Enneagram Type 9, the Mediator: Best and Worst Careers

Are you wondering about what types of careers are best for you, based on your Enneagram test results? At Fairygodboss, it’s our mission to help you achieve your career goals – which is it’s crucial to find a career that matches your personality. If you’re a Type 9, these are the best Enneagram type 9 careers (and the worst).

What is an Enneagram personality type?

First things first, Enneagram tests are similar to the classic Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test. Essentially, an Enneagram helps you find the specific traits that make up your personality type. 

According to the Enneagram Institute, there are nine Enneagram types and “it is common to find a little of yourself in all nine of the types, although one of them should stand out as being closest to yourself." The one that stands out is "your basic personality type.” 

The nine Enneagram types include the following:

1. The Reformer — the rational and idealistic type
2. The Helper — the caring and interpersonal type
3. The Achiever (sometimes referred to as the Motivator) — the success-oriented and pragmatic type
4. The Individualist (sometimes referred to as the Artist) — the sensitive and withdrawn type
5. The Investigator (sometimes referred to as the Thinker) — the intense and cerebral type
6. The Loyalist (sometimes referred to as the Skeptic) — the committed and security-oriented type
7. The Enthusiast (sometimes referred to as the Generalist) — the extroverted and spontaneous type
8. The Challenger (sometimes referred to as the Leader) — the powerful and dominating type
9. The Peacemaker — the easygoing and self-effacing type

That said, you can also have a wing type. "Usually one has characteristics of one of the types that lie adjacent to one's own that are more prominent — this is called the wing," according to Electric Energies. "So someone who is a type 5, might have a 4 wing or a 6 wing. This may be abbreviated to '5w4' and '5w6.' If one doesn't have a dominant wing, it is said that the wings are balanced."

What is the Enneagram type 9 personality?

Type 9, the Mediator, is "the easy, self-effacing type" that is "receptive, reassuring, agreeable and complacent," according to the Enneagram Institute. "Nines are accepting, trusting and stable. They are usually creative, optimistic and supportive, but can also be too willing to go along with others to keep the peace. They want everything to go smoothly and be without conflict, but they can also tend to be complacent, simplifying problems and minimizing anything upsetting. They typically have problems with inertia and stubbornness."

Here’s what you should know about an Enneagram type 1 personality in a nutshell:

• Their basic fears include loss and separation.
• Their basic desires include being having inner stability and "peace of mind."
• Their key motivations are to create harmony in their environment and, as such, avoid conflicts and tension. They ultimately want to preserve things as they are and resist anything that may upset or disturb them and those around them.

Some classic examples of type 9 personalities include Queen Elizabeth II, Abraham Lincoln, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, John F. Kennedy, Jr., General Colin Powell, Walt Disney, Gloria Steinem, Tony Bennett, Janet Jackson, Jimmy Stewart, Audrey Hepburn, Morgan Freeman, Whoopie Goldberg, Jason Segel, Zooey Deschanel and more.

Type 9 personalities are dubbed "peacemakers" because, "no type is more devoted to the quest for internal and external peace for themselves and others," according to

Ironically, for a type so oriented to the spiritual world, Nine is the center of the Instinctive Center, and is the type that is potentially most grounded in the physical world and in their own bodies. The contradiction is resolved when we realize that Nines are either in touch with their instinctive qualities and have tremendous elemental power and personal magnetism, or they are cut off from their instinctual strengths and can be disengaged and remote, even lightweight.

To compensate for being out of touch with their instinctual energies, Nines also retreat into their minds and their emotional fantasies.

"They are typically 'spiritual seekers' who have a great yearning for connection with the cosmos, as well as with other people. They work to maintain their peace of mind just as they work to establish peace and harmony in their world. The issues encountered in the 9 are fundamental to all psychological and spiritual work — being awake versus falling asleep to our true nature, presence versus entrancement, openness versus blockage, tension versus relaxation, peace versus pain, union versus separation."

What are the characteristics of a type 9?

Here are some characteristics of a type 9 personality.

1. Agreeable

Type 9 personalities are considered more agreeable than other personality types, and that's because they never want to disturb things as they are. Instead, they'd rather keep the peace.

2. Peaceful

Because Type 9 personality types are always trying to keep the peace, they're indeed peaceful people. They do their best to avoid conflicts and, when faced with conflict, confront and resolve it quickly and calmly so they can move forward with as little tension as possible.

3. Spiritual

Type 9 personalities tend to be more spiritual than others. That said, 9 types are also considered "the center of the Instinctive Center," they're arguably is the most grounded in both the physical world and in their own bodies. "The contradiction is resolved when we realize that 9 types are either in touch with their instinctive qualities and have tremendous elemental power and personal magnetism, or they are cut off from their instinctual strengths and can be disengaged and remote, even lightweight," according to the Enneagram Institute. "To compensate for being out of touch with their instinctual energies, 9 types also retreat into their minds and their emotional fantasies."

What are the best careers for type 9 personalities?

There are tons of jobs in which the mediator type would excel. But here are seven to get you started.

1. Yoga & Meditation Instructors

Because type 9 personalities are typically very in tune with both their minds and bodies, they can help other people to achieve the same connectedness through yoga and meditation instruction.

2. Alternative Healers

Type 9 personalities are very in touch with themselves, and they have an innate ability to listen to their bodies and treat themselves and create inner stability. As such, they're the healing type, but not in the traditional, medicinal sense.

3. Social Workers

Again, because type 9 personality types have connected, healing hearts, they're able to connect with others and help others who are struggling in their own unique ways. As such, they make caring social workers.

4. Human Resource Managers

Type 9 personalities are known as wanting to keep the peace and maintain order. Human resource managers need to be able to do just that, with as little disturbances to the company as possible.

5. Religious Workers

Type 9 personalities tend to be spiritual people who are interested in religion and able to help others explore their religious curiosities, as well.

6. Caretakers

Type 9 personalities care a lot about other people — if they didn't, they wouldn't be so agreeable and complacent all the time. They're natural caretakers for this reason.

7. Counselors

Again, because type 9 personalities are care so much for others and are so adept at creating inner stability, they make wonderful counselors who can counsel their clients to achieve the same kind of peace.

What are the worst careers for type 9 personalities?

Some career paths are better than others for different types of people. Here are three careers type 9 personalities may want to avoid.

1. Hospital Workers

Type 9 personalities’ biggest fear is loss. They don't want to lose their connections with those around them, and they don't want to feel abandoned. Of course, hospital workers work difficult and, often, odd hours which means they’ve less time to spend with their friends and family working typical hours. Likewise, they may make relationships with patients who come and go, or worse, don't survive. Being around this kind of loss all the time may seriously affect type 9 personalities.

2. Politicians

Type 9 personalities do their best to avoid engaging with conflict and evade situations in which they have to face negatives. As such, they don't make the best politicians who, of course, have to acknowledge and confront societal issues and come up with solutions.

3. Morgue Workers

Again, because type 9 personalities don't handle loss well, it's perhaps more difficult for them than others to empathize with people who've lost their loved ones. They have a way of dealing with loss that isn't ideal for morgue workers.

Type 9 personalities have tons of career opportunities to explore. That said, there's always room for growth. And, in order to truly be their best, type 9 personalities can improve in the following areas:

• Type 9 personalities want to keep the peace so much that their avoidance of conflict can become an issue. At some point, they need to be able to confront their problems, and that takes a lot more energy from Type 9 personalities who expend so much of their energy trying to do the opposite.

• Type 9 personalities have a more difficult time than others facing disturbances. As such, they tend to want to block out their awareness of anything that could negatively affect them. This can lead to them dissociating and, therefore, becoming numb and depersonalizing certain impactful experiences. They can do a better job at recognizing that they also have aggressions, anxieties and other feelings with which they must deal, as these negative feelings and impulses will affect them both mentally and physically whether or not they choose to acknowledge them. 

• Type 9 personalities can also become "severely disoriented and catatonic, abandoning themselves, turning into shattered shells," according to Enneagram Institute. As such, they may be more likely than other types to experience multiple personalities, which generally corresponds to Schizoid and Dependent personality disorders.

If you’re a type 9 personality, consider the aforementioned career possibilities (and beware of the careers you may want to avoid!). Take note of your weaknesses and act on your strengths, and you'll find success. It should be easier for you than other types, anyway, as you're the most in tune with yourself!

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This article reflects the views of the author and not necessarily those of Fairygodboss.

AnnaMarie Houlis is a multimedia journalist for a gamut of both online and print publications, as well as an adventure aficionado and travel blogger at HerReport.org. She covers all things women's empowerment — from navigating the workplace to navigating the world. She writes about everything from gender issues in the workforce to gender issues all across the globe.

What jobs do you think are best for enneagram type 9? Share your answer in the comments to help other Fairygodboss members!