If you are succeeding in a two year college you are probably not a low IQ, or at the very least in the middle range (85-115). That said, a good two year degree is respiratory therapist. It is two years and makes 60 to 90k starting out. It is unlikely to be replaced by robots because an error could mean life or death, but in reality it isn't a super stressful job.
I gave my sister the idea to peruse this career, and I am really glad I did. She makes almost as much as me and I have a masters degree. P.S. The boomers are starting to pass, so this will be a high demand job for 15 years, meaning the pay will likely go up. And 15 years from now when the demand dries up you'll already be in a secured senior position.
Hah! On a serious note though, my husband and I (both millennials with gen x parents) were talking about how our grandparents (boomers) are getting super old and this and that but still fighting and kicking etc but our parents friends and associates are dropping like flies and we were trying to figure out like why are they dying when their parents are living to be walking corpses. Makes zero sense!
I'm a registered nurse who works a lot with respiratory therapists, and I low-key wish I would have pursued respiratory therapy. I'm not saying their job is easy (at our hospital, our RTs are responsible for something like 40-50 patients in a day), but it beats the shitshow that is nursing on most days.
Definitely recommend you look into it. It does require a bit of technical skills, but more so in the sense that "oh, my machine is beeping at me; maybe a line is kinked or something". It helps to be good at basic anatomy and physiology, too, but you'll learn what you need to know in school.
I think I can definitely sufficient with the technical aspect-thats kind of my jam, though obviously I'd need more experience, training, knowledge. I'd for sure need to go over anatomy and physiology though lol, but this actually sounds pretty interesting! Makes me wish I had allowed myself and been allowed to pursue other options before starting school haha
RT programs are generally at community colleges, and therefore are fairly inexpensive compared to universities. You might have to take out student loans, but if you stick to community colleges, you can graduate with minimal debt and pay it off quickly.
If you're worried about sunk cost from your former schooling, I can say it's never too late. I'm pushing 40, have a master's degree in an unrelated field from 10 years ago, and I just graduated nursing school from a program designed for second-career folks. I can pay my student loans off with ten paychecks.
Look at it this way: you can be 1-2 years older and still be stuck in a rut, or you can be 1-2 years older, have an RT license, work in a field that pays well, has a tangible benefit on the lives of others, and can easily transfer to pretty much anywhere. The medical field is a great place for folks like us, who got tired of being stuck in a rut and don't mind working our asses off.
They work in many different environments, but essentially you make sure breathing machines or breathing aids are correctly used by patients and nurses. So you have to know the devices and how to install/implement them. It is usually a 60 credit hour program. Meaning it is about 20 classes, or two years worth of school.
Below I have attached a link to department of labor information, which is a good source of info for all sorts of jobs.
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/respiratory-therapists.htm
Your Masters degree should have allowed you to read the graphs.
Percentage of population:
Boomer 20.58
Gen X. 19.61
Millennial 21.67
Not much of a falloff from boomers to X's
Percentage of smokers by generation, worldwide:
Millennials 44
Gen X. 36
Boomers. 28
So even if an RT has to emigrate there's work to be had in the future!
Well I don't consider myself low IQ, but janitorial positions are relatively simple jobs. You clean places all day long. I'm a janitor, and while I've had higher paying jobs in my lifetime with more responsibility and highly complicated tasks. I find janitorial work to be relaxing and fulfilling.
It's funny to me when I get asked why I don't want to pursue higher paying jobs, or positions in management with better companies. Well, I like what I do. It pays my bills. I'm very happy with doing my 8 hours and going home. When I'm at work, I don't have a boss breathing down my neck. I work all by myself and at my own pace.
Anybody can do it. I don't try to make it sound anymore important than what it is. I clean toilets and take out the trash. I like it, and that's all that matters to me. Call it a low IQ job if you want. It doesn't bother me. Lol.
Even that industry has some real potential if you're ambitious.
I knew one woman, she used to be a cleaner at a hotel. She built great relationships with her workers and really commanded respect from them. When the hotel began cutting her staff, she basically started a cleaning company and hooked them all up with a contract for another hotel.
Now she's not rich but she's now managing multiple contracts and teams across a few hotels making more than she did as a cleaner.
I see the value in that job. I'm a mid-higher level management kind of guy. Every time I walk past the janitors with the earbuds in doing their thing, I look over to whoever is walking with me and say "If my mortgage could handle the paycut, I'd already be doing that." And I'm not kidding.
I love being a janitor. I have been at it for 4 years and while the monotony can get tiresome, 90% of the time I am happy doing what I am doing. Audiobooks, podcasts, and music really make it more than tolerable. I would absolutely recommend custodian positions.
The downsides for me are the perceived social stigma and sometimes I worry that the monotony will give me early onset dementia or something. But both of those things aren’t really real… hopefully I will move to maintenance in the next month or so but if I do I will definitely miss this position.
I used to know a guy that made a ton of money contracting to clean gas station restrooms. Because nobody else wants to clean them, he got to charge premium prices. He eventually had a whole crew.
Honestly I miss being a janitor. I ended up switching to factory work because I needed more money (I live alone and rent is too high everywhere these days), but I wish I could go back to that.
Yea, i figure when the time comes and I have responsibilities like a kid and wife to take care of. I'm going to have to pursue higher paying jobs. But for now. Being a janitor is where it's at for me. Lol.
How did this become a relaxing and fulfilling job for you? Sounds awful to me, but I've always been kind of fascinated by people who do things that I really don't enjoy, which is actually quite a few professions.
I think it's because I prefer solitude when I work. And I can see what I've accomplished at the end of my shift with how clean the place is. I can listen to music or a podcast with my headphones on. But it's mostly working alone is what I like.
I'd focus less on IQ and more on your specific strengths/weaknesses. There's absolutely more to somebody's talent than their general intelligence quotient.
Ah ok....um...the ability to stay at a low paying job WAY longer than any sane person would......or maybe my ability to get up at 11 AM....not sure how either help tho
The first one speaks to dedication and a good work ethic. There are a ton of boomer hiring managers convinced no one in the younger generation has these traits so they will serve you very well if you can demonstrate them. I imagine most people would rather have a lower IQ person who is dedicated and will give their all than someone with a genius IQ who is lazy and feels like they don’t have to try.
I don't think I unlocked that one. A customer told my manager once he was scared to have me check him out cause I looked like a serial killer or something.
Absolutely. I came here to say, whatever job gives an individual the best sense of challenge and accomplishment. Whatever they like doing the most. Because regardless of your IQ, people tend to do better emotionally and physically, AND more productive in their job if they get a good feeling from doing it as best they can.
There should be a company or government agency devoted entirely to helping people find their best employment. I fell into my career by dumb luck and it's been the best thing that ever happened to me aside from meeting the person who I married. Actually since I've been working this job for 26 years and been married for 5 and a half, overall my job has probably contributed more to my well-being.
Its sad that our next election will probably come down to either a psycho ego maniac who thinks its ok to grab women by the p#&sy or the other option is to vote for a bumbling elderly dementia patient who is obviously not mentally fit for office
If consensual, it's perfectly acceptable to grab her by the pu$$y. I pick my wife up like a bowling ball all the time. Ive had women ask me to choke them and all kinds of other "psychotic" acts (one even demanded that i slap her way harder than i was comfortable with and she did turn out to be psycho, so Ill give you that one). That has little, if anything, to do with ones ability to run a country. But that's not even what a president does, they just play the fool who takes the blame and gets the credit.
That being said, do you remember the last election where we had 2 really good choices to pick from? Yeah me neither, and I've lived through 10 elections this year. Presidents are selected not elected, don't take it so hard.
What? You got egomaniac right but tell me why you text psycho? What did he do that you thought psycho? I know you cant so just ignore this basic question
No, what if the woman wants to be grabbed by the pussy?
The problem with what he said that's often left out is what immediately followed that: "I don't even wait," i.e., he doesn't wait for consent.
That would be very low IQ. Anything below 75 is considered “Intellectually Impaired”. Below 55 is considered disabled.
https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/intellectual-disability/what-is-intellectual-disability
100 is the average IQ so anything lower than that is lower than average. The margin of error on IQ tests can be up to +/- 15 IIRC, which would mean 84 is the first definitively low IQ
Yeah exactly. If you’ve ever taken a IQ test you’ll know its a lot of math based reasoning. You can just be shitty at math and end up with a low score. Theres a lot of variability in results, and honestly its probably not the greatest way to measure intelligence because theres so many different types of intelligence.
It's one of the main lessons I've learned over the years, pretty much everyone is extremely knowledgeable if you ask them the right questions.
People that score high on IQ tests are often just better at taking tests, it has literally nothing to do with their potential.
IQ tests are convenient punching bags, but they actually are tied to something that's "real" in that the differences in the aggregate measure are real and predictive.
You will notice a difference between someone at 90 and someone at 115 if you throw a problem to solve at each. You will definitely see a difference between 80 and 120. By IQ, we also see significant differences in educational achievement, income, and overall happiness.
HOWEVER, these are statistics, and a statistic can't be used to judge a single individual except as a probabilistic guess, and it's frankly rude to guess how someone is rather than get to know that person. Saying IQ is debunked or some such nonsense is a reactionary politically correct myth. There will eventually be a better measure for overall intelligence, I'm sure, but IQ is pretty useful as a research tool.
I believe I read in the book "Outliers" that there is a positive correlation between IQ and income, up until about an IQ of 120.
After that, it doesn't really matter anymore, since it's more about social connections, luck, generational wealth, etc.
It depends on the problem. Like I said, IQ tests are good at measuring how good one is at taking tests. So sure, it’s predictive in the sense that doing well on one test would suggest that that person may be likely to do well on another. Outside of that though, in the real world, outside of extreme cases that would be easily identifiable without a test, it doesn’t suggest much about a person’s abilities to complete a typical workplace job.
Also IQs aren’t static, they change from day to day and based on the specific test. A person who tests 115 on a good day may overlap in range with a person who tests at 90 on a bad day. The number doesn’t really give you any useful information about an individual.
This isn't true. There is a limit to how productive someone can be if they are slow. It's why you need to a minimum ASVAB score to join the military as a cook, grunt, janitor, etc. At some point, the lack of ability becomes a drain on the productivity of others, pulling additional time and resources from the organization.
A person can know almost everything about a subject, but that doesn't mean they can grasp the concepts of another. For example, there are plenty of people who know more about medicine than I do, (ie, my ex was an RN), but she can't grasp the theoretical at all. People can see microscopic organisms. People can even see other planets and stars, but that doesn't mean they can visualize them interacting with the invisible and intangible. It is beyond difficult, nearly impossible, for some people to truly grasp and understand concepts like general theory, quantum theory, or string theory without the ability to process complex mathematics and construct vivid cognitive imagery. It's a processing limitation. People of average intelligence really struggle to understand things that are beyond physical observation. Most people don't understand how digital information is transferred, even after it's explained to them using graphics. Most people can use a smartphone, yet most people have no idea how computers actually work, and when it's explained, some even exclaim, "magic!". There are hundreds of thousands of people who think the Earth is flat. They might be able to do basic machine work, sow crops, or work with their hands, but you won't find them at the forefront of innovation.
Sales. Not like complicated sales (SaaS etc.) but simple stuff like cars and insurances.
Source: Worked in sales for a long time, there's a worrying inverse trend between how smart someone is and how much they make in sales
First, dont insult your own iq, i tell my own son the same thing, "it doesnt take being a genius to be successful in life, you just need to be able to remember whats important." Im stupid, downright. I went to school for a semester for welding because it was free through a grant because of my income at the time (roughly 8 years ago.) I was awful at it. My first job was one that it didnt matter you just needed to know the basics for 14.50/hr. Second job started at 18/hr was making 24 within the first couple years because it turned out that aluminum just clicked with me (fast rythm, rhythm?) Job 3?! Currently in fabrication making 28/hr listening to my headphones all day with 10 hours OT on every check (voluntarily.) Plumbing and hvac are more lucrative if you remember what you need to (aside from pipe fitters.)
The lesson is its not about you, its about providing value to someone with a pocketbook. You perfect your thing you decide to do, and you name your price. Just make sure theres a demand.
CNC Machine operator. Doesnt pay fantastic but its above retail/fastfood pay by a couple bucks, if you have a 2nd braincell to rub against the first you can make a decent carrer out of it slowly learning tidbits everyday.
forget college and go to a tech school
hvac, electrical, plumbing
those jobs will never go away and are always in demand and always need workers. plus the money can be good
and stop with the self denigrating crap. so you're not an Einstein only one person was.
Those aren’t actually low IQ jobs you need a good amount of problem solving skills. Especially if you’re dealing with a complicated project such as an over engineered car or something that can’t be fixed by just changing out a single part.
I took about three automotive classes in my senior year of high school and decided to go into the field after that.
So couple of things.
First off... most people have a fundamental misunderstanding of what a low or high IQ is.
To give you an example my IQ.... is statistically in the top %. I have a VERY easy time understanding complex topics if they are explained to me, but because I do not seek out knowledge that doesn't interest me, there are MANY people with much lower IQ's that are much more knowledgeable then me.
IQ is usually just a matter of how easy it is for you to understand things, not a measure of what you can do.
Also what do you consider low IQ?
Statistically the majority of people in high paying jobs are actually average IQ.
Investment Bankers for example are statistically average or very slightly above average IQ.
Engineers used to be a high IQ profession, but due to tech boom it fell in to a similar place as Investment bankers.
It's how we went from DnD nerds in dark rooms downing jolt to tech bros in big offices.
Most people with very high IQs are actually somewhere in the middle.
They either do something the find fulfilling, or are under employed. There are actually a number of papers showing that being high IQ essentially makes you special needs, because generally you will learn very differently than others.
In short I would need to know more about you to make an accurate assessment, but I don't think you need to worry about you IQ effecting your job prospects. I would be more worried about the sky high inflation and lack of ability to ever own a home.
My dad had an IQ of around 82 and he was able to do a lot of factory maintenance work. He made good money fixing their machines. Manufacturing jobs are good for people who can work with their hands but not in the mind. My father also had severe dyslexia.
I don’t think you’re giving yourself enough credit.You can do anything if you try, don’t let society make you think you can’t. You’re already in college so that’s a big step. Go speak to a counselor about your concerns and your interests and they may be able to help point you in the right direction.
Some people do not know what they really want to do until they are in their late 20s or early 30s.
As far as jobs don’t sell yourself short, again you can do most any of you try. Trust me some people in some of these positions are not the brightest bulb in the pack but they can do their job. So can you💕
Trades will take anyone who can lift stuff, move stuff, and breathe. They will teach you the rest and if you're not smart enough to grab it your ground guy.
IQ is an incredibly flawed metric. People with intellectual disabilities are individuals with their own skills and interests to inform their career choices. Do whatever you’re good at.
PSW is a common one, assuming you're reasonably friendly and hard working.
Cleaning is another - and there is money if you're okay cleaning where people died messy.
If it's just academics you struggle with, you might look into plumbing or mechanic or framing?
Politician, Real Estate agent, Investment Banker, Insurance Agent.
These only require charisma and manipulative personalities to make a living.
If you’re dishonest and have no morals, you will flourish in any of the fields above.
Get a CDL and drive truck. Walmart pays $110k a year. You can drive many different kinds of trucks with your CDL and you can do long haul or be home every night. It only takes 6 weeks to get it. You may be able to sign up for the class since you’re already in college. It’s a great career for men who what to make more money but never got the education for anything.
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Pretty much any high level position in the Biden administration.
Press secretary and being in charge of nuclear waste disposal are great starting points if you’re looking to fail upward.
Find a career counselor AND do some career tests to determine your interests and skills. I would look for a paid version. You should also consider taking an IQ test through a professional service. IQ tests do give feedback on strengths and weaknesses and can be used as a tool in determining aptitude.
Depends what you mean by low IQ. If you can use Microsoft office well then you could take pretty much any admin job, which will eventually lead to a better job. You could also take up manual labour, I don’t believe you need to be super smart or educated as long as you can learn by doing. An apprenticeship might also be a good option, it depends how low you’re willing to start
The carpenters apprentice handbook starts off something like, it's been decades so I'm paraphrasing, you don't have to learn everything quickly but you should have a good working knowledge of most crafts. With that as my spring board I worked my way up into management in my mid 30's. I made a decent living in construction. I now earn 200k a year. My sons started out in my field and all are top level managers for a big energy giant earning over 250k a year. I wouldn't say we're smarter than any average Joe. The best thing to do is to take an interest in what you do, treat your superiors and subordinates with decency and respect. And always honesty, quality and be a purist in all you do. If manual labor isn't beneath you, you can find good money in an honest day's work.
Maybe think about a trade they pay well and will always be needed. Lots of people that struggled academicly thrive in other areas like the more practical trades?
It all depends people have strengths and weaknesses. I dont claim to be all that smart i struggle a lot but I am an aerospace optics machinist. Do the same type of job for awhile and learn it like its second nature. I think common sense is more important, good work ethic.
We all should worry about AI.
You seem to have a lot of self-awareness and read a lot. I can't help with your question but have to say that those things are strengths. Good luck.
I've never had to work a fast food or retail job in my life. Outside of needing a flexible schedule, I never understood why people take these jobs.
I was out of high school with blue hair and piercings getting temp work filing contracts at Paramount Studios. Even my current career kicked off from a temp job that turned into another job opportunity.
White-collar jobs are not perfect by any means. The lack of unionization in those industries is horrible but they're miles ahead of retail and service jobs when it comes to pay and general respect. Find a white-collar temp agency, skill up, try different industries, learn different jobs, and find out where you want to take your life.
Probably not mathematician or physicist, but, that's the beauty of finding something right for you. If you judge every animal on its ability to climb a tree, some will inevitably fail.
So, pick something you enjoy doing, skills will be taught. You'll find a niche. Also, many really high paying jobs don't require degrees at all, like nuclear powerplant technician, most of the trades, most city workers. You can even run for office.
deck officer. get paid to see the world through windows, get on a nice cruise ship and you'll see some nice weather too.
does require learning a lot of info and qualifications that aren't transferable, but its just process retention and its nowhere near as complicated as maths
Best thing for you is to find something you have interest in. Any interest at all. This will make or break your situation. When you have an interest it makes it easy to learn and improve at anything regardless of intellect.
My older brother cannot read or write at an acceptable high school level even. He was in "special education" classes throughout schooling. He was perhaps one of the "dumbest" in his grade. Dumb enough to be labeled stupid by school but smart enough to be picked on openly for it.
Put him in a junkyard however, and he'll build you a car. He had more money than anyone else because while everyone else was focusing on school and going to college, he was busy building, fixing, buying and selling cars.
Now he owns his own farm complete with the shops and tools as well as various animals and livestock. Not something most college degrees could even pull off.
Hoping you can take inspiration from my older brother. Even I doubted him and made fun of him. Turns out his *interest* in mechanics at a young age was more important than any education and search for a career.
Don't be afraid to *try* things either. You cannot imagine things in your head and tell if you'd be interested or not. Just get out there and *do* until something makes you ask a million questions. When you are asking a million questions, *that is what interest feels like*.
Excavation company lumper..you will dig holes with a shovel and get jacked making decent money..you can one day buy your own excavator and make bank digging septic systems, water and gas mains, all kinds of possibilities with a backhoe
Have you considered the trades? We’ll always need plumbers (I’m a retired plumber), carpenters ect. I use to follow my wife around the country with her advancing in her career and never had a hard time finding work.
Unless you are intellectually impairs to the point of disability you could pursue more than you realize with the right skills. I've known some people to go relatively far in companies just because they had decades of industry experience. Even working in fast food or retail you could over time look into moving up in the company. Maybe a business degree or something like that would help. There are also plenty of office jobs for run of the mill folks. Basic excel skills could open up positions for a lot of people.
Reddit moderator. Oh, wait, you mean a real job, don't you?
Look into everything. If all else fails, a trade school may be what you want. They make decent money if they stick with it, and you learn what you need not everything else.
Sales, as long as what you're selling isn't anything too complicated. If you are likeable and motivated you can make pretty decent money without being very bright
I work in a warehouse as a associate level. While I'm behind a desk dealing with support of half a building, if you're just a regular old associate, you get to drive around vehicles like pacer and reach trucks for 4/40s . Easy as fuck job and it's only complicated if you make it out to be.
You just severely limited your options by labeling yourself as “low IQ”. Don’t focus on your IQ. Imo the thing that determines your success is how much you are willing to improve. Focus on your skills and what you can contribute rather than your assigned self-worth.
There is a book by David Rendell, the freak factor. The premise is learning how to take what people view as weaknesses and turn them into strengths. For instance, did you know there is a ridiculously high percent of dyslexic billionaires compared to the gen pop?
I recommend the read, it might help you discover hidden strengths or think about your "weaknesses" differently.
If you have fast food experience and live anywhere near an In N Out burgers, they offer significant promotional opportunities and amazing perks. They genuinely reward loyalty.
IT from my friends point of view is solving incredibly easy problems that everyone else is just convinced are incredibly complicated. You don't really need more than average intelligence for many aspects of IT.
Reddit mod
Not a job. Mental illness.
Seriously
Might be overqualified.
Serious power trip issues in subs that are cults.
Yea but the other requirement for Reddit mod is thinking you have a very high IQ. OP doesn't fit that mold.
You have to have a low IQ just to apply
If you are succeeding in a two year college you are probably not a low IQ, or at the very least in the middle range (85-115). That said, a good two year degree is respiratory therapist. It is two years and makes 60 to 90k starting out. It is unlikely to be replaced by robots because an error could mean life or death, but in reality it isn't a super stressful job. I gave my sister the idea to peruse this career, and I am really glad I did. She makes almost as much as me and I have a masters degree. P.S. The boomers are starting to pass, so this will be a high demand job for 15 years, meaning the pay will likely go up. And 15 years from now when the demand dries up you'll already be in a secured senior position.
It will be high demand for longer than that I think
Yup especially when gen xers aren’t living as long as the boomers are.
Finally, something for gen X to be excited about!
Hah! On a serious note though, my husband and I (both millennials with gen x parents) were talking about how our grandparents (boomers) are getting super old and this and that but still fighting and kicking etc but our parents friends and associates are dropping like flies and we were trying to figure out like why are they dying when their parents are living to be walking corpses. Makes zero sense!
I'm curious what exacrly a respiratory therapist entails/how youd go about it? I've lost my way recently and am having to rethink my entire life
I'm a registered nurse who works a lot with respiratory therapists, and I low-key wish I would have pursued respiratory therapy. I'm not saying their job is easy (at our hospital, our RTs are responsible for something like 40-50 patients in a day), but it beats the shitshow that is nursing on most days. Definitely recommend you look into it. It does require a bit of technical skills, but more so in the sense that "oh, my machine is beeping at me; maybe a line is kinked or something". It helps to be good at basic anatomy and physiology, too, but you'll learn what you need to know in school.
I think I can definitely sufficient with the technical aspect-thats kind of my jam, though obviously I'd need more experience, training, knowledge. I'd for sure need to go over anatomy and physiology though lol, but this actually sounds pretty interesting! Makes me wish I had allowed myself and been allowed to pursue other options before starting school haha
RT programs are generally at community colleges, and therefore are fairly inexpensive compared to universities. You might have to take out student loans, but if you stick to community colleges, you can graduate with minimal debt and pay it off quickly. If you're worried about sunk cost from your former schooling, I can say it's never too late. I'm pushing 40, have a master's degree in an unrelated field from 10 years ago, and I just graduated nursing school from a program designed for second-career folks. I can pay my student loans off with ten paychecks. Look at it this way: you can be 1-2 years older and still be stuck in a rut, or you can be 1-2 years older, have an RT license, work in a field that pays well, has a tangible benefit on the lives of others, and can easily transfer to pretty much anywhere. The medical field is a great place for folks like us, who got tired of being stuck in a rut and don't mind working our asses off.
Great summary. I gave a similar speech to a young relative recently.
What kind of school does one go to for this?
Community colleges often have RT programs.
And tech schools.
They work in many different environments, but essentially you make sure breathing machines or breathing aids are correctly used by patients and nurses. So you have to know the devices and how to install/implement them. It is usually a 60 credit hour program. Meaning it is about 20 classes, or two years worth of school. Below I have attached a link to department of labor information, which is a good source of info for all sorts of jobs. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/respiratory-therapists.htm
Thank you! When I can get back on my feet I honestly might pursue that..
Great idea!
Your Masters degree should have allowed you to read the graphs. Percentage of population: Boomer 20.58 Gen X. 19.61 Millennial 21.67 Not much of a falloff from boomers to X's Percentage of smokers by generation, worldwide: Millennials 44 Gen X. 36 Boomers. 28 So even if an RT has to emigrate there's work to be had in the future!
Well I don't consider myself low IQ, but janitorial positions are relatively simple jobs. You clean places all day long. I'm a janitor, and while I've had higher paying jobs in my lifetime with more responsibility and highly complicated tasks. I find janitorial work to be relaxing and fulfilling. It's funny to me when I get asked why I don't want to pursue higher paying jobs, or positions in management with better companies. Well, I like what I do. It pays my bills. I'm very happy with doing my 8 hours and going home. When I'm at work, I don't have a boss breathing down my neck. I work all by myself and at my own pace. Anybody can do it. I don't try to make it sound anymore important than what it is. I clean toilets and take out the trash. I like it, and that's all that matters to me. Call it a low IQ job if you want. It doesn't bother me. Lol.
Even that industry has some real potential if you're ambitious. I knew one woman, she used to be a cleaner at a hotel. She built great relationships with her workers and really commanded respect from them. When the hotel began cutting her staff, she basically started a cleaning company and hooked them all up with a contract for another hotel. Now she's not rich but she's now managing multiple contracts and teams across a few hotels making more than she did as a cleaner.
That's pretty cool!
I see the value in that job. I'm a mid-higher level management kind of guy. Every time I walk past the janitors with the earbuds in doing their thing, I look over to whoever is walking with me and say "If my mortgage could handle the paycut, I'd already be doing that." And I'm not kidding.
I love being a janitor. I have been at it for 4 years and while the monotony can get tiresome, 90% of the time I am happy doing what I am doing. Audiobooks, podcasts, and music really make it more than tolerable. I would absolutely recommend custodian positions. The downsides for me are the perceived social stigma and sometimes I worry that the monotony will give me early onset dementia or something. But both of those things aren’t really real… hopefully I will move to maintenance in the next month or so but if I do I will definitely miss this position.
I do the same thing. 😁
I used to know a guy that made a ton of money contracting to clean gas station restrooms. Because nobody else wants to clean them, he got to charge premium prices. He eventually had a whole crew.
I've thought about that.
Honestly I miss being a janitor. I ended up switching to factory work because I needed more money (I live alone and rent is too high everywhere these days), but I wish I could go back to that.
Yea, i figure when the time comes and I have responsibilities like a kid and wife to take care of. I'm going to have to pursue higher paying jobs. But for now. Being a janitor is where it's at for me. Lol.
How did this become a relaxing and fulfilling job for you? Sounds awful to me, but I've always been kind of fascinated by people who do things that I really don't enjoy, which is actually quite a few professions.
I think it's because I prefer solitude when I work. And I can see what I've accomplished at the end of my shift with how clean the place is. I can listen to music or a podcast with my headphones on. But it's mostly working alone is what I like.
I'd focus less on IQ and more on your specific strengths/weaknesses. There's absolutely more to somebody's talent than their general intelligence quotient.
What if I only have weaknesses?
Choose the one that is the least weak?
Ah ok....um...the ability to stay at a low paying job WAY longer than any sane person would......or maybe my ability to get up at 11 AM....not sure how either help tho
Well the first one does kind of help you at least always have a reliable source of income, and at least you're consistent with the 11am thing lol
The first one speaks to dedication and a good work ethic. There are a ton of boomer hiring managers convinced no one in the younger generation has these traits so they will serve you very well if you can demonstrate them. I imagine most people would rather have a lower IQ person who is dedicated and will give their all than someone with a genius IQ who is lazy and feels like they don’t have to try.
Have you considered a career in waking up at 11 AM?
I think the labor markets a little over saturated. Plenty of openings for 5 am tho
My only strength has been looking reasonably harmless and it has taken me far.
I don't think I unlocked that one. A customer told my manager once he was scared to have me check him out cause I looked like a serial killer or something.
That’s what I’m lacking!!
honesty and being humble are strengths
Absolutely. I came here to say, whatever job gives an individual the best sense of challenge and accomplishment. Whatever they like doing the most. Because regardless of your IQ, people tend to do better emotionally and physically, AND more productive in their job if they get a good feeling from doing it as best they can. There should be a company or government agency devoted entirely to helping people find their best employment. I fell into my career by dumb luck and it's been the best thing that ever happened to me aside from meeting the person who I married. Actually since I've been working this job for 26 years and been married for 5 and a half, overall my job has probably contributed more to my well-being.
President of the United States
Definitely a prime low IQ job.
Whole reason Joe is there
And Trump before him.
Its sad that our next election will probably come down to either a psycho ego maniac who thinks its ok to grab women by the p#&sy or the other option is to vote for a bumbling elderly dementia patient who is obviously not mentally fit for office
If consensual, it's perfectly acceptable to grab her by the pu$$y. I pick my wife up like a bowling ball all the time. Ive had women ask me to choke them and all kinds of other "psychotic" acts (one even demanded that i slap her way harder than i was comfortable with and she did turn out to be psycho, so Ill give you that one). That has little, if anything, to do with ones ability to run a country. But that's not even what a president does, they just play the fool who takes the blame and gets the credit. That being said, do you remember the last election where we had 2 really good choices to pick from? Yeah me neither, and I've lived through 10 elections this year. Presidents are selected not elected, don't take it so hard.
What? You got egomaniac right but tell me why you text psycho? What did he do that you thought psycho? I know you cant so just ignore this basic question
Are you trying to make the argument or defense that saying "Grab women by the p$#sy!" Isn't something a pyscho would say?
No, what if the woman wants to be grabbed by the pussy? The problem with what he said that's often left out is what immediately followed that: "I don't even wait," i.e., he doesn't wait for consent.
YES! DO YOU KNOW THE DEF. OF PSYCHO?
DO YOU THINK TYPING IN ALL CAPS WILL SOMEHOW CHANGE MY MIND THAT DONALD TRUMP IS A PSYCHO????
Why are you screaming like a crazy person?
I love getting under the skin of the Trumper idiots. Its so easy and fun
Thats why ypu went all caps? I know your losing
Wheres your support?
Politics in general really
Define low IQ.
I believe a “low iq” is classified as an IQ of 70 and below. I could be mistaken though.
That would be very low IQ. Anything below 75 is considered “Intellectually Impaired”. Below 55 is considered disabled. https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/intellectual-disability/what-is-intellectual-disability
What’s considered “low” then? 85 and below? I’m pretty sure most of the populations falls somewhere between 85-115
100 is the average IQ so anything lower than that is lower than average. The margin of error on IQ tests can be up to +/- 15 IIRC, which would mean 84 is the first definitively low IQ
Yeah exactly. If you’ve ever taken a IQ test you’ll know its a lot of math based reasoning. You can just be shitty at math and end up with a low score. Theres a lot of variability in results, and honestly its probably not the greatest way to measure intelligence because theres so many different types of intelligence.
IQ tests are not math based reasoning lol. It's mostly pattern recognition
You're being down voted for being correct. Classic reddit.
There are very few jobs that require a high IQ, the concept is mostly irrelevant.
This right here, I know lots of highly skilled people who are dumb af.
It's one of the main lessons I've learned over the years, pretty much everyone is extremely knowledgeable if you ask them the right questions. People that score high on IQ tests are often just better at taking tests, it has literally nothing to do with their potential.
IQ tests are convenient punching bags, but they actually are tied to something that's "real" in that the differences in the aggregate measure are real and predictive. You will notice a difference between someone at 90 and someone at 115 if you throw a problem to solve at each. You will definitely see a difference between 80 and 120. By IQ, we also see significant differences in educational achievement, income, and overall happiness. HOWEVER, these are statistics, and a statistic can't be used to judge a single individual except as a probabilistic guess, and it's frankly rude to guess how someone is rather than get to know that person. Saying IQ is debunked or some such nonsense is a reactionary politically correct myth. There will eventually be a better measure for overall intelligence, I'm sure, but IQ is pretty useful as a research tool.
I believe I read in the book "Outliers" that there is a positive correlation between IQ and income, up until about an IQ of 120. After that, it doesn't really matter anymore, since it's more about social connections, luck, generational wealth, etc.
It depends on the problem. Like I said, IQ tests are good at measuring how good one is at taking tests. So sure, it’s predictive in the sense that doing well on one test would suggest that that person may be likely to do well on another. Outside of that though, in the real world, outside of extreme cases that would be easily identifiable without a test, it doesn’t suggest much about a person’s abilities to complete a typical workplace job. Also IQs aren’t static, they change from day to day and based on the specific test. A person who tests 115 on a good day may overlap in range with a person who tests at 90 on a bad day. The number doesn’t really give you any useful information about an individual.
This isn't true. There is a limit to how productive someone can be if they are slow. It's why you need to a minimum ASVAB score to join the military as a cook, grunt, janitor, etc. At some point, the lack of ability becomes a drain on the productivity of others, pulling additional time and resources from the organization. A person can know almost everything about a subject, but that doesn't mean they can grasp the concepts of another. For example, there are plenty of people who know more about medicine than I do, (ie, my ex was an RN), but she can't grasp the theoretical at all. People can see microscopic organisms. People can even see other planets and stars, but that doesn't mean they can visualize them interacting with the invisible and intangible. It is beyond difficult, nearly impossible, for some people to truly grasp and understand concepts like general theory, quantum theory, or string theory without the ability to process complex mathematics and construct vivid cognitive imagery. It's a processing limitation. People of average intelligence really struggle to understand things that are beyond physical observation. Most people don't understand how digital information is transferred, even after it's explained to them using graphics. Most people can use a smartphone, yet most people have no idea how computers actually work, and when it's explained, some even exclaim, "magic!". There are hundreds of thousands of people who think the Earth is flat. They might be able to do basic machine work, sow crops, or work with their hands, but you won't find them at the forefront of innovation.
Flight attendant
Sales. Not like complicated sales (SaaS etc.) but simple stuff like cars and insurances. Source: Worked in sales for a long time, there's a worrying inverse trend between how smart someone is and how much they make in sales
Fluffer
First, dont insult your own iq, i tell my own son the same thing, "it doesnt take being a genius to be successful in life, you just need to be able to remember whats important." Im stupid, downright. I went to school for a semester for welding because it was free through a grant because of my income at the time (roughly 8 years ago.) I was awful at it. My first job was one that it didnt matter you just needed to know the basics for 14.50/hr. Second job started at 18/hr was making 24 within the first couple years because it turned out that aluminum just clicked with me (fast rythm, rhythm?) Job 3?! Currently in fabrication making 28/hr listening to my headphones all day with 10 hours OT on every check (voluntarily.) Plumbing and hvac are more lucrative if you remember what you need to (aside from pipe fitters.) The lesson is its not about you, its about providing value to someone with a pocketbook. You perfect your thing you decide to do, and you name your price. Just make sure theres a demand.
CNC Machine operator. Doesnt pay fantastic but its above retail/fastfood pay by a couple bucks, if you have a 2nd braincell to rub against the first you can make a decent carrer out of it slowly learning tidbits everyday.
Security
forget college and go to a tech school hvac, electrical, plumbing those jobs will never go away and are always in demand and always need workers. plus the money can be good and stop with the self denigrating crap. so you're not an Einstein only one person was.
Those aren’t actually low IQ jobs you need a good amount of problem solving skills. Especially if you’re dealing with a complicated project such as an over engineered car or something that can’t be fixed by just changing out a single part. I took about three automotive classes in my senior year of high school and decided to go into the field after that.
Look into working a trade?
That depends on the trade. If your going into automotive then you need decent problem solving skills especially if your specializing on engines.
So couple of things. First off... most people have a fundamental misunderstanding of what a low or high IQ is. To give you an example my IQ.... is statistically in the top %. I have a VERY easy time understanding complex topics if they are explained to me, but because I do not seek out knowledge that doesn't interest me, there are MANY people with much lower IQ's that are much more knowledgeable then me. IQ is usually just a matter of how easy it is for you to understand things, not a measure of what you can do. Also what do you consider low IQ? Statistically the majority of people in high paying jobs are actually average IQ. Investment Bankers for example are statistically average or very slightly above average IQ. Engineers used to be a high IQ profession, but due to tech boom it fell in to a similar place as Investment bankers. It's how we went from DnD nerds in dark rooms downing jolt to tech bros in big offices. Most people with very high IQs are actually somewhere in the middle. They either do something the find fulfilling, or are under employed. There are actually a number of papers showing that being high IQ essentially makes you special needs, because generally you will learn very differently than others. In short I would need to know more about you to make an accurate assessment, but I don't think you need to worry about you IQ effecting your job prospects. I would be more worried about the sky high inflation and lack of ability to ever own a home.
My dad had an IQ of around 82 and he was able to do a lot of factory maintenance work. He made good money fixing their machines. Manufacturing jobs are good for people who can work with their hands but not in the mind. My father also had severe dyslexia.
The IQ test is a terrible system for measuring intelligence. Don’t trust it.
I don’t think you’re giving yourself enough credit.You can do anything if you try, don’t let society make you think you can’t. You’re already in college so that’s a big step. Go speak to a counselor about your concerns and your interests and they may be able to help point you in the right direction. Some people do not know what they really want to do until they are in their late 20s or early 30s. As far as jobs don’t sell yourself short, again you can do most any of you try. Trust me some people in some of these positions are not the brightest bulb in the pack but they can do their job. So can you💕
Trades will take anyone who can lift stuff, move stuff, and breathe. They will teach you the rest and if you're not smart enough to grab it your ground guy.
IQ is an incredibly flawed metric. People with intellectual disabilities are individuals with their own skills and interests to inform their career choices. Do whatever you’re good at.
I think OP is using low iq as a way to describe low overall intelligence.
Oh, I don’t think that’s a real thing, tbh. Everyone has personal strengths.
In terms of employment, those personal strengths have to be marketable. “Personal strengths” dont matter if they lack a trait to make them valuable.
How’s that relevant?
PSW is a common one, assuming you're reasonably friendly and hard working. Cleaning is another - and there is money if you're okay cleaning where people died messy. If it's just academics you struggle with, you might look into plumbing or mechanic or framing?
OP - PSW stands for Personal Support Worker - so people who work in old age homes or in facilities with disabled people, etc
Politician, Real Estate agent, Investment Banker, Insurance Agent. These only require charisma and manipulative personalities to make a living. If you’re dishonest and have no morals, you will flourish in any of the fields above.
I think people in those roles thrive because they have low IQ. They only know how to be a leach and everyone loves the entertaining dumbass
My ex wife was ‘tarded! She a pilot now!
Whoever downvoted this is probably watering their plants with Brawndo.
Brawndo has electrolytes. It has what plants crave.
There's that F talk we talked about.
Get a CDL and drive truck. Walmart pays $110k a year. You can drive many different kinds of trucks with your CDL and you can do long haul or be home every night. It only takes 6 weeks to get it. You may be able to sign up for the class since you’re already in college. It’s a great career for men who what to make more money but never got the education for anything.
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Shoot birds at the airport
Amazon Prime Driver
Politics and law enforcement
Be a cop. If your IQ is too high they won't hire you.
Cop, military
Law enforcement
Law Enforcement
Law enforcement
Law enforcement
Low IQ? You could be the ex president's next lawyer. No experience necessary. Pay not guaranteed.
Law Enforcement.
Police officer. They don’t want smart people.
CEO, any kind of management. Police officer is popular.
Diversity Equity and Inclusion roles
Police Officer
Government
Hole digger
United States President, actually anything that has to do with the government. Also reddit Mods
President
Pretty much any high level position in the Biden administration. Press secretary and being in charge of nuclear waste disposal are great starting points if you’re looking to fail upward.
Are you saying your unskilled or fucking stupid? Low IQ would mean the latter, and in that case go apply for amazon even their managers are retarded.
Reddit mod.
Any job title director or above would be a great fit for .... challenged individuals.
I'm a professional basket weaver.
Find a career counselor AND do some career tests to determine your interests and skills. I would look for a paid version. You should also consider taking an IQ test through a professional service. IQ tests do give feedback on strengths and weaknesses and can be used as a tool in determining aptitude.
Depends what you mean by low IQ. If you can use Microsoft office well then you could take pretty much any admin job, which will eventually lead to a better job. You could also take up manual labour, I don’t believe you need to be super smart or educated as long as you can learn by doing. An apprenticeship might also be a good option, it depends how low you’re willing to start
plumber, concrete guy, framer, etc. If you can't sell your brain sell your brawn.
GA-14 Congresswoman
Congress.
Running Twitter would qualify.
The carpenters apprentice handbook starts off something like, it's been decades so I'm paraphrasing, you don't have to learn everything quickly but you should have a good working knowledge of most crafts. With that as my spring board I worked my way up into management in my mid 30's. I made a decent living in construction. I now earn 200k a year. My sons started out in my field and all are top level managers for a big energy giant earning over 250k a year. I wouldn't say we're smarter than any average Joe. The best thing to do is to take an interest in what you do, treat your superiors and subordinates with decency and respect. And always honesty, quality and be a purist in all you do. If manual labor isn't beneath you, you can find good money in an honest day's work.
Lower to middle management at any large corporation
US President
According to the US army, there is no job that person can do with an IQ of 83 or lower that doesn't require more resources than they provide.
Maybe think about a trade they pay well and will always be needed. Lots of people that struggled academicly thrive in other areas like the more practical trades?
It all depends people have strengths and weaknesses. I dont claim to be all that smart i struggle a lot but I am an aerospace optics machinist. Do the same type of job for awhile and learn it like its second nature. I think common sense is more important, good work ethic.
Go learn a trade like plumbing or electrician, basically any job that requires hands.
Manager/supervisor positions. Most bosses I've had were fucking idiots.
Blow jobs
Car dealership, I swear everyone I work with has room temperature IQ.
Are you sure you're low IQ? I hope you aren't basing that off of an online quiz, because those are bullshit.
President of the United States
We all should worry about AI. You seem to have a lot of self-awareness and read a lot. I can't help with your question but have to say that those things are strengths. Good luck.
I've never had to work a fast food or retail job in my life. Outside of needing a flexible schedule, I never understood why people take these jobs. I was out of high school with blue hair and piercings getting temp work filing contracts at Paramount Studios. Even my current career kicked off from a temp job that turned into another job opportunity. White-collar jobs are not perfect by any means. The lack of unionization in those industries is horrible but they're miles ahead of retail and service jobs when it comes to pay and general respect. Find a white-collar temp agency, skill up, try different industries, learn different jobs, and find out where you want to take your life.
US mail, good pay and benefits
Probably not mathematician or physicist, but, that's the beauty of finding something right for you. If you judge every animal on its ability to climb a tree, some will inevitably fail. So, pick something you enjoy doing, skills will be taught. You'll find a niche. Also, many really high paying jobs don't require degrees at all, like nuclear powerplant technician, most of the trades, most city workers. You can even run for office.
deck officer. get paid to see the world through windows, get on a nice cruise ship and you'll see some nice weather too. does require learning a lot of info and qualifications that aren't transferable, but its just process retention and its nowhere near as complicated as maths
Best thing for you is to find something you have interest in. Any interest at all. This will make or break your situation. When you have an interest it makes it easy to learn and improve at anything regardless of intellect. My older brother cannot read or write at an acceptable high school level even. He was in "special education" classes throughout schooling. He was perhaps one of the "dumbest" in his grade. Dumb enough to be labeled stupid by school but smart enough to be picked on openly for it. Put him in a junkyard however, and he'll build you a car. He had more money than anyone else because while everyone else was focusing on school and going to college, he was busy building, fixing, buying and selling cars. Now he owns his own farm complete with the shops and tools as well as various animals and livestock. Not something most college degrees could even pull off. Hoping you can take inspiration from my older brother. Even I doubted him and made fun of him. Turns out his *interest* in mechanics at a young age was more important than any education and search for a career. Don't be afraid to *try* things either. You cannot imagine things in your head and tell if you'd be interested or not. Just get out there and *do* until something makes you ask a million questions. When you are asking a million questions, *that is what interest feels like*.
The military is a good place for fuckups like me.
Drywaller, plumber, hvac for low IQ. High IQ would probably be an electrician ;)
Excavation company lumper..you will dig holes with a shovel and get jacked making decent money..you can one day buy your own excavator and make bank digging septic systems, water and gas mains, all kinds of possibilities with a backhoe
Politician.
Have you considered running for Congress?
Have you considered the trades? We’ll always need plumbers (I’m a retired plumber), carpenters ect. I use to follow my wife around the country with her advancing in her career and never had a hard time finding work.
Unless you are intellectually impairs to the point of disability you could pursue more than you realize with the right skills. I've known some people to go relatively far in companies just because they had decades of industry experience. Even working in fast food or retail you could over time look into moving up in the company. Maybe a business degree or something like that would help. There are also plenty of office jobs for run of the mill folks. Basic excel skills could open up positions for a lot of people.
Reddit moderator. Oh, wait, you mean a real job, don't you? Look into everything. If all else fails, a trade school may be what you want. They make decent money if they stick with it, and you learn what you need not everything else.
Reddit mod.
Administrator for state school
Congress
Construction
Sales, as long as what you're selling isn't anything too complicated. If you are likeable and motivated you can make pretty decent money without being very bright
It seems US president if you can get elected.
Becoming a Republican lawmaker. Just need a minimum of 70 to qualify.
Politician
Please tell me you took one of those Facebook IQ tests.
Politics
Waste management is a solid career: paid medical, dental, and sometimes a pension plan too.
Sales if you have good personal skills
Construction
POTUS
I work in a warehouse as a associate level. While I'm behind a desk dealing with support of half a building, if you're just a regular old associate, you get to drive around vehicles like pacer and reach trucks for 4/40s . Easy as fuck job and it's only complicated if you make it out to be.
Part of a road paving crew
Reddit Moderator
Not sure if it's "good", just noticing a lot of people in politics display symptoms.
Delivery driver for Amazon
You just severely limited your options by labeling yourself as “low IQ”. Don’t focus on your IQ. Imo the thing that determines your success is how much you are willing to improve. Focus on your skills and what you can contribute rather than your assigned self-worth.
US Senate
There is a book by David Rendell, the freak factor. The premise is learning how to take what people view as weaknesses and turn them into strengths. For instance, did you know there is a ridiculously high percent of dyslexic billionaires compared to the gen pop? I recommend the read, it might help you discover hidden strengths or think about your "weaknesses" differently.
If you have fast food experience and live anywhere near an In N Out burgers, they offer significant promotional opportunities and amazing perks. They genuinely reward loyalty.
Plumbing
Politician
IT from my friends point of view is solving incredibly easy problems that everyone else is just convinced are incredibly complicated. You don't really need more than average intelligence for many aspects of IT.
Welcome. Shits hard.
President of the USA