— Occupational IQ research
Doctors (MD) — average IQ & cognitive profile
Published occupational IQ research consistently places doctors (md) at an average IQ of around 124 — the 95th percentile of the general adult population. This sits well above the population mean and reflects the cognitive demands of the role.
Why doctors (md) cluster at this level
→Pause. Find out YOUR IQ before you keep reading.Medical school admissions test heavily on verbal-conceptual and quantitative reasoning, and the MCAT is itself a partial IQ proxy. Day-to-day clinical decision-making rewards working memory and pattern recognition under uncertainty.
What this number really means
→Curious how YOU score? 20-min calibrated test.An occupational IQ average is a statistical mean, not a hiring criterion. The within-profession standard deviation is typically 10-15 IQ points, which means:
- There are highly successful doctors (md) scoring well above 139
- And highly successful doctors (md) scoring well below 109
- Conscientiousness, domain knowledge, emotional regulation, and motivation account for far more variance in actual job performance than the difference between, say, IQ 115 and IQ 125 does
How to interpret your own score against this average
→The numbers above? Find out where YOU land.If you're considering this profession or already in it, here's how to read a personal IQ result in context:
- If you score 114–134: you're right in the typical range for doctors (md)
- If you score above 139: you have meaningful cognitive headroom; you'll likely find the abstract demands of the role easier than peers
- If you score below 109: the profession is still entirely accessible to you — many doctors (md) succeed at this level — but you may rely more on persistence, structured systems, and specialisation than peers do
Related profession comparisons
→Knowing about IQ ≠ knowing yours. Take the test.- Lawyers — average IQ 122
- University Professors — average IQ 126
- Surgeons — average IQ 127
- Engineers — average IQ 121
- CEOs — average IQ 121