Finding a interesting job?

[Marsmann]

I've spent the past 6 hours obsessing over what career to pursue, and I have no idea how any other INTPs can do it without their head literally popping. Engineering seemed cool until I realized all that god awful math. Computer programming is also a possibility considering i love computers but I don't want to get halfway through college and lose interest. Everything i look at seems nice till i see one downfall that makes it seem so mundane. Has anyone else been able to find a job that holds their interest?

 

[EditorOne]

One solution is to find a field where you are required to learn new things every couple of years. Journalism did that for me. Between having to cram to learn about a new thing I was expected to write about, learning new computer systems every 18 months, learning management stuff at certain points: It kept me going pretty good with minimum boredom and quite a few challenges.
I am not sure what else might provide that range, including journalism these days. I was fortunate to be able to operate quasi-independently in selection of topics upon which to report. I had the basics of a beat to cover, then after that it was whatever looked interesting.

In any event, the latest factfinding I've seen indicates that young people moving into the real world today can expect to change jobs four or five times in a career, and, more than previous generations, can find themselves forced to change fields because of changing technology. So you may, as an INTP with wide-ranging curiosity and all the rest, be more ready for the real world than you suspect. Just know that you have a tendency to be fascinated with new stuff until you figure it out to some level of competency, but will then find yourself less interested. It's apparently how we all roll, although to varying extents. My "wave" usually lasted three years from "Oh, isn't this neat?" to "If I have to do this one more day my head will melt."

 

[Analyzer]

A problem is that in a ever increasing bureaucratic world, many occupations/jobs require experience or certain credentials to practice. You could find yourself doing something which requires years of preparation then changing interests.

Work can be approached in different ways. You could do a boring, easy, and perhaps lucrative job so you can sustain your interests on your own or you can find something that you enjoy and pursue as way to earn a living. Both have its pros and cons but it seems the later would be better. I'm not sure.

 

[Redfire]

Give math a second chance. It takes a while to learn. The concepts take some time to really sink in. But once you understand it's really cool. And once you know math you can study engineering, science or whatever you want, and it will probably be more satisfying than other fields. And then you'll end up working as a programmer :P, there aren't many jobs elsewhere. But that's fine. Maybe programming in a field close to the actual thing you studied.

 

[Sixup]

I've spent the past 6 hours obsessing over what career to pursue, and I have no idea how any other INTPs can do it without their head literally popping. Engineering seemed cool until I realized all that god awful math. Computer programming is also a possibility considering i love computers but I don't want to get halfway through college and lose interest. Everything i look at seems nice till i see one downfall that makes it seem so mundane. Has anyone else been able to find a job that holds their interest?

6 hours? Try several years

Just know that there's no perfect dream job just sitting waiting for you to fill the spot. The more you believe in that fantasy the more you'll hate whatever you're doing.

Pick something that moderately interests you at least, and that you're somewhat (or could be) good at, (and hopefully something technical that can pay decent relatively quickly) and prepare to slog away through the shitty parts of it (such as math?! ) for the first 5 or so years. Then you might get to spend another 5 years starting to get pretty good at it. At that point you might start to enjoy it as you gain expertise, you gain options, control, freedom in the work, recognition, etc. That's what makes a dream job.

Or lets say you don't start enjoying it at that point. Well, hopefully you've been smart and have been saving 50%+ of your income. You'll be pretty close to financial freedom at this point. Your options will be much better. You can leverage the skills you've developed over the past 10 years, maybe pivot into a related but different field if needed.

Then pretty soon you can retire early and do whatever the hell you want for work

 

[eagor]

6 hours? Try several years

Just know that there's no perfect dream job just sitting waiting for you to fill the spot. The more you believe in that fantasy the more you'll hate whatever you're doing.

Pick something that moderately interests you at least, and that you're somewhat (or could be) good at, (and hopefully something technical that can pay decent relatively quickly) and prepare to slog away through the shitty parts of it (such as math?! ) for the first 5 or so years. Then you might get to spend another 5 years starting to get pretty good at it. At that point you might start to enjoy it as you gain expertise, you gain options, control, freedom in the work, recognition, etc. That's what makes a dream job.

Or lets say you don't start enjoying it at that point. Well, hopefully you've been smart and have been saving 50%+ of your income. You'll be pretty close to financial freedom at this point. Your options will be much better. You can leverage the skills you've developed over the past 10 years, maybe pivot into a related but different field if needed.

Then pretty soon you can retire early and do whatever the hell you want for work

this right here is why im joining the navy, not saying you should follow my footsteps since the armed forces aren't for everyone. but for me i want to get on an aircraft carrier, work on some aspect of the ship whether it's the computer systems, aircraft, powerplant etc and on top of that i'll get to see the world.

plus unlike alot of the other armed forces the danger is drastically reduced in the navy, the last time one of our carriers was sunk by enemy forces was in ww2.

 

[Kuu]

Oh you want a job that is not mundane? Get off the internet and get real; the way things are going by the time you graduate you'll be happy to just have a job...


Revolt.

 

[onesteptwostep]

Get a liberal arts degree.

 

[Sixup]

this right here is why im joining the navy, not saying you should follow my footsteps since the armed forces aren't for everyone. but for me i want to get on an aircraft carrier, work on some aspect of the ship whether it's the computer systems, aircraft, powerplant etc and on top of that i'll get to see the world.

plus unlike alot of the other armed forces the danger is drastically reduced in the navy, the last time one of our carriers was sunk by enemy forces was in ww2.

I joined the Navy right out of high school. Was in for 5 years. If I had to go back I would do it again. Probably the same job. I'd just be smarter about how I did things.

But thanks to the Navy, August this year I'm going to get PAID to go to school full time.

 

[Perfectly Normal Beast]

Revolt.

/in

 

[eagor]

I joined the Navy right out of high school. Was in for 5 years. If I had to go back I would do it again. Probably the same job. I'd just be smarter about how I did things.

But thanks to the Navy, August this year I'm going to get PAID to go to school full time.

nice, may i ask what you did in the navy?

 

[Sixup]

CTN. Cryptologic Technician Networks.

Potential to be really cool if you A) get into the right command, B) push yourself to develop the skills beyond expectations.

I'd say all the Navy CT jobs are fairly INTP compatible, as much as you could expect from military. You'll probably get stuck with some shitty shift eventually, and have some annoying BS to deal with. But I was usually good at flying under the radar and just doing what I needed to do.

What I would do differently is try to stay positive and avoid the soul sucking feeling I got in my last 2 years. Since you change duty stations every 3 years, it's basically like changing jobs every 3 years. And mostly not by your own choice. So if you get put into a position you hate, or where the chain of command sucks, it can suck. Which is where I wish I could go back to my younger self and say to suck it up, and keep developing my skills, instead of just doing the minimum to get by. (Plus everything else about the dream job bullshit).


What will your rate (job) be, eagor?

 

[TheManBeyond]

what about being a pornstar without cams, like some kind of highly famous private gigolo, penisman of company, friend of good ol' rich ladies. it seems cool.