Jobs for Idea People

[LifeLine]

INTP's seem to dream big, but have trouble following through. We lose focus, get stressed out, or just fizzle out due to the fatigue of implementing a successful idea. I've also noticed that many of us seem to be hopping from job to job out of boredom. Is there a way to avoid this?

What I'm trying to ask, to benefit myself as well as others is this: ARE THERE ANY JOBS OUT THERE FOR IDEA PEOPLE? Personally, I can plan out an entire business or new piece of technology, but I have no idea how to construct it or manage it. In fact, if I ever started a business, I'd probably sell it any few months, no matter how successful, out of sheer boredom.

What jobs are out there that offer new and unique challenges and don't require too much in the implementation of those ideas? So far, I've come up with a writer, that's it. Any ideas?

 

[durentu]

First of all, saying what INTP are or are not, similarly what they can do or cannot do is stigmatization. It's unnecessary and untrue.

Secondly, there are many kinds of INTPs and what skill sets and abilities they have will render different opportunities.

Typically, INTPs are found as architects. Whatever needs to be architected, an INTP is there or nearby. Creating ideas, gadgets, patterns, papers etc.

Jobs for this kind of ability are many but specific to an industry or field.

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Where INTPs do not implement their ideas, they must instead argue their ideas with others in order to create a purer product. From there, it can be sold, traded, or whatever.

The natural domain is science. Alternate domain is competition.

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Design something for fun. Anything, it doesn't matter. Post here and have the other INTPs rip it apart. Then you reassemble it better that it was. After a few iterations, try for non-INTP arguments. After a while, you should have a concrete thing. Then goto market and sell it.

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Generally, I don't see INTPs in places where ideas aren't challenged and worked out. Like authoritarian environments or mindless execution of tasks.

 

[johnnystafford]

i just joined whatever this is so i could reply to you LifeLine.. that sounds way creepy but i have been struggling with this idea guy job forever and have the same problem you have with it. we should start a bizz i got a million ideas of how to do it... ok enough of that. anyway here's an idea for a idea business and some basic ideas that can make it happen

. catalog ideas, find simplest way to present each( im using webcam with my own drawings cause im way bad ass at drawing and my own voice. and lots of editing.. but i like to do this stuff.. self absorbed? yup.. i sing in a band so im use to hearing how stupid i sound and can take criticism like a free bj... hope thats not to risky for whatever website im on right now.. well anyway posting videos is time stamped proof that you came up with it first..if u did and thats all a copyright is. its way my band mails our own songs to ourself. called a poor mans copywrite. well this way is more like a homeless mans but anyway.. the business end comes with the website which will have to be modest at first but will have the ever growing archive of ideas. we can fire off free ideas like throwing small fish out to bait.. there is a million ways to pursue this basic Idea Sale sight. late night hosts, comedians, pretty much anyone famous are paid to run their mouth and depending on how good or entertaining their ideas are relates to their pay. if your really an idea man or woman or robot or whatever you are like me...robot .. and poor as borrowed dirt...like me.. and really dont care about money, which i currently share views with you on this but am looking to change my mind on the matter then tell me what you think.

best to email me until i figure this forum stuff out

my bad ass art..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnnystafford

my not so bad ass band

www.vagusmusic.com

 

[HistoryGirl]

Well, this is my first post, but I've been (perhaps we all do) struggling with this for quite some time. I have an insane urge to want to help people, but not directly. I really enjoy donating my "research skills" to cold and missing persons cases. I'd like to turn that into a criminal analyst job eventually - where I can put everything together and then give it to someone else. The ideas and information on a person - then other people follow through. I have lists of ideas, inventions, etc. Of course, nothing has been followed through. Working on a website/non profit of that genre though.

Another aspect I've enjoyed is being a consultant for marketing. Not having to do the nitty gritty, just giving them a long list of ideas, etc.

Being a personal assistant is something else vs an executive one. Figuring out how to make someone's life run smoothly is enjoyable for me and the ideas are what keep you alive in that business.

I'd love some ideas, too. I'm at a standstill right now with that area of my life.

 

[BitRogue]

Part of my job is what you might call problem solving. I [am part of a team of people who] implement large ERP systems. As a tech consultant, not only do I get to play with some of todays modern enterprise technology, but sometimes I also get called in to fix various problems. Most problems I tend to think are fairly simple to fix, until I discovered that so few people attain the same level of concentration and knowledge of the system that they always seem amazed when I do a few changes and everything is working again. Truth is, some problems really do require deep thinking skills, and it is not a logical thing, but to me has become an art form. e.g. I know what causes this issue, but thats not the REAL problem, the REAL issue is ... [spends 40 minutes tracing data flows, metadata setup and a bit of code analysis ] is some user entered some test data with funny characters and THATS why the system crashes every night in the same place.
Or something similar.

Anyway, just presenting another thought on what to look for. Obviously it doesnt have to be computers.

Incidently I have always struggled with this problem. I mainly think I was born to be a movie director, but with terrible people skills and an inability to finish what I start, Id either have to co-direct it with an ENTP friend, or perhaps Im better off sticking to writing books or scripts where my ideas can be fully realized without having to actually deal with people. (With the negative part being that it takes so much effort to motivate myself to actually open up a Word document and start writing. But once over that hurdle, its scary how easy it is to sink into my created world and storyline)

Good luck with your search though.

 

[johnnystafford]

don't let it mix you up BitRogue.. or any of you saps. sound so down on your own efforts.. who knows man, maybe directors and writers are all failed wanna be plumbers. it is well beyond the human condition to see every single thought and good idea played out... unless i guess your retarted and r not firing on all cilinders... but everyone here is not that. i think its just a deep need in all of us to express what we see think and feel...and taste? and smell? well anyway just consider how much more you know about stuff then Einstein for the soul fact that u were born after him.. he was the one that said the whole standing on the shoulders of giants thing.. well giants are out like disco baby. we all be chillin on the recliners strewn along the information super highway.. anyway i think your all talking about being lazy asses more then a true dream job for an idea man.. pull it together people.. i mean really. ..really.. think about what this thread is actually about anyway... if your a good idea man then im sure you dont need any help... get it? think up an idea for a job.. if you cant get your motor started you shouldnt be pushing off the peer hoping for the best... your gonna look the fool to all us seasoned fisherman out here.. gonna scare away the fish bro.. first thing you need is some self confedance. take me for exsample. i like to mix up my approach and throw in some wonderful seeds and hints of a wild creative intelegance and then toss a good heaping of stupid on top. nothing like gething an intelect lesson from a dude that cant spell. makes it easier to take somehow.

 

[BitRogue]

Damn, and there I was thinking mine was one of the more positive and constructive posts. I must work on my PR skills.

You're right though, in theory there is nothing we can't do, but things like social settings and long term goal targets are our Kryptonite, and working with these in the mix is very draining. The theory goes is that there must be more ideal ways where we can constructively contribute to the world and still enjoy it and feel good about ourselves.

 

[a detached retina]

work at a think-tank see IDEO http://www.ideo.com/
R&D type job would be good too.

 

[johnnystafford]

well its not like i dont think the same way sometimes. i just know its wrong now from trial and error. anyway its always easier to point out others misstakes. and i beleive there is an easier way but i don't beleive its the answer. we live in the easiest age of man. and still we want it easier. i think its much more important to express your ideas, develop them, share them then it is to cut them off and wish. follow me on this for a sec.. the term make believe. thous two words in that order means thoughts and fantisies not to be shared. but if you reverse it,believe make... then you got the answer. you believe in something, you make it.

and the rome wasnt built in a day thing helps. if you really really have GREAT ideas then its gonna take a lifetime.

i hope this story will help. it helped me. and yes its true.

One day a management consultant, Ivy Lee, called on Schwab of the Bethlehem Steel Company. Lee outlined briefly his firm's services, ending with the statement: "With our service, you'll know how to manage better."
The indignant Schwab said, "I'm not managing as well now as I know how. What we need around here is not more "knowing" but more doing, not knowledge but action; if you can give us something to pep us up to do the things we ALREADY KNOW we ought to do, I'll gladly listen to you and pay you anything you ask."
"Fine", said Lee. "I can give you something in twenty minutes that will step up your action and doing at least 50 percent".
"O.K.", said Schwab. "I have just about that much time before I must leave to catch a train. What's your idea?"
Lee pulled a bland 3x5 note sheet out of his pocket, handed it to Schwab and said: "Write on this sheet the five most important tasks you have to do tomorrow". That took about three minutes. "Now", said Lee, "number them in the order of their importance". Five more minutes pass. "Now", said Lee, "put this sheet in you pocket and the first thing tomorrow morning look at item one and start working on it. Pull the sheet out of your pocket every 15 minutes and look at item one until it is finished. Then tackle item two in the same way, then item three. Do this until quitting time. Don't be concerned if you only finished two or three, or even if you only finish one item. You'll be working on the important ones. The others can wait. If you can't finish them all by this method, you couldn't with another method either, and without some system you'd probably not even decide which are most important".
"Spend the last five minutes of every working day making out a "must " list for the next day's tasks. After you've convinced yourself of the worth of this system have your men try it. Try it out as long as you wish and then send me a check for what YOU think it's worth".
The whole interview lasted about twenty-five minutes. In two weeks Schwab set Lee a check for $25,000 - a thousand dollars a minute. He added a note saying the lesson was the most profitable from a money standpoint he had ever learned. Did it work? In five years it turned the unknown Bethlehem Steel Company into the biggest independent steel producer in the world; made Schwab a hundred million dollar fortune, and the best known steel man alive at that time.

 

[xbox]

I struggled and failed trying to follow my parents dream, and my dreams were forced to the back of my head. Now at the freaking age of 24, I'm doing what I want to do. I pretty much have to start all over which is so frustrating. I am so angry that I didn't have the guts to stand up to them earlier, they pretty much ruined my life and made me seem stupid in the process. However, I'm excited but scared at the same time, because I don't even know what its like doing something that I want to do. I hope I do well, because I know for sure that my grades aren't representative of me.

I just think someone who is INTP should think about what they REALLY enjoy doing, and seek something in that area. It's probably something that stemmed from childhood interests too. That way the individual will be powered by intrinsic motivation, rather than the motivation of getting rewarded.

I think it is intrinsic motivation that powers an INTP throughout everything. That's why we put off studying for an economics class, just to enthusiastically read up on one of the million window tabs we have ranging from West Germanic Language roots, and Yemeni archaeological excavation sites, the ice mansions in the Artic, and trying to look up the species of bug we found in our backyard.

Sorry I think I went off on a completely random tangent.

Back to writing stupid essays for this economics class..

 

[johnnystafford]

ok xbox. i got to give you a heads up before i correct all the mistakes and contradictions you just pooped out. I too use to think how you do.. when i was at the freaking age of 24.

first the parents thing. you blaming them for making you seem stupid? well thats not gonna fly.. you just admitted that you have never done what you wanted before. this might sting but that means your not a man yet. sorry but dont worry im 30 and still not. every single thing that is wrong with your life you alone must take responsibility for. your parents have NOTHING to do with it.

When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years. ~Mark Twain

mark twain figured it out way before us. it helps not to judge so harshly things you have not done yourself. unless you got a brat kid in college. just kidding..

ok and finally the whole intrinsic thing makes not a lick of sence. it is a parents job to teach the extrinsic motivators and it is the child to figure out the intrinsic. how can a person teach another want to want? they show you the rules of the land and how to interact with others and then you become a man and find what you want out of it. you cant know what you want if you dont know who you are.

 

[xbox]

Wtf? First of all, I'm a girl.

They pushed me into Medical school ever since I was 18 even though I had other interests. Maybe I should have been clearer, as a child they taught me "if you cannot do medicine, you are not smart enough." they taught me that I should become a doctor for social status and money. And yes my parents have a lot to do with it, because they shoved me into the caribbean medical schools when I couldn't get into a US school.

And yes I just got the guts to stand up to them to finally do what I want to do. Doing what I wanted to do meant disappointing them so badly that they refuse to TALK to me. I was just expressing frustration over the time lost. I am doing something about it now.

My entire experience led me to take the MBTI test with a clin. psychologist to figure out my personality type. Obviously to learn more about myself, to IMPROVE and grow out of the past.

And about the intrinsic motivation, I MEANT to say that it is an interest that comes from within, and that if you do something based off only on extrinsic motivators (money/social status for example), you're not going to go anywhere.

 

[johnnystafford]

voops. but in my defence i thought u were an over privlaged dude whinning about how your parents r so bad for greating u into college. sorry. my bad. i understand that your parents do have an effect on your life. my father has 11 brothers and sisters and my mother has 16 and out of all of them i was the first to graduate high school. my parents are the total opposite of urs so i actually have no idea how things r for you. i had to get a job when i was 16 to help pay rent and my 2 sisters consider me their father more then my dad. i love him and all, he is just work horse generation so when i hear people talking about how bad it is to have parents that push them, it just gets to me. but its my own ignorance. no hard feelings?

 

[xbox]

Yeah no hard feelings. I should have been clearer, and I see how I came across as a douche. hehe..

 

[johnnystafford]

we might be the only nice people on the web. so many use this as a shit talking megaphone. .. hhmm.. well.. i got nothin... quick throw some more logs on the forum before it goes out! we will freeze out here

 

[digital angel]

I think it's important to find what you're interested in and then take it from there. I love tax law and am a tax lawyer.

 

[Reverse Transcriptase]

Programming!! However, please don't make any mistakes about the stereotypes of developers. Communication is a Very important skill for software developers to have.

A lot of lab work is really detail oriented. I was a lab grunt-- I wasn't really designing experiments, I was just doing the exact work the professor demanded. It sucked. Not good for idea people.

 

[17pounder]

I struggled and failed trying to follow my parents dream, and my dreams were forced to the back of my head. Now at the freaking age of 24, I'm doing what I want to do. I pretty much have to start all over which is so frustrating. I am so angry that I didn't have the guts to stand up to them earlier, they pretty much ruined my life and made me seem stupid in the process. However, I'm excited but scared at the same time, because I don't even know what its like doing something that I want to do. I hope I do well, because I know for sure that my grades aren't representative of me.

I just think someone who is INTP should think about what they REALLY enjoy doing, and seek something in that area. It's probably something that stemmed from childhood interests too. That way the individual will be powered by intrinsic motivation, rather than the motivation of getting rewarded.

I think it is intrinsic motivation that powers an INTP throughout everything. That's why we put off studying for an economics class, just to enthusiastically read up on one of the million window tabs we have ranging from West Germanic Language roots, and Yemeni archaeological excavation sites, the ice mansions in the Artic, and trying to look up the species of bug we found in our backyard.

Sorry I think I went off on a completely random tangent.

Back to writing stupid essays for this economics class..

I know exactly how you feel. Every time I needed to make a life decision, my mother would step in and force me into whatever she felt was right. Not one thing ever worked out, and anybody who had been doing what I was going to try ended up being the most successful person Ive seen in the various fields.
Im going through something similar at work, Im the highest performing person in my department, yet they are trying to implement exactly the opposite of what makes me sucessful. They litterally did zero statistical research on my department before implementing what they "feel" will work, when numbers speak much better.
In fact, I can show them that their ideas already produce zero income, while mine produce 97% of income, yet they are too ignorant to even listen.
They even introduced a script which we must follow, and the script leads to nearly 100% failure rate, compared to my previous average of over 90% success. I would get hung up on once or twice a week before, not we get hung up on nearly 100% of the time, and the only people who dont hang up are not interested in paying, but yelling at us.

The world is full of retards like this. Avoid any job where you have to operate with set restrictions on action. Research what your customers think, they will state it very openly in online forums.