Career ideas if low IQ but very hard working?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:President. Except, you don’t have to be hard working either.

+1

Unfortunately there is only one opening, every 4 years. And there's a very high application fee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any decently paying job is going to require some level of ability to pass exams or standards of some sort, either in a classroom setting, training setting, or both.

Take, for example, driving jobs requiring a CDL. The majority of people who try to get a CDL drop out of the CDL programs before they start--they can't pass the exams and, in many cases, they simply do NOT have the spatial awareness skills to complete certain skills in the training like back up a huge truck very close to a curb without hitting it (it's very, very hard if you don't have a certain level of spatial awareness skills). No matter how much they grind or "give it their all," many people (myself included) probably just don't have this skill.

There's also a lot of testing of decision-making skills on the job before they let you actually drive. Someone with a low IQ would have trouble with this level of decisionmaking/thinking on their feet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How low? 59 vs 99 could be a big difference. And what are subscores? All in the 70s vs some in 60s and some around 100 would really change the options.

I think aiming for something that pays 75k is the wrong strategy. Figure out strengths and work towards them. If the parents have some capital and can help kid open a business, sky is the limit. If IQ is low enough to consider disability benefits, make sure to see a benefits planner first because too much work early in life can make a kid ineligible for benefits on his parents earnings record. And that could be tens of thousands of dollars a year for life.

I agree. Is your child actually low iq or simply average iq? Because if it's low you should just be happy if they find steady employment. But I suspect you are a family of gifted people saddled with an average child. My heart bleeds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Armed forces
Emt paramedic firefighter
Plumber carpenter electrician
Nurse

Not a single one of these jobs can be done by someone with low IQ. Do you have low IQ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Armed forces
Emt paramedic firefighter
Plumber carpenter electrician
Nurse

You are so wrong. Nurses have to get through difficult coursework. They must be bright.

And, believe it or not, many of the trades do require intellect.

You are absolutely right. I’m pp and I’m sorry. I know people with low IQ in those jobs, but they are supported and surrounded by a loving community who values their role.
I stand by armed forces, though. It’s a good career with a duty of care. Factory work would be good, they make good money if there is a union. Animal caretakers, too, many are unionized.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sales often requires good EQ.
Retail is the answer.

Have worked in retail, and this is definitely not the right answer. Sure, you could get a job working in retail. But unless you are management, that’s going to pay about $30,000 a year. And management in retail can be very difficult, and involves a lot of problem-solving that you have to be pretty smart to do. Handling things like inventory and staffing and visuals can be more than a little bit intellectually challenging.

I worked in a retail clothing store at Tyson’s for a while. We had a terrible time hiring enough people because corporate wouldn’t let us hire (or even interview) anyone who didn’t score really highly on an online aptitude/personality test that you had to take in order to apply. I think there were three levels of scores, unacceptable, acceptable, and excellent. And corporate would only let us hire people who scored “excellent.” And we never had enough people, even though we had a bunch of applications, because we had to say no to anyone who didn’t score excellent on the darn thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How low? 59 vs 99 could be a big difference. And what are subscores? All in the 70s vs some in 60s and some around 100 would really change the options.

I think aiming for something that pays 75k is the wrong strategy. Figure out strengths and work towards them. If the parents have some capital and can help kid open a business, sky is the limit. If IQ is low enough to consider disability benefits, make sure to see a benefits planner first because too much work early in life can make a kid ineligible for benefits on his parents earnings record. And that could be tens of thousands of dollars a year for life.

I agree. Is your child actually low iq or simply average iq? Because if it's low you should just be happy if they find steady employment. But I suspect you are a family of gifted people saddled with an average child. My heart bleeds.

Also, I will ask if this low IQ combined with other factors that would limit ability to perform at work, like high ADHD?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sales often requires good EQ.
Retail is the answer.

Have worked in retail, and this is definitely not the right answer. Sure, you could get a job working in retail. But unless you are management, that’s going to pay about $30,000 a year. And management in retail can be very difficult, and involves a lot of problem-solving that you have to be pretty smart to do. Handling things like inventory and staffing and visuals can be more than a little bit intellectually challenging.

I worked in a retail clothing store at Tyson’s for a while. We had a terrible time hiring enough people because corporate wouldn’t let us hire (or even interview) anyone who didn’t score really highly on an online aptitude/personality test that you had to take in order to apply. I think there were three levels of scores, unacceptable, acceptable, and excellent. And corporate would only let us hire people who scored “excellent.” And we never had enough people, even though we had a bunch of applications, because we had to say no to anyone who didn’t score excellent on the darn thing.

I'm the PP who posted about pathways to management and testing, and this is increasingly common. And the level of assessments/testing under pressure goes up the higher you want to go (even if they aren't online tests, they could be tasks assigned by regional managers you have to complete on time while they observe you, corporate trainings you have to be able to complete coursework for, etc.).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Armed forces
Emt paramedic firefighter
Plumber carpenter electrician
Nurse

You are so wrong. Nurses have to get through difficult coursework. They must be bright.

And, believe it or not, many of the trades do require intellect.

And getting into nursing school is very competitive now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about sales?

Low IQ and sales do not go together.

It really depends on what kind of low IQ you’re talking about. If you’re talking about, can’t follow simple directions or identify cues, then yes you’re absolutely right. If you’re just talking about higher level thinking, where lower intelligence means you can only see A leading to B, instead of immediately seeing that if A=B=C=D then A=D, sales can still be a good fit. There is just so much material and training out there, and entry level positions are so scripted, that as long as you don’t have a personality where you’re going to get butt-hurt from rejection, you have a decent chance of making a go in a sales position.

And a lot of these low level positions are zero barrier entry, so the quickest way to find out is to just have them get a sales job and see how they do.

[Anonymous]

co-owner of a family business

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Armed forces
Emt paramedic firefighter
Plumber carpenter electrician
Nurse

You are so wrong. Nurses have to get through difficult coursework. They must be bright.

And, believe it or not, many of the trades do require intellect.

You are absolutely right. I’m pp and I’m sorry. I know people with low IQ in those jobs, but they are supported and surrounded by a loving community who values their role.
I stand by armed forces, though. It’s a good career with a duty of care. Factory work would be good, they make good money if there is a union. Animal caretakers, too, many are unionized.

I don't know where you are coming up with this stuff--the examples you are thinking of probably don't have truly low IQ. Sorry, but armed forces will not take someone with a low IQ. The current test being used for the military is called the ASVAB and there are minimums in order to enlist. There are also other standards. If you look at the current minimums and some studies, the minimums are roughly equivalent to somewhere in the 90s in terms of IQ (91-92 ish), which mean that the bottom third of the population in terms of IQ cannot enlist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: co-owner of a family business

this. As you can see from this page, "moving up" in large retail employers, the trades, anything requiring licensing, the army, etc. ALL require significant levels of assessments--not just when you enter, but it is ongoing if you want to move up and continue in the profession.

The only way to bypass all of these requirements is to work for a tiny business where you know the management.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Armed forces
Emt paramedic firefighter
Plumber carpenter electrician
Nurse

You are so wrong. Nurses have to get through difficult coursework. They must be bright.

And, believe it or not, many of the trades do require intellect.

You are absolutely right. I’m pp and I’m sorry. I know people with low IQ in those jobs, but they are supported and surrounded by a loving community who values their role.
I stand by armed forces, though. It’s a good career with a duty of care. Factory work would be good, they make good money if there is a union. Animal caretakers, too, many are unionized.

These people do NOT have truly low IQ. To pass the requirements to be in ANY of these professions you have listed requires passing exams and licensing requirements and training, none of which a low IQ person could reasonably complete, no matter how much family help they have.

Armed forces has entry exams that would remove truly low IQ people. Factory work does NOT make good money, even with a union, unless you pass the technical requirements to be a skilled machinist or plant safety lead or something like that, and someone low IQ could not pass these requirements.

I think you are confusing "low IQ" with "average IQ."

[Anonymous]

Car detailing. My ds makes $50 in less than an hour doing it. Being polite and thorough is all you need.