Best Jobs for Perfectionists with Anxiety (29+ List)

If you’re wondering what job will suit you considering your anxiety and perfectionism, you’re in the right place. This is an extensive list of the best jobs suited to individuals like you. Here, we will describe each profession and explain why it’s good for an anxious perfectionist.

What are the Best Jobs for Perfectionists with Anxiety?

The best jobs for perfectionists with anxiety are listed below:

• Accountant
• Artist
• Automobile Mechanic
• Blogger
• Cosmetologist
• Data Entry 
• Driver
• Engineer
• Entrepreneur
• Farmer
• Florist
• Gym Trainer
• Housekeeper
• Insurance Agent
• Landscapist
• Librarian
• Masseuse
• Museologist
• Pet Care Technician
• Pharmacist
• Photographer
• Plant Nursery Manager
• Plumber
• Programmer
• Proofreader
• Psychologist
• Researcher
• Technician
• Wine Sommelier
• Writer
• Yoga Instructor

Jobs for Perfectionists Dealing with Anxiety

The right job for a perfectionist must have opportunity for organisation skills and structure. Such a profession will allow them to channelise their need to exert control. If they’re dealing with anxiety, then the job should not allow much stress. Keeping these two points in consideration, here are over 30 different jobs for anxious perfectionists:

Accountant

An accountant is responsible for auditing financial documents and tax payments. Since this occupation necessitates being careful and diligent with a lot of numbers, a perfectionist generally thrives here. The work is quite repetitive so there’s a lot of scope for structure and routine. Such an organised nature of work eliminates chances of anxiety.

Artist

What better way to discharge anxiety than creative expression! Being an artist allows you to channel all that excessive energy into something meaningful. Whether it is through visual art or performance, you can use catharsis to feel better and calmer. As a perfectionist, you’ll always want to create something of good quality. So financially, making ends meet won’t be too hard.

Automobile Mechanic

Some people look at this career with disdain as if it isn’t a respectable profession. Sure, it involves getting your hands dirty but imagine a world without mechanics. What would people do when their car needed repair or maintenance? Perfectionists tend to be very good at their work. So, if you can handle luxury cars, your income will make people think again about this job.

Blogger

Chronic anxiety requires a job that you can do at your own pace. Blogging gives you that opportunity as it is project-based. It’s something you can do from home and without much in-person interaction with others. Once you learn how to capitalise it, you could work from home for the rest of your life. Sounds like a dream to an anxious perfectionist.

Cosmetologist

People with anxiety often have body image issues. Their low self confidence can stem from how they feel about their appearance. Becoming a cosmetologist or make up artist is a great way to overcome these issues. You can practice on yourself to figure out how to highlight strengths. That way, this job will help you become a surer version of yourself.

Data Entry

Data entry is quite a low-stress job. There’s repetition, mundane tasks, and clear cut instructions. All of that doesn’t leave much room for error. Sure, it can be a little boring, but it serves as an excellent escape from anxious thoughts. The perfectionist in you will learn how to do it fast and better than others.

Driver

Commercial driving can be through taxi services, delivery services, or transport. A very small portion of the working hours go into social interaction. For the rest of the time, you can sit in your comfortable car seat listening to your favourite tunes. With more experience, you’ll even learn how to tactfully avoid traffic and make your daily commute a lot smoother.

Engineer

Engineering has a lot of different options that cater to various needs. If you’re the anxious perfectionist who prefers solitude, you can pick computer engineering. In case you like working with fine motor skills, you can try electrical. For analytical and scientific individuals, there are many more fields to opt for. Engineering will make the most of your conscientiousness.

Entrepreneur

Sometimes the anxiety gets triggered by toxic work environments or demanding authority figures. Get rid of all of that by becoming your own boss. If you have a hobby or an idea that you can monetise, this is the best option for you. Your perfectionist nature will ensure that you do good work and make plenty of money.

Farmer

For some anxious perfectionists, it’s better to stick to manual labour. It keeps you busy all day and you sleep well due to exhaustion. The work hardly demands much social interaction and everything depends on structure and discipline. If you fall into this demographic, you’ll find safety in the farms.

Florist

Imagine having your office surrounded with beautiful blossoms. It’ll be a constant source of visual pleasure and the sights and smells will ground you regularly. Except for Valentine’s Day and the Holidays, work will be relatively stress-free. This job can also entail driving for deliveries, which as mentioned earlier, is a good place to be.

Gym Trainer

Fitness and gymming is another way to periodically produce endorphins or happy hormones. It is a baby-based approach to good mental and physical health. Not only does this job make sure that you stay healthy, it also gives you an opportunity to help others. The perfectionist in you will strive for ultimate fitness and your clients will be inspired.

Housekeeper

Cleaning, organising, and following schedules is paradise for someone with anxiety. It deals with seemingly menial tasks but there is magic in these activities. When you do it over and over, you find ways to do it perfectly. This allows you to create a sense of control in a world that is horribly uncertain. Housekeeping is a wonderful escape from automatic negative thoughts.

Insurance Agent

Though this job requires social interaction, it also provides the much needed structure and sense of control. As long as your anxiety isn’t triggered by having to talk to others, this can be another career for you. The work is quite stress-free and can be mastered with enough practice. It’ll serve as a source of validation for you.

Landscapist

Another job option for the outdoorsy perfectionist is landscaping. It gives you the chance to take something boring or ugly and transform it into beauty. You get to decide the timeline and what the output will look like. As a result, this satisfies all your urges to control things around you.

Librarian

A librarian must organise the library database and know it really well. That’s because members will always turn to this person to look for resources and materials. This is an ideal job for a perfectionist as they have the ability to be well versed with the system. Being a librarian is good for people with anxiety as there’s not much stress involved.

Masseuse

It’s really difficult for one to stay tense if they are trying to massage someone else. The art of massage therapy is centred around communication through touch. If the masseuse is tense, no matter how good their technique, their customer won’t be satisfied. That isn’t something a perfectionist will be okay with. This profession will allow you to get rid of your anxiety at least while you’re on the clock.

Museologist

This job requires a lot of theoretical knowledge, good organisation skills, and an interest in administrative work. Sounds just right for our target population. If you’re interested in art, history, and culture, you’ll flourish in this field. Museology doesn’t need a lot of social interaction either except for a few auctions and events every few months.

Pet Care Technician

It is often the case that someone with anxiety may struggle with other human beings around. But when their only company is animals, they can be their true selves. Anxious perfectionists with a love for animals make excellent pet care technicians. This can include grooming, nursing, walking, or training the animals.

Pharmacist

Working in a pharmacy is another good fit for perfectionists. There’s a place for everything and everything needs to be in place. Otherwise, it’ll be very hard to find the right medicine for the prescription in front of you. This job is pretty straightforward so your anxiety can take a break as well.

Photographer

Photography takes both talent and skill. It is a profession that gives you the power of storytelling. This occupation is a good choice if you want to do something creative that requires constant learning. The perfectionist in you will consistently be challenged and inspired to grow. There aren’t any fixed timelines so you can do deep work for some time and then take a recovery break.

Plant Nursery Manager

Some people have a natural gift for botany and find it fascinating to observe and care for plants. These individuals will succeed in this field because there are countless species of fauna out there. A nursery manager must handle demand and supply, nurturing saplings, inventory, and sales. This is another low-stress job with plenty of structure.

Plumber

A plumber’s job is actually much more complicated than one would think. It warrants technical knowledge and vocational skills because water is a force to be reckoned with. A plumber’s responsibility is to provide maintenance, identify faults, prevent or fix damage, and mechanical installation. A perfectionist would love this work and the more experienced you are, the less chance for work-related anxiety.

Programmer

Here is another occupation that works for the creative perfectionist. Coding requires you to understand how to structure and to have a good eye for detail. You need to know how to organise various languages to solve a particular problem. You also need to be able to quickly figure out what’s wrong in a code. Another plus point of this job is that you can do it from the comfort of your home.

Proofreader

This job isn’t for people who aren’t perfectionists. It’s all about nitpicking and fault finding so that the corrections result in something as perfect as can be. The work is mostly done in isolation and doesn’t demand much interaction. Since not a lot of people enjoy or are qualified for this work, it even pays well.

Psychologist

One might think it’s counterproductive for an anxious person to become a therapist. Contrarily, the knowledge that comes with this career choice could be a lifesaver for the anxious perfectionist. It’ll allow you to understand the causes behind your peculiar habits and work through them. Helping others with their mental health is also a great way to heal yourself.

Researcher

A good research study warrants good structure and due diligence. Perfectionists will feel right at home in this field. If they struggle with anxiety, this job can actually be an escape. There’s no fixed deadline for the quest for knowledge so you can just keep at it for as long as you need. The ability to control your study will help ease the feeling of a general lack of control in life.

Technician

The most generic career choice for people of this category is to pick up any field of interest and learn technical skills. You can choose to work in a lab, hospital, government office, or any place that uses special equipment. The perfectionist would want to learn about everything related to this machine. That’ll give you an edge in this job and you’ll do a lot better than peers.

Wine Sommelier

A wine sommelier has a highly interesting and well paid job. It entails creating updated wine lists, recommending food and wine pairings, and advising guests on wines based on their personal taste. It’s highly specialised work so the need to be perfect fits right in. Since this work is about entertaining, there’s hardly any room for crises.

Writer

Writing can be done anywhere, at any time, and at any pace. This work is usually done on a project-basis so you can choose when to work and where. The flexibility allows you to take as many breaks as you need to quell your anxiety. It can also serve as an effective discharge of all that anxious energy.

Yoga Instructor

Much like being a psychologist, teaching people yoga will help you heal yourself. Anxiety is a lot more physical than it is mental. We tend to only associate it with the cognitive aspect but the root of anxiety is in the body. Learning and teaching yoga will help you get more in touch with your physical self and you might actually free yourself from anxiety entirely.

Conclusion

If you were wondering what job will suit you considering your anxiety and perfectionism, you’ll have enough ideas now. This was an extensive list of the best jobs suited to individuals like you. Here, we described each profession and explained why it’s good for an anxious perfectionist.

The best jobs listed here were Accountant, Artist, Automobile Mechanic, Blogger, Cosmetologist, Data Entry, Driver, Engineer, Entrepreneur, Farmer, Florist, Gym Trainer, Housekeeper, Insurance Agent, Landscapist, Librarian, Masseuse, Museologist, Pet Care Technician, Pharmacist, Photographer, Plant Nursery Manager, Plumber, Programmer, Proofreader, Psychologist, Researcher, Technician, Wine Sommelier, Writer, and Yoga Instructor.

FAQs (Best Jobs for Perfectionists with Anxiety)

Citations

• https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=psychdiss