If you’re taking temperament into account as you plan your education and career, you might want to learn more about degrees that are best for ISTJ personality types. The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a personality inventory that helps people learn more about their particular temperament. Having insight into your personality traits, such as what gives you energy, how you process information and make decisions, can help you as you consider the types of work that might suit you best and play to your particular strengths. The ISTJ is one of the sixteen possible personality types in the MBTI. It stands for Introverted Sensing Thinking and Judging.
Profile of an ISTJ
An ISTJ personality is considered to be one of the most common of all the personality types, making up about 13% of the population, according to 16 Personalities. The introversion factor means that ISTJs tend to draw energy from time alone and process things on the inside more readily than on the outside. The sensing part of the equation shows that they tend to trust and rely on things they can experience with their senses more than their feelings or intuitions. The thinking and judging traits show they can be analytical and decisive. ISTJs tend to be very logical. They appreciate sticking with tradition and doing the right thing, which makes them highly faithful and responsible. Breaking a rule can be a difficult thing for an ISTJ personality, unless they can be convinced there is an excellent reason for it.
Some Possible Career and Degree Paths
Given all these traits, it’s not surprising that ISTJs do a good job in careers such as law and the military. They can also make excellent teachers and ministers. The idea of preserving and passing on learning and tradition can be very appealing to someone with this personality type. Having a clear structure and rules to follow can also be very important for an ISTJ. Librarians, accountants, paralegals, statisticians, police officers, school administrators, and estate planners are among some of the popular career choices for ISTJs.
Depending on your level of interest in certain fields, you might want to look into legal training or an education degree. A liberal arts degree in a field that interests you might well lead to a further degree in graduate school, especially if you decide to pursue something like school administration or the ministry. A seminary degree or a master of library science might be important graduate degrees for an ISTJ. Special training in certain types of work, such as bookkeeping, might also be a path you’d like to pursue. Many ISTJs are valuable in office environments.
Related Resource: Best Degrees for ESFP Personality Types
Whatever you decide to pursue, it’s important to remember your challenges as well as strengths as an ISTJ. Some people with this personality type can have such a strong sense of duty and loyalty to a team or company that they can end up overworked. It can be important for an ISTJ to draw boundaries where needed and to remember you are part of a team. Once you know your own temperament well, you can be ready to look into degrees that are best for ISTJ personality types.