Personality Types and Career Specialisation of Built Environment Students of a Higher Institution in Malaysia: From an MBTI Perspective

Huang, Shin Fui (2025) Personality Types and Career Specialisation of Built Environment Students of a Higher Institution in Malaysia: From an MBTI Perspective. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.

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Abstract

Numerous research has demonstrated a strong connection between personality traits of construction professionals and career related variables. While evidence of this relationship has been demonstrated in a number of studies, the psychological contributions has yet to be fully appreciated by the Malaysian construction industry. The present study contributes to the existing literature by providing empirical data involving five (5) built environment disciplines, that being quantity surveying, construction management, real estate, architecture and interior design, of all which reports the association between career specialisation and personality type preferences using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) framework. The research aims are (1) to identify key competencies of construction professionals, (2) to examine the distribution of MBTI personality profiles and (3) to assess how personality traits influence career specialisation in the built environment. A total of 721 built environment students, both undergraduate and graduated from a Malaysian higher education institution participated in the research which yielded 221 complete responses. The study found that communication and teamwork are the most critical competencies across built environment disciplines, with leadership and technical skills being less emphasised. Key competencies include problem-solving and decision making in quantity surveying; communication in real estate and architecture; teamwork in construction management and management in interior architecture. The findings did not support previous research that most built environment students would exhibit Extroversion (E), Sensing (S), Thinking (T) and Judging (J) preferences. However, the results align with prior studies reporting that more Introverted (I) and Intuitive (N) individuals were found within creative fields like architecture and interior design. The sample showed preferences for Introversion (72%), Intuition (57%), Feeling (57%) and Judging (53%), with INFJ and INFP being the most common personality types. Post hoc analyses using the SPSS software revealed significant findings pertaining to the Sensing/Intuition (S/N) and Thinking/Feeling (T/F) dichotomies. Males predominantly exhibited Thinking (T) traits, while females showed a preference for Feeling (F). Additionally, fourth-year students were more likely to prefer Sensing (S) and those with over three years of work experience favoured Intuition (N). The personality effects in shaping career pathways were elucidated by analysing individual’s agreement level on 20 statements in an organisational context. All findings were supported by the subjectively held views of participants that their chosen career paths were a reflection of their personalities, which calls for the incorporation of personality assessments in academic and industrial domains to guide students in aligning their career paths.