INTJ Careers: Best Jobs for INTJs and Ones They Avoid
The CQ Team · 6 min read ·
Where satisfied INTJs work, from the test publisher's data on 1.3 million working adults: the top jobs, the job families INTJs favour and avoid, and how far type should steer you.
The most common jobs among satisfied INTJs in the publisher's career data are physicist, bioinformatics worker and neuropsychologist. The data covers more than 1.3 million working adults in 746 jobs, all in their job for over two years and satisfied with it. 58,791 of them were INTJs. It shows where INTJs choose to work and stay content. That is a different question from where they perform best.
These are the top ten, in rank order, from the 2020 MBTI Career Report by The Myers-Briggs Company. A job ranks high when INTJs hold it far more often than their share of the US population would predict.
| Rank | Job |
|---|---|
| 1 | Physicist |
| 2 | Bioinformatics worker |
| 3 | Neuropsychologist |
| 4 | Political science teacher, university |
| 5 | Chemistry teacher, university |
| 6 | Economics teacher, university |
| 7 | Computer science teacher, university |
| 8 | Astronomer |
| 9 | Engineering teacher, university |
| 10 | Biochemist or biophysicist |
Further down the same list: neurologist, medical scientist, epidemiologist, mechatronics engineer, mathematician and economist.
The report sees three groups: the sciences, mostly life sciences; teaching at university level; and science and maths. All of them, it says, reward an objective, analytical approach.
In the same data, INTJs were least likely to be found in these jobs.
The report's own advice is not to rule out a job just because your type rarely picks it. In an unusual job, it says, your different approach may be valued and you may be seen as an innovator.
The report scores 23 job families from 0 to 100 for how popular they are with INTJs.
| Job family | Score | Group |
|---|---|---|
| Life, physical and social science | 100 | Most attractive |
| Architecture and engineering | 76 | Most attractive |
| Computer and mathematical | 75 | Most attractive |
| Legal | 65 | Most attractive |
| Arts, design, entertainment, sports and media | 64 | Most attractive |
| Education, training and library | 59 | Most attractive |
| Management | 55 | Most attractive |
| Healthcare practitioners and technical | 43 | Moderate |
| Business and financial operations | 42 | Moderate |
| Sales and related | 25 | Least attractive |
| Building and grounds maintenance | 19 | Least attractive |
The report lists the tasks and settings INTJs tend to prefer.
That fits the type. An INTJ leads with introverted intuition, a sense of where things are heading. It is backed by extraverted thinking, which turns that vision into systems and plans. Read more on the INTJ type page, or compare it with its neighbour in INTJ vs INTP.
Less than any job list implies. The test's publisher says there have been no meaningful studies of the MBTI predicting job performance, and that it is unethical to make job applicants take it in order to screen them out (MBTI Facts). Psychologist David Pittenger also showed that occupational type tables partly track the gender mix of each job (Pittenger, 1993).
So use the lists as a map of where people like you landed and stayed. Then test a job directly: talk to people in it, try the work, check the pay.
Not sure you are an INTJ? Our MBTI-style test takes about three minutes. It is a short test in the style of the Myers-Briggs, not the official MBTI instrument. For every type's career data in one place, see careers by personality type or the personality and careers hub.
There isn't a single one. Among satisfied INTJs in the publisher's data, the most common jobs were physicist, bioinformatics worker, neuropsychologist and university teacher in fields such as political science, chemistry and economics.
Management scored 55 out of 100 for INTJs, inside the report's most attractive group. The test's publisher says there is no meaningful research on type predicting job performance, so the score shows preference, not ability.
Computer and mathematical jobs scored 75 out of 100 for INTJs, the third most popular job family in the report.
No job is off limits. INTJs were least often found in jobs such as manicurist, machine operator and patient representative, and the report says not to rule out a job for that reason alone.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Myers-Briggs and MBTI are registered trademarks of The Myers & Briggs Foundation. Cerebral Quotient is not affiliated with The Myers & Briggs Foundation or The Myers-Briggs Company.
Curious where you sit? The MBTI test is free, takes about 3 minutes, and needs no sign-up.
Take the MBTI test →