Best Career Paths for ISTJ Personality Types

The average professional’s career spans anywhere from a few years to multiple decades of their life.

Before investing so much time and effort towards a certain path, it’s important to get an idea of what types of careers best suit your talents and personality type.

In this article, we’ll focus on discussing one particular personality type — ISTJ. You’ll learn the most commonly shared traits of ISTJ individuals, the career paths that reward such characteristics, and the career paths that should be avoided.

1. Certified Public Accountant Jobs (Overview)

2. Software Developer Jobs (Overview)

3. Business Analyst Jobs (Overview)

4. Supply Chain Manager Jobs (Overview)

5. Military Jobs (Overview)

6. Bank Teller Jobs (Overview)

7. Dentist Jobs (Overview)

8. Inspector Jobs (Overview)

9. Property Manager Jobs (Overview)

10. Surgeon Jobs (Overview)

11. Librarian Jobs (Overview)

12. Insurance Underwriter Jobs (Overview)

13. Mechanical Engineer Jobs (Overview)

Top Careers for ISTJ Personality Types

ISTJ professionals excel in jobs that take place in structured environments and involve highly logical tasks.

Here are the top careers that leverage the unique talents of such individuals:

1. Certified public accountant (CPA)
   Average Annual Salary: $66,000

   Effective accountants must be able to evaluate data analytically and follow strict regulations.

   ISTJs are perfect for this role, as they’re experts at navigating complex systems of rules and critical thinking.

   They also tend to be extremely organized, which is a critical trait for accountants to possess when managing the finances and transactions of large organizations.

   Certified public accountants also typically work independently in quiet, structured environments. This is an excellent fit for ISTJs, who don’t often dislike hectic workspaces with intense human interaction.

   Find Certified public accountant jobs near me

2. Software developer
   Average Annual Salary: $80,000

   Designing and implementing software leverages many of the skills that ISTJ individuals often demonstrate.

   ISTJs are detail-oriented, allowing them to precisely understand how complex systems function and what to do to make necessary changes.

   It also helps them pinpoint the root causes of bugs and catch small errors before they become larger problems.

   Software development also requires the ability to think abstractly, one of the strengths of ISTJs. Programmers must be able to model an outline of how a piece of software is supposed to function before even writing a single line of code.

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3. Business analyst
   Average Annual Salary: $71,000

   The primary purpose of business analysts is to analyze numbers and statistics to extract meaningful patterns to guide business decisions.

   ISTJs are logical and detail-oriented, allowing them to effectively manage and sort through tons of information.

   They’re also reliable and responsible, which may be even more important.
   Business analysts must create reports and communicate their findings with managers and other decision-makers in their organization.

   A business analyst may be an expert at statistics and data analysis, but if they’re unreliable and frequently miss deadlines, they won’t be a useful member of any team.

   Find Business analyst jobs near me

4. Supply chain manager
   Average Annual Salary: $95,000

   Supply chain management is all about managing and fine-tuning the complex logistical processes that all businesses rely on to source their products and get them in front of consumers.

   The detail-oriented nature of ISTJs helps them efficiently track all the data, while their analytical thinking skills allow them to develop solutions for any distribution problems.

   ISTJs are also highly organized, which is useful considering all the moving parts involved with supply chain management.

   Find Supply chain management jobs near me

5. Military
   Average Annual Salary: $61,000

   Military careers are perfect for the orderly and reliable personalities of ISTJs.

   Working in the military involves following established procedures and strict hierarchies, satisfying the desire for structure and order that most ISTJs look for in a job.

   ISTJs are also superb at following and executing detailed instructions and meeting the strict requirements of military behavior.

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6. Bank teller
   Average Annual Salary: $26,000

   ISTJs are a great fit for this role because they’re highly detail-oriented and responsible.

   Bank tellers must be adept at following strict regulations and noting discrepancies to catch fraud.

   Because they handle money, they must also be responsible and dutiful in ensuring that all financial transactions are carried out appropriately.

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7. Dentist
   Average Annual Salary: $134,000

   Dentistry utilizes the analytical and diligent personality traits of ISTJs in multiple ways.

   Dentists are responsible for duties such as conducting patient exams, diagnosing dental problems, and analyzing x-rays. All of these require critical-thinking skills and adept logical reasoning.

   Filling in a patient’s teeth or applying sealant also involves a focused mind, which is a perfect fit for diligent ISTJs.

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8. Inspector
   Average Annual Salary: $33,000

   Inspectors are responsible for assessing a business’ operations and determining if they’re complying with all regulations.

   This involves an extremely detail-oriented mind, as most industries have thousands of laws covering all types of operational aspects.

   Inspectors need to be critical enough to examine minute details such as how many inches a piece of equipment is or whether a company is following a specific multi-step process.

   ISTJs are perfect for this role as they excel in meticulously analyzing details.

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9. Property manager
   Average Annual Salary: $43,000

   Property managers must deal with many clients simultaneously, making the organizational skills of ISTJ individuals extremely important for the role.

   Property management also involves many of the same duties as inspectors. Just as companies must follow laws concerning operations, there are building codes and regulations that rental properties and other types of buildings need to satisfy.

   ISTJs are highly responsible and detail-oriented, allowing them to keep track of such laws and ensure proper compliance.

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10. Surgeon
    Average Annual Salary: $328,000

    Some surgeries can last over a dozen hours, making it absolutely critical that surgeons are extraordinarily diligent and can maintain constant focus.

    ISTJs possess both of these traits, making them a perfect fit for the job.

    Surgeons must also work closely with teams of medical staff. ISTJ individuals tend to be extremely responsible and dutiful team members, making this not too much of a challenge.

    Find Surgeon jobs near me

11. Librarian
    Average Annual Salary: $50,000

    The main duties of librarians include creating databases of library materials and organizing such materials so that they’re easy to find.

    ISTJs are often highly organized, making them excellent for both of these tasks.

    They’re also detail-oriented and practical, which is useful for preparing library budgets helping patrons conduct research and find specific reference materials.

    Find Librarian jobs near me

12. Insurance underwriter
    Average Annual Salary: $111,000

    Underwriters use software to analyze the validity of insurance applications and then evaluate those results to decide whether to ultimately approve or reject the applicant.

    ISTJs individuals are great at learning and mastering these software tools. Their critical-thinking skills also allow them to navigate complex systems of rules, which is essential for deciding whether to approve applications.

    Find Insurance underwriter jobs near me

13. Mechanical engineer
    Average Annual Salary: $72,000

    Mechanical engineering is a multifaceted discipline that mixes material science, mathematics, and physics.

    ISTJs have curious and logical minds, allowing them to acquire the volumes of knowledge required to be an effective mechanical engineer.

    When working for a company, mechanical engineers need to follow precise specifications when creating designs. ISTJs are perfect for this task, given their organizational skills and tendency to think in a structured and objective manner.

    Find Mechanical engineer jobs near me

What Does ISTJ Mean?

The Myers Briggs Type Indicator is a popular personality test that assigns one of 16 personality types to individuals based on their behaviors and psychological tendencies.

ISTJ is one of these 16 personality types, standing for:

• Introversion

• Sensing

• Thinking

• Judging

ISTJ individuals often display a reserved and quiet demeanor that makes them excellent independent workers.

They tend to prefer using concrete facts and logic when making decisions, rather than bursts of emotions and spontaneous feelings.

ISTJ professionals thrive in work environments with fairly rigid rules and clear expectations. They respond well to instructions that are clearly laid out, rather than ones that are open-ended.

In terms of the work environment, ISTJ types tend to gravitate towards those that are consistent and well-organized.

They’re often responsible and highly reliable, although they prefer to work in smaller groups rather than larger ones.

Some other key traits associated with the ISTJ personality type are:

• Practical

• Objective

• Honest

• Productive

• Rational

• Decisive

Careers that ISTJs May Want to Avoid

While ISTJs excel in careers that value accuracy and methodical thinking, they may perform worse in roles that are more expressive and open-ended.

Before we provide a list of such careers, however, it’s important to note that you should never feel as if your options are limited.

Individuals of all personality types are fully capable of excelling in whatever field they wish, as long as they possess the necessary work ethic and passion.

Without further ado, here are some careers that ISTJs may want to avoid:

1. Artist. For individuals that love clear expectations and established rules, the flexible and expressive nature of most art careers may be a nightmare.

2. Journalist. Working in the field as a journalist often involves unpredictability and spontaneity. ISTJs tend to prefer more structured and orderly work environments.

3. Bartender. ISTJs are very reliable team members, but they often prefer to work independently in quiet workspaces. In contrast, bartending involves intense socializing almost every minute you’re on the job.

4. Fashion designer. Fashion design involves very few strict rules to follow. Trends are also always changing, which doesn’t match the desire of many ISTJs to work in fields with established customs.

5. Psychologist. While psychology shares many similarities with physical sciences such as physics and chemistry, it often involves less definitive and clear-cut answers.

6. Public relations. ISTJs tend to avoid the public eye and prefer to work in more isolated environments.

7. Event management. Event management involves working with many organizations and personalities, which may be tiring for ISTJs.

   Events may also be canceled or changed at a moment’s notice, which is often frustrating for ISTJ individuals who love structure and order.

Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.