The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and a Student’s College Major

Worldwide, approximately eighty-five percent of adults in the workforce despise their jobs. Many students enter college with a path already in mind, only to discover that their chosen career is not aligned with their personality traits. Personality assessments, if accurate, may help students better determine a career path best suited for their personality traits before entering college, saving both time and money. My project investigated the accuracy of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), a widely used personality test, in assessing the academic and recreational characteristics of an individual. I researched the sixteen personality types and categorized the types in order to better explain how they are determined. I then instructed UTSA students to take the Myers-Briggs personality test using the website 16personalities.com and surveyed the participants to determine how accurately the test assessed their academic aptitude, college major, and individual traits. Of the seventy-two students who responded, 87.5% found their results of the personality test to be accurate and 43.1% of the participants stated that they would use their test results to help determine their career goals. Overall, my work supports the view that the MBTI would be useful for incoming college freshman who are undeclared.