Personality type, career preference and implications for computer science recruitment and teaching

The aims of the paper are to identify Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality attributes of computing professionals that are best suited to three major subtasks of computing — system analysis, system design and programming and to confirm the validity of the attributes for computing professionals. The MBTI categorises individuals on four pairs of personality characteristics: extraversion/introversion, sensing/ intuition, thinking/feeling and judging/perceiving, giving sixteen possible personality types. The existing literature indicates that just two of these sixteen personality types account for more than a third of computing professionals. Consideration of the tasks of computing professionals today suggests that a much broader range of personality types is required. Preferred types are suggested for each of the major subtasks of system analysis, system design and programming. A study of 38 computing professionals tends to confirm that computing professionals with a preference for one of the subtasks do have characteristics suggested for that subtask. The implications of these findings for the recruitment and retention of students are discussed.