Want a good job? Pick up a book

TEENAGERS who want a high-flying career should take up reading, research suggests.

Activities such as sports, playing a musical instrument or computer games make no difference to a person’s career, but there is a clear link between reading for pleasure and gaining a good job, it found.

The research, by Mark Taylor of Nuffield College, Oxford University, analysed the responses of 17,200 people born in 1970 who gave details of their extra-curricular activities at age 16, and their jobs at age 33.

The findings show that 16-year-olds who read a book at least once a month were “significantly” more likely to be in a professional or managerial position at the age of 33 than those who did not read.

For girls, there was a 39% probability that they would be in a professional or managerial position at 33 if they read at 16, compared to a 25% chance if they had not.

Amongst boys, there was a 58% chance of being in a good job at 33 if they had read as a teenager, compared to a 48% chance if they had not.

The research also looked at after-school activities including sports, socialising, going to the cinema, concerts or museums, cooking and sewing, but found that none of these had an impact on careers.

Mr Taylor, who will presenting the findings at the British Sociological Association’s conference in London, said: “According to our results, there is something special about reading for pleasure — the positive associations of reading for pleasure aren’t replicated in any other extra-curricular activity, regardless of our expectations.”

Reading could be beneficial because it improves a youngster’s intellect, Mr Taylor suggested, or because employers feel happier taking on someone with a similar educational background.

Students who are destined for good careers could tend to read more anyway, he added.

The research also reveals that teenagers who spend their time playing computer games shouldn’t worry about their job prospects.

There was no evidence that playing computer games frequently made it less likely that a teenager would get a good job.

But there was a link between computer games and going to university.

Amongst boys, the chances of going into higher education fell from 24% to 19% if they played computer games regularly and did no other activity.

For girls, the figure fell from 20% to 14%.

Reading, and doing other cultural activities such as playing a musical instrument, were linked with a higher chance of going to university, the study found.