Personality type and earnings

Anything to do with the traditional world of get a degree, get a job as well as its alternatives
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EdithKeeler
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Joined: Sun Sep 01, 2013 7:55 pm

Personality type and earnings

Post by EdithKeeler »

Anyone else see this on Yahoo finance today?
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/your-pers ... 13629.html

ENTJs and INTJs tend to be the highest earners and most educated. And, INTJs apparently have a bent toward early retirement, as we've seen here, but higher earning power/tendency would help to make that a reality.

I wonder how rigorous the study was, especially since the difference between highest and lowest is only about $25K, and it's measuring HOUSEHOLD income, which presumably most of the time has 2 people in it, and I suspect both are generally not the same personality type. Rationalists tend to be better educated, which correlates to an extent with earnings. But whatever--interesting to look at and talk about.

Tyler9000
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Re: Personality type and earnings

Post by Tyler9000 »

The personality % is interesting. Half the population "Likes rules to follow, desires structure" while another quarter are "free-spirited, party people". So three quarters of the population either are born salary men or have no discipline to save.

Sounds about right.

Dream of Freedom
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Location: Nebraska, US

Re: Personality type and earnings

Post by Dream of Freedom »

ESFJs and ESTJs both out earn INTJs.

Tyler9000
:lol:

Chad
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Re: Personality type and earnings

Post by Chad »

What's not surprising is the "E's" almost dominating earnings. Our society places a premium on outgoing people who like to talk. The content of what they are saying doesn't always have to be good for them to get positive notice. Though, as the ENTJ earnings suggest outgoing/talking/outward focus with rational thought is really really helpful in making money.

Also, I would assume that the "E's" would naturally gravitate toward the sales positions, which are generally higher paying.

Seneca
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Re: Personality type and earnings

Post by Seneca »

In my industry the ENTJs are found in technical marketing, sales and executive management, who definitely make more than the majority of the design/staff engineers who tend to be INTJs.

Some of the most unhappy people I've seen at my company are INTJs who move to a position better filled by an ENTJ trying to make more money.

Dragline
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Re: Personality type and earnings

Post by Dragline »

I'd have to say my prospects did improve when I made an effort to get an "E" on in my mid-twenties.

I read another article today about how people who are more likeable at work generally do better regardless, and sometime in spite of, their skill levels.

7Wannabe5
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Re: Personality type and earnings

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

I am an (E/I)NTP and I am a lifelong low earner, low spender. I always test right on the borderline for E vs. I and rarely feel much pressure to either seek company or be alone (or as my daughter once quipped "You just don't notice whether there are any other people in the room because you are so absent-minded.") I don't think the E vs. I is the distinguishing characteristic when it comes to earning/saving but I do think it is a distinguishing characteristic in not wanting to work in a group setting. Starving artist types (many of my best friends) are often intense introverts but they are more likely to have an F rather than a T.

I think it is the TJ combination vs. the TP combination that makes the most difference in earnings/savings because although both types are rational, the P will cause "rationalization." For instance, if you give a TJ kid the marshmallow test (eat one marshmallow now or get 2 marshmallows if you wait 5 minutes) it will seem like a simple black and white two choice decision with a clear better choice. For a TP, the tendency to add an infinite blurring into the gray series of "on the other hand" or "buts" to the decision matrix really botches up the works (sigh.)

Chad
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Re: Personality type and earnings

Post by Chad »

7Wannabe5 wrote:I am an (E/I)NTP and I am a lifelong low earner, low spender. I always test right on the borderline for E vs. I and rarely feel much pressure to either seek company or be alone (or as my daughter once quipped "You just don't notice whether there are any other people in the room because you are so absent-minded.") I don't think the E vs. I is the distinguishing characteristic when it comes to earning/saving but I do think it is a distinguishing characteristic in not wanting to work in a group setting. Starving artist types (many of my best friends) are often intense introverts but they are more likely to have an F rather than a T.

I think it is the TJ combination vs. the TP combination that makes the most difference in earnings/savings because although both types are rational, the P will cause "rationalization." For instance, if you give a TJ kid the marshmallow test (eat one marshmallow now or get 2 marshmallows if you wait 5 minutes) it will seem like a simple black and white two choice decision with a clear better choice. For a TP, the tendency to add an infinite blurring into the gray series of "on the other hand" or "buts" to the decision matrix really botches up the works (sigh.)
You may have point here, but you pushing together to completely different factors in savings and earnings. Lots of people make little and still solidly save, while lots of people make a lot and save nothing. You may be correct about TJ vs TP on savings, but the E across all four types still holds rather well for earnings.

It would be interesting to see a savings graph similar to the last graph of earnings, but unfortunately they didn't include one.

7Wannabe5
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Re: Personality type and earnings

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

Chad sez:You may have point here, but you pushing together to completely different factors in savings and earnings. Lots of people make little and still solidly save, while lots of people make a lot and save nothing. You may be correct about TJ vs TP on savings, but the E across all four types still holds rather well for earnings.
You are right. Earnings being better correlated with extroversion makes sense since earnings are also better correlated with physical attractiveness than IQ (except for the most attractive women.) On the other hand, passing the marshmallow test is supposed to be well correlated with IQ.

Also, I am being a bit hard on myself by positing that I would totally fail the marshmallow test as described. I can and have saved money. My pattern is that as soon as I have a bit of money saved I quit working for money or I choose a more "fun" job or one with a fresh learning curve. IOW, my motivation for just taking one marshmallow would be that I could then leave the stupid boring test room immediately with my one marshmallow in pocket rather than any need to eat (spend) the one marshmallow immediately. Still, I do lose out on compound interest and/or better ability to leverage next trade (or any other variation on it takes money to make money) by choosing intermittent work option as reward for being thrifty rather than sticking it out longer. So...why I am here. Self-aware is half-way there.

Seneca
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Re: Personality type and earnings

Post by Seneca »

Chad wrote:It would be interesting to see a savings graph similar to the last graph of earnings, but unfortunately they didn't include one.
I went looking for one (on wealth) yesterday and in a few pages of search hits found nothing beyond anecdotes.

The other thing I wonder is if they used median rather than average income, would the chart shift? It wouldn't take the inclusion of many superrich in a personality type to radically skew the data.

Tyler9000
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Re: Personality type and earnings

Post by Tyler9000 »

7Wannabe5 wrote: I think it is the TJ combination vs. the TP combination that makes the most difference in earnings/savings because although both types are rational, the P will cause "rationalization." For instance, if you give a TJ kid the marshmallow test (eat one marshmallow now or get 2 marshmallows if you wait 5 minutes) it will seem like a simple black and white two choice decision with a clear better choice. For a TP, the tendency to add an infinite blurring into the gray series of "on the other hand" or "buts" to the decision matrix really botches up the works (sigh.)
A TP is also really good at exploring multiple hard to quantify possibilities and problem solving in creative ways. If one has the self awareness to apply that to saving, he can be quite effective at it. I'm an INTP (albeit mildly weak on the "P"), and I've also found that working among large groups of strong INTJ engineers my "outside the box" brain really stands out in a good way. Mix in a little personal brand building, and I make a lot more than many of my peers. Personality is often relative, not absolute, and one can choose their environment for maximum advantage.

All that said, I find Myers-Briggs studies interesting and insightful at exposing the differences between individual personalities. But sometimes they start to read like astrology/horoscopes to me and gross generalizations become a bit silly. So I take them with a grain of salt.

7Wannabe5
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Re: Personality type and earnings

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

Tyler9000 sez: TP is also really good at exploring multiple hard to quantify possibilities and problem solving in creative ways. If one has the self awareness to apply that to saving, he can be quite effective at it. I'm an INTP (albeit mildly weak on the "P"), and I've also found that working among large groups of strong INTJ engineers my "outside the box" brain really stands out in a good way. Mix in a little personal brand building, and I make a lot more than many of my peers. Personality is often relative, not absolute, and one can choose their environment for maximum advantage.
Interesting. Shall ponder. One job I was offered (and turned down) a few years ago was to be the "social hostess" for a loosely banded group of highly eccentric independent engineers and programmers. Felt like it would suck me dry of E but maybe my P would have been valued.

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