Consider this your proof that people will conduct a study into just about anything.

We’re not talking about areas that need to be studied for the greater good, like the health benefits of mixing beer and exercise, either. Thank you for your hard work on that front, researchers.

No, here we are focusing on a study that claims the roles that children land in their school nativity play can be used as a predictor of future earnings.

A caveat before we dive in – the study was conducted in the UK, so I’m not sure it’s any use in a South African context.

We will forge ahead anyway, with this via CNBC:

According to the findings of a study published by U.K. telecom firm Virgin Media this month, children who played an ox in their school nativity went on to earn the highest salaries later in life, with adults who played the part landing an average salary of £43,000.

The findings, which were a snapshot of what respondents were currently earning, showed that those who had played Angel Gabriel in their school pageant were the second-highest earners, with an average income of £40,000.

Playing the role of Mary or Joseph correlated to an average annual income of £39,000 and £38,000 respectively, the data showed.

Let’s just head straight to the table for the entire overview:

Ox, Gabriel, Mary or Joseph – very good. Conversely, playing the donkey or lamb is not a great harbinger of future wealth.

The study also looked at which industries the children went on to work in:

Children who played Mary were most likely to grow up to work in the retail industry, while those who landed the part of Joseph were most likely to go on to a career in finance or banking.

Most of those who had played Angel Gabriel in their school nativity worked in marketing, while playing an ox was linked to working in advertising.

Lambs and angels were most likely to pursue a career in health care, according to the research.

The Inn Keeper went on to run a number of thriving Airbnb properties, using words like ‘rustic’ and ‘quaint’ to get overseas visitors to part with their money.

Right, I’m done here.

Thanks, Rob

[source:cnbc]