Working for People When You're Not A People Person
I'm on the job market these days, and whenever I wind up there I reflect on how something has gone rather wrong with my working life.
I am an introvert. I do not enjoy superficial social interaction at all. People wear me out. I feel irritated when people ask me for things, because it interrupts my train of thought. I can happily go for days without interacting with anyone besides my husband (he's also an introvert) and my cats (whose only demand is that I serve as their self-warming easy chair).
How introverted am I? I am SO INTROVERTED, that even when I socialize, my friends and I (also introverts!) tend to wind up browsing for books. And yet, my entire working life has been spent in teaching and retail.
Yeah. I said "retail". Obviously, I got something wrong along the way.
It's occurred to me after all these years that on this go-around, I should try to move into a field where I don't have to interact with people as much. My research into suitable jobs for introverts turned out to be pretty entertaining, and when I learn something interesting I share it with the Squidoo community. Because it's is friendly, supportive, and engaged -- from a suitable distance.
I am an introvert. I do not enjoy superficial social interaction at all. People wear me out. I feel irritated when people ask me for things, because it interrupts my train of thought. I can happily go for days without interacting with anyone besides my husband (he's also an introvert) and my cats (whose only demand is that I serve as their self-warming easy chair).
How introverted am I? I am SO INTROVERTED, that even when I socialize, my friends and I (also introverts!) tend to wind up browsing for books. And yet, my entire working life has been spent in teaching and retail.
Yeah. I said "retail". Obviously, I got something wrong along the way.
It's occurred to me after all these years that on this go-around, I should try to move into a field where I don't have to interact with people as much. My research into suitable jobs for introverts turned out to be pretty entertaining, and when I learn something interesting I share it with the Squidoo community. Because it's is friendly, supportive, and engaged -- from a suitable distance.
What is an Introvert?
It's not the same as "shy"
A lot of people (such as extroverts) think that introverts are shy, socially anxious, or lacking in confidence. The fact is that those traits are all independent of introversion and extroversion. Introverts are simply people who have a preference for solitude, or who are more energized when they're by themselves than when socializing.
Many introverts have excellent communication skills, and are well-suited to work like writing, research, or even performing. I myself have no problem presenting or performing in front of groups. For that matter, I enjoy a good conversation as much as the next person, especially if that next person is someone I know well. Being introverted doesn't mean I'm completely asocial, or I dislike people, or that I don't get lonely. I just have difficulty with small talk. One of my favorite things about traveling in foreign countries is that if I don't speak the language, I can't be expected to talk about the weather.
It's also worth noting that introversion and extroversion are traits that are on a continuum. Most people, introverts and extroverts alike, will have some times when the prefer being with others, and some times when they prefer being alone.
Many introverts have excellent communication skills, and are well-suited to work like writing, research, or even performing. I myself have no problem presenting or performing in front of groups. For that matter, I enjoy a good conversation as much as the next person, especially if that next person is someone I know well. Being introverted doesn't mean I'm completely asocial, or I dislike people, or that I don't get lonely. I just have difficulty with small talk. One of my favorite things about traveling in foreign countries is that if I don't speak the language, I can't be expected to talk about the weather.
It's also worth noting that introversion and extroversion are traits that are on a continuum. Most people, introverts and extroverts alike, will have some times when the prefer being with others, and some times when they prefer being alone.
200 Best Jobs for Introverts
by The Editors @ JIST and Laurence Shatkin
200 Best Jobs for Introverts (Jist's Best Jobs)
Amazon Price: $8.12 (as of 05/29/2012)
This book breaks down jobs the usual categories, like interest, education, and training required to do the work; but also into introvert-friendly categories like the most quiet jobs, and the jobs with the least amount of amount of public contact.
Best Jobs for Introverts Overall
By pay, growth, and the number of openings
A lot of these jobs seem to assume a quantitative bent; this list is heavy on accounting, high-tech, and science jobs. For non-quantoids, our choices seem to come down to writing, editing, and lawyering. Oh, and graphic design.
The Top Five Jobs For Introverts, Overall
1. Computer Software Engineers, Applications
2. Computer Software Engineers, Systems Software
3. Computer Systems Analysts
4. Network Systems and Data Communications Analysts
5. Accountants and Auditors
The Top Five Jobs For Introverts, Overall
1. Computer Software Engineers, Applications
2. Computer Software Engineers, Systems Software
3. Computer Systems Analysts
4. Network Systems and Data Communications Analysts
5. Accountants and Auditors
- The 25 Best Jobs Overall for Introverts
- I wonder how you move from retail to steamfitting? Hmmm...
The 20 Jobs with the Least Contact with Others
If you really don't like people ...
For you die-hard misanthropes out there, here are the 20 jobs with the least contact with others. Have you ever wanted to drive a pile? Erect a fence? Hang drywall -- wait, that takes at least two people, doesn't it?
The funniest thing on this list, to me, was the Slaughterhouse/Meat Packer job. I've heard that can get whiffy. If you do it right, you might swing it so nobody talks to you at work OR outside of work.
The Five Jobs with the Least Contact with Others
1. Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
2. Fence Erectors
3. Pile-Driver Operators
4. Signal and Track Switch Repairers
5. Tapers
Click the link to find more jobs with little social contact!
The funniest thing on this list, to me, was the Slaughterhouse/Meat Packer job. I've heard that can get whiffy. If you do it right, you might swing it so nobody talks to you at work OR outside of work.
The Five Jobs with the Least Contact with Others
1. Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
2. Fence Erectors
3. Pile-Driver Operators
4. Signal and Track Switch Repairers
5. Tapers
Click the link to find more jobs with little social contact!
- The 20 Jobs with the Least Contact with Others
- Tree trimmers and motorboat mechanics and ... biophysicists. Click the link to learn more about salaries, job growth, and expected job openings.
For Senior Introverts
For the strong, silent type, over 55
If you're over 55, and you're looking for work that suits an introvert ... well, there's a chart for that.
The Top 5 Jobs with the Highest Percentage of Workers over 55 are:
1. Computer Systems Analysts
2. Accountants and Auditors
3. Personal Financial Advisors
4. Lawyers
5. Market Research Analysts
The Top 5 Jobs with the Highest Percentage of Workers over 55 are:
1. Computer Systems Analysts
2. Accountants and Auditors
3. Personal Financial Advisors
4. Lawyers
5. Market Research Analysts
- Best Jobs for Introverts with a High Percentage of Workers Over 55
- Be an air-conditioning installer! Or an editor, if you prefer. Click on the link to learn about average salaries, job growth, and annual openings.
How to Survive as an Introvert in the Business World
Businessman and a Businesswoman Standing at a Crossroads Shaking Hands
Buy This Allposters.com
Networking? Self-promotion? These words strike terror into the introverted heart. Unfortunately, they're a necessary part of the (extroverted) business world. These books will help you survive and thrive while using your strengths as an introvert.
Fastest Growing Jobs for Introverts
Making infectious disease work for you!
I'm not sure whether to be concerned that "epidemiology" is listed as a fast-growing field (at number 9 on this list). On the one hand, it's concerning that infectious disease is mutating into ever newer and more hemorrhagic forms. On the other hand, I guess it's good to have epidemiologists around to figure out what to do about it.
The Top Five Fastest Growing Jobs for Introverts Are:
1. Network Systems and Data Communications Analysts
2. Computer Software Engineers, Applications
3. Computer Software Engineers, Systems Software
4. Database Administrators
5. Medical Scientists
The Top Five Fastest Growing Jobs for Introverts Are:
1. Network Systems and Data Communications Analysts
2. Computer Software Engineers, Applications
3. Computer Software Engineers, Systems Software
4. Database Administrators
5. Medical Scientists
- Fastest Growing Jobs for Introverts
- From bus driving to animal training! Presumably not human animals, since, after all, this is work for introverts. Click on the link to learn about average salaries, job growth, and annual openings.
The Best-Paying Jobs For Introverts
It helps if you can do math.
Several years ago, I learned that an acquaintance of mine with a PhD in literature had actually double-majored in English and physics. Her BA project was something complicated involving lasers.
"So ...", I said, "Why did you choose literature over science? Science pays better, and there are so many more jobs."
"Well, I liked the subject, and my grades were good, but my senior project nearly drove me crazy!", she said. "Spending all day in the lab, with nobody to talk to!".
I failed to see why this was a problem.
And as it turns out, most of the best-paying jobs for introverts are in science and engineering. Astronomy, biochemistry, aerospace ... but they require math, and I have dyscalculia. Poo.
The Best-Paying Jobs for Introverts
1. Astronomers
2. Lawyers
3. Physicists
4. Political Scientists
5. Aerospace Engineers
"So ...", I said, "Why did you choose literature over science? Science pays better, and there are so many more jobs."
"Well, I liked the subject, and my grades were good, but my senior project nearly drove me crazy!", she said. "Spending all day in the lab, with nobody to talk to!".
I failed to see why this was a problem.
And as it turns out, most of the best-paying jobs for introverts are in science and engineering. Astronomy, biochemistry, aerospace ... but they require math, and I have dyscalculia. Poo.
The Best-Paying Jobs for Introverts
1. Astronomers
2. Lawyers
3. Physicists
4. Political Scientists
5. Aerospace Engineers
- The Best-Paying 25 Jobs for Introverts
- Who wants to be a hydrologist? Click the link for more highly-paid jobs for introverts.
Most Openings Right Now
Well, the most openings in 2008 anyway, before the economy tanked.
This list might have changed a lot since it was complied in 2008. For instance, I'm pretty sure that truck-driving has been hit pretty hard, what with construction and retail both being down by quite a bit. But you could try your hand at farming or ranching. Remember, as the song says -- the farmer and the cowboy can be friends!
The Jobs for Introverts with the Most Openings
1. Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks
2. Truck Drivers, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer
3. Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers
4. Truck Drivers, Light or Delivery Services
5. Accountants and Auditors
The Jobs for Introverts with the Most Openings
1. Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks
2. Truck Drivers, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer
3. Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers
4. Truck Drivers, Light or Delivery Services
5. Accountants and Auditors
- The 25 Jobs for Introverts with the Most Openings
- You can work with your hands, or with numbers. But mostly with numbers. Click the link for the jobs with the most openings.
The 200 Best Jobs for Introverts
Even more jobs for introverts!
If you enjoyed the lists I linked to, you should check out the book The 200 Best Jobs for Introverts. It has even more lists of jobs, broken down by even more categories. You'll learn what kind of training, education, or experience you'll need to move into the introverted job of your choice.
200 Best Jobs for Introverts (Jist's Best Jobs)
Amazon Price: $8.12 (as of 05/29/2012)
What's the most introverted job in the world? As it turns out, it's the job of Postal Carrier. Read this book to learn more!
Transitioning From An Extroverted Job
My plan, which you may also use. Because I'm just that giving.
Those of you who know me on Squidoo know I haven't been around for several months because I've been drowning in a job search. Over those months I've hatched a plan (sort of) to gradually transition out of retail/teaching into something more introvert-friendly/profitable.
I've realized that my retail work gives me customer service experience, and that my teaching background makes me one of those much-desired folks with "excellent written and oral communication skills" that all the job ads are always on about. I've also realized that I really enjoy designing educational pages on platforms like Squidoo. I've decided to pursue a career in Instructional Design.
Instructional designers are the people who design educational and training materials. They can be anything from textbook writers to the folks who designed that on-line test of your fire safety knowledge that you had to take at work last week. I'm focusing my efforts on positions that use multimedia tools for instruction. I'll let you know how it goes!
The Introverted Social Life
We introverts need a social life, just like everyone else. We fall in love, we make friends, we partake in the life of our community. But for us, it can present special challenges. These books can help you navigate your relationships with others.
Take This Quick and Easy Poll!
Are You An Introvert?
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Are You An Introvert? What Job Do You Do?
Share your secret!
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CMWilliams
May 30, 2012 @ 2:02 am | delete
- I work at a group home taking care of developementally disabled adults and I am also a business owner with Invado International along with some affiliate marketing. I am an introvert. I love my alone time.
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EastBayWriter
May 24, 2012 @ 4:37 pm | delete
- Ha! "Slaughterhouse/Meat Packer" really made me laugh. I took some kind of career affinity test in high school (a long time ago), and was told my best job match was garbage collector... Instead, I have spent the past 15+ years in software. Being an introvert, I'm also pretty nervous about starting a new job as a management consultant next week. I can certainly get by, but like you, prefer to deal with fewer people than the average person. Great lens!
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Mary
May 24, 2012 @ 9:56 am | delete
- I am a Data manager. I speak to maybe six people a day at my job and it is the same six people everyday. I also only attend meeting with those same people(thank god). The thought of having to interact with strangers or people I see in the hallways is so nerve racking for me that I rarely leave my desk, even to go to the bathroom because it will draw attention to me. I hate attention because that means I might have to talk to someone!!!!! OMG! I SO need therapy or help or something. My problem is that I have tons of great business ideas and really no way to execute them because I am so introverted I won't talk to people to make them happen. My husband runs a very successful business and it is successful because he is so extroverted and makes friends so easily. Great article.
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carloscuu
May 22, 2012 @ 7:21 pm | delete
- Well, I don't know if I'm an introvert, I guess a bit of both, I do teach, so I have to be in front of people and interact with them, but I do enjoy my time alone, focus on my things, what I want to do and what I want to learn or see. I guess what I don't like is to ask people things, haha, I mean if there is a purpose (at least for me) to talk to someone then its ok, but just because just bothers me. But it has to be a purpose that I decide, sales.. mmm no thank you I tried and did good for a while, but no thanks, I guess that is why I want to work online, you have the chance to decide with whom you make contact, anyway just my opinion (I know, I need therapy jeje). Interesting lens
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Sue_Dyson
May 22, 2012 @ 1:02 am | delete
- I have shades of extrovert to my introversion too. I am a licensing officer and I interact with people all the time but luckily it also balances out with breathing space in between. I love what I do! Introversion doesn't necessarily mean no interactions. It just means we get re-energized being alone. Nice lens.
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About Addy Bell
an introvert
Addy Bell is an artist who lives in San Francisco with her husband, an introvert, and her two cats, also introverts. She recently learned that "fine arts" is one of the best jobs for introverts. To bad it doesn't pay.
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