Upon completing the Myers Briggs Personality test, you should know a little bit more about yourself. This is great. It will help make life a bit easier.
However, while this information is useful on its own, it’s even more valuable when used to inform life decisions, such as which career path to take.
If you’ve taken the test and have been categorized as an INTP, also known as “The Thinker” or “The Logician,” finding a career that aligns with this personality type is essential to your overall happiness and well-being.
So, let’s dive into the INTP personality, highlighting the traits that are most relevant for your professional life, and then discuss which career paths are best for you. If you want an even deeper look at the INTP personality, here’s a great resource you should check out.
The INTP Personality: The Different Aspects of the Thinker/Logician
The Myers Briggs Personality Test, often known by the acronym MBTI, has been around since the 1970s. It classifies people into one of sixteen different personality types based on where you fall within four different dichotomies:
- Introversion/Extraversion;
- Intuition/Sensing;
- Thinking/Feeling;
- Judging/Perceiving.
As an INTP, your personality is made up of Introversion (I), Intuition (N), Thinking (T), and Perceiving (P). Together, this collection of preferences is often defined by the archetype of Logician and Thinker.
Before we go into the specific aspects of this personality type, here’s a bit more about your preferences and how they can apply to your career. These are just quick summaries, but you can find a deeper explanation here.
Introversion (I)
A tendency for introversion means you typically prefer alone time. This isn’t because you are antisocial or don’t like being around others. Instead, being alone is how introverts get their energy and also where they prefer to place their focus. .
At work, this means finding something that gives you ample space to be with yourself and your inner world.
Intuition (N)
A preference for intuition means having a strong focus on the big picture. You like to take information in, let it sit, and filter it for meaning and patterns. In many cases, this preference translates to high levels of creativity.
Thinking (T)
This particular dichotomy is all about how you make decisions. While everyone “thinks” about their choices, what this means is that you tend to favor logic and reason when considering something. Those with a feeling preference are more concerned with values and the impact their decisions have on others.
Perceiving (P)
The last dichotomy looks at how you present yourself to the world. Those with a perceiving preference like to give off the image that they are spontaneous and flexible. And while this most certainly defines part of your personality, it’s quite possible that inwardly you prefer structure and control.
INTP Strengths and Weaknesses
Like all personality types, INTPs have certain attributes that can be considered strengths and others that can be considered weaknesses. Or, perhaps not weaknesses but rather tendencies that deserve attention to make sure you’re constantly showing up as your best self.
Here is a breakdown of the different strengths and weaknesses for INTP personalities:
INTP Strengths
Among the many strengths of INTPs, those that you should pay the most attention to when searching for jobs are:
Analytical Mind
Given that the nickname for INTPs is “The thinker” or “The logician,” it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that one of your biggest strengths is your analytical mind. INTPs love looking at complex systems and problems and figuring out how everything works together in a logical way.
They can easily get lost in these types of challenges, and when they are presented with a difficult problem that needs solving, they will stop at nothing in search of the solution.
Jobs that let INTPs make use of their analytical skills are ideal, especially those that deal with lots of data and other pieces of information that need to be connected in a logical, rational way.
Relentless Curiosity
Another thing that sets INTPs apart from other personality types is their relentless curiosity. Partly driven by their analytical mind and their constant drive to get to the bottom of complex problems, INTPs are always exploring new ideas and can easily get lost in something if it piques their interest.
Because of this, it’s important to choose a career path that is constantly changing. You can stay in the same role for a period of time, but you need to be able to experiment in new areas and pursue new problems to truly excel at what you’re doing.
Objective View of Reality
Thanks to their analytical minds, INTPs also have a knack for looking at reality in an objective way. This comes mostly from their love of and commitment to logic and rationality. They aren’t as prone to getting caught up in their emotions and are able to see the best path forward, no matter how difficult it might be for others to recognize.
Internal Motivation
Driven by an insatiable thirst for the truth, INTPs, once interested and engaged in something, do not need to be pushed from some external source to keep moving forward.
Because of this, INTPs are well suited for careers that are highly autonomous and independent, and they can thrive in remote work environments where this is little supervision.
INTP Weaknesses
By being objective about our weaknesses, we can focus on areas where we need to improve and also prevent ourselves from falling into situations that make success hard.
Some of the most visible “weaknesses” found in INTPs are:
Overly Theoretical
INTPs are very logical. This much we know. But we also know that the world isn’t always as logical as it should be. Human nature can be irrational and, at times, just down right messy.
For an INTP, this can be difficult to understand, and it’s possible for you to get completely lost in your inner world.
In some careers, such as academia, this can actually be a strength. But if you’re in business or some other field that is more grounded in the “real world,” you need to be careful about placing too much emphasis on logic and theory and losing sight of what’s actually going on around you.
Impatience
Along similar lines, INTPs can become impatient when trying to interact with reality. Again, this is the result of the clash that can sometimes exist between what’s going inside your head and what’s happening outside of it.
Therefore, no matter which career you choose, INTPs need to always be aware of when they’re losing their patience. Just because you know the right answer and understand how things should go doesn’t mean that’s how they’re going to go. To succeed, cultivate some patience so that you can see your efforts through to the end.
Excessive Perfectionism
One of the reasons why INTPs are so good at problem solving is they have an acute attention to detail. But while this is often a strength, it can easily manifest as a weakness, especially when it mutates into excessive perfectionism.
Remember, there is no such thing as “perfect.” We can only get close. So, even if you can see the perfect solution in your head, INTPs must train themselves to let go so that you can move forward with your life.
Despondent Nature (Social Skills)
Lastly, because it’s so easy for those with the INTP personality type to get lost in their own ideas, they can sometimes come across as distant or despondent, especially when they’re leaning hard into their introverted side. Small talk and other forms of rudimentary communication can sometimes seem pointless or even downright annoying, and this can come across wrong to other people.
INTPs do best in careers that let them work on their own, but it’s inevitable that you will some day be a part of a team. When this happens, be aware of when you’re drifting away so that you can step back in a make it clear to people that you’re interested and committed, even if that looks a bit different for you.
Best Careers for INTP Personalities
Just like any other personality type in the Myers Briggs system, INTPs have their own unique set of skills and attributes. And now that you have a better idea as to what those are, lets take a look at some of the best careers for INTP personalities.
Careers in Digital Marketing
Some of the best careers for INTPs come in the field of digital marketing.
For those who don’t know, digital marketing is simply marketing in a digital context. Just like traditional marketing, it’s the process of trying to connect companies to their customers or organizations to their stakeholders. But in this context, it’s all about making use of digital mediums, mainly email, social media, blogs, display advertisements, and more.
It requires a mix of communication and data analytics, as well as the ability to think about things logical and solve problems, making it the ideal choice for those with an INTP personality type.
The Benefits of a Career in Digital Marketing for INTP Personalities
INTPs do well in digital marketing careers because they allow you to make use of some of your most unique skills, while also being exciting, rewarding, and lucrative.
Here are some of the main benefits of a career in digital marketing for INTP personalities:
In Demand
One of the best things to like about the field of digital marketing is that it is growing. This means there is a lot of demand for talent, i.e a lot of jobs available, as well as a lot of money to be made.
A quick search on LinkedIn for “digital marketing” jobs in the United States returns more than 200,000 results, many of which are entry level, which means you can get them with little or no experience.
The reality is that every business and organization is looking to expand on their digital marketing efforts, and this means there is a lot of opportunity, especially since the skills needed in digital marketing line up so well those INTPs naturally have.
High-Paying
Because of the demand and also the importance of the work, entry level digital marketing jobs usually start at around $60-$70 k per year, and it doesn’t usually take long to expand beyond that and start making six figures. And since digital marketing jobs align so nicely with your unique skills as an INTP, these high-paying jobs are not too far away.
Check out the interview below from a digital marketing professional who went from an entry-level position to making more than $100k/year in just a few short years.
Easy to Get
Again, the demand for digital marketing jobs means there are lots of them, which means they are relatively easy to get. You don’t need a special degree, and you often don’t need any previous experience.
All you need are the right skills, many of which you have already as an INTP, and a basic understanding of what digital marketing is, which you can learn by taking a free masterclass.
In the end, if digital marketing is the career path you choose, your first job is not too far away. Don’t believe it? Check this out:
Often Remote
Since digital marketing is, well, digital, a lot of the jobs out there are fully remote, which gives you the chance to work from anywhere and set your own hours. This is perfect for the INTP personality, for it gives you the chance to work autonomously and follow your own curiosity and creativity.
Digital Marketing Careers for INTPs
Seeing the benefits of a digital marketing career for an INTP, you’re probably wondering what specific roles you can start with. In reality, this is a very large field with lots of different positions, but here are some that you as an INTP are most likely to find rewarding and fulfilling:
SEO Specialist
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of designing websites so that they rank at the top of search engines results pages, mainly Google but also Bing, Yahoo, and others.
Essentially, to do this, you need to reverse engineer the unknown algorithms that these search engines use to determine their rankings, and then develop sites so that they are aligned with what these algorithms value.
In other words, it’s a giant puzzle. One that requires a great deal of logic and data analysis, as well as creativity.
As an SEO specialist, you would be responsible for thinking all of this through and coming up with a strategy to help your clients rank. In other words, it’s a perfect career for an INTP.
PPC Strategist
Another digital marketing job you would excel at as an INTP is PPC Strategist. Pay-Per-Click advertising is the main form of advertising on the web. It refers to the fee advertisers pay, either to a website or a search engine (ever notice how the first results of a search usually say “ad”?), each time someone clicks on their ad.
This is a very effective way of generating traffic and sales leads, but doing it right requires a logical, strategic approach. You must be able to dig into the data, discover patterns, and draw conclusions about what people are searching for if you want to succeed.
Basically, it requires doing everything INTPs love to do.
Digital Marketing Data Analytics Specialist
One of the things that sets digital marketing apart from traditional marketing is the availability of data. Website traffic, social shares and activity, clicks, views, etc. can all be tracked, and a keen eye can look at this data and draw valuable conclusions about customers that can be of tremendous value to a business.
For an INTP, this type of job is a dream come true. You get to pour over lots and lots of data to solve complex problems. But, perhaps more importantly, it’s an opportunity to treat humans as rational beings. Something you don’t always get to do but that allows you to make use of your tendency towards logic.
Digital Marketing Strategist
Another digital marketing job you might like as an INTP is digital marketing strategist. In this role, you would be responsible for overseeing part of an entire digital marketing strategy. It involves coordinating many moving parts, such as email marketing, SEO, PPC, social media, content marketing, and more.
To succeed, you need to be able piece together a lot of different parts, something INTPs do very well. And you also need to be able to dig deep into the data to find patterns, another strong suite of the INTP personality.
Getting Started with a Career in Digital Marketing
As you can see, there are a lot of opportunities within the field of digital marketing for an INTP. The skills needed to excel in this field are those that show up most prominently in INTPs.
If this excites you, which is should, then you may be wondering how to get started.
First, you do not need a degree in digital marketing to get started. In some cases you don’t even need a degree at all. Check out this success story for proof:
Instead, you can jump into this exciting field by spending some time learning the basics and then applying your existing skills. You can do this by taking this free masterclass. Or, if you want to go a step further, you can take this full training program.
Other INTP Careers
Digital marketing is a great career for INTPs, but if this doesn’t interest you, know there are other paths, such as: