The Best Jobs for Every Personality

Find the right job for you!

Cartoon of person with a flashlight at a road cross way determining the best career path.
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Most often attributed to Confucius, the saying “Find a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life” is easy if your job aligns with your personality. For example, a very social person might love a job as a salesperson, while a shy person might find that job difficult and even disagreeable. Here is a list of nine different personality types and the jobs best suited for each personality.

There are many personality tests that can be taken for entertainment or to help you better label the "what" and "who" of you. Perhaps the most famous is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test. This test—and others like it—ask a series of questions to determine where you fall in 16 different personality levels. Some test will limit the different types to eight and still, others set the differences at four.

Most people see portions of themselves in several of the personality types.

The Introvert

The introvert—a shy person or one who keeps their thoughts private—tend to work best alone or in small groups. Introverts can be very focused. They have strong attention to detail because they enjoy concentrating on one task at a time.

Ideal industries: animal care, museum work, information technology, science.

Ideal jobs: veterinarian, archivist, social media manager, computer programmer, researcher, bookkeeper, accountant, paralegal.

The Extrovert

The extrovert—an outgoing or overly express person—enjoys working in large groups and often prefers team assignments. They are typically comfortable speaking in public and leading group activities. They are also multitaskers who works best when juggling a variety of assignments.

Ideal industries: human resources, public relations, sales, health, and wellness.

Ideal jobs: human resources representative, public relations representative, sales manager, real estate agent, physical therapist, EMT, dental hygienist, actor.

The Organizer

The organizer is outgoing, detail-oriented, and practical. Organizers enjoy the community and conventional structure and order in daily life. They enjoy following standard rules and procedures but like to be involved in groups. Organizers enjoy jobs in which they can gather and manage data. They have a desire to remove clutter, which allows them to enjoy tasks ranging from organizing an office to editing an article.

Ideal industries: publishing, administration, finance, hospitality, and tourism.

Ideal jobs: editor, copy editor, office manager, administrative assistant, accountant, payroll clerk.

The Artist

The artisticperson likes to use their hands as well as their minds. They enjoy being creative and innovative in their job. Artists typically do not enjoy conventional work settings, but instead, prefer to work on their own time with limited supervision and a flexible schedule. They prefer to implement their ideas rather than managing or following the ideas of others.

Ideal industries: design, writing, marketing, public relations, theater, music, naturalist and environmentalist.

Ideal jobs: interior designer, product designer, graphic designer, writer, marketing/advertising executive, public relations representative, actor, composer, musician, chef.

The Caregiver

A caregiver is a service-oriented person. They enjoy seeing to other peoples’ needs. The caregiver is a “people person,” who enjoys both working alongside others and working for the welfare of others. They are very responsible and reliable and have strong organizational skills.

Ideal industries: medicine, education, social services, administration, human resources, sales.

Ideal jobs: doctor, nurse, nutritionist, speech pathologist, physical therapist, nanny, teacher, social worker, administrative assistant, office manager, human resources professional, retail worker, spiritual leader, event planner.

The Enterpriser

The enterpriseris a born leader who enjoys the responsibility of mentoring others and building and maintaining teams of people. Enterprisers often like to see projects through from start to finish, but they also understand how and when to delegate tasks to others. They tend to be very self-confident and ambitious.

Ideal industries: academia, business, finance, law, government.

Ideal jobs: professor, corporate executive officer, business coach, mortgage banker, lawyer, judge, politician, teaching.

The Analyst

The analystenjoys analyzing theories and using their logical reasoning skills. Analysts often enjoy working alone and prefer working on complex problems through to the end. They often hold themselves to high standards and are thus very detail-oriented.

Ideal industries: science, medicine, military, law/law enforcement, business, IT, finance, academia.

Ideal jobs: engineer, doctor, researcher, military leader, lawyer, detective, judge, corporate strategist, business manager, computer programmer, accountant, professor.

The Idealist

The idealist enjoys working to make the world a better place. They work best when working toward a lofty goal with a focus on social progress. Idealists often enjoy working on a team with others.

Ideal industries: social work, human resources, education, health and wellness, government, art.

Ideal jobs: social worker, counselor, teacher, speech pathologist, holistic health practitioner, physical therapist, massage therapist, politician, photographer, designer, filmmaker, spiritual leader/activist.

The Realist

The realist enjoys working with facts and achieving tangible results. They enjoy doing and creating rather than strictly thinking and analyzing. Realists often enjoy working with their hands, using equipment like tools and machinery. Being very practical, realists are often good at remaining calm in difficult situations.

Ideal industries: sports and fitness, trades, manufacturing, construction, transportation, science, business, law enforcement, agriculture.

Ideal jobs: athlete, personal trainer, carpenter, plumber, mechanic, electrician, pilot, driver, forensic pathologist, business analyst, policeman, detective, firefighter, EMT, farmer.

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