These are the Best Jobs for Introverts Who Hate Social Interaction, According to O*NET

If you consider yourself introverted (or you just really prefer to work on your own), you might want to take your comfort with people into account when choosing your career. Some professions will just plain demand more personal interaction than you can tolerate. The Occupational Information Network (O*NET) rated jobs on a scale of 0-100, based on how much contact with others is required and how much it requires a worker to be pleasant in their interactions. Here are their top jobs for introverts.

If You Have a High School Diploma

• Poet, lyricist, or creative writer: Solitude galore. And you’ll be in excellent company with some of the greatest writers who never bothered going to college and still wrote masterpieces. If you’re creative and good with words, it’s worth considering.
• Dental lab technician: Dentists have to talk to and see patients all day, but their technicians work behind the scenes making molds and doing other laboratory work. And most positions only require a diploma or equivalent.
• Farm or crop worker: If you love working outdoors and don’t mind physical labor, this could be great for you. You could work farm equipment, harvest fruits or vegetables, apply pesticides. And you won’t have to talk much while you do it. This industry is set to grow in the next few years. And there are many different ways to fit into the field.
• Potter: Operate machines or hand-make ceramics, pottery and stoneware. If you like working with your hands and are on the creative side, then this could be right for you.

If You Have an Associate’s Degree

• Photonics technician: Work in fiberoptics and with laser technology. This field is set to boom and is also a “green occupation” where you'd be working with energy-efficient activities and technologies.
• Machinist: This is another “green occupation” with a bright future, and it requires a whole lot more interaction with machines than with other people.

If You Have a Bachelor’s Degree

• Real estate appraiser: Appraisers interact with properties, where agents interact with potential buyers and sellers. Spend your time appraising properties for purchases, sales, or loans.
• Cryotechnologist: A lab setting is always good for those who crave alone time. Take refuge among cell samples. You might need an additional post-graduate certification, but you can easily get your start with just a Bachelor’s degree.
• Geological Sample Test Tech: Survey and analyze geological samples. Another field in which you’ll spend a great deal of time on your own and outside.

If You Have a Master’s Degree or Higher

• Mathematician: Math is increasingly important in our technological age. If you have the talent and enjoy it, it’s a great way to take refuge in numbers and your own brain to solve the biggest problems of various fields.
• Archivist: You like people, but you prefer to interact with them on paper. Archivists maintain documents and databases, but often work in blissful silence on their own.
• Environmental Economist: If you have a head for numbers and love nature, this could be a great field for you. Another “green occupation” experiencing rapid growth, this research and analysis position will be incredibly valuable in the economy to come.