Gemini Astrology Career Profile

Top Careers

Learn more about:

Gemini

May 21 - June 20

By Jane Hodges

Gemini, ruled by messenger planet Mercury, craves intellectual stimulation, debate and the chance to communicate ideas among groups.

Top Career Programs for Geminis

What Motivates Gemini

Descartes was probably feeling like a Gemini when he wrote "I think, therefore I am." The bookstore, blogosphere, library, newsstand, cocktail party and all other venues where information overload is possible, make Gemini folks feel like kids in a candy store. These chatty folks have minds that whir faster than a hard drive and process as much information.

Gemini natives are gifted at small talk. These folks are charming, extroverted and prone to gesticulation and rapid eye movements that reveal the energy behind their investment in any conversation. There's more to them than a cocktail patter, though. They're very effective at distilling sophisticated ideas into digestible form for lay audiences, which allow them to excel in careers fields such as law or psychology.

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas

Because Gemini's mission under Mercury is to transport and disseminate others' information, it may be tough to figure out what, exactly, the Gemini native actually thinks. These folks try on so many ideas in the course of a day that their minds stretch like taffy. It's not that they can't commit to one point of view. It's just that they know their point of view is approximate—and could change again tomorrow.

At work, Gemini is sociable but occasionally moody when over stimulated. Mercury-ruled workers are capable of making effective decisions that factor in both what's logistically possible and what's politically palatable in any environment. Left with a long deadline or the freedom to invent their own way of doing things, Geminis are fond of brainstorming and generating ideas. They gravitate toward teaching and education careers, or any other position where they can teach, write and explain things to others. Their impulse to communicate isn't necessarily about self-expression—though all Geminis use words to communicate very effectively, and many become writers. Instead, their mission is to use communication for the greater good.

How to spot a Gemini at work:

Gemini career manual: How to Win Friends and Influence People
Color: Stripes and patterns, actually
Success symbol: A top-notch personal digital assistant or cell phone
Spare time pursuits: Blogging, reading, book collecting, crossword puzzles, Scrabble

A Ceaseless Thirst for Knowledge

Gemini natives will change careers often in their quest to learn, or they may hold down multiple jobs simultaneously—situations that can sate their need for mental stimulation. Geminis crave access to a steady stream of new knowledge. To prevent them from rushing headlong into jobs that turn out to bore them, they need to seek occupations that allow constant learning, flexibility and frequent change.

Geminis are well-suited to teaching, journalism, law, academe, advocacy work, politics, and sales of complex products (pharmaceuticals or industrial products, for instance). They're also surprisingly good at psychiatry and psychology, where they deftly employ the "talking cure" to spot holes in patients' narratives and can then urge patients toward better directions.

Gemini folks bring wit and knowledge—along with several newspapers, a crossword calendar and plenty of gossip—into any environment.

Gemini in Action

Gemini Donald Trump exemplifies his sign's professional and personal image. Though he made his name as a billionaire real estate developer specializing in urban properties and casinos, Trump has also published multiple books, stars on his own TV show, enjoys celebrity appearances in many venues and is an icon of a rich lifestyle. But he's also had his share of drama: multiple marriages, tabloid headlines and even bankruptcy proceedings on properties during a real estate downturn.

He's generally chipper, blunt and quotable. But there's a downside to all that life experience. Trump, like his astrological peer Rudy Giuliani, can be irascible and impatient. Trump's network TV show, The Apprentice, often shows him dismissing future business leaders over seemingly minor mistakes and with a slight sadistic glee (Marquis de Sade was a Gemini). Giuliani, meanwhile, has been critiqued by observers for flourishing under pressure but seeking melodrama during times of calm.

Versatility is the Key

If Gemini bosses have sins, they include the sins of impatience and changeability. For all their charm, these folks bring to mind Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. They think and speak so rapidly that others may miss out on vital information, or others may sense that the fast-talking Gemini with the darting, busy eyes doesn't really have time to listen to them.

Gemini leaders are relatively hands-off. They're not threatened by working with or managing people smarter than they are—they can learn from these folks! Indeed, Gemini natives keep their resumes updated and their eyes on the fire exit; they don't plan to stick around for any in-house battles. Rather than let their job-hopping make them look messy, Gemini natives spin their frequent changes as a form of versatility.

Charmers Extraordinaire!

The worst thing you can do in any work environment is avoid getting to know your Gemini coworkers: These charmers have a lot to teach others.

They regard their engagement on staff as a form of freelance—like temping with benefits. Trump isn't the only Gemini to have crisscrossed multiple industries within corporate America. Hedge fund executive Jim Cramer made the leap to media mogul and TV spokesman, tennis star Venus Williams launched a clothing line, and Paula Abdul went from music to TV. Angelina Jolie began working as an international ambassador alongside her acting.

These folks like to employ the gift of gab in their work: Many become authors (John Cheever, Joyce Carol Oates, Salman Rushdie), singer-songwriters (Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Alanis Morisette), radio and TV personalities (Anderson Cooper, Roger Ebert, Dr. Ruth Westheimer), and journalists (Bill Moyers).