Pre-Presidential Careers

Actor

• Ronald Reagan

Assistant Secretary of the Navy

• Theodore Roosevelt
• Franklin Roosevelt

Bank Clerk

• Harry Truman

Barker

• Richard Nixon 

Bookkeeper

• Harry Truman

Busboy

• Gerald Ford

Businessman

• Harry Truman
• Jimmy Carter 
• George Bush 
• George W. Bush 

Canal Boat Laborer

• James Garfield

Career Military

• George Washington
• Andrew Jackson
• William Henry Harrison
• Zachary Taylor
• Ulysses S. Grant
• Dwight Eisenhower

Carpenter

• James Garfield

Cattle Rancher

• Theodore Roosevelt 

C.I.A. Director

• George Bush

Circus Roustabout

• Ronald Reagan 

City Solicitor

• Rutherford Hayes - Cincinnati, Ohio

Clothmaker

• Millard Fillmore

Coach

• Gerald Ford - football, boxing
• Ronald Reagan - swimming

Collector of the Port of New York

• Chester Arthur 

Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives

• James Madison -  Virginia
• Andrew Jackson -  Tennessee 
• William Henry Harrison - Northwest Territory, Ohio
• John Tyler - Virginia
• James Polk - Tennessee
• Millard Fillmore - New York
• Franklin Pierce - New Hampshire
• James Buchanan - Pennsylvania
• Abraham Lincoln - Illinois
• Andrew Johnson - Tennessee
• Rutherford Hayes - Ohio 
• James Garfield - Ohio
• William McKinley - Ohio
• John F. Kennedy - Massachusetts 
• Lyndon Johnson - Texas 
• Richard Nixon - California 
• Gerald Ford - Michigan 
• George Bush - Texas

Construction Worker

• Ronald Reagan 

Continental Congress Delegate

• George Washington
• John Adams
• James Madison
• James Monroe

Cook

• Gerald Ford

Delivery Boy

• Martin Van Buren

Deputy Sheriff

• Theodore Roosevelt

Diplomat

• John Adams
• Thomas Jefferson
• James Monroe
• John Quincy Adams
• William Henry Harrison
• James Buchanan 
• George Bush

Dishwasher

• Lyndon Johnson 
• Gerald Ford 
• Ronald Reagan

Editor

• Grover Cleveland
• Woodrow Wilson 
• Warren Harding  

Elevator Operator

• Lyndon Johnson 

Farmer, Farm Boy

• Millard Fillmore
• Abraham Lincoln
• Ulysses S. Grant
• Benjamin Harrison
• Warren Harding
• Calvin Coolidge 
• Herbert Hoover
• Harry Truman
• Lyndon Johnson
• Jimmy Carter 

Ferryboat Operator

• Abraham Lincoln

Fruit Picker

• Lyndon Johnson

Geologist

• Herbert Hoover

Governor

• Thomas Jefferson - Virginia
• James Monroe - Virginia 
• Martin Van Buren - New York 
• William Henry Harrison - Indiana Territory
• John Tyler - Virginia
• James Polk - Tennessee
• Andrew Johnson - Tennessee
• Rutherford Hayes - Ohio 
• Grover Cleveland - New York
• William McKinley - Ohio
• Theodore Roosevelt - New York 
• William Taft - Philippines
• Woodrow Wilson - New Jersey 
• Calvin Coolidge - Massachusetts
• Franklin Roosevelt - New York 
• Jimmy Carter - Georgia
• Ronald Reagan - California
• Bill Clinton - Arkansas 
• George W. Bush - Texas
  

Horse Handler

• Ulysses S. Grant

House Minority Leader

• Gerald Ford

Insurance Salesman

• Warren Harding 

Janitor

• James Garfield
• Lyndon Johnson

Judge

• Andrew Jackson
• Harry Truman

Launderer

• Herbert Hoover

Lawyer

• John Adams
• Thomas Jefferson
• John Quincy Adams
• Andrew Jackson
• Martin Van Buren
• John Tyler
• James Polk
• Millard Fillmore
• Franklin Pierce
• James Buchanan
• Rutherford Hayes
• Chester Arthur
• Grover Cleveland 
• Benjamin Harrison
• William McKinley
• William Taft
• Woodrow Wilson
• Calvin Coolidge
• Franklin Roosevelt
• Richard Nixon
• Gerald Ford 
• Bill Clinton

Lieutenant Governor

• Warren Harding - Ohio
• Calvin Coolidge - Massachusetts

Lifeguard

• Ronald Reagan 

Mailroom Clerk

• Harry Truman

Male Model

• Gerald Ford

Mayor

• Andrew Johnson - Greenville, Tennessee
• Grover Cleveland - Buffalo, New York
• Calvin Coolidge - Northampton, Massachusetts

Member of House of Burgesses

• George Washington
• Thomas Jefferson

Mining Engineer

• Herbert Hoover

Newsboy

• Herbert Hoover

Newspaper Publisher

• Warren Harding 

Office Boy

• Herbert Hoover

Oilman

• George Bush
• George W. Bush

Park Ranger

• Gerald Ford

Postal Clerk

• William McKinley

Postmaster

• Abraham Lincoln

Printer's Devil

• Warren Harding
• Lyndon Johnson

Professor

• Woodrow Wilson 
• Bill Clinton 

Radio Announcer

• Ronald Reagan

Railroad Timekeeper

• Harry Truman

Reporter, Journalist

• Warren Harding 
• John F. Kennedy

Road Construction Laborer

• Warren Harding 
• Lyndon Johnson

School Principal

• Chester Arthur

School Teacher

• Millard Fillmore
• Franklin Pierce 
• James Garfield 
• Chester Arthur 
• Grover Cleveland 
• William McKinley 
• Warren Harding 
• Lyndon Johnson 

Secretary of Commerce

• Herbert Hoover

Secretary of Northwest Territory

• William Henry Harrison

Secretary of State

• Thomas Jefferson
• James Madison
• James Monroe
• John Quincy Adams
• Martin Van Buren 
• James Buchanan

Secretary of War 

• James Monroe
• William Taft

Senator, U.S.

• James Monroe - Virginia
• John Quincy Adams - Massachusetts
• Andrew Jackson - Tennessee 
• Martin Van Buren - New York
• William Henry Harrison - Ohio
• John Tyler - Virginia
• Franklin Pierce - New Hampshire
• James Buchanan - Pennsylvania
• Andrew Johnson - Tennessee
• Benjamin Harrison - Indiana
• Warren Harding - Ohio
• Harry Truman - Missouri
• John F. Kennedy - Massachusetts 
• Lyndon Johnson - Texas
• Richard Nixon - California

Sheriff

• Grover Cleveland 

Shoeshine Boy

• Lyndon Johnson

Speaker of the House

• James Polk

State Attorney General

• Bill Clinton - Arkansas

State Comptroller

• Millard Fillmore - New York

State Legislator

• John Adams - Massachusetts
• Thomas Jefferson - Virginia
• James Madison - Virginia
• James Monroe - Virginia
• John Tyler - Virginia
• James Polk - Tennessee
• Millard Fillmore - New York
• Franklin Pierce - New Hampshire
• James Buchanan - Pennsylvania
• Abraham Lincoln - Illinois
• Andrew Johnson - Tennessee
• Theodore Roosevelt - New York 

State Senator

• John Quincy Adams - Massachusetts
• Martin Van Buren - New York 
• William Henry Harrison - Ohio 
• Andrew Johnson - Tennessee
• James Garfield - Ohio
• Warren Harding - Ohio
• Calvin Coolidge - Massachusetts
• Franklin Roosevelt - New York
• Jimmy Carter - Georgia

Store Clerk

• James K. Polk
• Abraham Lincoln
• Grover Cleveland 

Surveyor

• George Washington

Tailor

• Andrew Johnson

Tavern worker

• Martin Van Buren

Toymaker

• Calvin Coolidge 

Trapper

• Lyndon Johnson 

Trash Collector

• Lyndon Johnson 

University President

• Woodrow Wilson
• Dwight Eisenhower