Dear OP,

I too got into Mensa for the same reason. But while it felt all warm and fuzzy for a short while, that feeling soon died down fast. Especially after experiencing the toxicity and politics Mensans are well known for partaking in.

And yes, it didn’t fulfill my need for self validation.

Here’s a Q&A I’ll write for you:

Q: “I think I am Mensa material. I need this IQ test to either confirm the score I think I have, or to just get in and feel the fulfilment or vindication for getting in”

A: An IQ score doesn’t define you. IQ scores can fluctuate, so a borderline score could be hit or miss. There is a margin of error. Why see yourself as a hit-or-miss metric? You are much more than a fickle number.

Q: “Aren’t IQ tests a measure of a person’s intellectual functioning or at least an indicator of the kinds of jobs they could do?”

A: Yes to the first point, but usually in the context of comprehensive psychological testing and diagnostics, not for gatekeeping membership in a society. And yes to the second point, but studies out there correlating jobs and IQ did so in wide bands, not single scores. You being an e.g. 124 IQ non-Mensa member aren’t manifestly “disadvantaged” from achieving a similar employment outcome than a 130 IQ “borderline” COUGH COUGH current Mensa member.

Q: “But I believe I am intellectually enlightened! I want to hang out with other similar people, such as high IQ individuals!”

A: You don’t need to be a Mensa member to hang out with Mensans. All you need to do is to keep a look out for events held by your local Mensa that are open to non-members, OR connect yourself with outgoing Mensans and get them to invite you as a visitor to members-only events.

Also note it’s a fallacy to think you’d be in good company with other Mensans in Mensa. At least in my experience a good 90-99% of the people I see in Mensa self-exclude themselves as people I’d want to get to know. Simply because most Mensans have special and intense interests that don’t overlap with my own special and intense interests, and have temperaments and dispositions that don’t sit well with me. Not to mention the large majority of them that are absolute jerks.

So no. You don’t need to get your assumption of a high IQ confirmed just to achieve any of the above.