Job smarts: Does your IQ relate to your occupation?
An occupational study done by Robert M. Hauser at the University of Wisconsin Madison several years ago is causing a buzz. Why is a study on jobs so interesting? Because the researcher laid out the average IQs of people involved in over 50 occupations. See how much these fit the stereotypes you hold in your own mind.
On the lower end of the IQ spectrum on his chart were workers in blue collar occupations like janitor, machine operator, truck driver, carpenter, assembler, and construction craftsman. On the upper end of the IQ spectrum were typically white collar professions, such as engineers, social scientists, legal occupations, college professors, doctors, and accountants.
Does this tell us anything we don't already know? Probably not. Those with higher IQs likely have an easier time in school and perform better on tests, and are therefore probably more likely to pursue a college education, which is required for most of these occupations listed for the higher IQs.
Should this be viewed as a dig to the blue collar workers? Of course not. While they may have a lower measured IQ, they may have a very high level of skill in their area of specialty. This skill level might not be captured by an IQ test, and therefore not reflected in this study.
The results of this study, however, seem to be worth more than just the bit of trivia demonstrated in the graphic. The author of the study comes to an important conclusion that traditional measurements of IQ aren't all that useful and it might be good to develop a different tool to measure abilities than just standard tests. He says that education reform should include reform of traditional testing tools in order to measure other important skills and abilities. I agree.
Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.
On the lower end of the IQ spectrum on his chart were workers in blue collar occupations like janitor, machine operator, truck driver, carpenter, assembler, and construction craftsman. On the upper end of the IQ spectrum were typically white collar professions, such as engineers, social scientists, legal occupations, college professors, doctors, and accountants.
Does this tell us anything we don't already know? Probably not. Those with higher IQs likely have an easier time in school and perform better on tests, and are therefore probably more likely to pursue a college education, which is required for most of these occupations listed for the higher IQs.
Should this be viewed as a dig to the blue collar workers? Of course not. While they may have a lower measured IQ, they may have a very high level of skill in their area of specialty. This skill level might not be captured by an IQ test, and therefore not reflected in this study.
The results of this study, however, seem to be worth more than just the bit of trivia demonstrated in the graphic. The author of the study comes to an important conclusion that traditional measurements of IQ aren't all that useful and it might be good to develop a different tool to measure abilities than just standard tests. He says that education reform should include reform of traditional testing tools in order to measure other important skills and abilities. I agree.
Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 15)
11-26-2008 @ 8:17PM
john said...
bs!!!!!!!!!!!! the lowest IQ is in the white collar sit behind desk all day do nothing but you tube and porn all day idiots and get paid salary for doing so take primesource building supplys for example they have their business luncheons at the local watering hole.
Reply
11-26-2008 @ 8:23PM
Darcy said...
lmao
11-26-2008 @ 8:35PM
Jeremy said...
It'd be great if your sentences adhered to the rules of English. You must be a truck driver.
11-26-2008 @ 10:11PM
christine said...
I had to read, reread, ... until I was finally able to get an idea of what he was trying to say. His inability to write in English is most likely commensorate with his low skill job and reflects his jealousy of people who command a desireable lifestyle.
11-26-2008 @ 10:39PM
Wise Oleman said...
I believe it was Will Rogers that once said:
"Every man is stupid, just on different subjects"
11-26-2008 @ 11:03PM
Josh said...
That is untrue. I'm no doctor, I'm no lawyer, I'm just a student, but I know plenty of professionals. Doctors and lawyers bust their asses. More so than someone who pulls a shift or two of restaurant kitchen work and goes home and smokes pot for the rest of the day. They do not sit and watch youtube and porn all day.
As someone who has worked lower class jobs, I can tell you that you will find plenty of lower class workers texting and talking on their cell phones when supervisor isn't watching and lots of office clerks who youtube when there's nothing else to do. But again, that redirects your criticism squarely back upon "blue collar" workers.
People such as doctors, engineers, and lawyers are intelligent to begin with, but they're also hard working. You don't sneeze your way through medical and law school. It's hard work. People start busting their backs in high school and all the way through grad school to become certified in those fields. And then they have a load of tuition debt and years of work ahead of them before they MAYBE gain a respectable position in their firm or practice.
I'm not denigrating "blue collar" workers by any means but the idea that "white collar" professionals are lazy and dumb living off the silver spoon of their society is at best uninformed, at worst, completely and utterly stupid.
11-27-2008 @ 3:17AM
olive branch said...
and your career is...? please don't say doctor b/c then i'm really afraid to get ill.
11-27-2008 @ 5:22PM
Weena said...
Well, We figure out early in life to work hard in school and get higher education. So now we made more money and we deligate hard work to other. SMART HA!!!! LOL!!!
11-28-2008 @ 9:03PM
Tom said...
White collar+smart=good joke !
Corporate CEO & CFO are indeed smart and very crafty !
They lose Billions of dollars,destroy our economy yet still
manage to have golden parachutes and GET THE GOVERMENT TO BAIL THEM OUT !!!!
White collar criminals oops white collars workers must have
extremely high IQ's otherwise they'd be in jail?????
11-30-2008 @ 2:09PM
dcw said...
Bitter janitor, perchance, John?
11-30-2008 @ 5:19PM
jazzyazaliah said...
And landing these cushy occupations, occupations which you appear to envy, makes them stupid how? Sounds like they're pretty clever to have chosen such an easy career.
Then, after having worked in an office environment for ages, and having it nearly kill me, I can honestly say that your view of desk jobs is mostly off the mark. There are a minority who actually get away with that kind of crap, mainly executives (read sociopaths who've broken the backs of others to put themselves in that nice cushy position), but mostly there are those of us who actually have to work for a living. In fact, it's excruciating work dealing with the truly stupid, socially retarded people of which you write. They're usually called VPs, and even though they DO have jobs to do, it's completely unclear how they accomplish anything at all with their stunning lack of gray matter. There are some who aren't that bad, but believe me, they're not the majority. Perhaps it's the job that makes them lose their edge, but most of the higher-ups are rather dull, tedious and arrogant. Total pains to work for. At least in my opinion.
Take care,
Azy!
11-26-2008 @ 8:41PM
justin said...
they are calling my dad which is a machinist and makes $30 an hour $50 on overtime stupid the real #1 rank for stupid are blogers
Reply
11-26-2008 @ 10:25PM
Laura Galley said...
No Justin, thirty dollars an hour working at a clueless job of machinist is not great. If a person were paid for a forty hour week for 52 weeks, their gross salary would be $62,400;take home substantiably less. Justin, I only hope that you pursue a better paying, more prestigious occupation than your dad.
11-26-2008 @ 10:37PM
rob said...
No Justin if you look carefully at the BS this guy is putting out and who the smartest people are WE ARE LOOKING FOR THE MOST PART AT A BUNCH OF LIBERALS WHO ARE IN POSITIONS TO TEACH OUR KIDS and we wonder why this country is so screwed up.
My fix is that you cannot be a University Professor w/tenrue unless and until you have 7 years experience in the reality world. Screw all this theory crap their shoveling. Most of it never works anyway
11-27-2008 @ 12:17AM
Rick said...
Way to go Justin. Just because they have a degree makes them smart. Just means they can remeber things better than most. They should do a test on common sense and see where these so called educated people stand.
11-27-2008 @ 12:45AM
Josh said...
Justin, don't let these people's comments piss you off. From what I've read most of the people on this blog who claim to be white collar workers(Laura in particular) and are slaming blue collar workers like your dad are probably really upset that all the hard work and dedication to school and thier profession didn't bring them any more happiness or self worth than the janitor or truck driver. Who is more inteligent the guy who goes to work for 8 hours a day 5 days a week and makes enough money to live comfortably by his own standards and actually gets to relax when he is not working and spends time with his family and friends doing the things he wants to do while he's young enough to still enjoy them or the guy who goes to school for 8 years, interns for 4, works 10-12 hours a day 5 days a week and then works 6 hours on Sat, spends no time with his family or friends. That is if he has time to make a family or find friends. And, is constantly worried about liability insurance or watching the news 24/7 to see how there stocks are doing. Yeah, this guy may have a nice nest egg when he retires but what is he going to spend it on, a sports car that he is too scared to drive the way it should be because he could have a heart attack at any minute from 40 years of constant stress. Or, he go on vacation and complain about the sun bothering his eyes and do nothing but buy t-shirts and go out to eat. I think you get what I'm trying to convey. Your IQ, intelligence and career doesn't mean s##t if you can't enjoy your life. To each there own.
11-27-2008 @ 2:20AM
Kaitlyn said...
Justin: LOL I'm a 19 year old student and I make $25 an hour. $30 an hour for an adult is not a lot of money. Wake up.
11-27-2008 @ 5:40PM
Richard said...
Clueless job as a machinist?
That idiot must not know exactly what a machinist does ... which makes her the clueless one.
I'll bet she doesn't even know what an IQ actually measures.
Its not your smarts baby, 'cause if it were your bell curve score would be in the single digits.
Obviously she can't transfer data between her brain and her voluntary muscles fast enough to develop a skill, or she would understand that there is more to smarts than conning her way into what she considers "excellent life choices" ...
Lets hope the twit gets a life at some point in her sterling career (she probably thinks she married well).
11-29-2008 @ 2:34AM
R Palmer said...
Laura Galley shows total ignorance when she denigrates machinists. Those at top skill levels, such as tool makers have great skills and do very satisfying work.
I was an aerospace design engineer (retired) so was often closely involved with them when getting prototypes produced. I was always learning something new and greatly enjoyed the association.
11-30-2008 @ 4:40PM
God said...
Laura is a stay at home mom who's husband earns the $ she sits on her fat butt all day blogging and eating Bon-Bons