Without a doubt, your career is your most important financial asset. As such, most financial experts will suggest you should do all you can to make the most of it and maximize your compensation. But is there a limit to what you can and should do to make more money? Blogger Penelope Trunk cites a new book that says good-looking people make more money than not-so-good-looking people. And well they should. The facts suggest that good-looking people make more for their companies and thus deserve higher pay…

Now Trunk isn’t saying that it’s fair that better looking people are treated better, she’s just recognizing the fact that they do get some breaks which helps them earn more.

So what if you’re not as good-looking as you’d like to be? Or maybe you’d like to give your career a little boost? Trunk suggests that plastic surgery is not only a good option, but that eventually it will become a rather common practice — something many people will do to help out their careers:

We don’t flinch when we hear that Cameron Diaz got a nose job or Brad Pitt had his ears pinned. It seems like a reasonable thing to do given their profession. And look at Chelsea Clinton. She did a few changes just as she hit the adult world as a consultant at McKinsey. She’s not an idiot, and she certainly does not seem obsessed by her appearance. But she realized that she was not great looking, and the plastic surgery seems to have made some improvements.

And just ten years ago, I remember talking with my friends about how gross Botox is. But my friend Sharon, who is a hairstylist in Los Angeles, says that the majority of her clients–who range from normal housewives to corporate lawyers–have had some sort of Botox injection. She says it’s so mainstream in Los Angeles that it’s almost a statement if you don’t have it.

So my prediction is that soon we will all capitulate to the undeniable evidence that we have more opportunity in life if we are better looking, and it’s relatively easy to buy good looks. So we will. It will be something everyone does as they graduate from college, and not just the most rich and privileged kids. Plastic surgery will be for the go-getters and career-minded. Just you wait and see.

Certainly, it’s a touchy subject. There’s a lot more to plastic surgery than making more money at your job. What’s your take on the issue? Is this a viable method for adding to your income or is it simply too much in pursuit of another dollar?

Plastic surgery is the next must-have career tool. Maybe [Brazen Careerist]

— FREE MONEY FINANCE
(Photo: Getty)

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