Do INFJ's make good FBI Profilers?

[meowzician]

I'm sure I'm not the only Criminal Minds fan on the forum. I always kind of thought to myself that I'd make a great profiler, but I doubt I'd last more that 5-10 years. It would tear me apart.

It seems to me that INFJ's are natural profilers. I mean, isn't that what we do 24/7? Look for patterns of behavior? Spot things that don't quite fit and start digging and we don't let it rest until we've uncovered the true motivation?

I once said to my daughter, "I don't know why I watch this show. It is so incredibly disturbing to me. I always have to close my eyes." And she said, "Because, Mom, you are obsessed with what makes people tick. You can't let it alone. Anytime you spot something that doesn't quite make sense, you have to dig and dig until you understand. You are always watching everybody all the time. This is like, YOUR SHOW."

So I asked AI what MBTI types would make good FBI Profilers. We were the ONLY NF's it listed, and my guess is for exactly what I noted above--empathy makes NF's prone to burnout if you are constantly dealing with the dark side of humanity. The AI also listed INTJ, INTP, and ENTJ which make sense because they share the necessary intuition, but their T protects them.

Does anyone have any real life experience with this? OR even with related fields. Like, how do INFJ's survive as cops?

 

[TomasM]

The profession does seem to align more with a realist than an idealist. NT’s are realists.

I think it also depends on how weighted the T/F dichotomy is to the F and if the person is more dedicated to growing their intellect through education. Weighted closer to the middle of T/F and a commitment to the social and behavioral sciences would seem to have them prepared.

Also, a high level of ADHD might not be good in that profession when a solution has to be found quickly.

One of my favorite shows was The Mentalist and he (Patrick Jane) did have a knack for finding the guilty with what appeared to be an NF typing.