Good-looking people worried about higher education shouldn't worry. Beauty is every bit as good as a BA when it comes to getting on, a new study says.

Researchers at the Leuphana University of Lüneburg in northern Germany have found wages, promotions and perks at work are linked to a person's attractiveness.

While looks have long been thought essential for women to climb the corporate ladder, they say, they are even more important for men.

The team, headed by Professor Christian Pfeifer, questioned more than 3,000 people about their careers and compared them with rankings of how attractive they were.

Researchers themselves gauged their subjects' looks on a scale of one to 11.

Professor Pfeifer said: 'The results showed that just one point above average on the attractiveness scale and the chance of getting employed rises by three percent.

'Five points more – that is about the difference between an ordinary face and downright beauty – helps in getting a job as much as a university degree.'

'It remains unclear exactly how attractiveness often equates to higher pay and higher-flying career, but I suspect the first impression a person makes could be crucial.

'It is possible that good looking people make a more lasting impression in interviews, or that they come across as nicer.

'The future boss may notice nothing – they may possibly think they were making a choice based on the competence of the applicant. In such a case, attractiveness could act as a tool to open the door.'

He added: 'We know that good looking people are often more self assured, which could help in boosting their productivity.'

Professor Pfeifer and his team have published the findings of the research this week in the Applied Economics Letters journal.
那些为高等学历发愁的帅哥美女们不用再愁了。一项新研究称，在职场竞争中，美貌和学历一样好使。

德国北部的吕讷堡大学的研究人员发现，工资、晋升和津贴都和一个人的外貌吸引力有关。

人们长期以来一直认为外貌对于女性获得职场晋升至关重要，但研究人员称，外貌对男性更为重要。

克里斯蒂安•普菲菲教授带领的这一研究团队调查了3000多人，询问了他们的事业发展情况，并给他们的外貌打了分，将这二者做比较。

研究人员按从1到11的评分等级给调查对象的外貌打分。

普菲菲教授说：“结果显示，只要比外貌吸引力平均分高出一分，被雇用的几率就增加3%。

“再多5分——即相貌平凡的人和公认的美人间的差距——就能和大学学位一样帮你得到一份工作。”

“对于外貌吸引力怎么会和高收入以及事业有成划上等号，目前还不清楚其具体原因，不过我猜想一个人的印象可能很关键。

“有可能长相好的人在面试中给人的印象更持久，或者他们会给人更和善的印象。

“未来的上司也许什么也没注意到，他们可能认为自己是根据求职者的能力做出的选择。在这种情况下，外貌吸引力可以成为敲开职场大门的一个工具。”

他还说：“我们知道长得漂亮的人通常更有自信，这会有助于提高他们的生产力。

普菲菲教授和他的团队将研究成果发表在本周的《应用经济学快报》杂志上。

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