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So he defined three different ways of looking at the categories. You can be “confident” in an area,
and/or you can “perform” it frequently, and/or you can “like” it. So we could say that a person is
confident in their ability to do Realistic work, but does not often perform it, though they like it.
A study compared type and occupational preferences to determine which work areas were most
favored by each type. 182 INTJs tended to be confident in their ability to do Investigative and
Conventional jobs, but they were only likely to perform Investigative jobs. This was fortunate,
because they also tended to like Investigative jobs the most.
INTJs are the type that least likes Realistic work, with only 63.7% liking it compared to the average
of 73.3%. Curiously, INTPs are the type that most likes Realistic work, with 83.9% favoring it.
This fact can be helpful in differentiating the two types, though it must be noted that the majority of
both types like Realistic work.
INTJs are furthermore the type that feels most confident in their ability to do Conventional work,
with 61.5% of INTJs being confident in this area. (The average is 37.4%; ISFPs are the least
confident in this area at 22.6%.)
Now that you know the RIASEC categories that INTJs fall into, you can go occupation shopping
online. There are extensive lists detailing the favorite occupations for each of the six areas. Note,
however, that your individual RIASEC preferences are unique; the above is simply a generalized set
of preferences for an “average” INTJ. If you want to find out more, you can take a test (i.e. the
Strong Interest Inventory); it will give you your individual RIASEC preferences. There are also a
number of type-based assessment groups that can give you both your MBTI type and your RIASEC
preferences combined into one report.
Preferred Work Environments
A study found that INTJs were the type that cared least about the working environment
characteristic "Makes jobs simple." 183 In fact, only 17.2% of INTJs indicated that they liked a
simple work environment. Instead, more than 80% of the sample favored the characteristics
"Variety of tasks," "Clear structure," and "Independence and achievement." Notably, INTJs were
among the top four types that liked "Variety of tasks," probably because a variety of tasks means a
variety of areas to practice and achieve mastery in. More variety also implies a concomitant level
of complexity, which all Rationals love.
Since INTJs are the most future-oriented type, 184 it perhaps comes as no surprise that the thing
which dissatisfied them most about their jobs was lack of future opportunities. 185 They also gave the
highest percentage of "Very Dissatisfied" responses to the work aspect "Opportunities for
promotion." It would appear that INTJs require more open rungs and a higher ladder than other
types. To a much lesser extent, INTJs were also dissatisfied with "Job Security."
INTJs are unique among the Rationals in their preferred job characteristics. For ENTJs, ENTPs,
and INTPs, the job trait "international opportunities" was favored by over 50% of each type—but
not by the INTJs. Similarly, all the NTs save for the INTJs liked "Advancement/pay, not security."
182 Myers, McCaulley, Quenk & Hammer, 1998
183 Myers, McCaulley, Quenk & Hammer, 1998
184 Harrison & Lawrence, 1985
185 Myers, McCaulley, Quenk & Hammer, 1998