# List of presidents of the United States by previous experience

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 in 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 to never be elected to office as either 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 toward 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.
* 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.
* 1 president had neither prior government nor military experience before becoming president, Donald Trump.

## List

| President | President | Previous 1 | Previous 2 | Previous 3 | Previous 4 | Occupation | State |
| 1 | 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, architect | Virginia |
| 4 | James Madison | Secretary of State | US Representative | Constitutional Convention | State legislator | Planter | Virginia |
| 5 | James Monroe | Secretary of State | Foreign service | State governor | US Senator | Planter, lawyer | Virginia |
| 6 | John Quincy Adams | Secretary of State | Foreign service | US Senator | State legislator | Lawyer | Massachusetts |
| 7 | Andrew Jackson | Out of office | US Senator | Military | US Senator | Lawyer, military officer | Tennessee |
| 8 | Martin Van Buren | Vice President | Secretary of State | State governor | US Senator | Lawyer | New York |
| 9 | William Henry Harrison | Out of office | Foreign service | US Senator / US Representative | Territorial governor | Military | Ohio |
| 10 | John Tyler | Vice President | US Senator | State governor | US. Representative | Lawyer | Virginia |
| 11 | James K. Polk | Out of office | State governor | Speaker of the House | US Representative | Lawyer, planter | Tennessee |
| 12 | Zachary Taylor | Military | — | — | — | Military | Kentucky |
| 13 | Millard Fillmore | Vice President | State office | Out of office | US Representative | Lawyer | New York |
| 14 | Franklin Pierce | Out of office | Military | US Senator | U.S. representative | Lawyer | New Hampshire |
| 15 | James Buchanan | Foreign service | Out of office | Secretary of State | US Senator | Lawyer | Pennsylvania |
| 16 | Abraham Lincoln | Out of office | US Representative | State legislator | Military | Lawyer, land surveyor | Illinois |
| 17 | Andrew Johnson | Vice President | Military governor | US Senator | State governor | Tailor | Tennessee |
| 18 | Ulysses S. Grant | Military | — | — | — | Military | Illinois |
| 19 | Rutherford B. Hayes | State governor | Out of office | State governor | US Representative | Lawyer | Ohio |
| 20 | James A. Garfield | US Representative | Military | State legislator | — | Ordained minister, lawyer, teacher | Ohio |
| 21 | Chester A. Arthur | Vice President | Out of office | Federal office | Out of office | Lawyer, teacher, tariff collector | New York |
| 22 | Grover Cleveland | State governor | Local office | — | — | Lawyer | New York |
| 23 | Benjamin Harrison | Out of office | US Senator | Out of office | Military | Court reporter | Indiana |
| 24 | Grover Cleveland | Out of office | President | State governor | Local office | Lawyer | New York |
| 25 | William McKinley | State governor | US Representative | Military | — | Lawyer | Ohio |
| 26 | Theodore Roosevelt | Vice President | State governor | Military | Federal office | Historian, public servant, naturalist, military officer, policeman, rancher | New York |
| 27 | William Howard Taft | Secretary of War | Territorial governor | Judicial | Federal office | Lawyer, dean | Ohio |
| 28 | Woodrow Wilson | State governor | — | — | — | Academic | New Jersey |
| 29 | Warren G. Harding | US Senator | Out of office | State legislator | — | Journalist, publisher | Ohio |
| 30 | Calvin Coolidge | Vice President | State governor | State office | State legislator | Lawyer | Massachusetts |
| 31 | 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 | Lawyer | New York |
| 33 | Harry S. Truman | Vice President | US Senator | County commissioner (County court) | Military | Farmer | Missouri |
| 34 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | Military | — | — | — | Military officer, President of Columbia University | Kansas |
| 35 | John F. Kennedy | US Senator | US Representative | Military | — | Journalist, naval officer | Massachusetts |
| 36 | Lyndon B. Johnson | Vice President | US Senator | US Representative | Federal office | Teacher, naval officer, rancher | Texas |
| 37 | Richard Nixon | Out of office | Vice President | US Senator | US Representative | Lawyer, naval officer | California |
| 38 | Gerald Ford | Vice President | US 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 president | California |
| 41 | George H. W. Bush | Vice President | Out of office | Federal office | Foreign service | Businessman, naval aviator | Texas |
| 42 | 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 pilot | Texas |
| 44 | Barack Obama | US Senator | State legislator | — | — | Lawyer, law professor at the University of Chicago | Illinois |
| 45 | Donald Trump | — | — | — | — | Businessman, real estate developer, reality television personality | New York |
| 46 | Joe Biden | Out of office | Vice President | US Senator | Local office | Lawyer | Delaware |
| 47 | Donald Trump | Out of office | President | — | — | Businessman, real estate developer, reality television personality | Florida |