If you have nightmares about giving presentations in front of a classroom then
you might be an introvert. If you tend to do the whole group project by yourself just to
make sure that it's done right, then you might be an introvert. And, if your favorite part of the
day is finally getting some alone time so that you can kick back and catch up on some YouTube,
then, well, I think you get it... For introverts, trying to plan out a career path can be tricky.
So many careers involve spending the day interacting with and depending on other people,
and maybe that's not for you. Maybe you need your independence and alone time so that you can
recharge. Well, luckily we've interviewed plenty of introverts who have built careers where their
personalities can thrive. So, let's dig into some of the best jobs that we've found for introverts.
I start off my day at the herbitarium. I'm kind of the amphibian and turtle and tortoise guy,
so I take care of all the amphibians there. The beginning of the day involves what we call
"head checks" so you go around make sure all your animals are as happy and healthy
as they were the night before, make sure everybody's where they're supposed to be,
and then you can start kind of the day-to-day care. As much as I love animals and I'm more
of an animal person than a people person, I really love educating people and sharing,
you know, not only why i'm passionate about these animals and why they're awesome, but also
kind of teaching people what conservation is and how the zoo works towards that.
I love to think about ideas and concepts and I would be totally fine in a room by myself
kind of putting together a puzzle or figuring things out without interacting with people. I
realized that I love problem solving. I like thinking about those things and so science is
very much about that, so no matter what you do, you're always thinking about a problem you
want to solve a question, and then you get to pursue that in a very deep way.
I actually started doing clay and working in a studio very... like, right away when I was 13
years old. I was like, I just sort of gravitated toward that kind of environment. I was like,
I want to learn to use these tools, I want to make things and stuff like that. Going to college
and getting a job as an english teacher but I always kind of knew there was a part of me that
was not getting to evolve and grow which was this more sort of contemplative quiet creative
like, inner part. I kind of knew in the back of my mind I'm not going to do this forever. Like
there's something else that I need to be doing. So, I went to a plan B, but it was also like,
going back to it was like, I'm actually going back to the way it used to feel
when I just get lost in the zone, like 14 years old listening to the radio, like working on making
this thing or whatever. I needed to do that quiet time. It was like a readjustment phase.
For many years of my life, uh, I've been in many different roles. I always was in roles where I was
in support of another person, right? I was like, I could never be that charismatic leader. I could
never be the person leading the team. I could never play that role. I'm comfortable here being
in the support role. I could, you know, be the C.O.O., I could be the person behind the scenes.
Over time I realized that actually leaders come in many different forms. They don't have to be tall,
they don't have to be charismatic, they don't have to be extroverted. Once I realized that
I allowed myself to have a chance. I think people
came to support me after I was able to express that to others.
The first couple of days I started here I felt like a fish out of water inside the shop,
that I didn't really know how to go about doing certain things. And, and, once you start to
work on a truck, you're able to kind of find your way around and do things in your own way,
and you get comfortable with it. There's never a dull day here, i'll tell you that. It's fun. We
laugh, we joke. So this is not work to me, this is fun. I get to come play on trucks all day.
You never stop learning in this industry. There's always something new, something evolving, some new
technique coming out. You could spend the rest of your life in this industry because it's growing.
If you're still looking for a career that feels right for you, then make sure to subscribe to
our channel and stick around. Every Tuesday we put out new videos to help you explore careers
and get the guidance that you need to find fulfilling work.