What is my purpose in life?
What do I want to do?
What is my passion?
How can I add value to the world?
I have been asking myself these questions. It is hard to find the answers to them. I took the highly acclaimed Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test and hope that it can give me some directions. In addition to MBTI, I have taken the Strong Interest Inventory (SII) to aid in the discovery of my passion and career choice.
For the benefit of those who do not know what these tests are, I shall briefly introduce them.
MBTI – The concept is based on Carl Jung’s Psychological Types, which Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers, adapted into a set of questionaires to elicit the psychological type of the testee. There are altogether 16 psychology types.
SII – This test is used for career assessment. It was developed by E. K. Strong and initially used to help people exiting the military find suitable jobs. The objective of the test is an assessment of interests, and not about personality or aptitude tests.
I find it complimentary to take both the tests together; MBTI would tell me my personality and aptitudes, and suggest what I am suited to do. While SII will help me find my interests. If I can find a convergence for both the tests, it is probably a good area to explore.
So what does the results say?
My Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Results
According to MBTI, I am a Introversion-Intuition-Thinking-Judgement type, or INTJ in short.
I – Introversion preferred to extraversion: INTJs tend to be quiet and reserved. They generally prefer interacting with a few close friends rather than a wide circle of acquaintances, and they expend energy in social situations (whereas extraverts gain energy).
N – Intuition preferred to sensing: INTJs tend to be more abstract than concrete. They focus their attention on the big picture rather than the details and on future possibilities rather than immediate realities.
T – Thinking preferred to feeling: INTJs tend to value objective criteria above personal preference. When making decisions they generally give more weight to logic than to social considerations.
J – Judgment preferred to perception: INTJs tend to plan their activities and make decisions early. They derive a sense of control through predictability, which to perceptive types may seem limiting.
David Keirsey brought the analysis further by classifying INTJ as “Masterminds”. You can read about his analysis of INTJ here. I find something accurate about myself from his article, “Masterminds are not at all eager to take command, preferring to stay in the background until others demonstrate their inability to lead”, and “Masterminds are certain that efficiency is indispensable in a well-run organization, and if they encounter inefficiency-any waste of human and material resources-they are quick to realign operations and reassign personnel.”
The top three most attractive job families to me are 1) Life, Physical, and Social Sciences (Biologist, Chemist, Economist, Psychologist); 2) Architecture and Engineering (Architect, Surveyor, Mechanical Engineer, Chemical Engineer); 3) Computers and Mathematics (Programmer, System Analyst, Database Administrator, Mathematician). The top three least attractive job families to me are 1) Healthcare Support (Nurse’s aide); 2) Food Preparation and Service (Chef); 3) Personal Care and Service (hairdresser).
My Strong Interest Inventory Results
SII tells me that I belong to the Enterprising and Conventional themes. Put it very briefly, Enterprising refers to interest in managing and selling while Conventional refers to interest in accounting and data processing. The top 5 occupations indicated by SII are 1) Travel Consultant, 2) Financial Manager, 3) Architect, 4) Financial Analyst and 5) Investment Manager.
My Combined MBTI and SII results
The combined results indicate that I belong to Enterprising + INTJ, nicknamed the “Theoretical Persuaders”. The top 3 occupations suggested are 1) Financial Manager, 2) Architect and 3) Actuary.
I am asking myself what am I going to do now with these information. Are they accurate? I do have some inclinations towards these areas but I am not sure whether I would want to pursue. The report also provided very good questions to probe yourself of the answers, depending on the purpose of doing the tests. Some may be looking for a new career, others may be looking for a career change. There are also people who are in their current jobs but want to make worklife more interesting. What I could most relate is the proposed interest areas (or hobbies) that I can explore outside work. In fact, I have been doing most if not all of them. If you cannot work in your area of interest, at least you do it in outside of work right? Who knows, overtime you may really find what you really want to do.
Overall, I am happy with the test. It serves as a good guide. And for those of you who are applying for jobs, I think the report may add on to your resume. Especially if the job you are applying coincides with the job recommended by the report.
There are no tests that are 100% accurate, but many believed that MBTI is by far the best out there. You can take the same tests here or use the free version.
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