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The Almighty Buck Businesses Science

Tall People Earn More 661

Posted by michael from the wait-till-we-can-gengineer-tallness dept.
ayahner writes "Tall people earn considerably more money throughout their lives than their shorter co-workers, with each inch adding about $789 a year in pay, according to a new study. If this is true, I should make a killing! At 6'7" I tower over other developers. It's mostly a distraction, as I can see over even the highest cubes and if I stand just in the right spot, I can receive satellite transmissions. Saves on the cell phone bill. I'm going to go ask for a raise right now, if I can figure out how to work the printer..."
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Tall People Earn More More

Tall People Earn More

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  • obvious (Score:5, Funny)

    by kurosawdust ( 654754 ) on Friday October 17, 2003 @02:17PM (#7241765)
    Well of course we get more money! We don't have huge pots of gold to fall back on like short people do! Quit whinin'!

  • I think you left out the most important conclusion (Score:4, Funny)

    by Bingo Foo ( 179380 ) on Friday October 17, 2003 @02:17PM (#7241774)
    It's because tall people are better.
  • I assume this is $789/year +/- about $25,000.

    More froth than broth, seems to me.

  • I wish (Score:3, Funny)

    by latez ( 692440 ) on Friday October 17, 2003 @02:17PM (#7241779)
    I wish I was a little bit taller, I wish I was a baller, I wish i had a girl with a phone I would call her!
  • Tall people earn more.

    Good looking people earn more.

    Good genes are more successful.

    Good genes seek good genes.

    Short men get ugly women.

    And vice-versa.

    Tall geeks still stand a chance.

    But this is old news...
  • We also have sharper wits, better abstract thinking skills and vastly larger genitalia. Bow before us, shorties! Mwah ha haaaa! C'mere! I need someplace to put my beer.
  • You insensitive clod!

  • Dubious Study (Score:4, Insightful)

    by mopslik ( 688435 ) on Friday October 17, 2003 @02:20PM (#7241808)

    I'm always doubtful about studies like this. While they claim that certain variables like weight, gender, etc. were controlled, I suspect there are other variables that come into play here. Did each participant have the same background? Training? Did they choose the same occupation? Do they live in the same area? Blah blah blah.

    This is likely one of those "research causes cancer in rats" conclusions.

    • Reminds me of that one Dilbert cartoon where a tall guy is hired and automatically on the executive fast track, because he's tall. He also had 'executive hair'.

      PHB: "We think it will turn silver!"

      Kierthos

      • Scott Adams points out in one of his books that in Presidental elections, 80 percent of the winners since some date were the taller ones; the two shorter ones who won had noticably better hair.

        • Scott Adams... 80% of winners since some date were the tollar ones; the two shorter ones who had won had noticably better hair.

          Wigs and stilts, wigs and stilts.

          Ma, I'm agonna be PRESIDENT!

    • the compared the average salaries of a few 6'6+ NBA Basketball players, and a couple of 5'4" guys working the maintenance shift and the Sip'n'Save.

    • Re:Dubious Study (Score:2, Flamebait)

      by Illserve ( 56215 )
      How does gibberish like this get modded up as insightful? The poster has no idea what the word statistics even means.

      • Re:Dubious Study (Score:4, Funny)

        by Blkdeath ( 530393 ) on Friday October 17, 2003 @02:37PM (#7242052) Homepage
        How does gibberish like this get modded up as insightful? The poster has no idea what the word statistics even means.

        In the general sense it means "Bending numbers to fit your conclusions."

    • While they claim that certain variables like weight, gender, etc. were controlled

      You really can't control all that, you just have to look at a large enough chunk of people to be confidant.

      For instance, I would not be the least bit surprised if tall people got better grades in school on average (or if they got more attention in class leading to the better grades). Like it or not, this is just more evidence that appearances , while not necessarily important in all encounters, do matter overall...
    • I agree. Something else to consider is that if you took a random sampling of all people, taller people would make a lot more than shorter people. Why? Babies and children are usually shorter than adults and often make nothing.

      It's an obvious conclusion, but I'd like to believe they didn't poll babies' salaries.

      There also has to be a height that is generally considered "freakish" and the pay scale swings back the other way.

    • Re:Dubious Study (Score:4, Informative)

      by indros13 ( 531405 ) * on Friday October 17, 2003 @02:58PM (#7242307) Homepage Journal
      Actually, most scientists are fairly careful to control for all of the circumstances you mentioned. I've seen this information in several other places before, and they do control for those variables. I'm kind of surprised that everyone thinks this is crackpot science, given how height is as obviously a part of a "good-looks" package as attractiveness, and we all know that good looks gets all sorts of advantages.

      For those doubting Thomases:

      • A BBC story [bbc.co.uk] on the issue about a study tracking people born March 1958.
      • 1. Full details of this research will appear in Harper, B. 'Beauty, Statute and the Labour Market: A British Cohort Study', Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 62, December 2000, pp773-802.
        2. The study sample of 11,000 people are members of the National Child Development Study. The NCDS cohort study tracks the lives of 17,733 people born in Britain in the first week of March 1958. They are now 42. They were last interviewed in 1991 when the sample had fallen to 11,407.
        Further information For further information, a copy of the full research article or to arrange an interview please contact Barry Harper (details below). London Guildhall University does not have an abbreviation. To avoid confusion with other organisations, please use only our full name. Thank you.
    • I saw a documentary once where women rated the "date-ability" of men they observed through a one way mirror. All the men were judged to be above average in appearance based on headshots alone.

      When viewed in context a taller than average men outranked the smaller men with remarkable consistency. One, identified as having an extensive criminal record, always outscored shorter men. To get the women to accept the shortest (around 5'3") bachelor as "date-able" the researchers had to say he was a doctor who l
  • This may apply in bullshitter-type positions (marketing, sales, management), but for coders, who cares? Nobody really cares if even bathe or shave, as long as we pump out the code.

    I make as much (or more) than tall programmers. As to promotion, who wants to be a PHB?

    • Re:Who Cares? (Score:2, Insightful)

      by blitziod ( 591194 )
      You may think bullshitter type positions...BUT the fact is that when you are negotiating your pay YOU ARE IN MARKETING for that brief moment. So if tall people do better in marketing then tall people in non marketing fields would make mroe too.
    • The point is that tall people, in general, have more confidence and bearing in the way they carry themselves, leading to all kinds of things like undeserved marks on performance reviews. There's no doubt that confidence influences the way people see you, and the more you have the better you look to other people (at least to the point of excessive arrogance).
  • The various injuries suffered by walking into doorframes, being doubled-up in the back seat of small cars, tripping over smaller people -- they're all expensive.

    I say we should be paying tall people even more. They're suffering, way up there in the sky!

  • Obligitory (Score:4, Funny)

    by Jacer ( 574383 ) on Friday October 17, 2003 @02:21PM (#7241833) Homepage
    if I can figure out how to work the printer..." PC load letter, what the FUCK does that mean?!
  • Short People got no reason
    Short People got no reason
    Short People got no reason
    To live

    They got little hands
    Little eyes
    They walk around
    Tellin' great big lies
    They got little noses
    And tiny little teeth
    They wear platform shoes
    On their nasty little feet

    Well, I don't want no Short People
    Don't want no Short People
    Don't want no Short People
    `Round here

    Short People are just the same
    As you and I
    (A Fool Such As I)
    All men are brothers
    Until the day they die
    (It's A Wonderful World)

    Short People got nobody
    Short People go
  • Is it just me, or are most geeks pretty tall? Of the 5 people I work with, 4 are over 6'2" and one is about 6'1". I'm 6'4" myself.
  • Develop better posture. Never look like you're not doing anything. Become indisposable. Clean. Tan. Learn to like golf and kissing ass. Be seen with the right people. Try to get into a lodge. Find religion again.

  • gee, you don't say (Score:3, Funny)

    by Illserve ( 56215 ) on Friday October 17, 2003 @02:23PM (#7241855)
    This of course comes as a surprise to noone under the 5'5" mark.

    What's funny, or perhaps expected, is that tall people are, as a rule, blissfully unaware of the advantages their height affords them. They bitch about trivialities like fitting into movie seats while attractice girls fling themselves at them and they command undue attention in a conference room.

    And if one of us shortish people brings it up, we're told we have a "Napolean complex", as if they even know what that means apart from that Napolean was also kind of short.

    • Re:gee, you don't say (Score:5, Funny)

      by JUSTONEMORELATTE ( 584508 ) on Friday October 17, 2003 @02:35PM (#7242028) Homepage
      This of course comes as a surprise to noone under the 5'5" mark.

      What's funny, or perhaps expected, is that tall people are, as a rule, blissfully unaware of the advantages their height affords them. They bitch about trivialities like fitting into movie seats while attractice girls fling themselves at them and they command undue attention in a conference room.

      And if one of us shortish people brings it up, we're told we have a "Napolean complex", as if they even know what that means apart from that Napolean was also kind of short.

      Easy there little fella. Why don't you cool down, maybe take a walk.

      Could ya fetch some coffee while you're up? Us grown-ups have some serious work to do here.

      So long, Karma. It's been fun
      --
    • What's funny, or perhaps expected, is that tall people are, as a rule, blissfully unaware of the advantages their height affords them. They bitch about trivialities like fitting into movie seats while attractice girls fling themselves at them and they command undue attention in a conference room

      Why dont you go band yourself around the head a bit with the sharp corner of a plank of wood. Now you know what it's like to hit your head on oepn cabinets. Try stuffing yourself into a suitcase the next time you f
    • What's funny, or perhaps expected, is that tall people are, as a rule, blissfully unaware of the advantages their height affords them. They bitch about trivialities like fitting into movie seats while attractice girls fling themselves at them and they command undue attention in a conference room.

      ...And then there are the people whose height is not immediately apparent because they are disabled and ride around in wheelchairs. Sneaky, undue-attention-commanding bastards!

      (Your glass is half-full, son, not

    • I am not huge at 6'1", but I am tall enough to cause problems, nobody (well very few...) who is 5'5" has ever experienced being over 6', but...

      I was 5'6" for a couple years (pause before growth spurt, late growth spurt too...). I remember being 5'6", it wasn't that bad.

      I think ideal is 5'10"-5'11" you are just over average and therefore have little difficulty in reaching the top shelf, etc... but you also don't lack head room in most cars and other pain in the ass stuff...
  • I think I read the same thing about 20 years ago. It's also been long noted that almost every US president has been taller than average.

    Anyway, that's life. I'm short, but make up for it by being a good coder. And I never have back problems, while I notice lots of taller people do.

    I guess it would be ideal if I could be tall, smart, athletic, funny, and sensitive. Then I'd make loads of money and have hundreds of women after me. But then I might catch an STD and die a slow, painful death. So maybe I

  • Urban legend, this fact may be, but I was told in the late 80's by one of my professors that the only factor research could correlate to success was height.

  • The title that hit the cutting room floor for this newer, politically correct title is, of course:

    "Shorter People Earn Less"
    A new study shows that shorter people earn an average of $789 less per year than their taller counterparts.

    -Adam
  • Cars with big tires go farther than hatchbacks, 100-Base over Yellow CAT5e is better than 100-Base over fibre, and Italian Amaretto lasts longer than American Amaretto.

    Lets pull more unprovable crap out of a hat now, ok?
  • ..Gary Colemans career never took off.
  • NBA players ;)
  • here [straightdope.com] is an article on the effects of height in presidential elections.

    A couple of the choice tidbits...

    from 1904-1984 80% of the winning canidates were the taller.

    And only 2 POTUS have been short compaired to average heights of the times...

    Makes me glad to be 6'1"...
  • Wrap your mind around this one -- perhaps tall people earn more because they are smarter, and they are smarter because teachers called on them more -- because they are taller, and it's the tallest hand that gets called on in class! WHOA!
  • Interviewer ...Sir Robert Eversley, who's just returned from the excavations in El Ara, and you must be well over six foot. Isn't that right, Sir Robert?

    Sir Robert (puzzled) Yes.

    Interviewer In fact, I think you're six foot five aren't you?

    Sir Robert Yes.

    Applause from off. Sir Robert looks up in amazement.

    Interviewer Oh, that's marvelous. I mean you're a totally different kind of specimen to Professor Kastner. Straight in your seat, erect, firm.

    Sir Robert Yes. I thought we were here to discuss a
  • It might be reasonable to assume (assuming you accept this study) that taller people may have more personal social confidence than shorter people, and that may have a positive effect in job interviews, etc.

    has anyone done a study of "management-hair?"

  • Sigh (Score:2)

    by Gogl ( 125883 )
    Correlation and causation anyone? Maybe tall people tend to be more self-confident and that causes them to generally earn more, but a short person who has the same self-confidence as a tall person will earn the same amount?
  • Now people will be accused of heightening [stanthecaddy.com] to get a job/raise
  • geeks spend all their time in front of the computer. Hunching over a keyboard stretches out the spine, thus making them taller than thier marketing-based couterparts, who spend all their time standing up, and thus feel more of the effects of gravity in the long run.
  • i'm 6'5" and i'm poor; makes me wonder what i'm doing wrong :P

  • I want to see the median pay increase, not the average. I bet NBA players account for 99% of the pay difference.
  • As applied to IT:

    a) The tall people are the ones that can quickly reach the RESET but on the NT Server (at the top of the rack) when it crashes

    b) The tall guy's head is visible over the cubicle wall when he's at the desk working late

    c) You can see the short guy's monitor over his head, and tell when he's playing nethack. No so with the tall one.
  • Growth Hormone Conglomerate of America?

  • repeat of observation in the 70's (Score:3, Interesting)

    by cdn-programmer ( 468978 ) <<ten.cigolarret> <ta> <rret>> on Friday October 17, 2003 @02:44PM (#7242148)
    This observation is as true today as it was in the 70's. I guess that dates me.

    Now... the flip side of this is that many short intelligent men chose not to put up with this sort of bullshit. This provides an incentive for them to get out on their own and set up their own firms.

    I know of at least 5 major companies in this city who are headed by short men who were driven out of the company they used to work for. In one case the president-owner of the newly formed company declared that he was going to put his former employer out of business and hire every one of their employees.

    Well, this has not materialized. Nevertheless his former employer is no longer #1 in the industry and the new company is rapidly moving into that slot so perhaps it just hasn't happened yet.

    Tall people can be both smug and complacent at times but the little guys can sometimes really kick ass too!
  • I believe these results have been known for a long time. It is also well known that attractive people make more money. Is anyone really surprised by any of this ??
  • tall people suck. but besides that, let's get to the really important question:

    "management hair" vs. bald?

    ponytails vs. crewcuts?

    comb-over bald vs. accept-it-and-move-on bald?

    hairclub for men vs. hair-plugs?

    luxurious flowing locks vs. brillo-pad-perm?

    gerry(sp?) curl vs. 'fro?

    blond vs. brunette vs. firebush (oops I mean redhead...)

    farrah vs. Jacklyn?

  • Helps becoming president too (Score:5, Interesting)

    by heli0 ( 659560 ) on Friday October 17, 2003 @02:45PM (#7242161)
    The median height for American white males is 69"(5'9") while 72"(6'0") is the 75th percentile. (NHANES III 1988-94 [cdc.gov])

    Recent Presidents' heights:

    G.W.Bush: 6' 0"
    Clinton: 6' 2-1/2"
    G.H.Bush: 6' 2"
    Reagan : 6' 1"
    Carter: 5' 9-1/2"
    Ford: 6' 0"
    Nixon: 6' 0"
    Johnson: 6' 3"
    Kennedy: 6' 0"

    8 of the last 9 above the 75th percentile not even accounting for lower heights in the past.
  • Fat people make less than thin [bizjournals.com]. Better looking people make more money than uglier ones [flatrock.org.nz]. More educated/bright people make more money, etc, etc.

    This groundbreaking study on height being correlated with salary does not suprise me. For men it is seen that height is "more attractive" (see above). Interesting thing is that more attractive people are seen as brighter and more "one of us", even if the sexes are the same. No, men don't typically say "My thats a good looking guy!", but they do behave more posit

  • Biological dominance (Score:3, Interesting)

    by jafac ( 1449 ) on Friday October 17, 2003 @02:49PM (#7242198) Homepage
    This has everything to do with how the human animal is hardwired for dominance/submission. Very similar to many animals. More dominant males tend to succeed better. Being taller is a dominance trait. It's not rocket science. It's biology. It drives a lot more human behavior than most people are aware of, or would be comfortable admitting.
  • This has been known for decades; why does another study repeateing it warrant attention? It's also accepted that attractive people make more money.

    Additionally, as compared to their less attractive counterparts, attractive people tend to have more distinguished positions, earn more money, and characterize themselves as happier (Umberson & Hughes, 1987; Diener, Wolsic, & Fujita, 1995)

    Quoted from here [muohio.edu]

  • Anyone else get confused over the math results in the article?

    ...The study, released Thursday, was controlled for gender, weight and age, and found that each inch in height added about $789 a year in pay.

    "If you take this over the course of a 30-year career and compound it, we're talking about literally hundreds of thousands of dollars of earnings advantage that a tall person enjoys"...

    $789 * 30 = $23,670
    How is that "literally hundreds of thousands of dollars"? Unless they're talking about people that are

  • New Scientist reports [newscientist.com] that "Between the 1950s and 1990s, thousands of girls worldwide who were predicted to grow to more than 177 centimetres (5 foot 10 inches) were given synthetic oestrogen - over four times the dose in the modern pill - for an average of two years" to stop them growing too tall.

    Now they are having trouble conceiving children of their own.

  • In presidential elections, at least, the taller candidate wins pretty consistently. Mike Dukakis really should've cemented that rule.

    Two exceptions -- George W. is 5'11" and Gore was 6'1" -- but then W. only got the electoral college and the supreme court. Also Jimmy Carter is only 5'9", and Ford was six two. But those are the only times it's gone the other way.

    The Daily Standard has a throwaway article [weeklystandard.com] on the subject. Very informative about the height of Kerry's hair, if you ask me.

  • Unless Bill Gates is wearing lifts.
  • (6 foot) plus (7 inches) = 2.0066 meters
  • I have to question this study. Mr. Judge either forgot or never took an Intro to Psychology class. He certainly can't tell the difference between a correlation and a cause/effect relationship.

    This study is a correlation. Perhaps there is a high correlation between height and pay. However, this does NOT mean that height causes higher pay. It could, theoretically, just as easily mean that higher pay causes more height. Or it could just as easily mean that there are other factors that affect both height
  • Maybe this is because shorter men are more likely to suffer from a Napoleon Complex; i.e. more likely to be assholes? In most fields, being a jerk should limit your earnings...
  • I've had quite a few short managers over the years. In fact, for both of my previous employers, the owner would be considered 'short.'

    The 'napoleon complex' [bartleby.com] is reasonably well documented, and height can obviously be a motivating factor. (in these cases, perhaps to overcompensate or overachieve). If extreme deficiency in height can be a motivating factor, it seems logical that height (esp. above-average height) should be as well.

    I'm successful. Especially when you consider my demographic. I owe a lot

  • New SPAM opportunity -- add inches (Score:5, Funny)

    by ReelOddeeo ( 115880 ) on Friday October 17, 2003 @03:12PM (#7242494)
    How would you like to be six inches taller and earn hundreds of thousands more dollars?

    You should try our new all-natural herbal enlargement pills!

  • Hired because of height (Score:3, Interesting)

    by c64cryptoboy ( 310001 ) * on Friday October 17, 2003 @06:28PM (#7244799) Homepage Journal
    Back in the 1950's, my father (who is only a mere 6'3") was selected for a sales position over another applicant. He was later told by his manager that the deciding factor was that he was taller.

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