IQ 130: Exploring What It Means [+ Ideal Career Choices]

People with an IQ of 130 are generally considered gifted, meaning that their cognitive abilities are significantly above average. As a result, they usually pick up new knowledge and skills rather quickly, which allows them to thrive both in a professional and personal sense.

To gain a better understanding of this score, we’ve asked our experts to explain what an IQ of 130 actually means, how it manifests itself, and how it affects different aspects of life.

Here is what they’ve told us.

Key Takeaways

• An IQ of 130 is considered gifted, as the people with it perform better than 97.7% of their peers on an IQ test.
• With an IQ of 130, your cognition is highly developed, and you are an original, creative thinker who can succeed in any career you choose.
• An IQ of 130 usually thrives in mentally stimulating careers that challenge them and give them space to grow and improve their skills.
• Celebrities with an IQ of 130 are actors James Franco and Ken Jeong.

What Is Considered an Average IQ?

An average IQ is considered to be 100, although the 85–115 range is more commonly taken as the normal range. This is because the majority of the population—to be precise, 68%—scores in this particular range.

Since 85–115 is the average IQ, any score below this range is naturally considered low, while any above is labeled as high. The closer we get to each end of the IQ scale, the rarer the score, with only 0.3% of the population scoring outside of the 55–145 range.

Intelligence is quantified using IQ tests, psychometric tools designed to measure the development of cognitive abilities through various tasks testing logical reasoning, working memory, pattern recognition, and analytical and deductive skills.

Once you complete an IQ test, your results are compared to your peer group’s and expressed in percentiles. In other words, if you’ve performed better than 95% of your peers, you’ll be in the 95th percentile. Then, that translates to an IQ of 125—an above-average score.

Typically, the most accurate way to measure your intelligence is by using one of the standardized IQ tests. They come in many types and forms, but the most commonly used ones are the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, and Raven’s Progressive Matrices.

Find Out If Your IQ Is Higher Than Average

an image of an IQ test

If you don’t feel like spending hundreds of dollars to find out your IQ score, you can use IQtest.net instead. Our expertly designed IQ test uses the most advanced psychometric methods to calculate your score with high precision and accuracy.

In addition, it’s a fantastic tool for developing your cognitive abilities and boosting your IQ score. Each task targets a specific area of your cognition and provides your brain with the exercise necessary to keep it in top form.

Plus, IQtest.net is free of charge, so you can retake it as many times as you want and use the results to track your progress.

IQ 130: Meaning & Characteristics

An IQ of 130 is characterized by highly developed cognitive faculties, excellent pattern recognition, a superb ability to make connections between seemingly unrelated objects, and impressive problem-solving skills.

Usually, people with an IQ of 130 are original, creative thinkers capable of achieving success in whichever field they choose, particularly if those fields are mentally stimulating and require inventiveness and quick thinking. They also tend to excel academically and often obtain master’s degrees or PhDs.

All this indicates a very high level of intelligence, often categorized as “gifted” or “very advanced” on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale.

Although an IQ of 130 isn’t quite a genius level of intelligence, it’s fairly close, and it’s even closer to landing you a spot in a high-IQ society. For instance, Mensa requires that its members be in the 98th percentile, while an IQ of 130’s percentile is 97.7.

Luckily, that gap of 0.3% is easy to close if you train your cognitive skills by doing brain exercises, learning new skills, or practicing with IQtest.net.

IQ 130 in Children

High IQ can be apparent from an early age, especially when you know how to recognize the signs.

For instance, children with an IQ of 130 often:

• Exhibit curiosity and creativity
• Enjoy learning about the world
• Make few mistakes when speaking
• Pick up new skills with relative ease
• Have difficulty regulating their emotions
• Ask a lot of questions, some of them rather complex
• Enjoy the company of adults more than other children’s

It’s important to recognize these traits early in order to provide gifted children with the kind of support they need to develop their cognition further and excel in all aspects of their lives.

2 Celebrities With an IQ of 130

Although it’s difficult to determine a famous person’s IQ when they don’t explicitly disclose it, it’s possible to make an educated guess based on their achievements and education. Using this criteria, our experts determined that the following two celebrities have a high IQ of 130.

#1. James Franco

James Franco gained worldwide fame thanks to his role as Harry Osborn in the Spiderman trilogy in the early 2000s, then went on to star in dozens of other major films, including Pineapple Express, Rise of the Planet of Apes, Oz the Great and Powerful, Eat Pray Love, and many more.

In addition to acting, he’s been successful as a director, too. His most notable work includes As I Lay Dying, Child of God, and Disaster Artist, which won him a Golden Globe for portraying the peculiar actor and filmmaker Tommy Wiseau.

As it turns out, though, James Franco isn’t just a talented actor and filmmaker but also a highly intelligent individual with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from UCLA and two master’s degrees—one in writing from Columbia University and the other in film from NYU.

#2. Ken Jeong

American actor and comedian Ken Jeong is known for his role in the Hangover series, as well as his subsequent appearances in Crazy Rich Asians, The DUFF, Transformers: The Dark of the Moon, and Despicable Me.

However, what’s less known about the actor is that he actually has a medical degree, which he obtained at the UNC School of Medicine in 1995. In fact, he was a practicing physician for a decade before fully committing himself to acting, an experience reflected in his medical comedy series, Dr. Ken.

Ideal Career Choices for People With an IQ of 130

People with an IQ of 130 are cognitively advanced enough to thrive in any career, regardless of how challenging it is. For the most part, though, they enjoy dynamic, mentally stimulating jobs that teach them new skills or help them improve the ones they already have.

In other words, they like to be challenged and don’t enjoy monotonous, dead-end careers with no room for growth or advancement.

Taking that into account, here are three jobs suitable for an IQ of 130.

#1. Editor

an image of an editor that is a good job for people with IQ 130 underlining mistakes

Contrary to popular belief, editors aren’t just human spell-checkers with a vast knowledge of grammar rules and punctuation. Their responsibilities extend far beyond that and often include fact-checking, rewriting content, developing ideas, and ensuring that the style is consistent throughout the content piece or batch.

Considering the levels of knowledge, attention to detail, critical thinking, and creativity that go into this, it’s hardly a surprise that editing requires a high IQ

In addition, editors collaborate with the rest of the creative team, so their interpersonal skills need to be highly developed, too. That especially comes into play when they work with writers, as they must provide feedback (both positive and negative) to help them reach their full potential.

#2. Manager

an image of a manager explaining something to employee

Managers can have various functions depending on where they work, but in most cases, they are in charge of hiring and managing employees, enforcing company policies, delegating tasks, and setting goals that align with the company’s overall objective.

In other words, managers have to be very responsible and able to handle multiple tasks at the same time, as well as be excellent communicators capable of handling various personalities, resolving conflict, and fostering a productive and pleasant working environment.

Considering the complexity and demands of this position, it’s certainly well-suited for people with highly developed cognition. What’s more, being a manager is rarely a slow or monotonous job, so there’s enough stimulation to keep the brain working hard.

#3. Research Analyst

an image of a data scientist with IQ 130

Research analysts exist in many fields—for instance, they can work in marketing, finance, the pharmaceutical industry, insurance companies, or government.

However, their job responsibilities are generally the same: gathering and analyzing data to gain a better understanding of the trends and provide recommendations for improvements. As a result, they must be highly analytical, great with numbers, detail-oriented, inquisitive, and reliable.

All these characteristics can be encountered in people with an IQ of 130. Most of them have a natural tendency to think critically and analyze information, which allows them to draw accurate conclusions and forecast the outcomes of a certain situation.

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Final Thoughts

As a high IQ score, an IQ of 130 is fairly rare, but not so much that people with this intelligence level significantly stand out in society. In a way, it hits the sweet spot—in terms of cognition, you are above most of your peers, but you don’t struggle to fit in as those with even higher scores might.

However, if you want to develop your IQ even further, that shouldn’t be a problem either; just keep your brain stimulated and expose it to new challenges whenever possible.