Career help - don't know what to do next

[derpina]

Howdy all,

I could use some advice on career stuff. I'm also new to this forum. Great to find INTPs. So...here goes.


Used to test as ENFP way back, then INFP, and now finally that I am older and more myself (and have dealt with some baggage) I come up as an INTP.

Career wise though I'm stuck. Used to do some web work (bit of code, some writing) in a terrible workplace and then ended up going freelance....not good. Haven't worked fulltime in six years. I've kept learning and trying new things I just don't know what to retrain as workwise. CUrrently I'm taking an intro to computer science course. It's okay but I don't feel a great passion for it. Then again it is a broad intro course. I got 100% on my first assignment.I am a geek and do some electronics on the side as well just for fun.

I used to be obsessed with becoming a doctor, but that ship has sailed and now I'm at an age (40ish) where I don't know what to do next. I definitely need to be doing something that is investigative. I also have a creative outlet that I do on the side that I hope might turn into something some day.

Missing out on the doctor boat is depressing but I've thought about other medical careers but they all seem too touchy feely or not autonomous enough for me.I love to diagnose ailments and investigate diseases. I don't think I could do nursing.

I've also considered forensic data analysis type stuff but don't want to end up working for some shit marketing firm.

I test as Artistic Investigative Realistic on the strong interest inventory.


What the heck should I do next? I'm stumped and also a bit depressed. I need to work fulltime but don't know what to even aim for in terms of a new career.

Any advice?

 

[crippli]

Howdy. Welcome.

What about buying a farm and become a farmer. If interested enough, you could get into most every field you mentioned while improving the work that is of great value to the people.

Otherwise when i attended university, there where quite the number of senior students. They did just as good, if not better then the younger students. So the ship may not have sailed quite yet.

 

[Sixup]

Don't see why you'd need to fully retrain. Just go deeper into your CS/programming/electronics stuff. I don't buy this thing of needing to have passion for something, especially not in the beginning, when most things tend to be boring and tedius, and your taste doesn't match your skill.

Look up "The Gap" it's a nice brief video about how when we start something we suck at it, and we want to create cool stuff, but it takes a while to bridge that gap from sucking and making cool stuff. But keep hammering it and eventually you'll get to the point where you don't suck as much. Then you'll enjoy it.

The past 2 years I've "followed my passion" into a field I was "passionate" about (which is an emotional thing, Fe inferior tricks?) and about 1 year in I realized it's something I absolutely shouldn't be doing. I am pretty good at it, but it's absolutely draining for me. Sucks. And I work my ass off and I'm broke.

So I'm getting ready to go back into the field I -should- be in. Absolute heart-throbbing, spiritually-enlightening, feel-good Passion probably won't be there. But I do think the passion can and will be developed down the road. Thinking years. For more on this, I suggest reading this guy's stuff: http://calnewport.com/blog/2010/09/10/the-danger-of-the-dream-job-delusion/

Most of his stuff is excellent.

Anyway good luck.

 

[Inquisitor]

I can relate to missing the doctor boat. I got into medical school in the US no less and then turned it down. Spent a good 5-6 years regretting it or questioning if I made the right choice. I still feel like an ass sometimes because I could have had the MD after my name. It's pathetic I know, but I think INTPs want to feel respected and admired for their expertise. Probably many other types too, but there's something for INTPs specifically about being recognized by others as a sage.

Then I researched MBTI. Found out I was an INTP. Received a recommendation from someone on this forum as well as others that software engineering was an excellent field for INTPs. Now taking CS and hope to get a second BS starting next year. I'm in my thirties. I was an ESL teacher in my previous job. I now realize I was in love with the idea of being a doctor, but in all likelihood would have hated the job itself. So far I'm loving CS. I hate having to deal with people. Inferior Fe led me to believe that I had to do a job where I was directly helping people to feel "complete." That one realization changed my life. If you truly are INTP, maybe the whole doctor thing is just part and parcel of your inferior acting out. I wouldn't give it much credence. Better to work on intensively using Ti and Ne. I don't think the freelance route is optimal for INTPs. We seem to lack initiative. Give us a technical problem to solve though, and we're awesome at it. I'm aiming to work for a company and follow the slow path to wealth accumulation.

 

[Sixup]

I now realize I was in love with the idea of being a doctor, but in all likelihood would have hated the job itself. So far I'm loving CS. I hate having to deal with people. Inferior Fe led me to believe that I had to do a job where I was directly helping people to feel "complete." That one realization changed my life.

This is exactly what happened to me.

 

[Vrecknidj]

Start a religion.

 

[onesteptwostep]

Hello.

How about doing something that's related to international relations? Something like the Peace Corps. It's an entirely new experience. Working at a logistics related job at like, let's say, a homeless shelter might be worthwhile too. There are plenty of rural schools in 3rd world countries you can help out as well, like in Nepal. A close friend of mine works there as a teacher, and they're in need of teachers. I'd say "Artistic Investigative Realistic" would fit under that. Working as a doctor might not be bad as well. (I dunno, just throwing ideas around)

Here's their FB link if you're interested: MUA

 

[WALKYRIA]

Hey guys, never would have imagined that intps secretely wanted to be doctors... i thought it was only me lol. Ive done it, just finished and got the m.d... but i almost died in the journey... so was not too happy with my peers.. but what is happiness anyways?! Lol, what mattered is that i've learned and worked harder than the top 5 % and that i had done something out of the ordinary... the feeling is even bigger than happiness itself... its bliss.
Nevertheless, i wholeheartedly agree with you guys... med school is not for XXTPs. better be a tjay.and i also agree that besides my field (mental health), nothing really catches my mind so to say...
About the" will to become the saviour, the doctor" being a product of inferior fe... couldnt agree more... somewhere in the middle of my education, i realized that i arrived in med school for shallow and fancy reasons(looks good being an md, recognition,..), that i was burnt out and didnt like it enough, lacked passion (but loved the idea of being a doc)... compared to my dedicated peers. I would have never done it if it wasnt for the branch of psychiatry which is truely one of the best kept secret of medecine....but you need to love it and i did since philosophy/brain science/creative outlets/ fascinating stories/ were my things for a time.
One person sayed it before but passion doesnt do evrrything and at the end of school... i actually began to love medecine and the environment.

So yeah, your forty... and finding a good job is not about being "great" or "fulfilling your dreams" anymore but about realistically trying to survive, so best thing to do is to not take risks and go into comp science...which is all around wisest move. 2nd thing, find a niche and be an entrepreneur if you have the stamina. And of course best move is to find a way to automatically generate money.(harder said than done). Last but not least, a job is just a breadwinner at the end of the day... so if nothing works out well, try to find a not so well paid but easy job and find satisfaction elsewhere (romance, family, books, computers,..) in your life. Most jobs are overrated anyways.
Good luckz.

 

[Inquisitor]

I'm curious....what branch of psychiatry did you specialize in? Were you trained in the U.S. and do you practice there as well? Care to describe what your job is like?

 

[SpaceYeti]

Your name means you win the forum. First place!

 

[one eleven]

I don't believe the passion mantra is very helpful when it comes to career advice.

My advice is to give CS more of a chance. I never really felt 'passionate' about programming until I got to the more challenging things and even then I wasn't exactly passionate but rather I loved finding the solution to a very hard problem. It's exhilarating. It is the same way with many subjects, the fun doesn't start until you've moved on from the basics.

I'm curious to know why freelancing was no good for you though. This is my goal and it fits perfectly with my desire to be independent and free from fixed schedules as well as annoying bosses.

You can also try earning passive income (niche sites, SEO type of stuff, even writing an ebook).

 

[Architect]

M.D. - yes while INTP's would like the prestige it's probably a bad choice. You do nothing but 100% people management, and sick people as well.

I don't believe the passion mantra is very helpful when it comes to career advice.

Yes, good insight. Passion is associated more with the inferior, not the dominant. Example, Einstein (INTP) said he enjoyed and had more joy from music than he ever got from Physics. But what did he do with all his time? Physics.

Same for me. Music gives me great pleasure, it's my passion, but I can't do it all the time. I'm not built to do it all the time, whereas I easily spend all my time messing with computers. You see? It's obvious, how can be passionate about what we are good at and do all the time? Humans don't work that way. We are passionate about what we do infrequently and isn't our main mode, our shadow, that is our inferior.

My advice is to give CS more of a chance. I never really felt 'passionate' about programming until I got to the more challenging things and even then I wasn't exactly passionate but rather I loved finding the solution to a very hard problem. It's exhilarating. It is the same way with many subjects, the fun doesn't start until you've moved on from the basics.

Very well expressed. Exactly right - I'm not having an orgasm from working with computers, but I'm good at it. Its sustaining, I like it, I like doing it and so do it for hours a day.

Probably the greatest source of confusion for people and career. Further, INTP's and CS? For sure.

 

[FlorisV]

HUsed to do some web work (bit of code, some writing) in a terrible workplace and then ended up going freelance....not good. Haven't worked fulltime in six years. I've kept learning and trying new things I just don't know what to retrain as workwise.

A lot of freelancers seem to focus on specialty and keep working for the same employers, this could be too boring for you, or it could be that you have to sell yourself, do acquisition, this is extra work completely outside of comfort zone. You could find employment at a company that does this work for you.

CUrrently I'm taking an intro to computer science course. It's okay but I don't feel a great passion for it. Then again it is a broad intro course. I got 100% on my first assignment.I am a geek and do some electronics on the side as well just for fun.

It's normal not to be overly excited when still trying to get into it. And passion and excitement are not the dominant modus operandi for INTP's. Curiousity perhaps, sharp thinking, annoying questions...but not passion. Like others said don't worry about it too much. I've been accused of not showing enough enthusiasm, passion by my counsillor while I was designing games for crying out loud. She mistook my lack of sweeping sales pitches and glaring eyes for a lack of passion...I am simply not extraverted. And very laid back.

I used to be obsessed with becoming a doctor, but that ship has sailed and now I'm at an age (40ish) where I don't know what to do next. I definitely need to be doing something that is investigative. I also have a creative outlet that I do on the side that I hope might turn into something some day.

It's really nice to have the time to do something creative, for me it can be writing (the most time consuming so I have postponed my great novel for years to come), making computer music (less time consuming, I love it), programming a game (more time consuming, doing that now)...anything else creative. It's OK to keep something creative as a hobby it can be very hard to monetize (I'm trying this but not holding my breath). You can be creative in many ways, not just the artistic ones. Doing some investigative rings a bell I like it too...figuring out how stuff works, this means you can keep learning new things, good!

Missing out on the doctor boat is depressing but I've thought about other medical careers but they all seem too touchy feely or not autonomous enough for me.I love to diagnose ailments and investigate diseases. I don't think I could do nursing.

Science could be more suitable but I hate it when it's recommended...so little work in it. You're probably right about the nursing that's not an INTP job, too feely/dependant. Maybe an alternative medicine practice of your own would suit.

I've also considered forensic data analysis type stuff but don't want to end up working for some shit marketing firm.

Why not? Feels like selling your soul?

I test as Artistic Investigative Realistic on the strong interest inventory.

Artistic with programming skills spells indie game/app maker, maybe make a simple app about medicine :-). Maybe have a look at Swift (which I use) or Unity3d (I want to learn this) and learn it. As for art work, stock art can be very affordable.