I’m a lawyer so yes. My ability to read has helped a lot.

It's made me a stoic. That helps with perspective.

No, not really.

I mean, reading a lot as a kid definitely helped develop strong language skills, but I don't think that's really been furthered in a way that helps my career by continuing to read as an adult. And I'm sure my reading benefits me as a person, which indirectly benefits my career, but there are a number of alternative hobbies that I could pick up that would do the same or similar. Like, there are probably lot of people for whom reading is not the best way of "reducing stress" or "sparking creativity."

Perhaps it would be different if I was reading nonfiction aimed at professional development and my specific industry, but I don't. Reading is a hobby and I'm happy with that.

I don't think that people are successful in their career because they read n pages.

I think people who like to read tend to have broader minds which likely positively affects many aspects of their lives - including their careers.

No one at my work understands my word choices when I break out the vocabulary - not even HR.

Not really. I started reading a lot when I was about eight or nine and had absolutely nothing in the way of career goals.

If anything, having a job interferes with my reading goals.

>I think people who like to read tend to have broader minds

I strongly disagree with this.

This sub loves to think that reading is an inherent mark of superiority, but it's not. In fact, readers can be some of the most narrow-minded people out there: look at how many readers only stick to specific types of stories in a specific genre about a specific type of character, or look at how many readers simply do not read critically or deeply even if they do read widely. There's nothing wrong with any of that for people for whom reading is a hobby....but it's not a hobby that in and of itself confers superiority.

>I don't think that people are successful in their career because they read n pages.

But this agree with.

I'm a lawyer, so obviously reading is an important part of my job, but besides actual legal knowledge, being an avid reader has helped in all kinds of ways. I'm actually not a big non-fiction person, but I read all kinds of novels ranging from science fiction and fantasy to historical fiction and crime thrillers. Reading improves things like vocabulary, grammar, spelling, etc., but I think the biggest benefit is that it makes it easier to connect with people, and not necessarily just by talking about books. Reading exposes you to places, events, cultures, and ideas that gives you a wider base to draw from when trying to find common ground. Connecting with people will be helpful in any career path. Years ago I had a law clerk who I noticed had a Dark Tower quote in his cubicle. We bonded nerding out about Stephen King. He went on to become an influential person in my field, and to this day we will chat when we see each other and help each other out when we can.

Note, I specifically said tend to and broader. I did not say all readers are superior. I understand how that sentiment would rile yourself or others, which is why I didn't say it - I also don't think it's true. I do stand by what did say though. I hope you understand.

I’m a teacher, so reading is a big part of my job, anyway. When I read for pleasure, I prefer autobiographies and history books. As a high-school history teacher, I get to use a lot of the interesting things I read when I’m teaching, and it provides me with a hook.

It’s easy to catch their attention if I can start a lesson with something scandalous, hilarious, or just plain weird about our subject for the day, and a lot of those stories were learned from the things I read.

I started reading because my courses are math-heavy, and I would go crazy if I didn’t have something different on the side.

Yes, I have to keep a sharp mind, reading helps with that.

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It's not done me any good whatsoever. If anyting it may have hindered me. I am better read than most, if not all of the managers I reported to, and they have exacted harsh revenge for my obvious intellectual superiority.

I should probably be less arrogant in fairness.

If anything it's hurt my career.

I'm not career oriented, but corporate muckity-mucks/higher-ups tend to read a lot and like talking about books in my experience, and I often end up discussing mutual books with those types of people. Someone who was career-oriented could probably leverage those sorts of connections into career growth.

Personally, reading has not affected my career, but I am the opposite of ambitious/career-oriented.

I’m a librarian so…yeah.

One time I got caught selling weed in college, I was still living in the dorms. I had a disciplinary hearing with the head of housing for my dorm block, which could have potentially cost me my housing. I get into the office and she has the entire set of the wheel of time series on her bookshelf. We started talking about fantasy books, and she decided that the best course of disciplinary action was “do nothing”.

….so yes?

I’ve been reading all my life but now retire I read more. I set goals yearly to read. While I was working I read leadership books to enhance my skills.

Definitely. I am able to articulate much more effectively than I would be able to otherwise.

Absolutely. I work with kids, so I have sometimes been able to recommend books to the kids that have helped them and inspired them. I also read a lot of new scientific articles which I use to help as well, and the new discoveries so inspire the kids.

Hahahahahaha THIS.

If you haven't read "Make it Stick," I strongly recommend it!

I havent but im adding it to the list.

Reading, whether for professional or personal reasons, has made me the person I am. I’ve read books on leadership, philosophy, systems thinking, creativity, technical books, self-help, etc. All of these have provided me with understanding that’s solidly responsible for how I view the world and move in it.

As for career, it’s difficult to provide recommendations when we don’t know what you do.

If you were to say management or a leadership role, I’d recommend reading widely, but not just your run of mill self help books. I would recommend books on best management practices and also books on systems thinking. Anything by Peter Drucker, look into “Thinking in Systems” by Donatello Meadows or “The Fifth Discipline”.

Thereafter, I’d recommend books on mental models and/or critical thinking.

Also, be sure to pick up some history books but keep it broad so you pick on themes and gain understanding.

The aforementioned types of books have helped me navigate the corporate workplace even though they don’t all relate directly to my profession.

Good luck.

Yes. Reading as a child and now as an adult vastly improves my reading comprehension, vocabulary and writing skills. My job requires me to read vast amounts of material all the time, edit documents, and develop written materials. Having a strong foundation in reading helped me develop strong writing skills.

But the key I learned from my 7th grade teacher was read primarily for pleasure to benefit when you have to read for work.

The only it helped me was that doing my degree was easier because in the days before computers it was “read books, do exams”.

Easy as. My reading speed is decent, so I can assimilate information.

But intellectually curious people gravitate to reading, not the other way round, I think, at least for my generation.

Reading a lot helped me read faster and more complex texts. I'm literally the only person at my job who reads research papers, journals, best practices books. I use that knowledge to try to move the org forward. I think reading has helped my career in that sense?

I mean, yeah? I’m an artist, and I love listening to audiobooks in the studio plus whatever I’m visually reading. But I think people place way too much emphasis on the habit/volume of reading and not nearly enough on the consideration and synthesis of new ideas. Being able to engage with, discuss, question, and form opinions on books is where a lot of the value lies.

Reading has helped a lot in my career. I am a healthcare worker and I deal with a lot of patients. I’ve had foreigners as patients before and reading has helped me connect with people and has also enriched my vocabulary and grammar. But I don’t read to advance my career haha I read to escape. I’ve been reading fiction all my life and it has helped me cope with a lot of stressors in life.

>who reads research papers, journals, best practices books

How do you keep up with doing this? There are 24 hours in every day and I'm struggling to fit time in to cook, work out, socialize, read, network, and the whole 9. Even if its not a literal system, at least your though process in keeping this in your schedule

Yes, but I read widely with interests including history. The Black Swan, Debt the first 5000 years and reading about financial bubbles has changed the way I think about risk and money. Someone reading only beach reads may not benefit as much unless they are bonding with work contacts over specific books to build their network.

Yes! I am a brewer so I've read a decent amount of books about the art of brewing beer. The history behind some styles is crazy! But I also read a lot of fiction which helps me hive my beers nerdy names that only a handful pf people get haha

I'm a nurse and yeah I think having read a LOT in my life has helped me. Of course reading my textbooks and keeping up with current medical issues has helped but I also think I can relate to patients and keep up conversations really well because of it. Not that I always want to, lol.

I also think it's a little silly and immature to get offended by someone saying reading broadens horizons. I have never met anyone that became more narrow minded after reading a lot unless they only ever read one type of thing. Not reading isn't that big of a deal either. My husband doesn't read a ton but watches lots of documentaries and is very smart. Some people just enjoy reading more than others.

And if you have something negative to say about any of this, don't bother because I won't read it lol. I have people to take care of and a copy of American Gods I'm about 1/4 of the way into.

Yes! Absolutely agree! It is so much easier to work with your foreign patients when you're a least a little familiar with where they're from! 100% agree with your whole post!!

Yes, but I'm not sure it's in the way you are referring to. I launched my career by turning what I learned in books into workshops. I started out as an Environmental Educator, basically teaching "Go Green" type classes, then was hired by my city to teach city-sponsored workshops on how to conserve our utilities.

This morphed into Health Coaching and eventually Life Coaching, I took courses to become certified in these fields, but books are how I learned much of what I needed to help my clients.

Books also helped me navigate being an entrepreneur. Marketing, social media, content creation, money management, course creation, sales, etc.

I wanted to become a visual artist in high school. Developing a reading habit completely and totally destroyed my career prospects.

Sort of? Through my reading love, I've developed an ability to speed read and retain info pretty well. People seem to think I'm very highly educated due to my depth of knowledge. I just have an associates but love to read about anything/everything

It’s very generalized and can apply to many things.

I’m in IT. Reading is how I do my work, advance in my career through studying certifications, keeping up to date. Is my vocabulary better? Nope. I do write better technical research and recommendations based off the things I learned from reading which has made me pro creative at problem solving.

Yes.

Reading expanded my vocabulary and taught me proper grammar, without me even noticing it was happening. I breezed my way through every Reading / English course I ever had through school, and now the communication aspects of my job come extremely easy to me.

Lol what? How is this ironic?

But feel free to list your favorite authors in your flair too, nobody's stopping you...

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Do you know any rich people that read? Me neither. I'm sure it improves your focus and comprehension and academically...but I don't see busy people and go-getters sitting there and reading for 5 hours straight.

I just read for pleasure since I prefer reading than watching movies.

I read a lot, im stressed24/7 so one of the reasons is voided, but I can agree with certainty that reading does increase my usage in vocabulary or big words. Love reading 10/10 would do again, but reading can also apply to scrolling around on reddit for me.

I don’t even think iam using that big of words sometimes?

Easier for you to skim now right?

Depends on what you consider my career. Author? Definitely. Retail worker? No. Librarian? Well, that last one hasn't started yet, but reading is definitely helping me earn my master's degree.

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Is this irony? Or do you actually talk like this?

I’m a software engineer so I read a lot of technical stuff that has helped me in my career. But depending on what books you read you might broaden your vocabulary, which can help I think.

I’m also a high school history teacher and completely agree. I’d also add that reading fiction has helped me in my job too- to understand some of the things my pupils experience in their lives (I teach in an area which is very different from where I grew up) and to keep up to date with their interests.

Well, I'm a copyeditor, so....

My job involves many pockets of down time, and I read for pleasure and to reduce stress. I find that my work day goes by more smoothly when I have a good book to return to when I'm not interacting with patrons (also looks better on the job than going on my phone), and often someone will spark a conversation with me based on whatever book they see beside me, potentially leaving a more personal impression of my workplace on them, which I value. But I'm sure one could apply this to any hobby that would be appropriate for picking up and putting down at the workplace.

When I work on more hands-on jobs, similarly my day is considerably less stressful if I know I can at least read on the way to and from work, since I commute via train. Helps me get out of work-related tunnel vision.

I think any hobby that aids your mental wellbeing can positively impact your career, or any other aspect of your life. As others have stated, much depends on WHAT you're reading, how you're reading it, and what you're applying it to. A pretty loaded question, but this thread has been interesting to scroll through

You are here of course making the argument that the original comment somehow makes the point that people whom read are superior.

Going off on a triade as to why they aren’t, why this sub likes to think they are.

When the original comment just said that HE THINKS that people who read have broader minds.

There is no claim of superiority here. It’s no different from me saying “you have authors in your name, why are you trying to look superior by showing off who’s books you read” ?

Yes.

It encouraged me to develop my own mini Goodreads in my native language, from which all sorts of skills were worked on and develped (programming, designing, content creation, etc.). I had these skills before, but working on my own project on my own had a huge impact. Not to mention all the great people I was able to meet because of it.

It encouraged me to read only in English which drastically improved my English communication skills (I was super afraid of English before and since I didn't get books I wanted in my native language I had to read in English).

It helped me go through tough times. Multiple times in my life. At last, it gave me a spark of happiness, hope, and some other feelings I was almost sure I won't ever be able to feel again.

I believe there is some evidence to suggest that reading is good for the brain.Here's an example of a study that found reading has long-lasting impact on the brain: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/01/study-reading-a-novel-changes-your-brain/282952/

And here's one that suggests that if you are good at reading, it might stem from biological differences in the white matter in your brain:
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1206792109

Yes, reading everything, everywhere, has helped. I read a post on Reddit about The Great Gatsby the other day and was able bring up facts I learned during a big meeting. My vocabulary comes from reading books. I then re-read Orwell on writing to keep myself in check.

I read faster. Have greater retention. Which helps processing information at work.

I have been repeatedly told by higher management that they thoroughly enjoy reading my reports and looking through presentations. "Having narrative and great focus". Which I consider a win as I work at a consulting and tech company. And the documents are mostly numbers.

Oh so lucky! Damn I daydream about these kind of scenarios.

Actually bothering to read things. It's amazing how big an advantage it is over many of your peers if you actually bother to read instructions, manuals, relevant news, briefings and so on.

A lot of people simply don't.

Yes it does, I have a new job in a fantastic bookstore. The new job makes me read more so it works both ways.

I am also an aspiring creature designer and illustrator. Reading has given me a lot of inspiration when I am stuck creatively.

I'm a librarian, sometimes I have to write book reviews or make recommendations. Reading books definitely helps in that process.

I’ve read all the time since I was a young child, I always have a book on the go.

It’s had no effect on my career at all……but I’m sure it’s had positive effects on my education, knowledge and empathy and understanding of other’s cultures and ways of thinking though.

I read a lot, every type of book. I read Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek and found out all the toxic shit my boss was doing with me. Got reallocated to a different supervisor and the original one left the company less than two years later. Every book I read has something to teach me if I pay attention.

No. In fact it has cost me jobs and a career. But a life without books is unimaginable to me.

I think being well-read, both fiction and non-fiction, is good for having conversations in the workplace that aren’t specifically work-related. Mentioning a good book you’re reading or just finished reading is good water cooler chat.

And my vocabulary has definitely benefited from reading a variety of material.

As a fellow lawyer, I completely agree. Networking is a big part of lawyering. Reading books does help connect with people.

no at all. i read only fantasy :') 19.005 pages this year

It’s a generalization that you’ll find is broadly true though.

People who travel more also tend to be more open minded.

Education in general broadens your perspective.

You’re the only one who used the word “superiority”.

Arguing that reading is “only a hobby” is the type of thing conservatives say who poo poo education in general.

People read and grow and learn their whole lives.

It’s extremely small minded to call it “just a hobby” like you’re building ships in a bottle or something.

Of course it’s good for the brain. All of education is predicated on reading.

Education doesn’t start and stop with some class structure that ends with some 1950’s k-12 + 4 year degree from accredited university.

It isn’t about homework and not sleeping in class

I'm not sure if this is due to my reading habit or I have my reading habit because of this, but I always do incredibly well on those reading comprehension tests you might have to take as part of aptitude tests. So while I do well in logic and usually suck in the maths part, I score so high in the reading part that I astonish the recruiters. I feel like it might make up for the maths part considering that I still keep getting hired for analyst roles. My reading habit doesn't include anything particularly smart though. I mostly read fantasy and comics and average around 30 novels a year.

Immensely.

Love this. I'd absolutely buy a beer named with a nerdy book reference. You should make a post asking for suggestions. I bet reddit wouldn't disappoint.

No. I was a pro arborist (climber) for 35 years. I can’t think of a single thing I’ve read that helped with it. Jbh.

It makes my commute less miserable, does that count?

I genuinely talk like this and few if any friends.To hell with them I say.

yes, it did.

I think so. My manager has mentioned how I speak well and have a good vocabulary and that she thinks it’s from reading so much.

My experience is similar -- in addition to all the benefits to my reading speed, comprehension, vocabulary, general knowledge, and writing, I think that reading for pleasure has helped me in my career because I have a good understanding of how stories work.

I felt good after reading this comment. I totally agree with what you’ve written.

It’s helped in the sense that I’m mentally able tolerate an 11 hour shift of monotonous work

I think reading, in general, is one of my personal strong suites. So it's helped my education and career. A good foundation in reading has set me up for success in many ways.

I go through ebbs and flows of reading though. I'll read non-stop for a few months and then won't read at all for a few. Balancing it is tough as I get older (in my 30's).

EDIT: I work as a technical support engineer so reading and understanding tickets/questions is an essential part of my job as well.

Reading has made me better informed and more articulate. But it also has a way of making you look like an egghead. I’ll often state something with confidence and support what I say with facts and people look at you funny. Sometimes I have even said aloud, “What?! They have books about this stuff and library cards are free!”

I honestly get tired of people looking at you funny when you say, “Trofimov wrote about it in the Seige of Mecca” or whatever and they look at you like you have horns.

The funny thing is I’m no intellectual. I went to a mediocre university. I just read a lot.

I’m in university, and luckily my professors love when I cite relevant ideas from books I’ve read (fic and nonfic). Wrote a paper on surveillance— The Circle by Dave Eggers. Wrote a paper on predicting the future using the past— The Good Earth by Pearl S Buck. Wrote a paper on GPS data— On Trails by Robert Moor. Wrote a paper on double binds (specifically for women)— Jane Eyre.

I’m specifically trying to get a literature oriented career, and my professors know this. So possibly I’m just lucky. Also ofc these are not my only sources, just adding these in to illustrate the broader ideas better.

Well, it sure makes menial labor more exciting. Audiobooks or music, there's a clear difference in engagement.

Reading Classics. By which I mean the Mythological Pantheons of old cultures. Greek and Roman in particular, with a healthy dose of Egyptian and Celtic as well.

It's honestly outright bonkers just how often knowing knowing about Gods/Heroes and their stories has come in incredibly useful - sometimes in impressing managers, but more often in finding stories in/directly applicable to real-life scenarios and using them to find solutions

I write for a living so yes, I’d call it essential. You can’t write well without reading well

I mostly read in English and Spanish, none of which are native to me. Reading has not only vastly improved my vocabulary, but through books I've also been exposed to a variety of situations and I've gotten enough food for thought to last me many years.

I used to read only fiction, and I don’t think it impacted my job as it had nothing to do with fiction or creative writing. But when I started branching out into nonfiction books either about leadership, teamwork, or my industry, it has definitely impacted my career in a positive fashion. I can bring ideas with evidence to the table, liken problems we’re running into to problems that have been solved elsewhere, and respond in a more informed fashion to events.

I quit high school in grade 11 because I discovered Stephen King. I’ve since got my equivalency and went to college.

I teach as well as edit stories and books, so yeah.

Well, I’m an editor so I guess so?

I teach English. As part of my day, I instruct fifteen minutes of reading at the beginning of class. Not only do I instruct, I model by reading myself (Plus, I get to sneak in personal reading time).

Yes. I include graphic novels, manga, and comics as part of the time. Reading is reading; many of these books offer incredible stories and sagas.

Yes. I started reading crazy amounts as a small child, went on to read in English to such a degree that I read the Simarillion when I was 11 or so. This developed into degrees in literature and a shockingly good career as a translator.

I work at a used book store, so reading has pretty clearly been beneficial in that I am more knowledgeable about the product.

Outside of work though, I feel like I catch way more references with the more that I read. Or I'll find some phrase or concept I like and I'll try it in my own writing to see how it feels.

Also it just makes me happy, which translates to performing better at work and at home.

I wonder how much of this compares to childhood literacy and having books in the house. Simply buying. Looks to have in your house doesn't, on it's own, foster literacy. The connection between. Ook ownership and literacy is that people who buy books tend to be people who read books. Their children see their parents reading books and tend to mimic what their parents do.

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As another lawyer, I agree 💯

I don’t know the name of the research’s off the top of my head, but I once read a study where the findings showed that children who grew up with books in their home had higher incomes in adulthood compared to those who didn’t even when controlling for potential confounding variables such as SES, gender, IQ, race, ethnicity, etc.

Reading certain types of books can show that you 'fit in' certain rooms. You can make a snarky joke about Don Quixote or Dostoevsky or Tolstoy, and in the right room it will show that you 'fit'. It also is an innocuous way to demonstrate that you're a full person outside of the office. I do this in my everyday job. In my experience, it doesn't necessarily lead to higher wages, but it leads people who are also well-read to like you and want to converse with you, so it makes running your job a bit easier -- there are people for whom I have bonded with at work because we've both read french existentialist literature, for example, or because we both know the poetry of william carlos williams.

cries in attorney

Yeah, the takeaway isn't that you should simply have books in the house. The key is that people who have books in their house are people who tend to be preselected for certain "outcomes."

New parents who aren't readers see studies like you mention and think they should go buy books and expect those outcomes. But it's really that people who read regularly have numerous common traits: early childhood literacy, higher education, simply seeing their parents reading makes them more likely to read.

Of course, I think the idea is that most people who have books in their house also read those books, which I know is not always the case. The most important factor that research has found for reading leading to positive developmental improvements for children is actually when kids read books they enjoy by their own choice and are not forced to read. I feel encouraging that is where the real struggle lies.

Reading affected not only my career but my entire life.

Reading helped make me calm, rational, reasonably imaginative, able to consider different viewpoints. Reading, both academic works and fiction, made me the human being I am. Peering in the thoughts of countless people before me who cared enough to transfer on paper (or clay tablet, or sheep skin) what they had in mind made me passionate about writing, more helpful to the ones I love, knowleageable, toughtful and a (modest) writer and sociologist. Reading SF led me to physics, reading the bible led me to atheism, reading about videogames complemented my passion for them. Reading is literally living more lives than non readers, or a fuller one. Without my love for English literature I wouldn't know the english language well enough to have been a professional translator and that came to me through finding wonderful books to read.

So yes, it helped my career because sociology does not pay well in my country and I'd be living in the streets if I wasn't a sysadmin, if I didn't have this love for computers derived - you guessed - by my readings and my fumbling when I was a kid.

But to say that is, really, saying nothing.

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>Their children see their parents reading books and tend to mimic what their parents do.

A million times this. If a child doesn't see their parents reading they probably won't be that much insipired to do it, they won't attach particular emotional value to it and they might have a hard time starting once they're adults. This matters A LOT.

That's exactly how my kids are. At 3-years-old, my daughter will grab a book and hop up beside me when she sees me reading.

I read a lot of books that are directly relevant to my work (I’m in the tech industry, so this includes tech books and also leadership/business books) and I do believe they help in my career (obviously some more than others, plenty of leadership books are total garbage). This deepens my subject matter expertise and gives me bigger ideas about where the company could go.

I also read for pleasure and I think it does make me more empathetic and can help increase your perspectives of the world and other people. (Again, depends a lot on the given books). But in this category I don’t pick books for the career improvement, I think it’s just a happy byproduct.

I'm a writer, so definitely!

Not really outside of having read similar books to other programmers so we can talk about our faves

I don’t think reading has directly done anything at all for my career, but that’s not why I do it so ymmv.

For context I read a mix of fiction and non fiction with the non being primarily history. Fiction ranges from classics to mass market horror.

I started using a reading tracker for the first time in November, and have read a bit over 2500 pages since then, plus some audiobooks.

So if reading is a magical career booster I’ve been overlooked. 😂

I do the same thing! I love and look forward to SSR because I get to enjoy my own personal reading for a while.

I have read management and negotiation books that have helped me frame problems and understand the starting points people come from or expect.

I’d like to think so. Personally, I think learning and being encouraged to read at an early age really developed my reading comprehension and writing skills. Decades later, as a scientist, a lot of my job is interpreting and writing about science. Reading certainly helps that.

Only when I’m reading things about my career.

Reading about magical creatures makes my career feel rather flat in comparison. It’s a damn good stress reliever though!

I work in a grocery store. The only thing that would help my career is customers not being assholes and better worker protections.

Yes, for sure. The benefits are diffuse but very real. For what it's worth, my best advice is in your personal reading choices read what gives you pleasure. Everything else will follow from that.

Reading totally helps. As a person, you need to socialize with people to expand your horizons, make friends who might help you to do some big shit, and how will you talk to people when you don't consume content or knowledge, so read all you want, watch all you want, listen as much you can coz it is never useless.

Yeah, that's the key. Adult readers are also likely library users, and taking kids to the library to pick out their own books makes a world of difference.

Probably, but that's because I'm a writer

A thousand times, yes!! I'm currently working as a copy editor, which is work I've always wanted and worked hard to get. I owe it all to the amount of reading I've done over the years.

Not everything is fiction and I figured out how to turn my readings for self and professional improvement. Psychology and philosophy books are particularly good for improvement your soft and social skills which in turn will boost your daily job. Other than that there are lots of technical books I read and that open your horizons of what's possible, what's not and why.

Reading provides a lot of varied benefits, many of which could be helpful in most jobs.

• Dealing with people -- reading (particularly fiction) can help you become more empathetic. And reading can expose you to a broad range of topics and interests, allowing you to connect with more people by potentially being conversant in (or at least aware of) their interests
• Communication -- as noted by many here, reading a lot helps improve vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and writing in general, all of which can improve your written communication. Vocabulary and some writing skills (like organizing your thoughts logically) can also help oral communication.
• General knowledge -- even if you only read fiction, you're likely to learn many facts (many authors research extensively to provide authenticity and accurate depictions of real-world elements in their fictional worlds). And of course, reading non-fiction will often provide lots of knowledge on the non-fiction topic. Having a broad base of general knowledge could be helpful in your career (even if it has no direct bearing on your job -- if it just makes the boss/coworkers think you are smart, that can be to your advantage.)
• Specific knowledge -- Non-fiction related to your field obviously is likely to be helpful to your career. And more general reading on business, success, or personal improvement can be helpful as well.
• Focus and concentration -- reading can improve these abilities, which obviously can be helpful in most types of work.
• Creativity -- Increased creativity is a widely touted benefit of reading, which can be helpful in many lines of work.
• Critical thinking and problem solving -- engaging with diverse ideas, perspectives, and arguments -- which reading can provide -- can improve critical thinking. And of course, these skills are valuable in a wide range of careers.

Obviously, what you read has an impact on how much of the different types benefits you get -- for instance literary fiction is more associated with empathy, theory of mind, critical thinking; non-fiction for directly applicable knowledge in your field or broader business knowledge. But I would not recommend putting too much focus on reading for your career -- that can certainly be a goal and an influence on your reading choices, but take care to not making reading a chore, or an (unpaid) extension of work. Get out of your comfort zone from time to time, but also read what you enjoy.

Personally, I believe that reading has helped me with all of the above, and helped my career as a result. And there may be more things to add to the list. I just went with some of the most commonly cited benefits.

As a grant writer, being well-read helps me be aware of the wider world and allows me to tackle new domains more easily, as I try to have a generalist's knowledge of most non profit fields.

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Thanks for this, my level of education is college level due to my background. I am a Tech guru from one specialty to other. When I speaks, people tend to respect me as highly educated person. They never knew the fab, but my curiosity to always learn new things and read has always help out there. Reading helps and advances you.

Ditto.

Reading and writing a bit as a hobby has helped me when making games. Not so much that it comes out naturally since I'm not a professional writer but at least it's not something I struggle with.

One of the bigger downfalls of recent generations is the opinion that reading is not important. I don't know if it's homeschooling or errant parents or what, but misspelling, bad decisions, lack of critical thinking (and acceptance of conspiracy theories), bad grammar, and plain stupidity are commonplace nowadays. IMO.

Im a welder, so I get odd looks if I say anything fancyTalk.

I work in publishing so...

I mean I recently had a job interview where I expressed that I love to read and my interviewer was pretty impressed and brought it up later saying “ Since you love to read you must love to learn!”

Which I do love to learn, but I was surprised my love for reading is what signified that for him. Keep in mind the field is completely unrelated to reading. I got the job, so yeah I’d say it helped my career a bit! Lol

Really though, I think reading regularly does help my vocabulary and spelling. I also notice that I read a lot faster than most people (when reading instructions or similar short things) while still being able to digest what I read and I think that comes from practicing that skill all the time by just reading my books. So while it hasn’t directly affected my career, I’m sure it has helped me in a few ways!

Hahah I love this

Lol! I love and agree with this answer. Just let me stay home and read! I started reading a lot more this year and it’s been wonderful.

I'm a weird guy who actually buys job related text books and will read them. So yes, keeping on top of new trends, ideas, and processes help a lot as an engineer. I'm able to solve problems that others cannot because I know how to ask the right questions, use the right vocabulary in google searches, and where to look in my books for more information. I don't need to memorized everything just get a general idea of where to find more information when I need it.

Very much helped me. pre-covid I was on the road a lot so i started listening to audio books all the time. Couple of duds here and there, but overall really helped add tools to the cupboard so to speak.

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Im still in school but I’ve loved reading pretty much all my life and REALLY started to get into it in middle school, and I’ve found it actually really helps with my studies and ESPECIALLY English courses. It really does expand your vocabulary, the quality of essays and/or any writing assignment, and it makes mandatory reading assignments much more bearable rather than someone who doesn’t read on the regular.

Not Really as I mainly read to escape being me for a few hours or mins whilst I wait for stuff to happen

I mean...I work in publishing. So my reading habit IS my career. I've certainly read some very helpful books to help me in my career. It's hard to determine whether all the Dickens I read as a teenager actually gave me a better vocabulary or not though.

Here’s how it was for me….I’m the oldest of 4. My parents did not have a bookcase full of books (I have 4). My father spent his evenings watching TV, although he did read the newspaper from one end to the other. My mother was a typical 1950s homemaker - always cleaning, cooking, canning, baking, etc - I never saw her read BUT she read to me and my brother (2yrs younger) every night.

I used the library as a very young person, and remember signing out 5-6 books at a time. I’ve loved reading my whole life. My brother is not a reader even though we were identically exposed. Interestingly, the first (me) and third are avid readers - the second and fourth are not. And the second and fourth did not do well in school, but first and third did. My brother- the one 10 years younger- can quote the Bible and cite chapters and verses. He didn’t go to college but he’s extremely knowledgeable about so many different things.

My sister (#4) is clueless about everything. I’ve always attributed my love for reading to my mother reading to us nightly, but that doesn’t explain why 2 of 4 children raised identically in the same house with the same parents love to read and the other 2 don’t!

I’ve been a reader since I was a kid. I’m certain that provided many benefits in my professional life. I read primarily for pleasure, but I read across a wide spectrum of fiction and nonfiction. I attribute my ability to organize my thoughts and express myself, particularly in writing, to reading. Reading sometimes helps me bring a different perspective to problems. I can also have semi-intelligent conversations on a variety of subjects.

Not once have stories about hobbits benefitted me professionally. Although saying salutations to my coworkers in an ode to Charlotte's Web has gained me some eyebrow raises.

Awesome!

Because the process is not deterministic! It's the same for me and my sister: I'm an avid reader since I can remember, she rarely pick ups a book or a comic. Still we both were good at school and she graduated university with full marks, I got a PhD and taught for a while.

Many factors contribute to steer and nudge the developing minds of children in discovering what they like, but your mileage may vary because we're all different and our context can vary even in the same family. The same stimulus may elicit different responses. It's a reasonably well studied field and the correlation between parental reading habits+attitude and children's love for reading is there. I think I have a few papers on this saved somewhere, will edit if I find them.

10 fold

Most of the highly successful people I know are readers. Not many of them have the luxury of reading for five hours straight, but they fit it in when they can.

I always did good at school, like have consistently been top 3 but most importantly have been performing like this without putting that much effort.

Today I am fully convinced that it was because for my whole youth I had been reading like a mofo, I read anything I could put my hands on, ranging from classics books, magazines, to disney & other comics. My brain was trained and education was very easy to do.

I was still reading books while commuting to my first jobs, but the frequency of reading went down and eventually halted. The quality and enjoyment of my life as a whole degraded and I realized that only once the pandemic hit and I got back into reading.

Reading technical stuff or internet is not the same. Going through entire chapters or through a whole book in one go requires another kind of focus. The big issue of attention span deficit that society has is because people do not read, you won't change my mind on this topic.

Could you elaborate more on your last point? Academia & research have burned my desire to read for pleasure. I read articles and reddit in my free time, but cannot seem to actually open a book anymore...

This is something I had to become mindful with when teaching. Had a few students tell me they didn't understand my vocabulary (not related to the course vocab).

Well... I started reading when I was seven and now Im a aspiring writer... so... yeah. It kinda made my career lol (Sorry for bad english)

Lmao I read in Spanish and English and I’m still a waiter… so much for job prosperity

Pretty hard to be a Librarian without it, so yes. Worked in a bookshop for years too.

Reading improves your vocabulary, grammar, and how you express yourself generally and my job requires a lot of research and producing written material so my reading habit has given me some leverage in this regard.

Reading also broadens your mind and allows you to engage in conversations of any topic so in a way reading has helped me socialise with my colleagues and improve my networking skills.

I have somehow managed to pay my bills by doing something related to reading/writing my entire professional life. And I am doing well. I'm kinda proud of it.

Absolutely. I'm a writer and I need to read widely to make sure that my stories are readable.

I don’t have and don’t want a career, so no. However it does increase my quality of life, and keeps me constantly learning and considering new viewpoints

Heck yes. I can get continuing education credits for reading work-related books. Nit to.mrmtikn that it keeps my brain running and prevents burnout.

I’m a psychotherapist, some of the best ways I’ve found to build rapport with clients is to ask what they read and learn about their interests. You can tell a lot about someone’s favorite books and what genre they enjoy. When I was in person I usually had the book I was reading on my desk in the event of spare time and it humanized me to some more distant clients. When they saw me reading the Annihilation series by Van Der Meer they realized I also have a life outside the office and can have a nice casual conversation about ecopolitics and horror. Not only does it help with rapport, but I also can know a tiny bit about a lot of random things when I read widely that turn out applicable to my work. Had a client with a very niche history special interest that happened to align with a book I was listening to at the time, so for coping we talked about reading a chapter before doing the thing they struggled with as a distress management tool.

No. But it helped me to release the stress of the everyday workload. Reading is the one who kept my sane when I am going through anxiety and fear due to Covid

What she emphasized to us was read what you want so that you enjoy reading - read anything. Books? Great! Comics? Great! Fashion or travel magazines? Great! Newspapers? Blogs? Short Stories? Doesn't matter. Just. Read.

As you continue, you may find that you want to read a book that others are talking about or that you've heard about. If the topic interests you, then you can probably shut off your brain and immerse yourself in the story. What might be helpful is to think about the kind of movies or TV shows you like to watch and then find books in that genre or that further your understanding of something that piqued your interest. I usually don't read non-fiction but occasionally go down a rabbit hole. I love NBC's Dateline and ended up reading In Cold Blood to better understand the Clutter Family murders. I stumbled on a historical topic that mentioned the Carthagenians and Hannibal. Had no idea who he was and I ended up listening to an audio book about The Punic Wars and reading another about the fall of Rome.

You may be more of an aural person and prefer audio books which you can consume while on your commute or exercising. Or reading e-books on your phone (Libby, Hoopla, Kindle, etc) might be a preferable way to read in bite-sized chunks.

There's no shame in what you choose to read or how you read. JUST READ.

And I’m sure there’s a little bit of genetics at work somewhere. It’s just so interesting to see four kids raised in the same fashion, all being read to every night - and I really looked forward to it - and to grow so differently. Reading is such a big part of my life. I daydream about a screen tent in my backyard with a hammock, a little table, and a camp light - so I can read outside at night without getting eaten by bugs! To go out there early in the morning with a big carafe of fresh coffee, a good book, a gorgeous sunny but slightly cool day, and nowhere to go and not a thing to do but read all day. 📖📚🍹☀️

I’d say that being an avid reader since childhood has helped my career in a few ways.

1. I read faster than I would have otherwise. If I need to go over a 10-page contract, I can do it faster than if I had grown up not reading books.
2. My reading comprehension is better than it would otherwise be. This means I need to refer back to that contract less than I otherwise would have, and I understand it better.
3. Reading makes me a better writer. I have a larger vocabulary, I understand grammar intuitively.
4. I am more generally knowledgeable than I would otherwise be. A broader knowledge base helps me grasp new ideas more quickly, evaluate new information against what I already know. It’s easier to find connections with and relate to people that I work with, around, and for.

It's one of the only ways I even see words anymore

100 percent. I’m a writer, though, so reading is part of my job!

Well i'm disabled and unable to work however I became an avid reader late 2015, I was 26 then. I get benefits from reading, it keeps my mind active, it helps reduce stress, it builds empathy, it shows me different points of views and broadens my worldview, and I learn things. Stuff that can benefit anyone. :)

Yup, mine did too. Part of why I quit my job!

I would have to say my grammar has improved without me knowing how or why, since the last English course that I took was in my college days. As you write, you just know that a sentence is structured correctly without knowing the grammar rules. Or maybe you know the rules. Just on a subconscious level. Not really sure.

My reading interferes with my career goals.

Probably not in the way you meant, but i keep my book-club reads on my desk at work and one day my boss saw them and got all excited by some of them.

I think we’ve had a better and more open relationship since then.

I work in advertising. Reading has helped me find clever turn of phrases when copywriting and gave me ideas for campaigns.

Reading has helped my career because I'm a library worker and have more books to recommend! I've always been a reader, so I haven't noticed anything improving

Considering I work in two libraries I would say that my reading habit was how I found my way to my career path. Also patrons like seeing people at the desk reading. It is a natural point of conversation. It frankly surprises me the number of people I work with who are not big readers (more than one).

Where I get irritated is when people make the tired old joke that it must be nice to have a job where we sit around and read all day. "Bitch, you just caught me in the five minutes I had of downtime! I work!"