Graphic Design: an Introvert's Profession?

I found an article last week from Business News Daily listing the 10 Best Jobs For Introverts and Graphic Designer was #8 on the list (right next to accountant and computer programmer). There are 2 things that I disagree about in this article: first, I don’t think that being a Graphic Designer is an “introverted” job. I’m studying graphic design in college and it is tough, really tough, to listen to a professional present without saying the word “we.” Graphic Design relies on collaboration and networking the heaviest out of any profession I know. Graphic Designers talk to each other, to their clients, to their co-workers for opinions… it is very much a team-oriented industry. I just got out of 6 hours of design class and in BOTH classes, for nearly the full 6 hours, we critiqued, collaborated, and shared opinions on each other’s work. As an introvert, I am going to take a nap after I finish writing this because even though I enjoy it, it wears me out.

Secondly, I think that it is unfair that we single out and introverts in our society so much. I understand that introverts make up roughly 30% of the population and extroverts make up roughly 70%, but being an introvert won’t keep you from doing your job. We see being an introvert as a bad thing, as a lacking of social skills, but it isn’t. Introverts simply expend energy when they interact with lots of people. That’s the only criteria you need to be classified as an introvert. I can think of just as many congenial introverts as I can extroverts; the difference is that they shine under different circumstances and it is more difficult to see an introvert shine in a world filled with extroverts. There is a beautiful TED talk about the power of introverts, and I wish more people would watch that video, because I think we could gain a better understanding of roughly 30% of our population.