The bookworm at your school might actually have been setting themselves up for a richer future, according to a study released Thursday by Statistics Canada.
Researchers looked at reading proficiency in 15-year-olds and how it affected income one and seven years after graduation.
The data suggests that teens who read at the top levels of proficiency, a four or five out of five, earn more than those who read poorly at that age.
Men one year out of school made $23,900 if they were poor readers as teens and $30,900 if they were good readers. Seven years out of school, men made $42,300 if they were poor teen readers and $53,000 if they were more proficient.
The difference for woman was even higher. Poor readers made $18,000 their first year out of school, compared to $27,500 for good readers. Seven years out, poor readers made $20,700 while good readers made $33,300.
However, when taking into account educational attainment and field of study, reading proficiency made little difference for women, leading researchers to believe that women who read well as teens were able to secure higher paying jobs thanks to more education.
For men, parental income and overall school performance bridged the gap between good and bad readers.
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