Find a Job You Really Want In
The job you hold can significantly shape public perception about you.
Many individuals who have worked in customer service, particularly in fast food, can attest to the preconceived notions that come with their roles—often based solely on their uniforms. Conversely, wearing a white coat or a suit can lead to surprising assumptions about one’s intelligence.
To explore these perceptions, we surveyed 1,000 professionals to identify which jobs are considered the “smartest” and which are not.
Below, you’ll find the rankings of the jobs perceived as the most (and least) intelligent, along with insights into what these roles share in common.
Main Findings
- Software engineers and programmers are regarded as the smartest professionals.
- The remaining top 5 includes prestigious roles that are likely to earn parental approval: doctors, lawyers, engineers, and accountants.
- For those seeking to be perceived as intelligent, medical careers dominate the top 25 list.
- Mechanics and electricians are the only blue-collar jobs that made it into the top 25 smartest positions.
- Fast food workers are perceived as the least intelligent professionals.
- Other roles viewed as unintelligent include janitors, dishwashers, cashiers, and maids.
- Positions such as bill collectors, police officers, politicians, and telemarketers are often frustrating to deal with—perhaps explaining their ranking among the least intelligent jobs.
Continue reading to discover which jobs are viewed as unintelligent and the methodology behind our findings.
How We Made Our Determinations
We conducted a survey with 1,000 participants, utilizing a list of 250 common occupations to gauge perceptions of intelligence associated with various jobs.
The higher the number of respondents who identified a job as the “smartest,” the higher its perceived intelligence. Conversely, fewer selections indicated lower perceived intelligence.
Since each respondent could select both the most intelligent and least intelligent jobs, some overlap in responses is possible.
Jobs Don’t Equate to IQ
It is often said that 90% of success is simply showing up—which can be the hardest part.
Many of the jobs perceived as the smartest require a college degree or specialized training. While a certain level of academic intelligence is necessary, these roles also demand hard work, perseverance, and motivation. Perhaps we should think of these positions as roles that require significant effort to attain, rather than merely intelligent individuals filling them.
It’s important to remember that a fast food worker may be highly intelligent, and it’s unwise to judge their abilities based on a simple mistake, like forgetting your ketchup. As the saying goes, assumptions can lead us astray…
Author
Kathy is the head of content at Zippia with a knack for engaging audiences. Prior to joining Zippia, Kathy worked at Gateway Blend growing audiences across diverse brands. She graduated from Troy University with a degree in Social Science Education.
