love your list . . . very much agree with it . . .
as far as the whole entertainment industry deal, here's me: love to be perceived by others as being a funny, entertaining, engaging, intriguing, unique, witty & hopefully physically attractive person also (i guess i love to be loved?) but at the same time . . . we are not ESFPs and the entertainment industry would probably wear on us (in the long term) and we would start to question the meaning, the significance, our contribution to the "big picture" because of our darn "NF". we would probably start to resent what we are doing & asking ourselves "am i really truly helping people?" because I think it's very easy for us ENFPs to see both / all sides of the story / spectrum, ie. I'm helping but also hurting. - at least that's how i used to feel when i was a hairstylist. i'm helping this person to look great, . . . but who cares about hair - - how shallow. but that's just me . . . i always have internal struggle / dialogue with myself like that. i just think we all need to quiet our minds or meditate. (i'm a big hypocrite though, because i never do either, heee heee :) !!!

hi! english/journalism major here, I'd very much love to work for the travel channel or conde nest and be a magazine writer or something of the sort. I think those things are very hard and competitive jobs but with internships and some prior experience maybe they are possible.....Here's hopin'

Like the list...

top for me would be creative advertising agent followed by indpendant consultant/problem solver (which is what i currently do). Tough part for me (being a P) is sticking with any thing long enough to get to where i know i would be most valuable... you cant start at the top in an ad agency as the director of creative ideas.... which is where our personality would do the most good. instead you have to start at the bottom and work your way up and most ENFP's will get bored and jump ship before they ever see the bright shiny spotlight at the top of that climb.

I think I'm very lucky. I've been able to stay in a career as a consultant (software industry - testing focus) for 13 years (not all with the same company). I think that i was able to stay in the same career because as a consultant your clients are always changing and the problems are always new. Now i've been in it long enough to have a depth of experience in the software development lifecycle domain - which afforded me the opportunity to become a Director at a small consultancy and now i'm getting to do much more "sales and marketing" activities. I'm learning business development and account management because at this small consulting company, my CEO recognized the natural ability to read people and speak to their concerns.

hard to keep from going off on a tangent isnt it? but back to your list - Advertising - that would have been my first choice if i could start at the top. followed by Consulting (which i'm doing) followed by acting/directing movies.... followed by owning and operating a night club or restraunt - followed by running a bed and breakfast or resort (and i might try that one when i retire).

I was a psychology major for 2 years, I took a break and now I'm almost done with studying massage therapy. I've also learned Reiki energy work. I plan on finishing the psychology; it's just taking all the other classes like math and bio that makes it hard. I'd say your list is right.

hey christina, i just joined tribe and the enfp group and I'm loving how completely obssesive and dreamy all of us enfp's are, we're literally obssessed with being everything.

I feel like i've had at least 3 lives with all of my career and life changes. I actually studied theology untill one day in a remote village half-way around the world I realized I wasn't sure if I even believed in god anymore. since then I've had some great careers/jobs that I may or may not go back to in the future.

- I taught 5th grade and really loved it. the kids made eveyday hilarious, meaningful, and challenging... everyone 10 yr old as ADHD, and they all smell, and at least one of them is sick all of the time. But they're so much fun and it's the best when they actually understand a concept. I found that because I knew my kids were depending on me I HAD to become very organized. and our natural enfp desire for authenticity helps kids feel secure. I know my kids had a kick ass time too, and the kids and parents loved my crazy quirkiness and good communication. I think being with the same kids the whole year helped me push through some of my enfp committment issues too. A challenging aspect was having to "teach to the test" to fulfill curriculum or state test requirements. I definitely had to work hard (and stay longer hours at first) to figure out how to still be my inspirational enfp self, while keeping up with some of the bullshit rote-learning that we still promote in our schools. But all in all, this was one of my favorite jobs.

-I went back and got a masters in family therapy and became a therapist (mostly working with kids). I have to say, therapy was more difficult and less enjoyable for me than teaching, but not because of the listening thing. I'm a great listener and I'm sure you are too, I think that's an enfp trait. And I think another thing my clients appreciated was how well I seemed to know them (N), almost immediately, and not judge them (P). And it was fun to have various different clients. The negative aspects of being a therapist for me was what I still see as a somewhat defensive field in general - we still know so little about the mind and behavior etymology, etc, and yet we have an awful, rigid system of classifying behavior, and no one wants to ruffle the system. this makes the biz very duplicitous, eg., insurance only covers certain disorders with certain therapies so you have to "give" the client a disease so they can pay to get rid of it:). There's lots of paper work too and it can often be really sad. Sometimes I just wanted get out of the sterile "counseling" room I was in and get more involved in their lives - but I think that's called parenting. one of my sisters and my mother are social workers and sometimes have more "hands-on" involvement with clients.

-So now I'm a copywriter. I contract with small biz and web designers and do almost all of my work online. I travel whenever I want (I'll be for 5 mos this year), and once you have an in, business is steady enough. I'm also working on personal writing projects too - totally procrastinating now. I get a lot of meaning out of my personal writing, but I do miss having a job where i can interact / be social with others. The work is ok, the lifestyle kicks ass.

I've often thought about going back to teach in a few years, but I definitely have a desire to accomplish and maintain a presence as a writer. obviously I think it's ok to move around a bit.

i think careers are things we make up out of necesity and things we perpetuate out of lack of ingenuity - mostly we can just try to be authentic and try to enjoy the fullness of life - sorry this was so long, I figured I put some specifics in because occupation seems to be a big topic for us :)

See for me it is more than seeking a career with the right "fit and flow" for us ENFPs. [Though, I can attest that in my life this probably one of my prime goals.]

To me it is about finding a PRACTICAL, CONTRIBUTING career/skill with the right "fit and flow" for us ENFPs.

What careers with practical skills... Like farmers, ranchers, plumbers, electricians, dentists, engineers, whatever... do you think have the right fit and flow for ENFPs?

I DO love the social sciences and writing, but ultimately these don't produce a tangible real world effect through their implementation [even though they certainly create a mental/social improvement :D], so I'd like to relegate them to a secondary status in my life goals for satisfaction-attainment.

Christine's list intrigues me; however, I find the lists in the book "Do What You Are" more complete, but something in the way she places words speaks to me. I'm suppose to be close to retirement but can't imagine a life of retire. I done many jobs and the most appealing to me has been owning my own business. Currently, I teach English at a middle school and this has been rewarding these past ten years, but I sense a change coming, so I'm searching again. Passion plays a big piece of my life. Without it I feel like a robot just going through the motions and even though the process I am performing may be difficult for most individuals, I have mastered it enough to feel like the talking robot.

I read each line of your list. Congratulations, I usually hop around: your list is the first completely read one in a while. You did a good job naming the possible careers. I am in the process of choosing what major to freakin study. I want to do everything on that list-besides magazine writer. So I'm looking for a solid base for a major, something that would open doors right out of college graduation. Any suggestions? Right now, it's either Exercise Science, English, Psychology, or International Business.

Im also planning on minoring in Biology-just in case I want to head to med school. But the plan is law school, then Hollywood as a producer/writer. I constantly keep reminding myself though, "plans" change all the time with me haha like I said I want to do everything, just want a solid degree out of college that can rack in some much needed cashhhhhh

It was really interesting reading everyone's comments- sometimes you feel so different as an ENFP, like no one understands you- so good to read what you guys wrote. I'm trying to decide what to do with my life too. I am an ENFP with really strong N. If somehow I could travel, learn languages, write little articles and take gorgeous photos and get paid to do it, that's what I'd want to do. I have a travel blog that gets 30,000 visitors a month, but only makes a few hundred dollars a year from google ads- I wish it made me a living. Though even then, I don't think it would be social enough for me. I have a BA in Music and a Masters degree in Ethnomusicology. Ethnomusicology appealed to me because you have to travel to do your field work, and I got to spend two summers in France (paid for by myself though sometimes you can get grant money for this). I am still totally tempted to go back into academia even though I ran from it five years ago. At the Masters level it ends up very very philosophical (what we studied had nothing to do with anything concrete here on earth, let alone music). But I do love the lifestyle (no boss mostly, free schedule) and being around smart people and the fun youthful happy atmosphere at the university. I have to say though that everyone in the program was very serious and politically correct (no one could understand ENFP humor). There were no ENFPs amongst any of the graduate students I met- lots of INTPs and INTJs. I don't know why I can't get doing another Masters or a PhD off my mind then! Do any of you other ENFPs feel the same way about graduate studies?
I taught History of Jazz at a community college for a year. I loved doing the research in preparation for the lectures, and reading people's writing assignments. But actually giving the lectures was very draining (felt like I was acting like someone I'm not, and also it was weird to give out all that energy and not get any feedback in return). Has anyone else found this about teaching?
I've done a ton of other jobs: preschool substitute (cute kids but mind-numbing boredom after a while), English as a Second Language Conversation Partner (really fun to meet foreign students but pays low), Piano and Guitar Teacher (pays quite well but hard to get parents to bring their kids reliably), Administrative Jobs (usually don't last longer than a day at these!)
I'd love to hear from more ENFPs about what you've enjoyed and haven't enjoyed doing as far as careers...