This may work contrary to the teachings of "Sesame Street" . . . but it really doesn't matter what you're like on the inside.  What matters is how you look on the OUTSIDE.  And it matters A LOT.

A new study out of Melbourne University in Australia found that the BEST asset a man can have in his career is GOOD LOOKS.

They found the average handsome man surveyed makes $85,900 a year.  The average unattractive man surveyed makes $52,100.  That means the good-looking men make $33,800 more every year than the ugly men.  OUCH.

The researchers say that with women the effect is smaller but harder to measure. 

When a woman's good looking, she might run into the stereotypes that hot women just CAN'T be that intelligent, so it hurts her salary.  Since there's no stereotype that says good-looking men can't be intelligent too, it helps their salaries.

The survey also found men with below-average looks are 15% less likely than all other men to be employed.  They were also less likely to be married.