Average IQ of an electrical engineer: 113

The average IQ of an electrical engineer is about 113. In the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, men working as electrical engineers had a median IQ of about 113, and the middle half scored between 103 and 121.

Electrical engineers average about 113. What's yours?

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Key facts

Best estimate
113, median, electrical engineers (WLS men)
Middle 50%
103 to 121 (25th to 75th percentile)
Main source
Hauser 2002. Wisconsin Longitudinal Study.

Other sources that group all engineers together put engineers at about 116 to 120.

On the standard scale, where 100 is the average, 113 is higher than about 81% of people. See what an IQ of 113 means, or check any score with the IQ percentile calculator or the IQ chart.

Your score next to electrical engineers

Inside the typical range for electrical engineers, 3 points below the middle.

In the general population, 110 is higher than about 75% of people. Shaded band: middle 50% (103 to 121).

What the studies show

Electrical engineering is one of the few engineering fields with its own figure. In the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, men working as electrical engineers in the early 1990s had a median IQ of about 113, measured in high school. A tenth scored below 95 and a tenth above 129.

Sources that do not split engineers by field come out a little higher. Wonderlic data put engineer applicants at the 86th percentile of adults, about IQ 116. In 1944, engineers in the US Army Air Force averaged about 120 on the IQ scale.

The Wisconsin study is one US state, one generation born around 1939, and almost entirely white. Its IQ scale is anchored to Wisconsin high-school juniors in 1951, not to a national norm. Treat every figure as an estimate within a few points.

Published figures relevant to electrical engineers

  1. Median 113 (middle half 103 to 121)

    Hauser (2002), WLS. Men working as electrical engineers. People in the job.

  2. 86th percentile of adults, about IQ 116

    Wonderlic (1992), in Gottfredson (1997). Engineer applicants, all fields. People applying.

  3. Army test mean 126.6, about IQ 120

    Harrell & Harrell (1945). 39 engineers in the US Army Air Force. Men only, 1940s.

Electrical engineers next to other jobs

Best estimates from the same sources, so the jobs can be compared. Ranges overlap a lot: every job has people well above and well below its average.

JobMedianMiddle 50%
DentistsClosest group120112 to 127
Doctors120112 to 127
SurgeonsClosest group120112 to 127
Professors116106 to 125
Electrical engineers113103 to 121
Lawyers113109 to 124
Mechanical engineersClosest group11099 to 123
Software developers110102 to 120
Software engineers110102 to 120
ActuariesClosest group10999 to 117
Civil engineersClosest group10999 to 120
Nurses10799 to 117

Medians from Hauser (2002), Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. “Closest group” rows have no study of their own and use the nearest published group.

What the job demands

Cognitive load is Medium. That means sustained reasoning is required, not occasional cleverness.

LifeScore role ratings, 1 to 10. Editorial, not measured.

Logic and analysis
3
Stress
7
Social contact
4
Structure and routine
10
Creativity
3

Making the career sustainable

If your raw cognitive speed is below the median for this field, you can still succeed by using systems: checklists, templates, code reuse, deliberate practice, and tight feedback loops.

General reasoning affects how fast people learn a role, but it is not a gate. Qualifications, practice, domain knowledge, tools, teamwork and job design all change performance.

Average IQ of an electrical engineer: questions people ask

What is the average IQ of an electrical engineer?

About 113, the median for electrical engineers in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. The middle half scored between 103 and 121.

Do engineers have a higher IQ than average?

Yes, on average. Every source puts engineers above 100, at roughly 110 to 120. But a quarter of electrical engineers in the Wisconsin study scored below 103.

Is being an electrical engineer stressful?

Stress demand is rated 7/10 with burnout risk Moderate. If you don’t build recovery (sleep, boundaries, exercise), stress compounds.

What personality traits help an electrical engineer?

Roles with high structure demand (10/10) reward conscientiousness; roles with high social demand (4/10) reward social energy and emotional regulation.

Can I succeed as a electrical engineer if I’m below the “recommended” IQ?

Yes. There is no valid IQ cutoff for this occupation. Qualifications, deliberate practice, experience, support and role specialization are more useful career decisions than comparing yourself with an estimated benchmark.

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Electrical engineers average about 113. What's yours?

Treat your score as one data point next to your skills, interests and experience. It is never a reason to rule a career in or out.

Take the IQ test

25 questions · about 12 minutes

Sources

  1. Hauser, R. M. (2002). Meritocracy, cognitive ability, and the sources of occupational success. CDE Working Paper 98-07, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Figures 11 and 12).
  2. Gottfredson, L. S. (1997). Why g matters: The complexity of everyday life. Intelligence, 24(1), 79-132 (Figure 1, from the Wonderlic Personnel Test User's Manual, 1992).
  3. Harrell, T. W., & Harrell, M. S. (1945). Army General Classification Test scores for civilian occupations. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 5, 229-239. Reproduced in Schmidt & Hunter (2004), Table 1.
  4. Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. E. (2004). General mental ability in the world of work: Occupational attainment and job performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86(1), 162-173.
  5. O*NET OnLine. Occupational tasks, skills and work context. US Department of Labor.

Reviewed October 2026 by the LifeScore Editorial Team. Editorial policy