Average IQ of a mechanical engineer: about 110

No published study measures the IQ of mechanical engineers on their own. The closest group, materials and design engineers in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, had a median IQ of about 110, with the middle half between 99 and 123.

Mechanical engineers: about 110. What's yours?

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Key facts

Closest figure
110, closest group: materials and design engineers
Middle 50% (closest group)
99 to 123 (25th to 75th percentile)
Main source
Hauser 2002. Proxy group, not mechanical only.

Studies of all engineers together put the average at about 116 to 120.

On the standard scale, where 100 is the average, a proxy figure of 110 is higher than about 75% of people. See what an IQ of 110 means, or check any score with the IQ percentile calculator or the IQ chart.

Your score next to design engineers

Inside the typical range for design engineers, right at the middle.

In the general population, 110 is higher than about 75% of people. Shaded band: middle 50% (closest group) (99 to 123).

What the studies show

Mechanical engineers do not have their own row in any source we could verify. The Wisconsin Longitudinal Study groups them with other engineers. Its "materials and design engineers" group, the nearest fit, had a median IQ of about 110.

Sources covering all engineers come out higher: about 116 for engineer applicants in Wonderlic data, and about 120 for engineers in the 1944 US Army test. A fair summary is that mechanical engineers average somewhere around 110 to 120.

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 mechanical engineers

  1. Median 110 (middle half 99 to 123)

    Hauser (2002), WLS. Men: materials and design engineers (closest group). Proxy group.

  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.

Mechanical 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 High. That means sustained reasoning is required, not occasional cleverness.

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

Logic and analysis
9
Stress
6
Social contact
5
Structure and routine
8
Creativity
7

Making the career sustainable

People fail in high-load jobs for two reasons: insufficient systems or unmanaged stress. Both can be trained, if you treat them like skills.

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 a mechanical engineer: questions people ask

What is the average IQ of a mechanical engineer?

There is no direct figure. The closest published group, materials and design engineers, has a median of about 110; studies of all engineers give about 116 to 120.

Is mechanical engineering harder than other engineering?

IQ data cannot answer that, because no study splits mechanical engineers out. Difficulty depends far more on the course and the role than on the branch.

Is being a mechanical engineer stressful?

Stress demand is rated 6/10 with burnout risk Moderate. If you don’t build recovery (sleep, boundaries, exercise), stress compounds.

What personality traits help a mechanical engineer?

Roles with high structure demand (8/10) reward conscientiousness; roles with high social demand (5/10) reward social energy and emotional regulation.

Can I succeed as a mechanical 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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Mechanical engineers: about 110. 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.

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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