics, biology etc. as long as they can confine these pursuits to as much to the high-level and purely theoretical side as possible.
INFJs make wonderful teachers of abstruse, complex, or difficult subjects. They are probaly some of the most ideal teachers imaginable. They have the gift of inspiring interest and engagement with the subject and they also have a gift for simplifying difficult and high-level concepts so that others can understand them. They are simply wonderful at this.
However, as soon as the tide turns to the business, commercial, and political sectors of those subjects, and the application thereof, they will likely find it to be loathsome and distasteful and disheartening. So, they do well as tenured university professors who can pretty much be exempt from political, administrative, and practical applications of the field they are interested in. They can basically research and publish like nobody’s business. They are also good simplifiers and explainers of high-level and very theoretical subjects to more advanced level students (say college level and post grad). And they are likely to be popular and well-liked professors.
Hi Vedrana, I am also an INFJ with a legal degree. I have been moving from one job to the other for quite some time, never quite fitting in (at least in my mind, that is). Right now I am looking into mediation. Seems like a good fit in an intuitive way. But I am not sure if it would be too extroverted or contentious for an INFJ.
Jenny the INFJ physicics grad student again here — OMG you described my issues with the field to the core. This is exactly what I’m going through after finishing all of the coursework and knuckling under to do the research portion of my PhD in physics. Research is what makes my heart sing, but I need people to sing with. Everybody else puts the data in the book, dots up the powerpoints for the next conference, and then go home for the day.
I love the physics. I breathe the physics. I have mystical experiences and “aha” moments intuiting quantum logic; the paradoxical wave function isn’t something abstract to me but (in poetic metaphor, at least) a formalization of the way I actually think.
The problem I have in the INTJ/ISTJ/ISTP dominant world of physics is basically akin to claustrophobia. I can’t really communicate how I really *feel* about the physics to most other physicists. They just look at me.
“Doesn’t this imply that the wave function is somehow outside of time?” I asked a professor as a sophomore. My professor laughed at me. But the Wheeler De-Witt equation, Gisin’s relativistic entanglement experiments on tests of multi-simultaneity, “entanglement in time” and the violation of the Bell and more pressingly Leggett-Garg inequalities all indeed posit or at least strongly imply that quantum objects *do* behave rather differently than macroscopic objects with regards to time (and indeed fail to follow classical trajectories at all, thus existing outside of all the earmarks of time as we know it). Never mind double-slit and delayed-choice-quantum eraser, or Wheeler-Feynman absorber theory; time in the quantum world is, at its core as what we typically use as the axis on which we chart a physical trajectory, quite murky. We’re now unearthing that decoherence (in metaphorical terms, breakdown of the quantum world via a cancelling of wave functions that feels similar to the more familiar idea of “destructive interference”) may well be somehow wrapped up in what creates Einstein’s so-called “stubbornly persistent illusion” of space-time to begin with.
So I “get” some things it takes the majority a while to catch up on. I love the math, and I love programming, but I only really love it when I can communicate about it. The problem is NFP’s (who I often hang out with to girltalk etc) generally only want to relate to it in a new age “fractal science gizmo look at the colors we are all one” sort of level, and INTJ’s generally don’t understand my need to be all artsy and spiritual about it. INTP’s get it but are busy enough at their own gigs most of the time that I don’t get much input back from them either.
My personal solution has been to try to dialogue with myself and write about it, but it gets lonely living in the wave function, looking out, waiting for someone to collapse me to the right particle reality. I want to be observed 🙂
Well, I’m observing you and so far you are quite entertaining 🙂
And, of course, who could miss your scintillating intelligence? It’s obvious that you are really fucking smart. Trust me, it has not gone unobserved. I have put down a note in my permanent records.
And it’s not like I’m saying that INFJs can’t be really Ti-type smart. They can. But, as you say, you need to express with others about this stuff. And many Rationals take their orientations as par for the course. Its just what they do.
INFJs approach science with the wonder of a child and are so excited by all the concepts and discoveries of science. It is like this wonderful playground of crystalline clarities. It causes a giddiness and a light-headedness, a swoon of intoxication for an INFJ. So, I get where you are coming from. The wonder and freshness of discovery. The newness of morning. There is something very mystical about the way an INFJ sees science. Very beautiful and innocent. And because of this attitude of genuine and giddy excitement in the presence of science, perhaps an INFJ is primed to discover new things in science, because they see with such new and fresh eyes in this realm. For starters, they are not likely to be caught up in the dogma of science for this very reason. This attitude of theirs is most similar to the ENTP attitude towards science, which is a sort of “anything goes” attitude. Throw the kitchen sink at it. INFJs dig this irreverent and prodigious flow of Ti coming from ENTP.
I think there should be a forum for INFJs to discuss science. Just INFJs. That would be interesting and lively.
I am an INFJ with ADHD studying Biotechnology and Chemistry, with the intent to improve and expand the research on behavioral neurochemistry. I took a Sports Exercise Science class on a whim that I needed more credit hours and it seemed relatively interesting.
My professor has given me several breakthroughs, mostly via facilitated discussion and encouragement to look into new research and giving me literature to investigate. I was excited to find a teacher who “gave a damn”, and did not pass of my ADHD as a hinderance, but rather as a gift and a unique perspective to investigate from. I have made a lot of interesting revelations on the etiology of the disorder. Of course I am not qualified to conduct any research, let alone publish my opinions as fact, but using myself as a guinea pig, most of my theories prove true.
Thank you for sharing all this info on INFJ’s and science, I just found out I am INFJ recently. I’ve always kind of known, but never had a label for it. From what I have seen most jobs recommended for INFJs seem to be working with people and lacking in formal lab science.
An INFJ with ADD? That’s off the hook yo!
No, just kidding. That’s rather awesome actually. And I would love to hear your theories on ADHD if you would care to share them. I actually have some thoughts on ADD/ADHD as well. And I am in no way qualified to officially know anything about ADHD. But, you think I’m gonna let that stop me. That’s what blogging is for. Now every asshole in the world can state their opinions about anything under the sun and sound wise and knowledgeable (or not) about all manner of things. Why should Psychology Today hog all the glory? Just because they have board-certified physicians (?) and official studies in labs and access to the finest lab rats that money can buy. I don’t think so.
I would think if you have ADHD that would put you in a tremendous position to know something about it. Makes sense to me.
Behavioral neurochemistry? Very interesting.
O, about the thing about INFJs and science. Yeah, apparently some people are misunderstanding me here. And some people are having knee-jerk reactions as well. And maybe, just maybe, I have misstated myself somewhere along the line.
Now, you said most jobs recommended for INFJs seem to be working with people and lacking in formal lab science. Yes, I have always maintained this general people element for INFJs because of the auxiliary Fe function. It does tend to be very peoplish in direction, probaly more so than any other function. But, AND LISTEN CAREFULLY, an INFJ can be interested and successful in some form of lab science as well. Many INFJs like to work alone left relatively to their own devices. So, this can be excellent for research work and long nights cooking up stuff in the lab.
It is just that at some point they are probaly going to need to supplement this alone time with some form of conviviality and emotional engagement and expression with other people. More what I was saying is that when INFJs drift too far towards technical jobs that involve working with machines such as computer programming or engineering and especially when combined with corporate business environments and the culture of tech, it all adds up to a bad scene for an INFJs particular sensibilities and gifts. It is too cold and dead an environment for the average INFJ to be able to breathe in, much less excel in.
But, now, there is warm science isn’t there? And that is the type of scientists that I think INFJs are. And it has a characteristic feeling to it, this warm science. Nietzsche talks of A Gay Science, a frolicsome science, the sort of science that is conducted in a spirit of play and levity. This sort of science is against the spirit of gravity. A joyous science. Getting the picture? Notice I did not say anything about A HARD SCIENCE. The whole concept of a hard science is something quite alien to an INFJs levity and effervescence in matters of science.
And the trend in today’s Western world has been towards sciences getting harder and harder. It is a serious business Mister. Better cross your eyes and dot your tease.
O, it is all so arduous this modern view of science (though I think it is exhausting itself at this point). There is no time for play anymore. All is known. All has been done. There is no more wonder and reverence in front of science. As a matter of fact, scientists have become some of the most arrogant and dogmatic people on the face of this earth to date. Science knows best in all matters. New reports are coming out all the time. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is none of this current culture of science and industry is really in the spirit of the INFJs approach to scientific matters, which is in the naturally wonder-filled and truly reverent way that I just mentioned.
INFJs are not plodders and pluggers. If they do science, they do it in their characteristic humanistic spirit. They are not vivisectionists or reductive rationalist thinkers. They have warm minds that are naturally synthetic and integrative. They are not born to be specialists, which is another direction that the sciences, and with it, the industrial and economic world have increasingly headed. It is all so alien to their spirit.
So, that is what I was really saying.
And, I too think that ADHD can be a gift. It really is just a certain form and continuum of temperament. In some people on this spectrum it is more pronounced than others with these tendencies, but I see ADHD as something that can be extremely valuable if it is allowed to express itself in its proper channels and contexts. Isn’t this true of everything? Everything has a use and a value in its proper context.
Email me at my contact address if you want to share your theories with me. I would love to hear about them.
I agree with your topic on specialists, I prefer to be an expert on an integral concept rather than one component. The ADHD complex fascinates me with the relative complexity that manifests itself as it does. I am in my second semester of “real” college (I completed two semesters as a senior in high school, to avoid the high school crowds) and have made use of the university’s library and resources for my purposes of research.
I do believe science needs a fresher look at some of the “human” applicable research, especially with respect to mental disorders. When I find an article on ADHD that interprets the data differently than I have, my mom likes to remind me that the researchers don’t have ADHD, they don’t see the picture in the same way I see it. I’m finding slight similarities between the INFJ type and ADHD complex (not in a way that would imply that all INFJs are ADHD, or vice versa), and perhaps if the thought pattern is the same sort of deviance from the brand of traditional scientific minds, it would be logical for INFJs to pursue the mental sciences.
My Sports and Exercise Science professor has facilitated some rather deep conversations connecting seemingly irrelevant concepts together to form some theories. I find my creativity is most fluid when I am able to move or express in some way, so I end up walking miles on the treadmill while I draw up drafts. I’ll be sure to send you some of the more interesting theories soon.
I’m writing an English assignment right now and this is exactly what’s happening. I’ll get stuck on one particular word or description and interrupt the “flow” of the idea. So frustrating. I think my best writing is a result of expressing as much as possible as continuously as possible and leaving the persnickety polishing for later, once the idea has been expressed.
Regarding the tertiary temptation in general, you’ve described it spot-on. I’m ruminating over the inescapable decision of a career path, but have absolutely no idea what to do. I’ve always loved the sciences, and I’m currently taking Software Engineering/Comp Sci., however I’ve recently begun to realize my love of literature and writing and poetry that I’ve been repressing for what feels like an eternity. My INTJ father would be positively tickled if I decided to become an astronaut, or discovered some great scientific revelation, but I know that’s not something I’d want to pursue for my whole life. As you said, we’re not INTJs, as fervently as he might wish for me to be so.
“It will feel good to use extraverted feeling but you may distrust this as you have been accustomed to the belief that anything worth attaining entails suffering and extreme complexity.” I believe this is the approach I’ve adopted considering professions (among many other things). Trying to find a balance between what promises to be fulfilling and what is rational/economical is proving to be a painful process. INFJs are rather conflicted in all sorts of ways, aren’t they?
Yes, INFJs are rather conflicted, but, they need to get unconflicted. Immediamente!
So, if you really want to do something that involves writing and literature, then you fucking should!
I’m sorry to say this, but fuck your dad. Is he the one that is going to have to live with your life choices and the pain of an unlived life? I mean, great he would love it if your were an astronaut. Bottom-line is that you are not going to be an astronaut. Why? Because you don’t want to be. And being an astronaut takes a lot of training and preparation. So, you gotta kind of really want to do it. Not one of those professions that you can just sort of aimlessly drift into, know what I mean?
So, you say you love the sciences. Great. A lot of INFJs do. But, do you really want to be a software engineer? I mean, really, in your heart of hearts? Do you feel that you would be living to your fullest sitting in front of a computer all day programming the thing to do what your corporate middle-management assholes want you to program into the fucking thing. Don’t get me wrong, computers are great. Rather indispensable and ubiquitous in today’s world. They allow me to be doing what I’m doing right now – talking to a person I don’t know and have never met and dispensing them much-needed advice on major and important life decisions. I mean, that’s fucking awesome.
But, in reality, dear INFJ, do you really see yourself sitting in front of a computer for hours on end and writing software that you are likely not to give a fuck about? And having to do it day in and day out in order to keep that job?
I know INFJs like to dream in their ivory towers about what it might be like to be a scientist of some sort. But, that is generally where it is best if it stays. INFJs are like ivory tower scientists. They have beautiful dreams of science. Dreams of glory of themselves in science somehow. But, that ain’t the reality of the work-a-day world of science. Or business.
Maybe if it were in a research capacity, some kind of high-level and noble use of programming a computer and writing software. But, you do know what the chances of you finding this kind of gig with a bachelor’s degree is, right? Yeah, you know.
Anyway, if you are an INFJ, then you must turn on the Fe. And turn it on a lot and often. Turn it one so much that you don’t know if you will be able to stop. Turn it on so much that you completely and utterly eradicate all hopes of that motherfucking tertiary Ti kicking in so sweetly and assuredly (as if it knew with certainty all that is right or wrong) to bring your flow to a trickle in the name of scientific objectivity. Fuck objectivity. Fuck true and false. And fuck tertiary Ti.
Once you have built this Fe muscle you will then be in a much better position to evaluate what is or isn’t the right amount of logic for any given situation. The tertiary is a finishing function. Which means you CANNOT start there. It is like wanting to finish before you have even begun. Wrong order of things. Not feasible. Will not work. And meanwhile, while all this is not working, you will be frustrated beyond measure because you have got it into your head (tertiary) that you just need that one perfect phrase, word, sound, sight, and in short, some perfectly defined thing that you are convinced exists that will once and for all be the most perfect and elegant expression in all of history for what you wanted to express.
That will come on the crest of one of the waves of your auxiliary Fe. But, it can’t come on one of those waves if you have not turned on your wave machine to begin with. Make some waves! Then the formulations will come of their own accord.
And they will come when they want to. Much like thoughts come to you unbidden. The only way to control the likelihood of the tertiary function doing what you want it to is by making the Fe function do what you want it to. And the auxiliary function is the ONLY function that you have complete and conscious control of. The only one.
As a matter of fact, the moment an INFJ knows what they are saying is the precise moment they are fucked. Go find an INTJ to tell you what you said. They’re really good at distilling INFJ communication into a set of definite clauses, premises, and propositions.
And if you think I’m joking, I am. Sort of.
But, INFJs are often better off not having too clear an idea of what they are trying to express. It gets in their way. It gets in the way of their magic, baby!
Leave having a clear idea of what is going to be said beforehand to INTJs.
INFJs often have no idea where in the hell their communication/expression is going to take them and they have to simply learn to trust that. That is the nature of extraverted feeling expression. It is like riding a wave wherever it may take you.
The thing you can control is deciding to get on that wave. And of course, INFJs have ample access to these waves by virtue of their temperament.
You are a genius. Thank you for this article.
Thank you so much for this article. It’s like the vice on my chest has been loosened. You know us INFJs aren’t the best at sharing our internal emotions with others, so reading this was like the confessional and needed advice I never got! When I was younger, I found it much easier to put my ideas into practice, but now I think I am too caught in the tertiary Ti, to actually allow myself to follow through with anything. That’s how I ended up here, as I found myself in the INFJ dom/tert loop. I’ve realised now that this had a lot to do with my entering medicine (dun dun dun!).
My first love was the Arts- creative writing, theatre, and dance. I was naturally good at English and Literature (and later Psychology too.) However, because I tended to do well in science, even though I wasn’t always fully engaged and things didn’t always come naturally to me, I stuck with it more. I would work really hard, and then would be able to pull off a top grade like any other gifted science student. I entered medicine because I both had an interest in it( though I doubted the science part of me and how much I was meant to be there) and others pushed me towards it. I realised quite early on that I needed to keep that human and humane part of it (even before I knew I was an INFJ), which lead me to focus on Public health. With it, I have creative flexibility, and I am able to witness the direct impacts of health policies and research, on the people around me. There’s a lot of literature, research, and critical thinking that goes into it, which I enjoy (probably that Ti again), but I can really see myself happy doing it. At least in the idealistic sense.
The only problem is getting through the often cold, and overly narrowed study of certain parts of medicine, which is a must to become a doctor. My consolation is the long-term I guess. Do you think this can work? Any recommendations.
Thank you again, your level of insight in this matter is astounding !
Yes, I think it can work. You sound like you are self-aware and know what you need to do. I do caution INFJs about going into sciences and technical fields because they can get slip into pursuing those things for their own sake, and be kind of fascinated with it, and slowly slip off course. But, it is clear that you entered the field of medicine with an awareness of keeping the humanistic aims to the fore. Of course if you are going to become a doctor you must endure a massive amount of memorization of the details of the human body and such, but, that is the price you have to pay to become a professional in this field. There are always going to be aspects of any endeavor that one wishes to pursue that are a drag, but, if overall you feel the calling to be in medicine, then, by all means, proceed. I wish you the best of luck. Break a leg. Ha ha ha.
I think you just saved my life today. Seriously.
I believe you and I am glad. Seriously.
I’ve been reading through all of your INFJ articles, and I can relate to so much of what you’ve written! I happen to study a scientific field –biomedical & electrical engineering– and I think I might be one of the exceptions to the general rule regarding INFJs and STEM fields. (I’m an enneagram 5, if that makes any difference). I’ve always loved and excelled at science and math from a young age, but I know that I would never be satisfied studying science for its own sake; rather, I see my talent for engineering as a tool and skill set I can use to help people. If I was working on, say, car parts or something, (or pretty much any typical industry job), I can see myself burning out and becoming unhappy quickly. But what I love about bioengineering is that it’s a people-centered science. There have been so many wonderful and incredible innovations, like inexpensive 3D-printed prosthetics, that can change peoples’ lives.
I was initially going to college to study studio art, but I actually opted for the engineering major & art minor so I could do something that is more meaningful to me while still keeping my creative outlet. I think some INFJs –especially the more academic / intellectual variants –would be great at science, as long as they keep the goal of helping humanity in mind. So long as INFJs rely on their Fe, and balance logic with empathy instead of trying to behave like cold intellectuals, they will avoid tertiary temptation. It’s tricky, for sure, but rewarding when done right! I love what I’m learning, and I love being a scientist, artist, and helper.
Anyway, thank you so much for this article, and for all the great advice you give! 🙂
Cool. Thanks for reporting.
*First of all, english isn’t my first language, sorry for the eventual mistakes*
Last year I started medical school but I couldn’t take it for a long time, since I was often overwhelmed by the constant “dealing with people situations” that the field demands.
I’ve always been a quiet, shy and very introverted person but capable of talking to people when necessary.
Then I thought I could never be satisfied on a job that relies mostly on my social skills.
After only three months I changed to a degree in “biomedicine” (it’s actually a degree here in Brazil) and I believe it fits me more because I see myself as a scientist working on a lab and dealing with “pure” science.
I still believe I’ll be helping people in this career, I’ll only be on the background where I’m comfortable to act. The social impact of my job was something very relevant in my choice.
Yet, reading this makes me doubt once again if I’m really an INFJ.
My first test result was INTJ, but after that every other time I took the test I got INFJ. (Also enneagram 5)
Any thoughts/advice on the matter?
Thanks for the great article!
Read my article
INFJ vs. INTJ. Maybe that will clear things up. Your probaly an INFJ with a lot of Ti. But, don’t let me be the final word on that.I have always been interested in psychology, and will always be. Everything i read about my astrology ( Lots of pluto) or MBTI ( presumably INFJ) seems to confirms that i should excel in it, that in order to be happy this is the direction i would best take..
The problem started when i actually had to stay in a hospital for a month in order to complete my research, I had this extremely negative feeling, till this day am trying to explain where it stemmed from.. my best guess was the raw emotion that swarmed over the place ( I was shocked by the fact that I couldn’t stomach it to be honest) I didn’t feel safe? I felt I was forced to stare at something I had rather pretend didn’t exist?
I understand how people who are sensitive/ try to understand the reason behind their feelings/ other people’s feeling would make excellent psychologist, but isn’t it endangering for them? wouldn’t it be like how someone with addiction tendency shouldn’t consider trying a first dose?
* Sorry for the poor English, haven’t practiced it for a while..
Can you rephrase your question? Not quite understanding what you are asking.
I am quite sure that I am an INFJ. I am an artist and I have organized a Nonprofit Art School for children whose mission is to, “Restore Art Education for Future Generations. ” I am very happy with my life choices. I can paint in my studio half the week, and teach the other half. I can make the world a better place for all the artistic kids who come my way. I currently see over 100 students a week.
Here is the issue that comes up for me continuously… when I discover that someone I am working with has done something I consider unethical, I can not work with them any longer. I can barely even look at them and confronting them is impossible. I lose a lot of sleep dreaming of setting them straight and then never do. It is much easier to move on. It does not bother me if I discover they did something in their past and are sorry for it, its the messes they are currently making and how it effects me and the children in my classes.
I see that you are truthful with the INFJ personality and I wish someone would help me know how to treat unethical persons so I can continue to work and sleep through he night.
Hi,
I just discovered a couple weeks ago that I am an INFJ. For quite some time now I couldn’t wrap my head around the reason for not being able to settle down into a stable profession that truly made me content and happy to actually go into work, which for sometime now has thrown me in and out off depression. For so many years, I am now 36, I have chosen careers/job titles based on what other people thought I would be good at. I’ve tried childcare, customer service, retail, and fashion design. I eventually got a degree in Law & Society which I actually enjoyed and found my passion for wanting to work with women. However, I still have yet to narrow this down to an actual profession. To be completely honest I do not like working for other people, hence why I have never been able to stick for long periods of time at one particular job. I dislike taking orders for other people and having them tell me what I should be doing with my time eight hours of the day. So, I have been researching some other fields of interest that are more suitable to an INFJ personality, such as Life Coaching and Image Consulting. What are your thoughts on these two fields for an INFJ?
Thanks in advance!
Either of the two could be suitable for INFJ’s natural bent and abilities. Not too sure what Image Consulting is, but, I assume it is a form of counseling and consulting on what something looks like to others. INFJs are good at gauging what is marketable and/or what the public would like.
All the other fields you tried are not INFJ strong suits. INFJs hate taking care of children, hate retail, and hate any low-level thing that doesn’t engage their wider and more intuitive-feeling-oriented capacities. They could be into design but not likely fashion design. More likely abstract design. Too much call for sensation/concrete abilities in fashion design.
Hey Blake,
This is very interesting. I get the “flow” in writing. I find myself stuck a lot of times, wanting to write the perfect line or perfect scene. So the flow mentality makes a lot of sense. But how does one apply the flow mentality to life itself? How is an INFJ supposed to live, love and help other with his Fe? (Especially as a male INFJ living in a western world). I am Asia though.
Thanks a bunch and I wish you all the best,
Matthew
Read some of my articles on Fe in the INFJ section of 16 Types menu. I talk about how to develop some flow in everyday life.
Thanks for the well-wishing. Appreciate it.
I really can’t tell if I am an INFJ. Yes, I do have that artistic bent, but I have performed far better in the maths/sciences than in arts subjects. You seem to suggest INFJs are meant to “create” – I’m not sure I can say the same for myself. I do have a fascination for expression: public speaking is where I have found most success without even trying. The thing is I absolutely cannot “create” something. I can’t make up stories or characters or dialogues. No, I have to analyze and critique a piece of work. In fact, I remember taking accelerated language arts courses back in secondary school – I was real sh*t at creative fiction, but I excelled in analysis and persuasion.
I just can’t imagine myself having any other career. I’ve prepared early for a career in biological research, as that was my “dream” since I was 10. Starting last year, however, I did feel a little frustrated – not sure why. Maybe it was because I needed an outlet to express, or maybe it was because I was mentally or emotionally unwell.
To be honest, I don’t even know why I decided to write a comment in the first place. I don’t even know where this comment is going, lol. I guess I feel confused about my type. What you wrote make sense, but I really think I lack aptitude in the arts. I press forward with my vision of becoming an academic in biosciences, but I do feel a little dry sometimes. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m unhappy in general (dealt with some difficult stuff for a few years, now)…am I an INFJ, even? Most people think I am an INTJ with my judgmental comments and apparently asshole-like behaviour (sometimes), but I would say I’m pretty damn romantic…as embarrassing as it is to admit…
Again, what the f*** is the point of this post, anyways? I’ll just press “POST” anyways.
Thank you so much for this article. This has cleared a lot up for me and I feel much happier :).
YAY
I used to really want to be an English professor because I love literature and intellectual things, but now I think I won’t be able to deal with the competitiveness and pressure of the job as it’s challenging to get tenure now. So I was considering being a high school teacher, the next level down, but now I’m even considering primary school teaching, because I think teenagers would be really intense and rude to deal with. You said INFJ’s don’t like looking after kids, but do they like teaching kids? Do you think this is a good career choice for INFJ’s? I’m not sure how I would go with all the extroverted requirements as well, but it seems to be such a helpful job. Not sure if I would get intellectually bored though. I really want to write novels, but I want a more secure job for money at least in the beginning. I was considering other writing careers, but the stable ones seem quite facts based, like journalism.
This article also explains why I love expressing myself. I used to think I was conflicting with my true self when I express myself a lot, because I’m introverted, but now I understand it’s extraverted feeling.
You said INFJ’s don’t like looking after kids, but do they like teaching kids? Do you think this is a good career choice for INFJ’s?
In general, and all things being equal, I think teaching is one of the better career choices for an INFJ, especially, teaching something like English.
Age group wise, I would say INFJs would prefer maturer students, so college level and beyond most likely. However, don’t take that as hard fact. I’m sure some INFJs could get a kick out of teaching younger age groups, but, INFJs don’t enjoy baby sitting and lots of regulations. Tenure would be ideal for an INFJ, but, I think INFJs make some of the best teachers that are actually teaching rather than researching and writing all the time. And let me tell you, INFJs can make some of the most incredible and inspiring teachers around, especially for more advanced students. If they are inspired by something and in love with their subject matter, no type is a better teacher than an INFJ. They make the material come alive.
But, this usually works better in an environment where they have as much freedom as possible.
Thanks Blake. I’d like to share a bit of my impressions that occurred as I read your article.
At times when our orientation is toward ourselves (e.g., alone by ourselves in our room), I feel we naturally employ our Ti concurrently with Ni. Yes, where we start is always with Ni, but to process what comes out of Ni at that very moment, I feel I am automatically using Ti at full capacity, defining and refining the Ni input as they fall onto my lap. Ti may be our “tertiary” but it appears like an auxiliary to me instead, at that very moment Ni is working when we are in an introverted mode.
To take it further, could it be that we are really actively using only two functions at any given moment? When we are alone, Ni and Ti; when we are with people, Fe and Se. So when we are alone, we may be the most keen and profound. When we are with people, though, we appear rather dull and shallow, with no concrete personality to offer.
The temptations of “tertiary” that we INFJs suffer from may be in the confusion of the causality. Ni is our master for us, but Ni is so much of our foundation that we can’t sense it. So we get tricked into thinking that Ti is our master, the one that defines and identifies us, and fall into the error of trying to behave like ISTPs (especially when they are so cool to our Se). How does this confusion of the causality happen? When we spend too much time alone in our introverted mode, perhaps?
I found I was an INFJ a few months ago. I can relate to well over 95% of how you describe this personality type. My introversion happened to be very strong, and I feel I’m much dependent on those two introverted functions. Yes, I need people; as you put it, I am, too, a natural-born psychologist, but it is not for the sake of knowledge itself, but for the sake of connecting with others or the soulmate, whoever that is. I’ve longed for that profound connection, and I have found that I am drawn to ESTPs (yes, I read your article on that; I need a “profound” one, though, where sex is seriously the last thing on mind), but this dark gravitational field I wrap myself with out of my introversion seem to scare them away. What a contradiction to deal with…
Good article. Stimulating to my Ni (and Ti…).
Thank you so much for this blog post. I feel that it has really cleared up a lot of issues for me as an INFJ. I actually spent the last two years trying to be a computer programmer. Then I worked at a school that taught computer programming. I began to despise programming, which used to be such a fun experience for me, especially when combined with graphic design. I have been getting so hung up in my introverted thinking that I find I am unable to even start anything artistic – writing in my journal, playing piano, creating art – because I know I can’t do it perfectly to the extent I desire. It feels fake and pointless when I write in my journal and it is not until way after the fact that I feel fulfilled from doing it, if I do. I have to remind myself that it is the fluidity of expression that satisfies me and not the constant need to absolutely perfect everything. Thank you so much for this blog post, it has really shone a light on how I can move forward out of this rut I have been in (I just spent ten minutes looking up whether I should use “shined” or “shone”. They are both correct to use in this scenario but I like “shone” better. There I go again, my introverted thinking.)
I’m a 40 year old INFJ who has
voraciously devoured everything related to personality theories for the past 15 years. This is one of the best INFJ articles I’ve ever read. You really nailed our struggle.
Bon appetit!
Great site, will be indulging in it for tonight as I just found it! 🙂
Very insightful article, as others mentioned you pretty much nailed it!
Recently, I’ve taking huge steps towards my future career (mental health) but find myself more drawn into fantasizing over interests/careers of mine such as a composer, novelist, music producer, blogger ect.
I chose the career I’m following now because I knew that it was something I am talented and have a lot of potential for but I feel as if I’ve always been more drawn to the idea of it instead of actually doing it. This goes the same for the other careers I’ve mentioned. This goes along with everything in my life actually haha. I might have the slightest potential for the other careers/interests (though sadly I play no instruments decently or actually complete any recordings, writings, or songs) but I end up giving up half-way. I do this because I gradually lose motivation to complete them, because my expectations are too high, or I don’t feel it’s worth to go on as they lack the substance I imagined before starting it. I know the career I chose I will follow through and it will at least be a career I’m comfortable and feel successful in, and the other things I’m interested in will be a “hobby” an outlet for me to partake in.
Yeah, you don’t have to do arts because you are trying to compete or measure up to a standard. Either do them because you have to or you simply enjoy them. No other reason.
Glad you’re enjoying the site.
Oh my goodness! That perfectly describes me. I thought I was an INTP (dom Ti) until I was 16 and I thought I would be a programmer until just last year after I actually did it for work for about 6 months. There was always something about it that stressed me out about it if I ever thought about taking it further than a hobby. Well written article! Thanks 😀
Thank you for this article, honestly I am a bit confused maybe just because of the whole “express your emotions” part but still this was enjoyable and a bit sad for me to read-not really sure why but that’s the truth. I was looking up what the major difference between a INTJ and INFJ are and I found this. I was honestly sure they messed up my results (I thought I was INTJ) but now I see a bit more clearly. This article helped me see a bit of myself better and for that I thank you.
You’re welcome. Glad you find it helpful.
Wow, what a great thread! Thanks, Blake for your great article!
I’ve been learning about MBTI and Jung’s cognitive functions for the last four years and only now (2 yrs. after your post) am finding an article (a great one) on the Ti-Ni loop! As others have said, it is spot for me as well, as INFJ.
One question I’ve been pondering over is how I would do during a PhD program. On the one hand, my masters is in theological matters, so most could stereotypically see a connection between INFJ and theology. On the other hand, sub-fields may not seem to cater as well to INFJ. Translating biblical texts (as one translator mentioned earlier) would involve a lot of Ti. Practical theology would perhaps require more of Si or Te perhaps. Systematic theology would require a good amount of Ti, in the title itself bearing “systematic.” And yet some of these fields will deal with both people and information, as you’ve mentioned earlier for other fields. If you see this, I figured you’re already making such huge life decisions for others, I thought I’d chime in as well. Any thoughts? I’ve also considered missiology as well, which attempts to combine anthropology, God, and culture.
Again, excellent article!
Hi David,
I have another article (Starling Subscriber article) where I describe the two forms of Ti for an INFJ. One form of Ti is good and the other is “too good”. The form of Ti I am referring herein is the “excessive” form of Ti for INFJ. This would refer to things like “hard science” type of Ti.
However, there is a “social science” form of Ti and anything that involves people, cultures that people create, legal systems, political science, economics, sociology, and theology. These are all green-lighted for INFJ.
So, yeah, what you are considering pursuing sounds just fine. As long as the “system” you are considering pursuing is a “people-concerned system” – a study and categorization of some aspect of human society. For example, political science is concerned with how power is distributed among peoples in a society. Economics is concerned with how people value goods and services. Law could be a good field of study for this type of Ti because people create these laws. In essence, INFJs are good at observing people and categorizing their behaviors, types, and inclinations. This is Ti, not anything else.
However, there is a form of Ti that is concerned with “objects” whether people are involved or not. Like, for example, people don’t determine the laws of nature.
Anyway, if you want to understand this issue better, you’ll have to sign up for a Starling subscription to access the above-referenced article.
But, I think your prospective career choice as an INFJ is fine, particularly the missiology avenue. Incidentally, the study of anthropology is another “people-oriented” form of Ti. It is the study of how people have organized themselves over time and in different cultures. You can see how law, economics, and political science would be related to this study.
All good forms of Ti for INFJ!
Just stay away from computer science, engineering, mathematics, physics and very object-oriented Ti type stuff. Actually, you don’t have to stay away from it. But, you have been warned. INFJs can and should pursue whatever they like, but, I’m not talking out of my ass here.
If an INFJ still wants to pursue very object-oriented and highly technical professions, they should. But, chances of it working out ain’t too great. Just being realistic.
O, and I don’t know if it was clear, but theology is of course an excellent choice for INFJ. That would involve the strengths of their dominant Ni, so yeah. Theology is basically philosophizing about the nature of God. INFJ is the natural philosophical type, so of course theology in its more pure forms would be very natural to them. Practical theology, less so. Practical anything, less so.
Thanks, Blake for your thoughts on the matter!! One last question to throw out there that perhaps has a correlation with the Ni-Ti loop: would you see more INFJ individuals as generalists or specialists? I’m thinking, INFJ in our world is required to have a specialized area of expertise to receive a PhD, for example, and yet INFJ as natural psychologists or teachers are required to be very much generalistic in many workplace spheres, like teaching, psychology, and counseling. Perhaps INFJ Ti tempts us into expertise of one particular subject, but our dominant and auxiliary is meant to be more generalistic??
INFJs are generalists who pull from many different domains in order to get at one thing.
Hi. First of all I just want to say how much I’ve appreciated this site thus far. Your complex insight and understanding into ‘the other sides’ of the INFJ are not only a relief but a comfort.
My question is, in your experience, when does an unhealthy INFJ typically leave the grip experience? And by ‘unhealthy’ I am talking about childhood trauma. Do they have a ‘ah ha’ moment via their Ni one day? Do they wear themselves down to the point of desperation/exhaustion that they finally seek help, thus able to release and gain perspective through their Fe?
I have witnessed an INFJ getting stuck in their Se function, and trying to control the environment around them and making impulsive decisions that don’t turn out how they envisioned. I’ve seen a warped, distorted version of Fe in a stressed INFJ, regressing to almost childlike type behaviors. I’ve also seen their dominant function Ni stressed so beyond its natural capacity that this chronically stressed INFJ turns into an almost clinical robotic type person, avoids topics that have any personal meaning to them (matters of the heart), and attacks subjects with what I would call ‘tunnel vision logic’ (this could be the Ni-Ti loop you were talking about).
I guess any insight into what brings them back to a more balanced INFJ (that I’ve seen in the past) would be helpful? Does it just take them longer to find their feet? It seems that when an INFJ is unhealthy and hurt, it is a lethal combination. The grip experience is lasting for years, and I am starting to wonder if I am stuck in a never-ending series of the Twilight Zone.
Thankyou for your time.
I’d need to know more about your personal situation to answer that question in a more particular way than I have throughout this site. Consider a consult with me. I think that would be the best way to get to the bottom of what you are asking me.
I hate to comment on such an old thread, but as other INFJ typed individual have pointed out, you hit the nail on the head. Out of curiousity, what type are you?
I know this is a difficult question to answer (that is, if you’re another type other than INFJ), but how do you propose “using” or practicing Fe. Funny enough, I am an INFJ that has been contemplating the possibility of being an INTP lately. I can’t speak for all INFJs, but for me, there is a certain allure to it. Getting caught up in it seems very detrimental however. I end up running through the same loops in my head repeatedly until I realized I missed half my day! But I digress. My real point is that I want to play to my strengths. How do you recommend an INFJ more so practices or even just realizes those. The Ti really confusing things.
Read my posts on Fe in INFJ that can be found on right sidebar of Stellar Maze or by scrolling down if on a smart phone. Those should help you with your question of Ti overemphasis, which is very common in INFJs.
My guess is that the author is an INFJ trying hard to be INTJ? (like myself)
I’m an INFJ and I have a M.Sc. in computer science (was tempted away form doctor degree). I work as a programmer/contractor and my clients are T1 investent banks such as Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JP Morgan, etc. I specialize in programming C++/assembler for low latency high frequency trading and I’d say I’m top 5 in Europe and get paid 1,550 GBP + VAT a day.
It is the unique INFJ creativity that got me into the top 5.
IT/tech is filled with *STJ etc types which strenghs are remembering good coding practices and rules, but as INFJ you can bring a lot to the table by being crafty and breaking the rules, specially in highly competitive fields such as HFT (high frequency trading) where you won’t get ahead of anyone by following in their footsteps…
So I’d add an advice to this article: If you are burning for non-INFJ careers such as programmer, corporate tycoon, business man, stand-up comedian, pilot, scientist, inventor, etc… you have to go for the gold medal. Go for being the best in the world at your niche. In order to get ahead of others you will need creativity and determination which is what INFJ are good at.
There’s a catch though: for the career world you need to learn to be confident, assertive, brave and cunning when you need to otherwise you will be walked over and won’t achieve anything. Also learn the principle of game theory and learn to negotiate.
You can give the good INFJ to family and friends who are the ones who deserve it, but for most careers you want to be the INFJ-gone-wrong… Because the current system is not designed for good people to climb and achieve (and that might be deliberate so that the few can control the many).
I like coaching a lot so if this article demotivated you from getting into programming (in any of my languages) then please feel free to get in touch with me.
Yes, I agree with most of what you said. An INFJ can excel in fields that are not particularly natural to the skills of their type if they find the creative and/or people angle.
For example, in trading markets, I think an INFJ could utilize their Fe aux. to very nice effect in predicting mass movements (of people) as reflected in price fluctuations. Free market behavior is largely psychological (mass psychology) in nature. So, yeah, just from that point-of-view, an INFJ who was motivated in that direction could be ace at being able to feel out where prices want to go to and settle at and when they want to change etc. That’s really an Fe type of skill. Feeling the inherent volatility in a market. What are people doing? Where is this price likely to go given the general nature of this market? I think INFJs could make very good intuitive traders that have a gift for feeling markets out without a lot of technical analysis and charting, or rather, without relying on those too assiduously. It suggests a different technique and method than the INTJ one. I read somewhere that the INTJ type was the type that the most successful traders often tested as.
The advantage that the INTJ type would have over the INFJ is that they are a lot less likely to be rattled if a position goes against them. They stick with their initial projection and see it through. They set the points where they will get out of the position if it goes too far against them, where they will take profits on the upside. Very unswayed and unemotional about any momentary “irrational exuberance” or basically, emotional behavior that is driving the markets and causing people to say all kinds of wild things in the heat of the moment when things like money and fortunes are at stake. I could see an INFJ (unless they had learned a lot of emotional discipline) being susceptible to emotional panics and momentary emotional behavior in general, which the free markets are a large measure of.
However, yes, there are probaly some exceptional INFJs who would be stellar traders because of their ability to see ahead of the curve and precisely for their ability to feel out mass psychological behavior. In this case, that mass behavior would be reflected in price fluctuations. The Fe-Ti aux/tert. axis is perfect for reading free market behavior (which is very Fe I think) and sussing out a quantitative reduction of that into an elegant and compact formulation (a price, for example). I think an INFJ would be better in short-term highly volatile trading where they can alternate the Fe-Ti axis in quick succession. It’s like jumping on a wave and staying on it for long enough to get a feel for it’s general motion and then to quickly sample it a different points (Ti price points) and then jump off and do it again.
Similarly, an ISFJ would have this same strategy of trading short-term highly volatile markets.
But, anyway, yes, I agree with you and the general gist of what you are saying. You are right. If an INFJ really wants to do something, then they should do it regardless of my cautioning here. It’s more of a general guideline for the typical predilections and strengths of most INFJs.
Most INFJs will not make excellent market traders and I would generally advise an INFJ to stay away from that field if they are considering it…in a loose and flirting fashion.
However, anyone that has a burning drive to do something, should do it. Definitely. If anyone feels strongly called to something, then, by all means, follow it. And like you said, learn the qualities that you need to excel in it.
Good points. And being quite the good contrarian to boot.
My goodness! Who are you, sir? You read me like an open book while you flipped through my mind’s pages…flippantly, I must say, and slightly contemptuously. I feel like my whole life has been one magnificently tragic struggle to grasp something I shouldn’t even have bothered reaching for. To summarise, I am a PhD candidate in Engineering and I have been through hell and back. I’m sure you get the point. It’s my fifth year now and my last opportunity to salvage some of my dignity and pride by completing this blasted degree. Oh yes, I have been locked in the Ni-Ti loop (and maybe I still am) for a very long time and I shudder to think of how long I may have resided in that deep cavern of internal darkness and helplessness. I am an Artist sir, but I find that the dreaded fangs of an Engineering degree is finally catching up with me at the PhD level. Anyway, I take your point to express myself and my emotions a bit more and I will actively seek to do just that. I sincerely hope that this will provide some some cathartic relief to my daily pain.
Anyway, I take your point to express myself and my emotions a bit more and I will actively seek to do just that. I sincerely hope that this will provide some some cathartic relief to my daily pain.
It couldn’t hurt!
Outstanding article. This is the issue I’m currently struggling with, and you laid it out quite clearly. Thank you.
Thank you!
I realize this is a very old article but I had to say it is extremely helpful to me at the moment, as I have just acquired my Bachelor in Architecture, and am feeling quite overwhelmed by the choices I have to make. I definitely feel many aspects are too technical for me in architecture, and I have relatively stayed away from most, yet I certainly know the temptation of acting in a very Ti manner, and designing with too much Ti. Although this contributes to high quality detailed product, it still lacks some organic quality (in terms of process at least), and even in terms of end result, I am now really struggling to avoid bypassing Fe and jumping into Ti, even when producing art in my free time. I am quite anxious about falling into the trap for my career decisions, and hoping to find a niche in architecture that satisfies my functions in the right order. As might be obvious, Ti to architecture is a must, but I am hoping I can create a process where, as you said, it comes after Fe. Not sure if it is even possible as my understanding of Fe is still a bit lacking ( it appears I have it underdeveloped), but I guess the field is too diverse to disregard the idea.
This was one of the most helpful articles I’ve ever read as an infj (and I’ve read a lot!!!), and it could not have come at a more perfect time. Thank you for these insights and please keep writing 🖤✨
Welcome!
Very late to the party but wanted to say how helpful this is. I’m a writer who finds exactly that: I write best when I sit back and let it flow rather than getting stuck on definitions and terms, and others confirm this in the articles they enjoy and the ones they don’t appreciate so much. Now I understand why. Thank you.
You’re welcome. Glad you find it helpful 🙂
Thanks for the advice but as an typical INFJ, I don’t trust your advice enough but have learned about my functions, esp. the Fe, thanks but hissss!
No, seriously thanks tho.