Skip to footer

What would British most like to do? Write books – or at least be around them

More people said they would like to be an author than any other job, according to a new poll by the British marketing research company YouGov. The second- and third-highest ranking jobs were similarly book-based – librarian ranked second and academic ranked third.

|
Ann Hermes
A bestsellers bookshelf sits at The Book Cellar, an independent bookstore in Lincoln Square in Chicago, Illinois.
  • By Molly Driscoll Staff Writer

It turns out there are a lot of people in Britain who dream of the life of a writer.

According to a recent poll by the British market research company YouGov, the job of an author is the most desired profession among those they surveyed (more than 14,000 adults living in Great Britain). 

Respondents were asked “whether you would or would not like to do each of the following for a living,” according to YouGov, and 60 percent of people said they would like to be an author. In addition, the smallest percentage of people in the results – 32 percent – said they would not like to be an author.

The second- and third-highest ranking professions were also book-centered. Fifty-four percent of respondents said they would like to be a librarian and 51 percent of people said they would like to be an academic.

These professions ranked higher than such jobs as lawyer (which came in fourth) and doctor (which came in seventh) as well as higher than such jobs that are often thought to be glamorous like movie star (which ranked fourteenth) and TV presenter (which ranked eighth).

Interior designer came in at fifth, with 41 percent saying they would like to have the job, while journalist was ranked sixth.

“Instead of actors and musicians, it seems that an aura of prestige still surrounds the quiet, intellectual life enjoyed by authors, librarians and academics,” YouGov staff wrote in the results.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to What would British most like to do? Write books – or at least be around them
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2015/0218/What-would-British-most-like-to-do-Write-books-or-at-least-be-around-them
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe