The Myers-Briggs ENTP personality type is an inspired innovator who is motivated to find new solutions to challenging problems. This personality type tends to be curious and clever, open-minded, and unconventional. Nicknamed the Visionary, they seek to comprehend people, systems, and principles around them and want to analyse, understand, and influence others.

ENTP Personality:

ENTP stands for extraverted, intuitive, thinking, and perceiving. As extroverts, they are energized by spending time with others. They focus on ideas and concepts rather than details and facts but make decisions based on reason and logic. When it comes to plans, they tend to be more spontaneous and flexible compared to meticulously organised.

The ENTP enjoys exploring new ideas and they typically like bantering with others. They have a good command of language and a quick wit, which they will use to keep the upper hand in groups. While this personality type enjoys challenging others, they’re also usually happy to live and let live and are rarely judgemental of others.

At work, the ENTP personality type enjoys applying innovative solutions to challenging problems. They are concerned with improving the effectiveness and efficiency of systems and will often be found taking an entrepreneurial approach to their work. They prefer to approach tasks in a way that is unstructured and casual and prefer a work environment where there are no limitations on their creativity.

The ENTP personality type values competency and will often want to be the expert in their chosen field. They will enjoy a work environment where they must continuously improve their skills and knowledge. They will also often value power and seek out careers that provide them with contact with powerful people and the chance to increase their own influence over others.

Best Careers for ENTP:

The best work environment for the ENTP is intellectually challenging and where they are surrounded by co-workers that are intelligent and creative. They do not enjoy a rigid workplace and prefer somewhere that allows them to put their creativity to work and develop innovative ideas and solutions. The ENTP personality type does not enjoy routine and instead prefers ideas and spontaneity. They will easily get bored when required to attend to details or repeat tasks and tend to thrive best in a role where the work is very conceptual and allows them to creatively solve problems without having to focus on the finer details.

The Best Jobs for ENTP:

The ENTP will find a lot of satisfaction and fulfilment in a career where they are able to apply their naturally innovative mind to challenging problems. They tend to take an entrepreneurial approach to their work and need a lot of freedom in their work environment, which means that they might not fit in everywhere. However, when in a job that is the right fit for them, there are no limits when it comes to their spirit and ingenuity. Some of the best career paths for the ENTP to consider include:

·      Art and Design:

The field of art and design is often one of the most ideal professional industries for the ENTP to get into. The expressive and innovative nature of the ENTP personality type allows them to excel in the arts. Some ideal career paths to consider include creative director, film producer, game designer, photographer, and copywriter.

·      Business and Technology:

Business and technology is another ideal fit for the ENTP, with several career options that may be the ideal fit. Since the ENTP genuinely enjoys analysing and dissecting ideas and concepts to determine what works well and what does not, they will often thrive in a business environment. In addition, the entrepreneurial nature of the ENTP means that they will often be found running their own companies. Some career paths to consider include software developer, business consultant, stockbroker, financial planner, product manager, systems analyst, computer programmer, training manager, venture capital associate, attorney, and public relations specialist.

·      STEM:

The ENTP will often also thrive in a STEM role, as intellectual curiosity is often encouraged and rewarded in these roles. However, for the ENTP that wants to pursue a STEM career, it’s important to consider a role where the work does not involve a lot of routine tasks. The ENTP is most likely to thrive in a STEM role that includes creative, hands-on work.

·      Healthcare:

Working in healthcare may also be an ideal choice for the ENTP individual. The role of a physician in particular is often ideal for the ENTP since this role requires you to use communication skills and creative thinking skills to diagnose and treat patients. In addition, the role requires the ENTP to continuously learn new things and improve their knowledge. There are also many opportunities for physicians to specialise in and focus on a specific type of medicine such as oncology, paediatrics, surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, and more. Working as a doctor will also appeal to the ENTP due to the wide range of work environments including hospitals, clinics, and more – many of which include lots of interaction with patients and other healthcare professionals.

·      Politics:

Working in politics is also an ideal fit for many people with the ENTP personality type. Working as a politician may be appealing to this extroverted individual who is committed to finding out what’s not working well and making improvements. The role of a politician includes developing policies and laws to help govern a community or nation. The ENTP often naturally possesses a wide range of skills that are necessary to work successfully as a politician, including active listening skills and the ability to communicate complex issues clearly and concisely to others. In addition, developing legislation also requires politicians to possess creative problem-solving and logical reasoning skills.

ENTP Personality Careers to Avoid:

As with all of the Myers-Briggs personality types, there are certain career paths that simply will not be a good fit for the ENTP. While the ENTP possesses skills that will allow them to excel in any career that they choose, some lines of work are simply not going to provide a high level of satisfaction and fulfilment to the ENTP and are best avoided. These include:

·      Administrative Roles:

While administrative work is ideal for people who like to have the ability to just get through a large workload on their own, it’s not always the best choice for the ENTP, as it simply doesn’t align with their skill-set and values. Since the nature of this work is so repetitive and predictable, without many options for the ENTP to be creative and problem-solve, it’ll eventually become very boring for them.

·      Driving:

Driving roles are great for people who don’t mind spending a lot of time alone, doing repetitive tasks and driving the same routes on a regular basis. However, this will quickly become very frustrating and boring for the ENTP, who will prefer to work in an environment where they have more freedom to think and create. In addition, the solitary nature of the work means that the extroverted ENTP will quickly become bored and demotivated since they get their energy from spending time with and bouncing ideas off others.

·      Accounting:

While some finance roles will allow for creativity and coming up with your own ideas, the role of an accountant is best avoided if you are the ENTP personality type. This kind of role does not encourage creative flair and is one that’s sure to drive the ENTP crazy over time and even leave them feeling sufficed and stifled at work.

·      Customer Service:

While the extroversion trait of the ENTP personality type might help in some customer service roles, working in the majority of customer service career paths is not typically a good overall fit for the ENTP. This is due to the fact that these roles do not often allow for much creative thinking, and for the ENTP who prefers to keep an open mind and make decisions later, working in customer service can quickly become very frustrating and even overwhelming.

·      Teaching:

While some teaching roles allow for creativity and experimentation, traditional teaching roles where a set curriculum must be followed is not typically the best fit for an ENTP, and they will quickly become bored with the lack of mental stimulation on offer. ENTPs tend to be quick learners, and they prefer to bend the rules and experiment a little rather than sticking to a set of rules. However, in a teaching role that does allow for more experimentation and creativity, the ENTP may thrive as they tend to have naturally good communication skills.

While all ENTPs are different and a career that is a good fit for one ENTP might not be great for another, there are several roles that tend to be a better option for people with this Myers-Briggs personality type. The ENTP tends to prefer working in a role where they can be creative, experiment, and come up with their own ideas. They should avoid repetitive work or work where they don’t have much opportunity to collaborate with others.