I have an IQ of 143 but I can't get a job. Do you think IQ tests are a good indicator of intelligence?

I have worked with a number of geniuses in the past. All but two were socially retarded. They were useless outside of their field of study. If they were marooned on a deserted island, they would die within a day.

Unemployable Borderline Genius wrote:

I am a 26 y.o male with an IQ of 143 and I can't get a job. This score puts me in the borderline genius category of IQ. I cannot get a job and it doesn't take a genius to get one. The thing is, I don't feel I am near as smart as this score suggests and I can't help thinking of the flaws in this measurement of intelligence. I scored this on an official test.

Do you think the IQ test is/isn't flawed and why?

IQ means about as much as GPA... Which, as you know if you've held a job in the "real world" (not academia), means absolutely nothing.

post hole digger wrote:

In real life I've never had a discussion about IQ or heard anyone talk about their IQ scores. Where or how (not to mention why) would you even get tested? Maybe it has some utility for diagnosing mental retardation, but otherwise I've never heard of anyone using that score for anything.

SAT, LSAT, GMAT... all are basically IQ tests.

Military also tests for IQ. Many firms use IQ tests when applying for a job. Even if you don't test IQ, you can see differences in IQ in real life.

Charlie Brownish wrote:

IQ means about as much as GPA... Which, as you know if you've held a job in the "real world" (not academia), means absolutely nothing.

FYI- I applied for jobs in academia last fall (first time to do so in yrs), and I was shocked that they asked for college transcripts. I didn't even know my grad school GPA cause they said it would never matter (was pleasantly surprised that it was higher than expected!). I'm almost 10 yrs removed from school, so I can't imagine someone who graduated 30+ yrs ago having to request college transcripts. I had to send in requests to all the universities I've attended to have my official transcripts mailed to me and then scanned them for the job applications. Anyone wondering if your GPA matters, it does, at least for academia jobs (or proof that you graduated from college). Slacking off in college is not an option.

Charlie Brownish wrote:

IQ means about as much as GPA... Which, as you know if you've held a job in the "real world" (not academia), means absolutely nothing.

GPA is a proof of work capacity.

IQ is a proof of processing capacity.

rrr wrote:

SAT, LSAT, GMAT... all are basically IQ tests.

those matter. GPA matters. Intelligence matters. An IQ score does not. Follow?

because you are a runner

I barely scraped my degree in economics and was unemployed and broke for some time after leaving college. 30 years later I'm in a middle management position. Frustrated by my lack of "perceived" success I took 2 MENSA tests and scored 160 on each.

If I was you I'd find something you're passionate about and pursue that, rather than looking for a stereotypical career.

post hole digger wrote:

those matter. GPA matters. Intelligence matters. An IQ score does not. Follow?

Those can be converted into an IQ score.

rrr wrote:

post hole digger wrote:

those matter. GPA matters. Intelligence matters. An IQ score does not. Follow?

Those can be converted into an IQ score.

Which does what, exactly? Who cares? The number is irrelevant.

When I give a Fluid Dynamics exam, I don't care what someone's score on an IQ test is, I care what their score on the Fluids exam is. Maybe the Fluids score correlates with IQ score. So what?

My daughter scored a perfect SAT without ever doing an SAT prep course. I'd bet she would have a very high IQ score, but she's never taken an IQ test. The SAT score was a big deal in getting colleges after her (you can argue whether it should be, but that's a different debate). What good would it have done to take an IQ test? So what if IQ and SAT are correlated?

driving along in my automobile wrote:

Which does what, exactly? Who cares? The number is irrelevant.

When I give a Fluid Dynamics exam, I don't care what someone's score on an IQ test is, I care what their score on the Fluids exam is. Maybe the Fluids score correlates with IQ score. So what?

My daughter scored a perfect SAT without ever doing an SAT prep course. I'd bet she would have a very high IQ score, but she's never taken an IQ test. The SAT score was a big deal in getting colleges after her (you can argue whether it should be, but that's a different debate). What good would it have done to take an IQ test? So what if IQ and SAT are correlated?

The IQ score is just one way of scoring, one scale. IQ is not a particular test. SAT, GMAT and LSAT only have different scales. They are all IQ scores but on different scales.(They are not pure g factor scores but are very much g loaded.) The scales can be converted. Your percentile tells you how high you are.

IQ test tells you something about a person. You can predict how well he will do in other similar tests or to some extend in life in general.

whirlledpeas wrote:

You are not anywhere near the genius that you think you are, despite your score, if you have not figured out how to get a job yet. Use those brains to learn how to interview, have employable skills and then get along with co workers.

145 is hardly a genius.

driving along in my automobile wrote:

What good would it have done to take an IQ test? So what if IQ and SAT are correlated?

Are you saying that a young person scoring 140 on an IQ test does not have a huge advantage?

Of course the test does nothing good to the person. The test only measures if the person is good or not. A kid with an 140 IQ is going to beat kids with an 110-120 in all these college and graduate school tests easily.

Randy Oldman wrote:

145 is hardly a genius.

It's so high, that who cares about higher scores?

rrr wrote:

driving along in my automobile wrote:

What good would it have done to take an IQ test? So what if IQ and SAT are correlated?

Are you saying that a young person scoring 140 on an IQ test does not have a huge advantage?

Of course the test does nothing good to the person. The test only measures if the person is good or not. A kid with an 140 IQ is going to beat kids with an 110-120 in all these college and graduate school tests easily.

That's not always true. Inability to concentrate and insomnia are well documented side-effects of a high IQ.

Stephen Hawking and Leonard Susskind both said they were poor students, and Edgar Allen Poe dropped of University. Einstein failed his entrance exam to his polytechnic. Edison never slept at night but cat-napped during the day.

Supposedly the smartest man in North America was a bouncer at red neck bar in Long Island. He dropped out of high school and ran with the wrong crowd and was involved in criminal activity. I read about this guy in a body building magazine. His IQ was 190 and in his late 30's or early 40's he was going to get an advanced degree in mathematics. Much of what success you achieve is largely the environment your from and who you emulate.

Quit asking questions you know the answer to.

143 is about average.