Study: Reading At Age 16 May Lead To Professional Success

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Say farewell to field sports and learn to cling to your Kindle.

A recent Oxford University sociological study found reading to be the only activity for 16-year-olds that correlates with a managerial or professional job later in life.

The study suggests that playing sports, socializing, going to museums or art performances, cooking, sewing, and playing computer games all have little impact on career. Researcher Mark Taylor, an Oxford sociologist, studied nearly 20,000 questionnaire responses from people born in 1970. The responses detailed their extracurricular activities at age 16 and their careers at age 33.

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Taylor found that girls who read during their teenage years had a 39 percent chance of holding a professional or managerial position in their thirties as opposed to a 25 percent chance if they did not. The boys’ numbers were similarly revealing, with the probability jumping from 48 percent to 58 percent in males who read during adolescence. The Telegraph reports that Taylor reasons reading leads to eloquent speech, a trait that impresses potential employers.

But before you rush to the books, consider yourself warned: none of the extracurricular teen activities is linked to a higher or lower salary at 33.

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