Other ISFPs: What do you do?

[ChazzMichaels]

For work, I mean....At this point I need to think about a career but I don't even know what to major in, and I have changed it four or five times. Any advice? Just curious what other ISFPs enjoy in a career.

[JivinJeffJones]

My sister is an ISFP. She works in a bank, and kind of likes it. I think that's mostly because she appreciates the security of an extremely structured job, and she is appreciated by her boss. Who just told her that he is separating from his wife and not to tell anyone. The sleazy bastard.

To be honest, I don't think it's a job she would've chosen straight out of high-school. But she had some tough years doing shitty jobs with no security. I guess working for an extremely structured organization looks a lot like a career. If she'd been male she might have joined the army.

[Night]

Originally Posted by ChazzMichaels

For work, I mean....At this point I need to think about a career but I don't even know what to major in, and I have changed it four or five times. Any advice? Just curious what other ISFPs enjoy in a career.

One of my colleagues counsels underprivileged children and helps to establish vocational connections for their parents.

She's quite good at it. She has a natural plumage of empathy and insight that allows for some impressive results.

[quietgirl]

My ISFP ex boyfriend was a professional snowboarder and painted his friends' beer pong tables in his spare time. His college degree was in Studio Art.

My other ISFP ex boyfriend worked a lot of odd jobs (mainly landscaping or construction) and made movies in his spare time. His college degree was in Communications / Multimedia Studies. He also worked for the TV Station on his college campus - mainly filming stuff.

[pocket lint]

Originally Posted by ChazzMichaels

For work, I mean....At this point I need to think about a career but I don't even know what to major in, and I have changed it four or five times. Any advice? Just curious what other ISFPs enjoy in a career.

What majors did you go through?

I started out as an Anthropology/Art History major. I was and still am passionate about both. I wanted to be a museum curator since I was in middle school, but I did tons of research and found out that 1) positions open every 10 years (when someone dies or retires) 2) there would be a hierarchy of people ahead of me waiting for the slot 3) collecting debt... PhD needed for the position 4) low salary 5) parents weren't supportive

Then, I listened to my family and switched to a Business major. I finished two semesters worth of business classes, and liked that it was safe and practical, but for the most part, I was miserable! I knew had to leave because I felt like I had been suppressing my creativity.

I figured that I needed to go back to art and do something more "hands-on", so I started over and switched to Graphic Design (with business as a minor instead). I am satisfied with this decision, and I know it is just right this time! I think deep down, I knew that I would do something art-related... I just had to stop listening to other people, LOL.

[anii]

Have you considered nursing? Nurses make great money here in the states and you only need a 2-year degree.

[Nocapszy]

I build balloons and pipe bombs for a company who requests I don't disclose the name of.

They're not like party baloons though. They're more like heavy duty weather resistant balloons. I think in another part of the plant they attach the balloons and bombs together and then release them, out into the blue sky and blow up whoever they reach. Kinda like the idea of a balloon letter, except this kind kills people.

Neat huh?

[ChazzMichaels]

Hey, thanks for the response guys! Yeah, in highschool I worked in landscaping and for a few summer camps. After highschool I worked for LLBean putting the little monogrammed names on back packs, I also worked as a nurses assistant for a little while in a mental hospital (creepy, esp. 3rd shift.) Bombs? Err.. yeah dabbled in that until a friend of mine's fingers were blown off (he made it.) Haven't been in that since. In college I originally signed up for pre-med, mostly for my parents who wanted me to. I excelled in my classes but really could not see myself as a doctor, I did not like having to write papers and the whole school experience, it seemed so irrelevant to a career in medicine. I wanted to learn what I NEEDED to know.. anatomy physiology, pathology, etc... but, like the intro to communications class I took, WTF! Why am I putting myself through this? Next, I chose Physical Therapy but then again they increased the education requirements to a 6 year degree from 4 (I don't want to spend that kind of time). Then I became fascinated with an old hobby of mine, cars. Hardly a glorious choice of major after the previous for my parents. They still try to talk me out of it including my ISTJ? father who was an aircraft mechanic! Now I am exploring a BS in Biology since my credits point in that direction already. I know I need to grow a backbone and do what I want but.... what the $#@$ do I want! Thanks for some pointers though! I think MBTI has saved my sanity in this apparently XSTJ world.

[arborvitae]

I was pre-med and majoring in Neuroscience at a preppy liberal arts college, but I was miserable with that. I had always done well in school and I got satisfaction out of being successful, so I assumed I was academically-minded. It turned out I had no real passion for Neuroscience, and I decided being a doctor wasn't the lifestyle I wanted. Too much school, and my life would have been more focused on career than family and hobbies.

For a while I considered Physical Therapy, but finally decided on Nursing because its more flexible. I definitely lean towards health professions. I love the idea of helping in tangible and necessary ways. Plus, there's a lot of job stability.

Seems like a lot of other ISFPs gravitate towards careers that give them an artistic outlet. Either way, I think its a good idea to do something that lets you work with your hands. I don't think I could handle a job that required a lot of abstract theorizing and philosophizing. Give me bed pans and smelly old people!

Good luck

[Jeffster]

I'm the office manager for the local Subway sandwiches franchise. (Eat fresh!) Which means I do a ton of paperwork for 20 different Subway locations like payroll, inventory reports, sales analysis reports, daily status reports, promotions reports, summaries of product transfers, etc. I also order all the supplies for the office and office-type supplies for the stores like uniforms, paper, pens, staplers, tape, and so on. I answer all three of the phone lines usually and direct the call accordingly. Line 1 is the outside line with calls from customers, businesses we deal with, people requesting donations, telamarketers, and such. Line 3 is the store business line where I take morning reports, answer questions about paperwork and retail network-related stuff and small talk with the managers that I like. Line 2 is the top-secret line only for a select few who know the code. And apparently for recordings about updating my auto warranty.

Whenever a manager wants to hire a new employee, they have to go through me, as I check to make sure all their paperwork is complete and correct, and if not, I throw it back in their face and laugh maniacally, telling them "come back when it's right, rookie! STEP YO GAME UP!"

I also do some data entry as I keep all the employee files up to date, the monthly sales summary reports updated, and occasionally make memos about various paperwork or computer issues.

I know a lot of that probly sounds pretty boring, but it's a pretty fast-paced environment so I always stay on my toes, at any given moment I could be working on a report, answering phone calls, sending data over the network on the computer to a location or more, and having in-depth philisophical conversations with my co-workers. So, for the most part I like my job. There are sucky things about it like any job, but I certainly like it a lot better than cleaning grease traps or doing boring phone surveys, which are both things I have done in past jobs.