High IQ Careers (2024)

By Patrick Gleeson, Ph. D., Updated June 29, 2018

Having a high IQ can be an important career advantage in a highly technological society, but only if the high-IQ worker and the job is a good match. Sometimes, super-smart workers become bored or don't relate well to coworkers of average intelligence. For that reason, some employers won't hire a potential employee whose intellect goes far beyond the requirements of the specific job. In other work environments, however, having a high IQ is a requirement, and these workers will flourish. Here are some jobs especially suited for smart people.

Near Genius-Level Workers

Theoretical physics is generally considered best suited to extremely smart individuals, who might work at institutions such as the founding organization behind the World Wide Web, which is CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, ( Conseil européen pour la recherche nucléair ) or work conducting research at major learning institutions; for example, the University of California at Berkeley, plus Stanford University and MIT, the Massachusetts institute of Technology. An important part of their work is often post-graduate teaching and working with Post-Doctoral Fellows, who will become the next generation of theoretical physicists.

Related fields are nuclear physics, quantum physics (which is really just a special instance of theoretical physics) and certain branches of theoretical and physical chemistry. All these jobs require an ability to pursue difficult abstract concepts comfortably. Einstein, one of the greatest 20th century theoretical physicists, maintained that mathematical computations were almost incidental to his discoveries; he would first imagine visual experiments taking place in his mind. Sometimes these ruminations would take years, before he fully understood their significance. At that point, for Einstein at least, the actual mathematics were necessary to convey the concept to others, but secondary to the essential insight.

Jobs for Extremely Smart Workers

Digital technologies have opened up fields that didn't exist until the end of the 21st century, data scientists among them. These individuals are some mixture of mathematician, statistician and analytic computer scientist. They have many different kinds of jobs, but typically their core function is to "mine" data -- to use very large data fields as an information source in order to discover patterns and trends that lead to better business decisions, for example, constructing models that predict future business or consumer demand.

Artificial intelligence and Machine-Learning engineers work alongside data scientists. The two fields are related, the difference between that AI/Machine Learning engineers are grounded more in computer science and have advanced coding abilities.

Related jobs requiring similar mixtures of various types of proficiency in science, technology, engineering and mathematics can be found all over Silicon Valley and in related STEM areas, often clustering around the great East and West coast universities. As these jobs develop, they create new jobs, often rather quickly. When this happens, salaries, even starting salaries, can rise dramatically because there are seldom enough professionals to fill them. A 2018 New York Times article on the subject noted that artificial intelligence Ph. D.s without prior work experience are being offered beginning salaries of $300,000 to $500,000 a year, plus company stock.

Jobs That Generally Require Superior Intelligence

Persons with IQ's above 130 are rare, comprising only about 2.2 percent of the population. Immediately below them are those with IQ's of 120 or more, who are often described as have "superior" intellects. They comprise another 6.7 percent. Many established fields, such as medicine, law and engineering are best suited to workers of superior intelligence. While you don't have to be a genius to be a lawyer, the ability to think creatively and abstractly, quickly synthesizing various elements to develop a winning strategy in a lawsuit generally requires a highly functional intellect. Similarly, while most jobs aren't brain surgery, a few are. Medical doctors specializing in diagnostics and neurosurgery need to possess different kinds of mental abilities that make jobs in those fields particularly suited to those with a superior IQ.

Other occupations heavily populated by persons with superior IQ's are successful artists, politicians and college professors.

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