Best Career Paths For INFP Personality Types

Choosing a career can be a big deal, especially because the average professional’s career spans anywhere from a few years to multiple decades of your life. On top of that, many careers require education, exams, internships, and other forms of experience.

Therefore, before you invest all that time and effort towards a specific path, it’s important to know what types of careers best suit your talents and personality type.

In this article, we’ll focus on discussing one particular personality type — INFP. You’ll learn the most commonly shared traits of INFP individuals, as well as which rewarding careers to pursue and which incompatible ones to avoid.

Top Careers for INFP Personality Types

INFP professionals excel in jobs where they have independence and the ability to express their creative vision.

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

Writer

Average Yearly Salary: $57,000

While a writing career can encompass a wide variety of topics and formats, the need for creativity and communication skills is a must.

For that reason, INFPs are perfect for this role, as they’re experts at communication and creative thought. With the proper grammatical knowledge and command of their voice, an INFP can easily express themselves with the written word.

Writing jobs also provide them with the ability to work independently, for the most part, emphasizing self-reliance for deadlines. However, INFP personality types still excel at communicating with editors and other team members.

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Photographer

Average Yearly Salary: $49,000

Photographers make use of technical, creativity, and composition skills to capture images with their cameras.

INFP personality types can excel in this role through the use of their creative vision. For example, they can easily envision what they want their photograph to look like and use their skills to capture it.

INFPs also know how to balance the independence and communication needed to succeed as a photographer. For example, their ability to work alone can serve them well in creating and maintaining a photography business, while their empathy skills allow them to communicate with clients effectively.

Overall, INFPs can often have what it takes to compete in the photography field and rise above using their creative vision.

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Psychologist

Average Yearly Salary: $72,000

Psychologists work to understand the brain, and more specifically, human cognition and behavior. This is done through scientific studies, surveys, observations, and interviews.

Due to their positive nature and interest in humanity, INFPs can have a great interest in this line of work. After all, the 16 Personalities test in and of itself is a product of psychology!

Many psychologists also communicate with and aim to understand clients. INFP personality types excel at this due to their empathy, as well as their ability to listen to others. Many INFPs go out of their way to help other people, too, making them great candidates for this field.

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Film Editor

Average Yearly Salary: $57,000

Film editors create, manipulate, arrange and cut content for various films, including TV shows, movies, documentaries, and more.

INFP personality types can work well in this environment, as they can easily take input from directors and other staff while also working independently on edits.

Adept film editing also requires an eye for creativity and big picture thinking. A good film editor can’t become stuck on every detail and must instead understand how every edit will improve the film as a whole. INFP personality types are perfect for this kind of work.

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Veterinarian

Average Yearly Salary: $126,000

An INFP’s empathy isn’t just limited to people, as it can easily extend to members of the animal kingdom as well. This caring nature can make this personality type a great fit for veterinary work, which centers around treating and maintaining the health of animals.

Not only can INFP personality types put a lot of passion into their care for animals, but they are also good at speaking to various pet and farm owners. Some vets must do a lot of traveling and interact with very different people, but this comes naturally to an INFP.

Additionally, an INFP’s ability to think deeply and critically lends them well in solving problems with their animal patients.

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Social Worker

Average Yearly Salary: $51,000

Social work covers a range of jobs that all help people solve and cope with their everyday problems.

Because INFP personality types have compassion, interpersonal skills, and listening skills, they can often be amazing candidates for social work. In addition, an INFP’s interest in helping other people and devoting their lives to a positive cause can give them a passion for this line of work.

Through their positive and idealistic view of humanity, INFPs can be a positive force for many struggling individuals in need of help.

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Elementary School Teacher

Average Yearly Salary: $49,000

Elementary school teachers help educate young children and guide them and prepare them for the future.

Given that children are inherently creative beings, an INFP can easily develop ways to make the classroom exciting and interesting for them. In this way, they’re excellent teachers for young children. Their empathy also aids in communicating and listening to children.

Plus, constructing lesson plans independently would also be an enjoyable experience for INFP personality types, as they thrive in positions that offer them all the benefits of individual thought.

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Librarian

Average Yearly Salary: $50,000

Librarians catalog reading materials, as well as help others, find information and conduct research.

INFPs are proficient in both of these tasks, listening to other people’s passions and guiding them effectively while also having the interest necessary to delve into various topics themselves.

Reading and writing skills also come in handy in this role, which are typically skills that come naturally to INFP personality types.

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Graphic Designer

Average Yearly Salary: $45,000

Whether by hand or through computer software, graphic designers create art to inspire, inform, and captivate consumers.

INFP personalities can use their creativity, innovation, and thoughtful nature to create amazing graphic design works. Compared to other personality types, they might find it easy to create interesting artistic designs.

The work environment is also a “best of both worlds” for them, as they’re able to work independently and conjure ideas from their mind while also communicating and listening to a variety of clients.

Overall graphic design is a win-win kind of job for INFPs.

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Interpreter and Translator

Average Yearly Salary: $42,000

Interpreters and translators use their knowledge of multiple languages to assist others. This can be through written, spoken, or sign language.

INFP’s often excel in this role due to their grasp of language and communication and their empathy for others. People with this personality type will find it easy to facilitate communication between two different people, even when they speak completely different languages.

Through their ability to understand and empathize, they can pick up on the physical and linguistic cues, making translating even easier.

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Human Resource Specialist

Average Yearly Salary: $52,000

Human Resource Specialists are HR workers that recruit, screen, interview, and place other employees.

INFPs can harness their communication skills to help effectively recruit and train other employees. Plus, their empathy and desire to help others make it easy for them to enthusiastically solve whatever problems a fellow worker might be having.

INFPs are also adept at seeing the bigger picture, which allows them to recruit and screen employees with that vision in mind instead of getting bogged down on unnecessary details.

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What Does INFP Mean?

If you’ve never taken the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, you should give it a try. Summarized, it’s a popular personality test that assigns one of 16 personality types to individuals based on their behaviors and psychological tendencies.

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

Introversion
Intuition
Feeling
Perception

Being an introvert means that INFP individuals are often reserved and quiet. This makes them excel in independent environments or remote jobs where they get to work alone.

Emotions are very important to someone with an INFP personality type, as their decisions are typically more influenced by personal concerns than objective information.

This behavior is often rooted in strong ethics and values, so INFP’s are passionate about advocating or defending their beliefs. However, because they fall under the category of “perception,” instead of judging, they can actually be surprisingly open-minded.

INFP professionals thrive in work environments where they can express their creativity and vision. Despite their introversion, they’re excellent communicators and know how to harness language for personal expression. That said, their ability to use language tends to be more efficient through writing than speaking aloud.

In terms of the work environment, INFP types tend to gravitate towards places where they can freely express their independence and ideas. Additionally, their ability to listen and understand others can lead them to work well in small groups, even if they don’t prefer it.

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

Loyal
Sensitive
Empathetic
Idealistic
Creative
Positive

Careers That INFPs May Want to Avoid

While INFPs excel in careers that value independence and creativity, they may perform worse in more data-driven and repetitive roles.

However, before diving into such careers, it’s important to note that you should never feel boxed in or out of any one career.

Individuals of all personality types are fully capable of excelling in whatever field they wish, as long as they put forth the proper devotion and passion.

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

Police Officer. Rigid and often seeing the more negative aspects of humanity, this role might overwhelm an INFP with rules or not properly fulfill their desire to help others.
Electrician. For safety reasons, everything an electrician does has to be very “by the book,” which leaves little room for creativity.
Sales Manager. For many INFP’s the constant human interaction required by this field, which is often devoted to empathy or deeper meaning, can quickly drain their energy.
Chemist. Again, very by the book, while potentially being even more dangerous than electrician work. An INFP won’t enjoy all of the strict safety rules and analytical thinking.
Dentist. It’s hard to have a meaningful conversation when dental tools are shoved in someone’s mouth. Plus, dental work also leaves no room for creativity.
Judge. Judging isn’t a primary aspect of an INFP’s personality, so they would find it difficult to be a judge. There are just too many nuanced factors and different sides of the story to consider!

Best Career Paths For INFP Personality Types FAQ

What are INFPs naturally good at?

INFPs are naturally good at working independently and being empathetic toward others. INFPs are also commonly described as being loyal, creative, and positive.

They fall on the introvert side of the spectrum, which is part of the reason why they’re naturally good at working on their own, but they also care about people and can communicate well (however, many INFPs prefer to write their thoughts than to speak them out loud).

Although often perceived as quiet and reserved, INFPs are passionate about their beliefs and will defend them if need be. They’re also good at being aware of others’ emotions as well as their own, which allows them to easily understand other perspectives.

All of these elements go into why INFPs are typically excellent communicators who work well in teams, even if they’d rather work alone.

INFPs value their independence, which factors into their preference to work alone rather than in a group. They’re also typically very creative and have strong ideals that they’re pursuing, and the combination of these attributes makes them a valuable person to have in a workplace.
Are INFPs good leaders?

Yes, INFPs are good leaders. Positive, idealistic, and empathetic, people are naturally drawn to follow INFPs as they pursue their vision of the future.

Because they care deeply about people, have strong values, and are open-minded and welcoming, INFPs are typically good to their followers. They’re also usually very good at setting up their followers for success rather than pursuing power and fame for themselves.

However, there are a few leadership downfalls common to INFPs that people of this personality type should be aware of. Often INFPs can get caught up in their own idealism and long-term vision so that they miss what practical steps need to be accomplished at the moment.

They also often don’t enjoy having to discipline or be harsh with their followers – they’d rather encourage them and work together in a creative capacity.

Because of this, INFPs in positions of leadership should surround themselves with teams who will help them see and complete those smaller goals and who are good at and willing to correct and discipline their followers when necessary.
Do INFPs make good psychologists?

Yes, INFPs make good psychologists. Their ability to understand and handle emotions, have empathy for other people, and communicate and connect with other people makes them great psychologists.

INFPs are able to use these abilities to get to know their clients so that they can find the best way to help them and to apply that information to their research. Because they often love helping people and don’t usually care much about recognition, many INFPs find a career as a psychologist highly rewarding.

As psychologists, INFPs get to tap into the creative and idealistic parts of their personalities to encourage their patients and help them find solutions to their problems. INFPs typically aren’t afraid of their emotions, which makes them very approachable – a vital attribute for psychologists to have.

Since psychologists mainly work in small groups or independently, INFPs also tend to thrive with that aspect of the job as well.
Are INFPs slow learners?

No, INFPs aren’t slow learners. They often take their time to take in and process new information before speaking up about it, but they typically learn very quickly. INFPs are adaptable and fast-thinkers – they just might not be very vocal about it, which leads some people to believe they’re slow learners.

In reality, many INFPs thrive in fast-paced environments where they get to put their creativity and positivity to use. However, they’re usually at their best in one-on-one teaching settings or when they’re allowed to learn independently because they tend to be imaginative and conceptual in their learning styles, and large group settings aren’t always conducive to this.

Because they’re open-minded and empathetic, INFPs have a huge capacity to learn and understand new material and perspectives very deeply and very quickly. Anyone with any personality type can struggle to grasp new information, and INFPs are no different, but as a whole, they aren’t typically slow learners.

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Author

Jack Flynn

Jack Flynn is a writer for Zippia. In his professional career he’s written over 100 research papers, articles and blog posts. Some of his most popular published works include his writing about economic terms and research into job classifications. Jack received his BS from Hampshire College.

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