What IQ (Intelligence Quotient)
IQ is an acronym that stands for intelligence. According to Wikipedia, quoting a research paper published in Pediatrics in Review, “An intelligence quotient (IQ) is a total score derived from a set of standardized tests or subtests designed to assess human intelligence.”
The online medical website Healthline goes a bit further to explain that IQ is something that a person is born with and is distinct from knowledge, which is something that one acquires either through education or life experience.
Note that an IQ score is an estimate of intelligence and theoretically, there is no upper limit. For a given population, IQ scores follows a normal distribution. Most of the population are find in the middle of the curve, having an IQ score of about 85 to 115. You probably expect an average software engineer to have an IQ higher than this average range. Opinion seems to suggest so too.
According to to Mensa, about 98% of the population has IQ scores less than 130. It appears that the average IQ of a software engineer is on the right of that score. In other words, a software engineer chosen at random is expected to have a higher IQ than an average person.
Does that mean that a person with a lower IQ should steer clear of studying software engineering?
The answer, of course, is a resounding no. IQ is just a measure of innate intelligence, which is just one form of intelligence. What one lacks in nature, one may acquire by learning and diligence. WHch brings us to the question below.
What is the average IQ of a software engineer
Now, to finally answer the question on what is the average IQ of a software engineer, let’s find out what some members of the Quora community has to say about it.
Quora prides itself as the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
#1: Answer by Gustavo Costa Answer by Brazilian deaf-born polyglot programmer of 12 languages on Quora:
Do not worry about your intelligence limit, go to software engineering college. 🙂
Remember the Chaplin’s citation: “Persistence is the path to success.” Memorize it every time.
#2. Answer by John Toomer
#3. Answer by Chip Rabinowitz, DevOps Guru, Software Developer for 40+ years
This question originally appeared on Quora – the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
Software engineers are quite smart, I may just go and learn vulcaniser.
Isn’t going to be free