# What do you have to do with your life to become president?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-have-to-do-with-your-life-to-become-president/182039>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 15, 2003, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-have-to-do-with-your-life-to-become-president/182039 "2003-06-15T16:51:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\
**Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-have-to-do-with-your-life-to-become-president/182039/1 "2003-06-15T16:51:40Z")

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Most U.S. presidents were lawyers. By my count, 24 out of 42 were lawyers. That’s 57%.  
Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, J.Q. Adams, Van Buren, Tyler, Polk, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, Lincoln, Hayes, Arthur, Cleveland, B. Harrison, McKinley, Taft, Wilson, Coolidge, Kennedy, Nixon, Ford, and Clinton: all lawyers.

If you weren’t a lawyer, the next best way to become president was the military. Washington, Jackson, W.H. Harrison, Taylor, Grant, Eisenhower: all generals. Garfield and T. Roosevelt also, though they weren’t career soldiers or generals, advanced in politics on the strength of their military exploits. 8 out of 42, about 19% were military or semi-military presidents.

Out of the remainder, Andy Johnson was a tradesman, the only one.  
T. Roosevelt was a cop.  
Garfield and Wilson were college presidents, and LBJ was a teacher.  
Hoover was an engineer, the only one.  
Harding and Truman were small businessmen.  
Reagan was an actor.  
FDR and both Bushes appeared to have no particular background except for their daddies being rich men. Bush I went into the oil business and seems to have actually worked at it, but Bush II’s résumé before his daddy’s cronies promoted him into politics was a complete joke.

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**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\
**Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-have-to-do-with-your-life-to-become-president/182039/2 "2003-06-15T17:29:50Z")

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So is there a question here?

BTW, Ronald Reagan, in between acting gigs, spent some time as governor of California.

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**Author:** ![Yuki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@Yuki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yuki)\
**Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-have-to-do-with-your-life-to-become-president/182039/3 "2003-06-15T17:33:01Z")

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Technically all you have to DO is live to age 35, and be a naturally born American citizen. Other than that, there’s not many more requirements (at least to my recollection)

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**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\
**Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-have-to-do-with-your-life-to-become-president/182039/4 "2003-06-15T17:35:21Z")

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Assuming this was a question and not an answer to another thread, it’s asked and answered.