Top 7 ISFJ Careers to Avoid: “ISFJ” stands for Introversion (I), Sensing (S), Feeling (F), and Judgment (J). the abbreviation itself describes how kind and sensitive these people are.
If you are someone who belongs to this category of personalities you are one of the most common Myers-Briggs personality types contributing a huge chunk i.e. approx 14% of the entire US population.
Being highly introverted they often are reluctant to showcase themselves to the world however are very compassionate, loving, and caring people.
Choosing a career that suits an ISFJ personality is never easy and any wrong career path can gravely affect their well-being.
If you are an ISFJ you need to be very clear about your character and personality type only then can you opt for the right profession.
The Myers-Briggs Personality assessment theory is one such theory that helps people pinpoint who they exactly are as an individual.
This article is all about the ISFJ personality type and the top 7 ISFJ careers to avoid.
But before we jump to the list of ISFJ careers to avoid, we need to get an insight into, how can an ISFJ personality affects a career path?
Only then can we figure out the careers these people should avoid and the logic behind why to avoid them.
Table of Content
Effect of an ISFJ personality on Career Paths:
These people are extremely sensitive and emotional so any job that includes ruthlessness can severely go against their kind nature.
However, jobs demanding care, affection, and curing abilities are ideal for this group.
Being sensors they are really good mind readers which may fool you into thinking that they have good convincing abilities.
Because they are true introverts and no matter how good they observe they would rather keep their observation to themselves instead of sharing it. So, jobs demanding social-interaction are a big no.
As an ISFJ your creative abilities may not be very strong so artistic and creative career paths won’t suit your personality type.
They believe in Realism and practicality of things. So careers demanding fiction and unrealistic concepts won’t sit well with an ISFJ personality type.
These people are organized and prefer working on a set schedule. They create plans and then stick to them.
Change is never appreciated by ISFJ’s.
Such people never leave their assigned task midway. They always tend to go that extra mile and complete the assigned job.
Which makes them perfect for 9-5 office cabin jobs.
Highly focused, have set rules, and are confident enough to have clear expectations from themselves.
These people would prefer cooperative teamwork over a competitive environment.
Top 7 ISFJ careers to avoid and why to avoid them:
If you are an ISFJ you need to understand that any job that requires you to bring a change in yourself is a definite No. cause ISFJ’s tend to stick to who they are even when subjected to failure.
It will never be easy for you to change your individuality.
Not to ignore the fact that you are someone who enjoys working on set schedules so any job that involves unpredictable plans cannot keep you at peace.
Similarly, careers that demand constant rotation or change in place are not for you.
You need to be very particular when choosing your career path because although you are a common personality type yet quite many professions reciprocate with your persona type.
These few points now will help you reach the reason why you should keep a distance from the following career choices.
Journalism Jobs:
There is a lot about this profession that makes it unfit for any ISFJ.
First of all, how can you predict the upcoming breaking news?
You can’t…
So this is a highly unpredictable job. You never know what schedule you will need to follow each day. And that is where it gets extremely uncomfortable for a schedule loving ISFJ.
Moreover, this profession demands insensitivity towards the bitter realities and harsh truths. You will need guts to report most of what is going on around the world.
You are naturally a people-pleaser and being a journalist you will need to speak harsh truths that may offend and upset many.
Does that sit comfortably with a Sensitive ISFJ?
No… so, here is why it’s a no to opt for journalism.
But the list of these misfitting characteristics this career holds for you doesn’t end here.
A journalist has to deal with people from all over the land which itself is a nightmare for an introvert.
Actors:
Acting is not your cup of tea if you are an ISFJ. Acting demands a person to be an extrovert.
ISFJ’s are often mistaken for being extroverts due to the amount of care, love, and compassion they have for people around them but they are extreme introverts.
Actors often need to audition before directors and producers to get a role. They need to always look visually appealing to attract their audiences which is horrifying for introverts.
Being an ISFJ you would prefer working behind the scenes then to enjoy the spotlight. Being the center of attention is not your thing.
And acting demands you to be onscreen.
An ISFJ will get very self-conscious and will surely get uncomfortable when he/she is in the spotlight.
Moreover, you are a sensor subjected to logical reasoning you cannot accept someone telling you to act things out.
Jobs Related to Sales:
Sales is a very target-driven job.
This means for someone like an ISFJ who enjoys working in silence, hates the spotlight, and doesn’t crave for recognition of their efforts, all the bonuses, and commissions for good performance would be compromised.
What is the use of opting for a career if you wouldn’t enjoy the grind in it and then the fruit of your grind?
This career demands excellent mind-reading skills and you being an ISFJ are a champion in mind-reading but, it also demands high convincing power which ISFJ’s completely lack.
Being an ISFJ you would rather question convincing someone to buy something that they do not feel they are truly in need of.
Which will automatically make you less forceful in convincing them.
Thirdly, you are an introvert, and meeting random people to sell your products is not your type of job.
Moreover, ISFJ’s enjoy a cooperative environment to work in, and subjecting them to a competitive sales-environment will only limit their natural productivity.
So, sales being an extremely aggressive natured job is a complete no for an ISFJ to opt for as a career.
Emergency Medical Services Jobs:
Most researchers suggest that ISFJ’s are the most suitable ones to enter the profession of medicine however, we strongly feel this idea needs a second thought.
It needs to be understood that some health care careers may be suitable for ISFJ’s however others like emergency Medical Services are not.
Working in emergency care demands the ability to take immediate action, again reciprocating from the methodological approach of an ISFJ.
ISFJ’s are said to have high standards for themselves and working in such situations can lead to them questioning their abilities if there was anything they could have done to save a life etc.
ISFJ’s if subjected to constant emotional and mental strain can lose their productivity and the ability to nurture positivity.
An emergency medical service can be very self-torturing for an ISFJ. as it is a highly un-predictable job which demands people who are emotionally more strong than sensitive.
All these above-mentioned characteristics make this an ISFJ career to avoid.
Military Related Jobs:
Although a career as military personnel may seem appealing to most ISFJ’s yet is not the most ideal one.
Undoubtedly, the punctuality and rhythm of this job look very satisfactory for an ISFJ yet the demands of this profession may get highly out of an ISFJ’s comfort zone.
Let’s get into the depths of what the military demands.
Strength and bravery are the core characteristics of this profession. You need to be emotionally and physically strong enough to take up the challenges ahead.
ISFJ’s are not very strong when it comes to emotions and feelings. They cannot shoot a bird leave alone humans for any reason because of their kind and sensitive nature.
Moreover, the military demands a high tendency to obey orders without questioning the cause but an ISFJ will demand logic behind every decision before obeying it.
So if you are an ISFJ remember you are not a personality fit enough to fight wars and cannot hence enjoy a career in the military.
ISFJ’s are people who follow their Heart which automatically puts a question mark too if they are suitable for the military?
You need to understand that ISFJ’s are organized and punctual but they cannot live a robotic life. And a robotic life is exactly what the military offers.
Military training focuses on polishing the soldier’s ability to endure and tolerate. This leads to soldiers continuously facing criticism, negativity, and harsh words from their officers in charge.
Question yourself if you can face that because ISFJ’s loathe it.
You can never accept being treated with harsh words, criticism as it will leave you stewing for ages.
Hence understood, stay away from the military as your career choice if you are an ISFJ.
Jobs related to Law:
Being a lawyer is yet another not so good kinda career choice for an ISFJ.
The following points contribute to why this career is on the list of top7 ISFJ careers to avoid.
You can only be a lawyer if you can represent clients in court which is not a comfortable task for an introvert.
How will you face and represent someone before government agencies and communicate with a bunch of people i.e. clients, judges, other senior lawyers, and more if you are an introvert?
And that is not all…
You will need to prove and argue on behalf of your client.
This also hints at a tough competitive environment to work in which is certainly not an ISFJ’s comfort zone.
ISFJ’s are terrible at proving their point under pressure and the court is not a very comfy place for them to argue or rather defend their stance.
Sociologist:
Sociologists are people who study human behavior, interaction, and organization.
This job involves the ability to observe and analyze social behavior by interacting with various groups of people.
And right here it gets difficult for an ISFJ. interaction is not something that an ISFJ would enjoy.
And so opting for social science as a career is not at all ideal for an ISFJ.
You need a definite artistic approach to enter this field and did we mention earlier that ISFJ’s are not artistic minds.
A good sociologist needs to be artistic and creative enough to design new research projects to collect and analyze new information.
Conclusion:
Being an ISFJ you need to understand that you are an introvert person who is sensitive, has strong feelings of love and compassion, and is also judgemental.
Opting for a job that challenges your mental peace and adds discomfort and monotony to your life will severely harm your kind and sensitive personality.
You need to be very clear about what your comfort zones are or otherwise, you will end up stressed and panicked.
We have provided you a clear view of what you should not opt for as a career by presenting above a list of 7 ISFJ careers to avoid.
Hopefully, now that you have read the whole thing you can easily enlist your strengths and weaknesses as an ISFJ.
Yet for your convenience we are mentioning the following careers you may consider, that sits well with any ISFJ personality.
- Bookkeeper
- Nurse
- Childcare service
- Paralegal
- Nutritionist
And if you invest your time in researching a little more about available career options, you will easily figure out what you can do with your life.