What Does an IQ of 120 Indicate?

An intelligence quotient score of 120 means that the person falls into the superior range between 120 to 129 and is more intelligent than approximately 91 percent of the tested population, according to Edublox. When IQ scores are applied to career choices, people in the superior range can occupy jobs such as nurses, pharmacists, accountants, school teachers, stenographers and managers.

Edublox explains that the intelligence quotient scores are classified into seven ranges. A score of below 70 means that the person is considered extremely low-functioning. Scores between 70 and 79 are thought to be borderline. People who score between 80 and 89 are termed “low average.” Scores in the middle of the scale, between 90 and 109, are considered average. Edublox notes that people in the average range usually hold jobs as laborers, miners, farmhands, carpenters, cooks and machine operators. People with scores between 110 and 119 are considered to be high average. These people typically hold jobs as salesmen, electricians, foremen, telephone operators, clerks and members of the police force. The highest scores are above 130 and are considered very superior. Individuals in this range commonly hold occupations as civil and mechanical engineers, lawyers, surgeons, physicians, professors and research scientists.

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