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Just curious about this from reading another topic. I'm wondering if unemployment with infp's is maybe due to the difficulty of finding meaning in work or, maybe it's a social thing. Any comments on this? I'm unemployed, of course and, i've only had two jobs that i can say i honestly valued. The first was a job booking travel for government employees. The other was a relay operator for the deaf. (laid off and f'd up the other) But, i find it hard to continue most jobs for more than a couple of months because they seem to hold no value at all in assisting, at least a small piece, in the evolution of society. Basically, if i can't find any other meaning in my employment other than to collect a check, i f'ing hate it. After a while, i can't take it. It becomes unbearable, from an apathy draining into depression. But, enough whining. I know i need to go to college for Jungian psychology or creative writing and quite my bitching. I'm just wondering if maybe it's an infp thing to despise a "regular" job. Thoughts?
_________________ "...he must bring forth values which are an equivalent substitute for his absence in the collective personal sphere. Without this production of values individuation is immoral and, more than that, suicidal..." Jung
Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2009 9:58 am Posts: 1909 Location: Halfway Down the Stairs
Gender: male
MBTI type: INFP
Enneagram type: 4w5 so/sx
Yeah, needing meaning in their work (and therefore having a tendency to dislike "regular" jobs) is a pretty common trait amongst INFPs.
Here's what a couple of type descriptions have to say about it:
Spoiler:
Quote:
The INFP is a special, sensitive individual who needs a career which is more than a job. The INFP needs to feel that everything they do in their lives is in accordance with their strongly-felt value systems, and is moving them and/or others in a positive, growth-oriented direction. They are driven to do something meaningful and purposeful with their lives. The INFP will be happiest in careers which allow them to live their daily lives in accordance with their values, and which work towards the greater good of humanity. It's worth mentioning that nearly all of the truly great writers in the world have been INFPs.
At work, INFPs contribute their creativity, their value system, and their ability to work with others. They are able to see the larger picture and how specific programs fit in. They do not dwell on the trivialities or the details. Their job must be fun, although not racous, and it must be meaningful to them. They need a strong purpose in their work. They want to be recognized and valued, without undue attention given to them. They may become embarrassed when make the center of attention. As a result, they may undersell their strengths in order to avoid being singled out and made to feel conspicuous. They would rather have their worth be noticed gradually over time.
INFPs like to work with cooperative people committed to the same values that they are. They can become bothered when they see others working at cross purposes, especially when conflict is overt. They do not like competition or bureaucracy. They need privacy. Calm and quiet appeal to them, as does time and space for reflection. People usually like working with INFPs even though they may not know them well.
INFPs are quite disorganized. But when tasks at hand are important and best done in an organized way, INFPs strive to do so. Practicality is not a driving force for INFPs. Things that traditionally belong together may not be placed together because the INFP does not see it as necessary. They have trouble finishing what they start because of their perfectionistic nature. When they do finish a project, they may not consider it done 'for good.' Projects can always be improved upon, revised, and reworked, and therefore INFPs find it hard to bring tasks to closure. Because they are able to visualize the finished product long before it is done, the actual completion is of less importance.
INFPs prefer occupations in which they can be involved in making the world better. Having their heart in their work is important to them. These occupations also allow for an element of creativity and flexibility. INFPs are particularly interested to be counselor, editor, education consultant, English teacher, fine arts teacher, journalist, psychologist, religious educator, social scientist, social worker, teacher, writer, and other occupations that engage their values.
Personally I don't mind the idea of doing "regular" jobs short-term, while I wait for something better to come along, so in all probability my unemployment is primarily down to my avoidance disorder issues - though I do think being INFP is something of a handicap when it comes to the job market, as so many jobs (especially the "regular" kind) require/expect/demand that applicants to be "out-going" etc. (ie. extroverts).
_________________ What would the world be, once bereft Of wet and of wildness? Let them be left, O let them be left, wildness and wet; Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet. - Gerard Manley Hopkins
Thanks for the info man, i suppose i could've just looked that up myself. I was on a tangent though. The descriptions definitely support some reasons as to why my front desk jobs were so tortuous. This shell can be quite the hindrance.
DefectiveCreative wrote:
avoidance disorder issues
Got me some of that. Avoidance is like a subtle drug addiction for me sometimes. Hard to notice. I guess because i avoid my avoidance (Rimshot). anyway, peace.
_________________ "...he must bring forth values which are an equivalent substitute for his absence in the collective personal sphere. Without this production of values individuation is immoral and, more than that, suicidal..." Jung
Joined: Wed Jan 28, 2009 2:30 am Posts: 1720 Location: My happynin' place
Gender: female
MBTI type: IsFP
Enneagram Tritype: 629
Class: Viking
I like my food: Savoury
Just popped in from the 'which books are you reading' thread as a thought came to my mind... maybe you're suited to working two part-time jobs, so when one gets dull, you can look forward to doing the other one for the rest of the week, and if that gets dull, you go back to the first one.
I'm currently unemployed because I'm pretty much illiterate in Hong Kong (sigh), so have to delve into some non-office jobs for a while. Having meaning is nice, but I think I'd be happy with a job if it was: basically non-stressful on the interpersonal level (I don't mind actual job-related stress such as high demand or volume, it's work politics and awful coworkers that gets to me), had a fair amount of social contact, allowed me to help people and was either challenging or interesting.
hey, thanks. i appreciate that. I've thought about that before and then forgot it. I'll have to find a way to make that work. that does seem to be the best way for me.
_________________ "...he must bring forth values which are an equivalent substitute for his absence in the collective personal sphere. Without this production of values individuation is immoral and, more than that, suicidal..." Jung
Joined: Wed Jul 29, 2009 6:28 am Posts: 1761
Gender: female
MBTI type: ARRR
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Enneagram Tritype: 549
Class: Pirate
I like my food: Delicious
sciski wrote:
Just popped in from the 'which books are you reading' thread as a thought came to my mind... maybe you're suited to working two part-time jobs, so when one gets dull, you can look forward to doing the other one for the rest of the week, and if that gets dull, you go back to the first one.
I'm currently unemployed because I'm pretty much illiterate in Hong Kong (sigh), so have to delve into some non-office jobs for a while. Having meaning is nice, but I think I'd be happy with a job if it was: basically non-stressful on the interpersonal level (I don't mind actual job-related stress such as high demand or volume, it's work politics and awful coworkers that gets to me), had a fair amount of social contact, allowed me to help people and was either challenging or interesting.
Aha! Now I think I know why Marshall Cavendish came to mind when I thought about you!
Are you done with your PhD? If you have the credentials for it, I'd like to suggest you write an interesting science book for primary/middle/secondary school. You certainly have the talent, the work experience and the authority to write one.
When I found out about the earning potential (in royalties) of science textbook/activity book writers in my country, I wanted to kick myself in butt for not having taken up a five-year double BS/MS in Physics Engineering. Science writing is fun, meaningful, doable, and minimizes the amount of social interaction I'd have to do to earn a living.
You can spend a whole year or two just researching/writing the book and testing it on students for your dissertation for a PhD in Science Communications or something. Kills two birds with one stone, I think - since sci and comms are your obvious competencies.
And you don't even have to have a finished book before you submit a book proposal to a publisher. Some publishers will buy a proposal and give you an allowance/advance against royalties if you have the credentials to write an informative book with an interesting/marketable angle. It would also be great if you applied for a grant for writing an educational book - some governments actually give out these types of grants. Then you can have two sources of income doing something that will help you leave a legacy for young people.
Joined: Wed Jul 29, 2009 6:28 am Posts: 1761
Gender: female
MBTI type: ARRR
Enneagram type: 5w4
Enneagram Tritype: 549
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I like my food: Delicious
Ka-Kow wrote:
I know i need to go to college for Jungian psychology or creative writing and quite my bitching.
I'd take an inter-disciplinary course in both cognitive psychology and communications if I were you.... Just my two cents. It'll give you something to write about, and the skills to write it.
Ka-Kow wrote:
I'm just wondering if maybe it's an infp thing to despise a "regular" job. Thoughts?
"Regular" jobs are for folks who aren't as creative and sensitive as INFPs.
Joined: Tue Feb 03, 2009 7:20 pm Posts: 1114 Location: London
Gender: female
MBTI type: INFP
Enneagram type: 9w1
crystaluniverse wrote:
sciski wrote:
Just popped in from the 'which books are you reading' thread as a thought came to my mind... maybe you're suited to working two part-time jobs, so when one gets dull, you can look forward to doing the other one for the rest of the week, and if that gets dull, you go back to the first one.
I'm currently unemployed because I'm pretty much illiterate in Hong Kong (sigh), so have to delve into some non-office jobs for a while. Having meaning is nice, but I think I'd be happy with a job if it was: basically non-stressful on the interpersonal level (I don't mind actual job-related stress such as high demand or volume, it's work politics and awful coworkers that gets to me), had a fair amount of social contact, allowed me to help people and was either challenging or interesting.
Aha! Now I think I know why Marshall Cavendish came to mind when I thought about you!
Are you done with your PhD? If you have the credentials for it, I'd like to suggest you write an interesting science book for primary/middle/secondary school. You certainly have the talent, the work experience and the authority to write one.
When I found out about the earning potential (in royalties) of science textbook/activity book writers in my country, I wanted to kick myself in butt for not having taken up a five-year double BS/MS in Physics Engineering. Science writing is fun, meaningful, doable, and minimizes the amount of social interaction I'd have to do to earn a living.
You can spend a whole year or two just researching/writing the book and testing it on students for your dissertation for a PhD in Science Communications or something. Kills two birds with one stone, I think - since sci and comms are your obvious competencies.
And you don't even have to have a finished book before you submit a book proposal to a publisher. Some publishers will buy a proposal and give you an allowance/advance against royalties if you have the credentials to write an informative book with an interesting/marketable angle. It would also be great if you applied for a grant for writing an educational book - some governments actually give out these types of grants. Then you can have two sources of income doing something that will help you leave a legacy for young people.
Just a thought...
I would just like to say that I think this is an astonishingly good idea. Whaddaya reckon sciski?
thank you crystaluniverse, i really appreciate the advice.
_________________ "...he must bring forth values which are an equivalent substitute for his absence in the collective personal sphere. Without this production of values individuation is immoral and, more than that, suicidal..." Jung
Joined: Wed Jan 28, 2009 2:30 am Posts: 1720 Location: My happynin' place
Gender: female
MBTI type: IsFP
Enneagram Tritype: 629
Class: Viking
I like my food: Savoury
Pipster wrote:
crystaluniverse wrote:
sciski wrote:
Just popped in from the 'which books are you reading' thread as a thought came to my mind... maybe you're suited to working two part-time jobs, so when one gets dull, you can look forward to doing the other one for the rest of the week, and if that gets dull, you go back to the first one.
I'm currently unemployed because I'm pretty much illiterate in Hong Kong (sigh), so have to delve into some non-office jobs for a while. Having meaning is nice, but I think I'd be happy with a job if it was: basically non-stressful on the interpersonal level (I don't mind actual job-related stress such as high demand or volume, it's work politics and awful coworkers that gets to me), had a fair amount of social contact, allowed me to help people and was either challenging or interesting.
Aha! Now I think I know why Marshall Cavendish came to mind when I thought about you!
Are you done with your PhD? If you have the credentials for it, I'd like to suggest you write an interesting science book for primary/middle/secondary school. You certainly have the talent, the work experience and the authority to write one.
When I found out about the earning potential (in royalties) of science textbook/activity book writers in my country, I wanted to kick myself in butt for not having taken up a five-year double BS/MS in Physics Engineering. Science writing is fun, meaningful, doable, and minimizes the amount of social interaction I'd have to do to earn a living.
You can spend a whole year or two just researching/writing the book and testing it on students for your dissertation for a PhD in Science Communications or something. Kills two birds with one stone, I think - since sci and comms are your obvious competencies.
And you don't even have to have a finished book before you submit a book proposal to a publisher. Some publishers will buy a proposal and give you an allowance/advance against royalties if you have the credentials to write an informative book with an interesting/marketable angle. It would also be great if you applied for a grant for writing an educational book - some governments actually give out these types of grants. Then you can have two sources of income doing something that will help you leave a legacy for young people.
Just a thought...
I would just like to say that I think this is an astonishingly good idea. Whaddaya reckon sciski?
It would end up something like this.
One of the worst things about my job was lack of freedom to write the way I wanted to. This idea definitely has potential. The world needs a fun textbook!
(BTW, I'm not doing a PhD.. though I have a Grad Dip in Science Communication. :-) )
Joined: Wed Jul 29, 2009 6:28 am Posts: 1761
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sciski wrote:
It would end up something like this.
One of the worst things about my job was lack of freedom to write the way I wanted to. This idea definitely has potential. The world needs a fun textbook!
(BTW, I'm not doing a PhD.. though I have a Grad Dip in Science Communication. :-) )
I left my 8-hour a day job because it has become a prison for me. The stress I felt there didn't come from the job itself but from the boredom and the meaninglessness of it all. At this point the thought of being in another job is my greatest nightmare. It's not just about the job, but the rigidity and structure of a regular 8-hour job.
Joined: Mon May 18, 2009 11:15 pm Posts: 131 Location: big city
MBTI type: pfin
Enneagram type: ocean
i was laid off in september. it's the second time i've collected unemployment cheques. i guess this is typical for some computery stuff. i'm pretty okay with that.
i've been working on my other novel (shelved the first one for now) and i'm trying to learn how to draw. drawing is so fun. my goal is to finish the novel before my unemployment runs out so i can shop it around.
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 11:11 am Posts: 14
Gender: male
MBTI type: INFP
Class: Ninja
I used to deliver newspapers for a few years and then stopped when i found out they were using me for basically slave labour rates and i figured out how they built their empire, so i resigned. I was pretty dissappointed when i learned one of my friends got paid more in an hour than i would in 6. Though it was good because he used to get free pizza for us sometimes. Then he got 'corrupted' with money... Well i havent got a part time job and pretty much everyone around me had one. I remember the time and we were sitting in the hall and we were asked to had a part time job and pretty much everyone put their hand up. And like only like 3 people didnt. We dont really have much ambition to get one or are concerned about getting one. I tried to seriously look once. And every now and then i would go and look for any vacancys. Theres was a lot of competition for menial jobs or they were at wierd hours. Though it was never really too important for me and it wasnt a huge disappointment when i couldnt get a job. I'm fairly low maintenence anyway and i'm really hard to part from my money.
Though to my luck i was asked to do the gardening for one of our neighbours. Its good because they live next door and its only 1 hour per week. So it means i'm not slaving for like 10 hours over the weekends.
I suppose i could say i like an environment with freedom. I like classes where the teacher is not always teaching or talking. Sometimes in graphics i will just take a break and eat some food and walk around the classroom for 5 minutes or just decide one day to sit at the computer and make 3d stuff.
It is so nice thing Chile that you did not lose the hope and keep trust in yourself and finally you get work of gardening. For achieve something in life or to build career trust and confidence in own self are very important. And by this nothing is impossible for any one.
Joined: Sun Dec 11, 2011 9:34 pm Posts: 47
Gender: female
MBTI type: INFP
Enneagram type: 5
Class: Ninja
I don't work at the moment because of mental illness and inability to use my right hand.
But when I was working, it was a struggle. I found it impossible to do a "regular" job as you describe it. I find it soul-destroying. But I had problems in a job I felt was "meaningful", too. I worked in a school helping children with special needs, and I loved the children, but I couldn't cope with the system being so flawed. I cared so much for those kids that the emotions I felt about their wellbeing were overwhelming and I would stay awake all night worrying about them for example if they had problems at home. I've yet to find a career I can do that doesn't exacerbate my mental health problems and doesn't require the use of two hands. I hope to find one some day, as at the moment my life seems to lack any meaning.
Joined: Mon Apr 13, 2009 4:55 am Posts: 27
Gender: male
MBTI type: INFP
ME!!!! I am unemployed and reaching the end of my financial rope. I hate being unemployed because it creates so much stress for me. I don't want to end up working another job like my last one because I was no good at it, it was extremely unfulfilling, and my boss complained about me all the time. But at the same time I need money. I'm thinking about applying for a receptionist job at a local college. I want a low stress job where I can help people and well that's what a receptionist does right? Although the OP seemed to dislike his (or her? I apologize for my ignorance) front desk job. I'm needing part time work because I'm trying to go to school at the same time.
I'd like to suggest you write an interesting science book for primary/middle/secondary school. You certainly have the talent, the work experience and the authority to write one..
Currently unemployed after losing my job at Radio Shack (worst fit for an INFP EVER! DO NOT work there if you are an INFP!) I had a bit of trouble after I was rejected by a girl there and quit due to it. In any event I am not working right now and have no openings. I am thinking of maybe some freelance stuff but not sure exactly at this point.
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