I, INTP 9

Part 9

I came to a realization today, as to why I unsatisfied with my job.  And not just my job, but the profession that I am in. 

Currently, I am a software tester.  Software Test is concerned with WHAT.  WHAT is wrong here?  WHAT is out of spec?  WHAT will cause the users grief? 

My brother-in-law, a software developer (now manager), has often suggested to me that I should go into that field.  Software development is concerned with HOW.   HOW can I transform this data?  HOW can I make this result happen?  HOW can I design this interface to be more user friendly?

My problem here is that I am a WHY person.  I constantly ask myself that question.  WHY was this building designed this way?  WHY am I so angry about that news report?  WHY is a pint glass shaped like that?

I think that I am fundamentally mismatched with the field I have lived in for the past fourteen years.  I need a job that let's me figure out WHY:

    WHY does a resource appear here but not over there?
    WHY do people react the way they do?
    WHY was an artefact designed like this, but not like that?

What are some examples of WHY jobs?  I think that Research and Analysis are two very good places to start.  Research like astrophysics (WHY is the universe like the data we have?), Archeology (WHY did these people act in this way?), Geology (WHY are these landforms structured so?), Chemistry, Investigator, Psychologist.  Analysis like, well, Analyst (Systems, Business, Financial, &c), Statistician, Stock Broker, Physicist, Historian, Judge, Economist.  All these jobs seem to me to have WHY? in them, to one degree or another.

Beyond WHY, there is also an underlying creative aspect.  I used to be a Theatrical Sound Designer™, which allowed me the freedom to work independently and translate ideas into form.  Other examples might include:  Inventor, Photographer, Mathematician, Composer, Philosopher, Writer

Software Tester or Developer are both fields that have problems to solve; but the type of problems is different in each, and I believe at variance with my true strengths.  In some ways, I feel that I am wasting my talents here, and am capable of so much more.  But how to make that jump, in a practical way?  That is, how to pull off a career change in the real world?  How do you switch out the engine while you're driving on the freeway?