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Careers for ISFP Personality Types

By Brenda Ellis, PersonalityPage.com

Whether you're a young adult trying to find your place in the world, or a not-so-young adult trying to find out if you're moving along the right path, it's important to understand yourself and the personality traits that will impact your likeliness to succeed or fail at various careers. It's equally important to understand what is really important to you. When armed with an understanding of your strengths and weaknesses, and an awareness of what you truly value, you are in an excellent position to pick a career that you will find rewarding.

The following traits are generally found in ISFPs:

  1. Keen awareness of their environment
  2. Enjoy a slower pace - they like to take time to savor the present moment
  3. Dislike dealing with theory or abstract thought, unless they see a practical application
  4. Faithful and loyal to people and ideas that are important to them
  5. Individualistic, having no desire to lead or follow
  6. Take things seriously, although they frequently appear not to
  7. Special bond with children and animals
  8. Quiet and reserved, except with people they know extremely well
  9. Trusting, sensitive, and kind
  10. Service-oriented; they're driven to help others
  11. Extremely well-developed appreciation for aesthetic beauty
  12. Likely to be original and unconventional
  13. Learn best with hands-on training
  14. Hate being confined to strict schedules and regimens
  15. Need space and freedom to do things their own way
  16. Dislike mundane, routine tasks, but will perform them if necessary

The ISFP is a very special individual who needs to have a career that is more than a job. The middle of the road is not likely to be a place where they will be fulfilled and happy. They need to have a career that is consistent with their strong core of inner values. Since they prefer to live in the current moment, and take the time to savor it, they do not do well with some of the more fast-paced corporate environments. They need a great deal of space and freedom if they are going to function in their natural realm of acute sensory awareness. If they give free reign to their natural abilities, they may find a wonderful artist within themselves. Almost every major artist in the world has been an ISFP. Since the ISFP is so acutely aware of people's feelings and reactions, and is driven by their inner values to help people, the ISFP is also a natural counselor and teacher.

The following list of professions is built on our impression of careers that would be especially suitable for an ISFP. It is meant to be a starting place, rather than an exhaustive list. There are no guarantees that any or all of the careers listed here would be appropriate for you, or that your best career match is among those listed here.

   
 

Possible Careers Paths for ISFP

Artist
Musician
Designer
Child Care
Social Worker
Counselor
Teacher
Psychologist
Veterinarian
Forest Ranger
Pediatrician