Looking for a new role or career that aligns with your personality? A recent report from Resume Genius takes common personality types and maps them to job options using wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Resume Genius used the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality test, which separates people into 16 different types based on a combination of eight traits: introversion (I) and extroversion (E), sensing (S) and intuition (N), thinking (T) and feeling (F), and judging (J) and perceiving (P). An INTJ personality type, for example, would identify more with introversion than extroversion, and associate more with intuition, thinking, and judging.
Even though the Myers-Briggs test has been criticized for being vague, general, and pseudoscience, 88 of the Fortune 100 have still used it for staff development. Marriott, Ernst & Young, and the U.S. Air Force have all tapped into it, according to Myers-Briggs.
“By using your Myers-Briggs personality as a factor in your career exploration and decisions, you are much more likely to find work that aligns with your natural ways of deriving energy, noticing the world around you, making decisions, and engaging with the world around you,” Helen Roy, Certified MBTI Professional and HR Total Rewards Senior Consultant at SAP stated in the report.
Though the report claims to find the highest-paying job by personality type, the salaries range considerably, from $239,200 to $52,910. The option recommended by the study may not be the end-all-be-all highest job you can find with a certain personality type — but could be a good starting point.
“Whether you’re introverted or extroverted, the key is to find positions that match your strengths and allow you to contribute meaningfully,” Resume Genius executive director Ed Huang stated in the report, adding that “top-earning jobs exist for every personality type.”
Here are the jobs with the highest median wage for every personality type.
1. ISTJ — Doctor
Annual median wage: $239,200
Number of jobs (2022): 816,900
2. ESTJ — Lawyer
Annual median wage: $145,760
Number of jobs (2022): 826,300
3. INTP — Information security analyst
Annual median wage: $120,360
Number of jobs (2022): 168,900
4. ENTJ — CEO
Annual median wage: $103,840
Number of jobs (2022): 3,787,800
5. ENFJ — Sociologist
Annual median wage: $101,770
Number of jobs (2022): 3,300
6. INTJ — Architect
Annual median wage: $93,310
Number of jobs (2022): 123,700
7. INFJ — Psychologist
Annual median wage: $92,740
Number of jobs (2022): 196,000
8. ISFJ — Nurse
Annual median wage: $86,070
Number of jobs (2022): 3,172,500
9. ENTP — Industrial designer
Annual median wage: $76,250
Number of jobs (2022): 32,400
10. ISTP — Detective
Annual median wage: $74,910
Number of jobs (2022): 808,700
11. INFP — Author
Annual median wage: $73,690
Number of jobs (2022): 151,200
12. ESFJ — High school teacher
Annual median wage: $65,220
Number of jobs (2022): 1,072,300
13. ESTP — Firefighter
Annual median wage: $57,120
Number of jobs (2022): 334,200
14. ISFP — Artist
Annual median wage: $52,910
Number of jobs (2022): 54,600
