Although many paths may lead to the presidency of the United States, the most common job experience, occupation or profession of U.S. presidents has been that of a lawyer. This sortable table enumerates all holders of that office, along with major elective or appointive offices or periods of military service prior to election to the presidency. The column immediately to the right of the presidents' names shows the position or office held just before the presidency. The next column to the right lists the next previous position held, and so on. Note that the total number of previous positions held by an individual may exceed four; the number of columns was limited to what would fit within the page width. The last two columns on the right list the home state (at the time of election to the presidency) and primary occupation of each future president, prior to beginning a political career.
By the numbers Of the 45 different people who have been or are currently serving as president:
32 presidents had previous military experience; 9 were generals in the US Army. 27 presidents were previously lawyers. 20 presidents previously served as governors; 17 presidents were state governors; 9 were governors immediately before election as presidents. Two, William Henry Harrison and William Howard Taft, served as territorial governors. One, Andrew Jackson, served as a military governor of a territory (Florida) before it became a state. Andrew Johnson served as a military governor of Tennessee during the Civil War. 18 presidents previously served as U.S. representatives; 6 of 18 held this office prior to the four 'previous positions' shown in this table. Only one – James A. Garfield – was a representative immediately before election as president. Only Garfield and Abraham Lincoln had served in no higher office than representative when elected president. Only John Quincy Adams served as a U.S. representative after being president. Additionally, after being president, John Tyler served in the Provisional Confederate Congress and was later elected to the Confederate House of Representatives, but he died before taking his seat. 17 presidents previously served as U.S. senators; only 3 immediately before election as president. Only one president, Andrew Johnson, served as a U.S. senator after his presidency. 15 presidents previously served as vice presidents. All except Richard Nixon and Joe Biden were vice presidents immediately before becoming president. 9 of the 15 succeeded to the presidency upon the death or (in one case) resignation of the elected president; 5 of those 9 were not later elected. One, Gerald Ford, was appointed to the vice presidency, succeeded to the presidency, and then failed to win the next election, making him the only president who had never been elected as president or vice president. 9 presidents were out of office (for at least one year) immediately before election as president. 8 presidents previously served as Cabinet secretaries; 6 as secretary of state; 5 of the 8 served immediately before election as president. 7 presidents had previous experience in foreign service. 5 presidents had never been elected to public office before becoming president: Zachary Taylor, Ulysses S. Grant, Herbert Hoover, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Donald Trump. Most of these had, however, been appointed to several prominent offices. Hoover's contributions to the Treaty of Versailles preceded his appointment as United States Secretary of Commerce. Taylor, Grant, and Eisenhower led U.S. forces to victory in the Mexican–American War, American Civil War, and World War II, respectively – each occupying the highest-ranking command post of their time. Trump is the group's sole exception, having never held any public office nor any military position. 5 presidents taught at a university: James A. Garfield, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. 3 presidents were city mayors: Andrew Johnson, Grover Cleveland, and Calvin Coolidge were mayors of Greeneville, Tennessee, Buffalo, New York, and Northampton, Massachusetts, respectively. 2 presidents served as president of the United States for two non-consecutive terms, Grover Cleveland and Donald Trump. 2 presidents served as party leaders of the House of Representatives, James A. Garfield and Gerald Ford. 1 president served as an ordained minister, serving as a pastor in the Disciples of Christ (Christian) Church, James A. Garfield. 1 president served as speaker of the House of Representatives, James K. Polk. 1 president served as president pro tempore of the United States Senate, John Tyler. 1 president served as party leader of the United States Senate, Lyndon B. Johnson. 1 president had a PhD, Woodrow Wilson.
List
President Previous 1 Previous 2 Previous 3 Previous 4 OccupationState1 George Washington Out of office Constitutional Convention Out of office Military Planter, land surveyor Virginia 2 John Adams Vice President Foreign service Continental Congress State legislator Lawyer, farmer Massachusetts 3 Thomas Jefferson Vice President Secretary of State Foreign service Congressman Planter, lawyer, land surveyor, architectVirginia4 James Madison Secretary of State U.S. representative Constitutional Convention State legislator PlanterVirginia5 James Monroe Secretary of State Foreign service State governor U.S. senator Planter, lawyerVirginia6 John Quincy Adams Secretary of State Foreign service U.S. senator State legislator LawyerMassachusetts7 Andrew Jackson Out of office U.S. senator Military U.S. senator Lawyer, military officer Tennessee 8 Martin Van Buren Vice President Secretary of State State governor U.S. senator Lawyer New York 9 William Henry Harrison Out of office Foreign service U.S. senator/U.S. representative Territorial governor Military Ohio 10 John Tyler Vice President U.S. senator State governor U.S. representative LawyerVirginia11 James K. Polk Out of office State governor Speaker of the House U.S. representative Lawyer, planterTennessee12 Zachary Taylor Military — — — Military Kentucky13 Millard Fillmore Vice President State office Out of office U.S. representative LawyerNew York14 Franklin Pierce Out of office Military U.S. senator U.S. representative LawyerNew Hampshire 15 James Buchanan Foreign service Out of office Secretary of State U.S. senator Lawyer Pennsylvania 16 Abraham Lincoln Out of office U.S. representative State legislator Military Lawyer, land surveyor Illinois 17 Andrew Johnson Vice President Military governor U.S. senator State governor TailorTennessee18 Ulysses S. Grant Military — — — MilitaryIllinois19 Rutherford B. Hayes State governor Out of office State governor U.S. representative LawyerOhio20 James A. Garfield U.S. representative Military State legislator — Ordained minister, lawyer, teacherOhio21 Chester A. Arthur Vice President Out of office Federal office Out of office Lawyer, teacher, tariff collectorNew York22 Grover Cleveland State governor Local office — — LawyerNew York23 Benjamin Harrison Out of office U.S. senator Out of office Military Court reporter Indiana 24 Grover Cleveland Out of office President State governor Local office LawyerNew York25 William McKinley State governor U.S. representative Military — LawyerOhio26 Theodore Roosevelt Vice President State governor Military Federal office Historian, public servant, naturalist, military officer, policeman, rancherNew York27 William Howard Taft Secretary of War Territorial governor Judicial Federal office Lawyer, deanOhio28 Woodrow Wilson State governor — — — Academic New Jersey 29 Warren G. Harding U.S. Senator Out of office State legislator — Journalist, publisherOhio30 Calvin Coolidge Vice President State governor State office State legislator LawyerMassachusetts31 Herbert Hoover Secretary of Commerce Out of office Federal office— Businessman, mining engineer California 32 Franklin D. Roosevelt State governor Out of office Federal office State legislator LawyerNew York33 Harry S. Truman Vice President U.S. senator County commissioner (county court) Military Farmer Missouri 34 Dwight D. Eisenhower Military — — — Military officer, President of Columbia University Kansas 35 John F. Kennedy U.S. senator U.S. representative Military — Journalist, naval officerMassachusetts36 Lyndon B. Johnson Vice President U.S. senator U.S. representative Federal office Teacher, naval officer, rancher Texas 37 Richard Nixon Out of office Vice President U.S. senator U.S. representative Lawyer, naval officerCalifornia38 Gerald Ford Vice President U.S. representative Military — Lawyer, naval officer Michigan 39 Jimmy Carter Out of office State governor State legislator Military Farmer, naval officer Georgia 40 Ronald Reagan Out of office State governor — Military Actor, Screen Actors Guild presidentCalifornia41 George H. W. Bush Vice President Out of office Federal office Foreign service Businessman, naval aviatorTexas42 Bill Clinton State governor State attorney general — — Lawyer, law professor at the University of Arkansas Arkansas 43 George W. Bush State governor Out of office Military— Businessman, Air National Guard pilotTexas44 Barack Obama U.S. senator State legislator — — Lawyer, law professor at the University of ChicagoIllinois45 Donald Trump — — — — Businessman, real estate developer, reality television personality New York46 Joe Biden Out of office Vice President U.S. senator Local office LawyerDelaware47 Donald Trump Out of office President — — Businessman, real estate developer, reality television personality Florida
See also List of presidents of the United States by other offices held
Notes
References