The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.
he Mobility of
m E D
im es
ELECTRONIC
TECHNICIANS
1940-52
The W O R K E X P E R IE N C E , T R A IN IN G ,
a n d P E R S O N A L C H A R A C T E R IS T IC S
of W O R K E R S in a N E W SKILLED
O C C U P A T IO N
Bulletin No. 1150
STATES
P.
DEPARTMENT
M itchell,
Secretary
OF
LABOR
BUREAU
Ew an
OF
LABOR
C lague,
STATISTICS
C om m ission er
THE MOBILITY OF ELECTRONIC TECHNICIANS
1940-52
THE W O R K E X P E R IE N C E , T R A I N IN G ,
AND P E R S O N A L C H A R A C T E R IS T IC S
OF W O R K E R S
IN A NEW S K IL L E D O C C U P A T IO N
Bulletin No. 1150
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABO R
J a m e s P. M itch e ll, S e c r e t a r y
BUREA U OF LABOR STATISTICS
E w a n C la g u e , C o m m is s io n e r
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C.
Price 5 0 cents
Letter of Transmittal
United States Department of Labor,
Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Washington, D. C.,March 1 2 , 195k.
The Secretary of Labor:
I
have the honor to transmit herewith a report on the mobility
of electronic technicians. This report represents the results of
the second of a series of pilot studies designed to explore the
characteristics of workers in occupations critical to defense mobi
lization. Information about the personal characteristics, training,
skills, and job duties of such workers, coupled with data on their
past movements between jobs will help to prevent crippling manpower
shortages in the event of full mobilization.
The Department of the Air Force financed this study as part of
a general program of developing systematic methods of determining
the manpower feasibility of military programs. The research find
ings of this report however, are the exclusive responsibility of
the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The study was conducted in the Bureau's Division of Manpower
and Employment Statistics under the supervision of Raymond D. Larson.
The report was prepared by James J. Treires.
The Bureau wishes to acknowledge the generous assistance euid
cooperation received in the course of the study from officials of
other government agencies, trade associations, labor unions, and the
more than 200 manufacturing, servicing, and broadcasting firms whose
employees were interviewed. The Bureau wishes to express its deep
appreciation to the more than 1,900 electronic technicians whose ex
cellent cooperation provided the data on which this report is based.
Ewan Clague, Commissioner.
Ion. James P. Mitchell,
Secretary of Labor.
Ill
CONTENTS
Page
INTRODUCTION - - - .......... ............. .............
1
Objectives of the study - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The role of electronic technicians —
------ - —
The field of electronics ---------- —
- - —
- —
1
3
1*
..............
7
Mobility- .
...... ............. - ...............
Training - -------- -------- - —
- -- -- -- -Personal characteristics - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8
9
11
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
------ - - - - - - -
13
MANPOWER IMPLICATIONS
The future supply of electronic technicians - - - - - Means of meeting full mobilization requirements - —
Transfers of shilled workers into essential
activities - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Drawing partially trained workers from other
fields - - - - - ..................... .........
Women technicians - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Establishing training programs for new workers —
FINDINGS - -
----------------------- -----------------
The nature of the study - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Mobility of electronic technicians, 191*0-52 —
—
—
Analytical concepts - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Labor-force status changes - - - - - - - - - - - - Movements into and out of electronic technician
jobs —
- - —
- -------- - - - ------ - - —
The people who entered this occupation - - - - - - - Personal characteristics —
- - - - —
- -------Activities or occupations from which they came - - Why they entered electronics - - - - - - - - - - - How electronic technicians were trained - - - - - - - Electronic technicians in 1952 - - - - —
- - ---- Personal characteristics - - - - - - - - - - - - - Current job duties, earnings, hours, and tenure - - Equipment skills - - - - —
- - - —
- - - - - —
APPENDIXES----------------- ------------- - - .........
13
ll*
ll*
17
17
17
20
20
22
22
23
28
39
39
1*2
^3
1*6
1*7
1*7
1*8
55
58
A - Methodology -
58
B - Survey forms
66
C - Mobility table
75
V
TABLES
Page
1.
Education completed by respondents by type of
establishment - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2 . lumber of respondents reporting specified types of
Job arrangements by type of establishment - - - - - 3*
5»
kO
Type of earnings received by respondents by type
of establishment - —
- - - - - ------ - - - - - -
52
Average weekly hours vorked by respondents by type
of establishment - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
52
Respondents' tenure in Job by type of establishment - -
56
6 . Number of specified types of equipment on which
respondents could make major repairs by type of
establishment —
- ---------- - —
7*
1*0
-
56
Theoretical basis for allocation of employee
schedules - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
59
8 . Distribution of electronic technicians surveyed, by
metropolitan area and type of establishment - - - - -
6l
VI
CHARTS
Page
1*
The rate of Job changing was highest in the post
war expansion period - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7
2. Electronic technicians in the 6 types of establish
ments had similar training backgrounds - - - - - - -
10
3*
k.
Electronic technicians are a young group of skilled
workers - —
- —
- -- —
- - - - - - - —
- -
11
The 7,261 labor-force status changes made by the
respondents - - - - - —
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
25
5 . Changing labor-force status.of respondents,
,
January 19^0 - April-May 1952.----------------- —
27
6.
How respondents obtained electronic technician Jobs
7*
Electronic technicians moved freely among the 6
types of establishments - —
- - - - - - - - - - -
3®
Current Job duties of electronic technicians compared
with the kinds of electronics work they had done
previously - - - - - —
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
33
The proportion of electronic technicians who had
shifted between labor-market areas varied widely
among the 8 metropolitan areas - - —
- - - - - —
34
Almost half of the movements out of electronic tech
nician Jobs were motivated by a desire to take a
better Job - - - - - - - - - —
- - - - - ---- - -
36
11.
The characteristics of respondents who changed Jobs
-
38
12.
Mathematics and the physical sciences were favorite
high school subjects of electronic technicians - - -
k2
More than half of the respondents came into the elec
tronics field directly from school or the Armed
Forces - - - - - - - - - - —
- -- -- -- —
- _
1*3
8.
9.
10.
13.
ill.
15.
-
29
Electronic technicians acquired their skill in
many ways - - - —
-- —
- - - - - - - - - - - -
k5
Earnings of electronic technicians varied widely - - -
50
16 . Electronic technicians could repair a variety of
types of equipment
------ ------ - —
VII
5I1
TH E M O B IL IT Y
O F E L E C T R O N IC
T E C H N IC IA N S
INTRODUCTION
Defense mobilization in a heavily industrialized nation
brings with it a host of dislocations and readjustments in the
labor force. Expansion of military production, maintenance of es
sential civilian production, and curtailment of nonessential activ
ities create labor problems that can be solved only through an
Tinderstanding of the characteristics of the labor force.
Skilled manpower resources present a particularly serious
problem because they can be developed only over a relatively long
period of time and, once created, they cannot easily be changed
from one form to smother. A nation which has enough workers to
fill all Jobs may nevertheless suffer from a shortage of workers
with particular skills.
The supply of skilled workers must be understood both in
terms of the numbers of men working in each occupation and their
tendency to move in and out of particular occupations. A knowledge
of the mobility of workers is necessary to an accurate evaluation
of the ability of the labor force to meet changing needs.
O B J E C T IV E S OF THE STUDY
To obtain information essential to evaluating the adequa
cy of the labor force in the event of full mobilization, the Bureau
of Labor Statistics, with the support of the Department of the Air
Force, has undertaken a series of studies of the mobility of work
ers in critical occupations. Specific questions to which these
studies provide answers are:
1.
What are the personal characteristics of the
workers in an occupation and how will they
affect the future supply and mobility of these
workers?
2.
How do these skilled workers get their training?
1
3.
What are the sources from which fully or par
tially trained workers may be drawn?
k.
How do these workers move between occupational
specialties, establishments, industries, and
areas, and what factors affect this movement?
Tool and die makers, 1/ electronic technicians, and core
makers and molders are occupations which have been selected from
the Department of Labor's List of Critical Occupations for studies
of mobility. Several related research projects being conducted
outside the Bureau of Labor Statistics deal with the same general
problems and explore the mobility of all workers in six major in
dustrial centers. 2/ Another group of Bureau studies analyzes the
Nation's resources of highly trained personnel in the natural
sciences. £/
Electronics is a field which has experienced tremendous
growth over a relatively short time span. It thus affords am ex
cellent opportunity to study the mobility of a skilled worker group.
Electronic techniciams work in several, industries which
vaury widely in their importamce to defense mobilization. For instance, the production of home ratdio and television sets could be
stopped entirely in wartime, but continuation of aircraft elec
tronics productions would be vital to survivail. One of the prima
ry objectives of this particular study was therefore to determine
from the actual movements of those working in this field the ex
tent of interchamgeabillty of workers among the several special
ties included under the general, job title, electronic technician.
The information presented in this study was obtained in
a personal interview survey of 1,926 electronic technicians em
ployed in eight of the Nation's largest metropolitan areas:
Atlamta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York,
1/ Mobility of Tool and Die Makers, 19^0-1951; Bureau of Labor
Statistics Bulletin No. 1120 (1952)
2/ The Mobility of Workers in Six Cities, 19^-0-19^9: Survey of
Occupational Mobility conducted by cooperating university research
centers and the Social Science Research Council for the U. S.
Department of the Air Force arnd the U. S. Bureau of the Census.
Patterns of Mobility of Skilled Workers amd Factors Affecting Their
Occupational Choice, Six Cities, 19kO-1951> Industrial Relations
Section, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,
Massachusetts, February 1, 1952.
2/ Occupational Mobility of Scientists, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Bulletin No. 1121 (1953)* Manpower Resources in Chemistry and
Chemical Engineering, 1951J Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin
No. 1132 (1953).
2
and Philadelphia. The survey, which was made in April and May of
1952, is described in detail in the Methodology section (p. 58 ).
THE R O L E OF E L E C T R O N I C T E C H N IC IA N S
The operation of electronic equipment is based upon com
plex lavs of physics. For this reason, the manufacture, installa
tion, and maintenance of electronic devices require the services
of skilled workers who understand these physical principles. Pro
fessional engineers design and develop equipment; electronic tech
nicians install, test, maintain, and repair electronic equipment.
Electronic technicians perform specialized tasks in
volving the application of electronic theory in the manufacture,
installation, maintenance, and repair of electronic equipment.
The particular job duties of electronic technicians vary with the
products and services of the establishments they work in. A radio
repairman has different functions from an electronic technician in
a laboratory; a broadcasting technician has few duties in common
with an electronic technician in an aircraft plant. Nevertheless,
there is a body of knowledge and skills common to all these groups.
Generally speaking, the electronic technician diagnoses
the trouble in a piece of equipment by studying its "symptoms,"
makes tests to varify or correct his diagnosis, and then makes the
necessary repairs. He uses meters and other testing components
and circuits. He replaces defective parts, using electrician's
hand tools such as pliers, screw drivers, wrenches, and soldering
irons. After making repairs, he adjusts the equipment to proper
operating condition.
This description applies most specifically to repairmen,
but those technicians who construct, install, test, and maintain
electronic devices must also perform some of the above operations.
In manufacturing, the emphasis is on testing, inspecting, and re
pair. In research laboratories, construction of equipment from
blueprints or wiring diagrams is one of the main jobs of the tech
nician. In aircraft plants, electronic technicians are often con
cerned with fabrication and installation of electronic equipment.
Technicians in broadcasting stations sure primarily equipment opera
tors, but they must have enough electronics skill to repair any of
the station's electronic equipment.
Electronic technicians were chosen for study not only
because they are essential workers in short supply but also because
little reliable information about this relatively new job clans
existed. The tremendous importance of electronic equipment in
modern warfare and its many uses in vital civilian communications
3
facilities made it necessary to obtain information about the
supply of skilled workers required in its manufacture and mainte
nance.
Establishments employing most of the Nation's electron
ic technicians can be classified into the following groups: Those
engaged in (l) home radio and/or television repair, (2) radio and/
or television broadcasting, (3 ) manufacture of radio and/or tele
vision receivers, (k) manufacture of other electronic equipment,
(5) manufacture of military aircraft, and (6) research and develop
ment. These groups are the six "types of establishments" vhich
are discussed in the findings. The estimated number of electronic
technicians in the civilian economy distributed by industry of em
ployment is shown in table 7 on page 59.
THE F IE L D OF E L E C T R O N I C S
Sane facts about the place of electronics and electronic
technicians in our economy are essential to understanding the
significance of the findings of this survey. Electronics is a
field of science that is concerned with the applications of the
vacuum or gaseous electron tube (or the recently developed transis
tor). Any device which uses such components is considered to be
electronic equipment. Common examples are radio, television, radar,
guided missile controls, and X-ray machines.
"Electromagnetic radiations" is a general term that in
cludes radio, television, radar, light, heat, X-ray, and other
wave phenomena. These radiations can be produced and used most
efficiently through devices which employ electron tubes. Appli
cations range from devices which detect a weak spot on a solid
steel rail to computers which in a few seconds make mathematical
calculations which would take days or even months to make mechan
ically.
For many years, radio was the only active field in what
is now called electronics. The earliest radio transmitters and
receivers did not have vacuum tubes and were therefore very in
efficient. The introduction of electron tubes made it possible
to send and receive waves on a narrow "channel,” thus enabling
many messages to be sent and received at the same time without in
terference. As a medium of mass-communication, radio has become
so widely used that hardly a home in America is without a radio
set.
A practicable television system was developed through
the application of electronics. The picture tube in modern re
ceivers is itself merely a large electron tube, with a tiny elec
tron beam so controlled that it "writes" a complete picture on the
k
screen 30 tines each second, a speed Impossible to attain without
electronics* Since World War II, the production of television re
ceivers has burgeoned into a large industry.
The fact that electromagnetic radiations can penetrate
fog, darkness, and even solids makes electronics of critical impor
tance to our Armed Forces. Detection of enemy ships and aircraft,
night flying and landing of aircraft, night bombing, gun-laying,
and, of course, communications are all dependent on electronic de
vices. Radar is an absolute necessity to naval operations because
of its ability to detect any ship or aircraft in range and even to
identify it as friend or foe. For the same reasons, the Air Force
is becoming increasingly dependent on electronic devices. Other
military applications of electronics are guided missiles, fire con
trol devices, and proximity fuses.
These developments in electronics were accompanied by
changes in the job duties and skills required of the men and women
working in the field. Before the 1920’s the only noteworthy group
that could be considered electronic technicians were the men who
operated and maintained sblp-to-shore wireless communications facil
ities. It was not until radio demonstrated its commercial, feasi
bility that electronics became a significant source of employment
for American workers. As home radio became increasingly popular,
the repair of these sets developed into a profitable type of small
business. Many of those who entered this business were hobbyists
and amateur radio operators who repaired radio receivers first as
a part-time source of income and later as a full-time job. The
training these men received was obtained by reading technical books
and magazines and experimenting with equipment in their own homes.
The public demand for radio receivers in the late
twenties and thirties converted radio manufacturing from a small
job-order operation into one of our principal mass production indus
tries. Electronic technicians worked in these factories testing
different parts of the sets on the assembly lines and trouble
shooting finished units. During this period, many vocational and
technical schools began offering courses in radio, and their grad
uates entered repair, manufacturing, and broadcasting jobs.
The first commercial radio broadcast was made in 1920,
but it was not until the early thirties that national networks
with daily broadcasts became commonplace. The technicians who
worked in the broadcasting stations did the same general type of
work they do now, such as operating transmitting equipment, main
taining and adjusting sound pickup equipment, operating master
controls, and maintaining recording equipment.
World War II had a tremendous impact on the electronics
field. Although radio accounted for almost all-of the activity in
electronics in the prewar period, the needs of modern warfare
5
forced the development of electronic applications such as radar,
loran, shoran, ground control approach systems, proximity fuses,
and fire control systems. In addition to serving immediate
practical purposes hy developing nev equipment, the wartime elec
tronics industry conducted intense inquiry into basic research prob
lems and paved the vay for many of the nev Industrial and military
applications of electronics that have marked the post-tforld War II
period.
Perhaps more significant to the economy than the tech
nical aspects of the wartime electronics program was its impact on
the supply of electronic technicians. Although civilian radio
broadcasting facilities were maintained throughout the war, manu
facture of radio receivers was sharply curtailed, and many of these
plants and their technicians shifted to the manufacture of elec
tronic equipment for the Armed Forces. Some radio repairmen and
radio broadcasting technicians also took Jobs in these plants.
Many younger men from all these groups moved into Armed Forces jobs
operating, maintaining, and repairing vital electronic equipment
used by our Armed Forces throughout the world.
Hovever, the limited number of men in the civilian econ
omy who had had good training in electronics in relation to the
huge needs of the Armed Forces, and the technical differences be
tween military electronic equipment and home radio sets made it
necessary for the military services to meet the bulk of their needs
by training nev men. Thousands of young men drawn into the armed
services who shoved certain aptitudes in the standard induction
tests were sent to school to learn to operate and service military
equipment. As the following sections of this report will show,
this group of technicians made up a large segment of the postwar
electronics work force. The training they received and the skills
they acquired while serving in the Armed Forces enabled many of
them to take technicians' jobs in the fast growing postwar radio
and television broadcasting, manufacturing, and repair industries.
6
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Electronic technicians were a young group of skilled work
ers who changed jobs relatively often from January 19^0 to AprilMay 1952. They demonstrated an ability to move between jobs in
such varied activities as broadcasting, radio and television re
pair, electronics manufacturing, and research. The most mobile
workers were young men with only a year or two of experience in
the field. Most electronic technicians showed marked aptitudes
for the physical sciences. Electronics training in technical
schools was the most common type of training for this occupation,
though many technicians, particularly the older men had acquired
much of their skill at home through reading and hobby work.
7
M OBILITY
The annual rate of job changing among electronic tech
nicians varied from 1 change for every 12 technicians employed In
19^0 to about 1 change for every 4 in 1991
(chart 1). The aver
age electronic technician changed jobs once every k years during
the 12-year work history period covered in the survey. About 99
percent of the respondents had held civilian jobs other them elec
tronic technician jobs during this period. Sixty-one percent had
served in the Armed Forces, half of them serving as electronic tech
nicians.
Less than half of the electronic technicians had held the
job they vere in at the time of the survey for more than 36 months.
Electronic technicians in broadcasting had the longest average
tenure in their jobs; over one-fourth of them had been in the same
job for more than 8 years. Tenure was shortest in aircraft manu
facturing, research, and other electronics manufacturing.
The most common method of obtaining electronic technician
jobs from 19*t0 to the time of the survey vas through unsolicited
applications at plant employment offices. Another common way of
getting jobs vas through relatives or acquaintances working in the
plant. Help-vanted ads accounted for a much smaller proportion of
hirings. Among radio repairmen, opening a business of their own
vas a very common method of getting the "job".
Electronic technicians moved freely among the different
types of electronics establishments. Electronic technicians in
research had held the highest proportion of electronic technicians
jobs in other fields, with the aircraft manufacturing group a
close second. Radio and television repairmen showed the least
diversity in electronics employment.
Previous experience in radio and television repair estab
lishments vas common among men vorklng in other fields. Jobs in
other electronics manufacturing and radio and television manufac
turing also appeared frequently in the work histories of men work
ing in other fields. On the other hand, experience in broadcasting
stations, aircraft plants, and research laboratories vas relative
ly rare among men in other fields.
Radio and television repair vork vas often a first job in
which respondents acquired experience and skill and then moved into
the other electronics specializations. On the other hand, broad
casting stations seemed to attract and hold some of the more experi
enced men who had vorked in jobs in other types of establishments.
8
Electronic technicians performed a wide variety of job
duties in the period studied. Previous experience in diverse
electronic job duties was widest among technicians who in 1952
were employed in other electronics manufacturing, aircraft manu
facturing, and research.
About 20 percent of the electronic technicians moved
from one city to another in charging jobs over the 12-year peri
od. Twelve percent made one area shift, 5 percent made 2 shifts,
and 3 percent made 3 to 5 shifts.
The changing needs of employers for electronic tech
nicians was the single strongest factor generating job shifts.
The most common reason respondents gave for shifts among elec
tronic technician jobs from 19^0 to 1952 was to take a better Job.
Twelve percent of the jobs were left because of layoffs.
Age was the main personal characteristic affecting
mobility. The only other significant differences between the men
who changed jobs from 19^0 to 1952 and those who did not were in
years of experience as an electronic technician and in home owner
ship. • Those who changed jobs were younger, they included a lower
proportion of home owners, and they had fewer years of experience
in electronics.
Though the job changers included a lower proportion
married men and fathers, and a slightly higher proportion of
school graduates, these differences can be attributed to age
other factors. No direct influence of marriage, fatherhood,
education on job changing is apparent in the findings.
of
high
and
or
TRAIN IN G
Technical school courses were the most important type of
training among electronic technicians
(chart 2). More than half
of the technicians had attended full-time civilian technical
schools, and one-third received training in Armed Forces schools.
About 5 percent of the technicians had been apprentices and 13 per
cent reported other on-the-job training.
Learning in the home, an unusual method of qualifying
for most skilled jobs, was a very common method of acquiring skill
in electronics. Many technicians attributed some of their skill
to correspondence courses, home study, amateur "ham" radio’work,
and other hobby work.
Most of the men who attended full-time civilian technical
school took courses lasting 12, l8, or 2^ months. Those who at
tended Armed Forces technical schools usually took 6- or 12-month
courses.
9
Chart 2. ELECTRONIC TECHNICIANS IN THE 6 TYPES
OF ESTABLISHMENTS HAD SIMILAR TRAINING BACKGROUNDS
Percent of Respondents in Each Type of Establishment
Who Previously Had Specified Typies of Training
TYPE OF TRAINING |
5 6 .5 %
3 9 .1%
Radio-TV
Repair
2 9 .9 %
2 5 . 8%
16 . 3 %
2 2 .4 %
7 .2 %
6 2 . 1%
4 4 .7 %
2 9 .1%
Broadcasting
35 .3 %
9 .9 %
7 2 .2 %
4 4 .3 %
Manufacture
ot Radio-TV
Manufacture
o t utner
Electronic
Equipment
2 7 .9 %
45 . 2 %
4 2 .1%
38 . 6 %
2 4 .4 %
4 5 .5 %
4 2 .5 %
37 .1%
Manufacture
of Aircraft
2 3 .5 %
2 0 .4 %
12 .1%
15.9 %
50.9 %
4 0 .8%
3 4 .7 %
3 6 .7 %
Research
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
If a t e c h n ic ia n h ad u n d e rg o n e
m ore m a n one t y p e ot t r a in in g ,
ne w a s co u n ted m ore th a n o n ce..
PERSONAL CH A RA CTER ISTIC S
A jnajority of the men who took jobs as electronic tech
nicians were high school graduates who had a definite aptitude
for mathematics and the physical sciences. More than half of the
electronic technicians came into this field directly from school
or the Armed Forces. Electronics was their first regular occupa
tion. Less than one-third of the men in the survey had worked as
electronic technicians before 19 ^0 .
Over half of the electronic technicians manifested in
their youth an interest in electronics, which led eventually to
their taking jobs in this field. Other men were influenced to
enter electronics by Armed Forces training, family or friends,
attractiveness of electronics as a field with a good future,
school training,and experience in a related field, usually elec
tricity.
Electronic technicians employed in 1952 were a relative
ly young group of skilled workers; their median age was 33
(chart 3). Four out of 5 were married, and three-fourths of the
married men were fathers.
Chart 3. ELECTRONIC TECHNICIANS ARE A YOUNG
GROUP OF SKILLED WORKERS
Age Distribution of Respondents ^nmnared With
Craftsmen, Foremen, and Kindred Workers, and Entire
Nonagricultural - Male Labor Force, April 1952
Electro n ic T e c h n ic ia n s
C ra ftsm e n , Fo re m e n ,
an d K in d re d W o rk e r;
N onag ric u ltu ra i-M n le
La b o r Fo rce
Under
20-24
20
25-34
35-44
AG E GROU PS
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR!
BUREAU O f LABOR STATISTICS!
11
45-54
55-64
nnd
Over
Technicians in broadcasting received the highest median
earnings, b/ followed in declining order of earnings by those in
aircraft manufacturing, other electronics manufacturing, research,
radio and television repair, and radio and television manufacturing.
The range of earnings was widest in radio and television repair,
and narrowest in radio and television manufacturing.
A great majority of the electronic technicians in broad
casting and radio and television manufacturing worked a kO-hour
week. Workweeks of over 1+0 hours were quite common in the other
four groups, especially in radio and television repair.
Electronic technicians were versatile in terms of ability
to make major repairs on different types of equipment; over half
could repair four or more types of equipment.
bj
Only broadcasting stations in large cities were covered by the
survey. See p. 20*
12
MANPOWER IMPLICATIONS
The most important implications of the findings are those
which relate to effective manpower planning. What does this study
tell manpower administrators about the adequacy of our supply of
electronic technicians? What does it Indicate would be the most
efficient ways of increasing the supply in the event of full mobili
zation?
THE F U T U R E S U P P L Y OF E L E C T R O N I C T E C H N I C I A N S
The supply of electronic technicians will not be de
creased to any significant extent by deaths, retirements, or move
ments out of the field during a foreseeable mobilization period.
The Truthfulness of electronic technicians indicates that losses
due to death and retirement will be relatively slight* Over the
next decade, these losses should amount to about 9 percent of the
present members of this occupation, compared with 18 percent for
the entire male labor force. £/
The fact that electronics was not only a source of a
job but also an early-acquired avocatlonal interest of electronic
technicians suggests that they are less likely to move out of their
field than workers whose jobs have little relation to their leisure
interests. Although many respondents left electronics at some time
during the 19^0 to 1952 period and others not covered in the survey
probably left permanently, Increasing employment in electronics
during this period indicates that these losses were more them off
set by the many new men entering the field each year. It is,
therefore, likely that the attractiveness of this field for new
entrants in the labor market and the strong job attachments of
those already working as technlcisms will insure a gradually in
creasing supply of electronic technicians in the years ahead.
JJ/' Based on Tables of Working Life, U. S. Department of Labor,
Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin 1001, 1950.
13
M E A N S OF M E E T I N G F U L L M O B I L I Z A T I O N R E Q U I R E M E N T S
In the event of full mobilization, serious shortages of
electronic technicians in vital civilian industries and the Armed
Forces will develop unless measures are taken to prevent them.
How could the additional electronic technicians needed in these
activities be obtained most efficiently? The survey information
shows how mobilization needs might be met by using each of the
following methods:
1.
Transferring skilled workers into essential
activities from nondefense work;
2.
Upgrading and giving additional training to
partially skilled men;
3.
Upgrading women working in lower level elec
tronics production jobs;
k.
Training new entrants selected on the basis
of their aptitudes.
T r a n s f e r s of S k i l l e d W o r k e r s I n t o E s s e n t i a l A c t i v i t i e s
Electronic technicians in 1952 worked in establish
ments whose Importance to mobilization needs was extremely varied.
Although the pool of skilled electronic technicians employed in
all these establishments would be inadequate to meet full mobili
zation requirements, it provides a much larger base for meeting
such requirements than that available during the pre-World War II
period. Thus, one of the principal methods of meeting mobiliza
tion needs for electronic technicians in any future emergency
might be through transfers of skilled men from less essential to
more essential activities. The survey findings indicate that such
job shifts would be feasible.
Electronic technicians working in different types of
establishments had very similar training, equipment skills, and
personal characteristics, and their work histories showed consid
erable mobility between different types of electronics establish
ments. For example, some of the technicians engaged in repair of
home radio and television receivers could transfer to plants manu
facturing military electronic equipment or aircraft, and others
could take jobs in research laboratories. The survey data indicate
that movements out of home receiver repair into the other special
ties have been the most common type of interindustry shift.
Furthermore, when manufacturing plants shift from civilian to mili
tary production, as many did in World War II, their technicians
shift into essential activities without changing their jobs.
Ik
If it were necessary for interindustry shifts to he
encouraged or induced, should appeals be directed to any specif
ic type of person who would be more likely to respond to them?
What inducements would be most effective in producing these shifts?
The survey indicates that young men with little experi
ence in electronics are most likely to change Jobs. Such workers,
however, are usually less versatile and less skilled, and are there
fore of limited value to employers who need skilled manpower imme
diately.
Although the survey shows some variations in mobility
rates among electronic technicians of different ages and experience,
it also shows that, as a group, electronic technicians are above
average in their propensity to change Jobs. In the event of full
mobilization, a program for inducing these workers to transfer into
essential industries should therefore be directed at the entire
group without regard to their personal characteristics.
The strength of the attachments of electronic technicians
to particular firms, types of plants, or labor market areas bears
on the extent to which the existing supply of electronic technicians
can be considered as a pool of manpower available to the entire
Nation. The survey shows that electronic technicians were not
strongly bound to particular employers. Although they seemed to
be somewhat attached to a particular type of electronic establish
ment, their strongest attachment was to the general field of elec
tronics. Once a man became a skilled electronic technician, he was
disposed to remain in the electronics field, though he showed con
siderable willingness to change Jobs within it.
As for changes between labor market areas, electronic
technicians may be more likely than many other skilled workers to
move from one area to another because they are a relatively young
group of workers. However, like other workers they required a much
greater stimulus to move between areas than to make Job changes
within an area. These findings indicate that manpower authorities
in a full mobilization period could count on considerable voluntary
movement of electronic technicians among employers and types of
electronics establishments, and some mobility among labor market
areas.
Most Job changes among electronic technicians were moti
vated by a desire to "take a better Job." The inducements most
effective in stimulating voluntary movements into essential elec
tronic technician Jobs are thus bound up with sill the factors which
enter into a worker's Judgment of a good or bad Job, such as wages,
hours, working conditions, distance from home, and steadiness of
employment. An exhaustive investigation of the relative importance
of these factors was beyond the scope of this study, but even the
limited information obtained suggests certain policies. Obviously,
some of the factors which workers generally consider in rating the
15
desirability of a job, such as wages, hours, and working conditions,
can be made more attractive to induce electronic technicians in
nonessential activities to move into essential Jobs. However, cer
tain other characteristics of a job, such as distance from a work
er's home or lack of long-term security, cannot be as easily al
tered through a manpower .program.:
The value of the existing supply of electronic techni
cians as a base for meeting full mobilization requirements depends
to some extent on the proportion who possess a good, all-round
knowledge of electronics. Such men can shift from one type of
activity to another with a minimum of additional training. They
can act as working supervisors of less skilled men or instruct new
men in on-the-job training programs. It is therefore suggested
that another way to help prevent shortages is to encourage men
already working as technicians to ootain additional training in
phases of electronic theory and practice that are not necessarily
connected with their present jobs.
The present supply of electronic technicians available
to the Armed Forces provides a much larger base for expansion
than their pre-World War II supply. Nevertheless, many additional
men would be needed for full mobilization. In view of the findings,
how would military needs for electronic technicians be met without
seriously depleting the supply available to defense industries?
Since electronic technicians are a young group of
skilled workers, a number of them would probably be inducted.
Every effort should be made to place every qualified electronic
technician in an Aimed Forces job requiring his skill. The more
highly skilled technicians could serve as instructors in service
schools or as supervisors of the partially skilled. In addition
to men in uniform, civilian electronic technicians working in less
essential activities could act as instructors and supervisors at
military schools and installations.
Most electronic technician assignments in the Armed
Forces require a basic knowledge of electronics plus a detailed
knowledge of the construction and functioning of a particular
type of equipment. Though men with work experience already pos
sess the basic electronics knowledge, they often require additional
instruction before they can qualify for an Armed Forces job. For
these reasons, the Armed Forces would probably depend upon their
own training programs to meet the larger share of their full mobi
lization requirements, although the experienced civilian supply
would be a more important source of electronic technicians than
it was in World War II.
16
D r a w in g P a r t ia ll y T r a in e d W o r k e r s From O t h e r F ie ld s
Are there workers outside the field of electronics
who could become skilled electronic technicians with little addi
tional training? The survey provides some indirect evidence
that there are very few of these workers. It shows that more
than half of the men in this field had engaged in no regular oc
cupation before entering electronics. Of those who had held jobs,
only one-fifth had been in jobs related to electronics, and only
a few of these jobs, such as electricians, required knowledge and
skill similar to that of electronic technicians.
W o m an Technicians
The survey showed very few women working as electronic
technicians, but the possibility of their use in future emergen
cies merits consideration. If adequate mathematical and techni
cal training were made available to women, many of them could
qualify in this field. Many of the jobs in electronics manufac
turing plants which do not require an understanding of electronics,
such as routine testing and assembling jobs, are held by women.
Upgrading them into electronic technician jobs would require ex
tensive training, but the effort would be warranted if male elec
tronic technicians were in extremely short supply.
E s t a b l i s h i n g T r a i n i n g P r o g r a m s f o r N e w W o r k e rs
Shifting experienced skilled workers into vital defense
industries would only partially meet requirements under full mobi
lization. It will be necessary to train many thousands of addi
tional workers to satisfy the most pressing needs of the Armed
Forces and the war production industries. Since it might be diffi
cult to establish a large-scale, long-term training program after
the mobilization period began and since the graduates might not be
available in time to participate in the mobilization effort, such a
program should be initiated in advance of mobilization.
The survey findings can aid considerably in guiding
the establishment of training programs to develop all-round elec
tronic technicians. They indicate that there are a number of
specific aptitudes and Interests that should be used as the basis
for selection of trainees. Most of the men who succeeded in this
field liked mathematics and physical sciences and had shown an
interest in radio and electronics long before they entered the
labor market. Theoretical knowledge and background is much more
important in this field than in most other skilled occupations and
the experience of civilian and Armed Forces schools indicates that
some men can master the necessary theoretical concepts much more
easily and rapidly than others. A careful selection system which
17
would, attempt to Induct into training tnose who were "most likely
to succeed" would be a major factor in assuring the effectiveness
of any training program. In this connection, the work which has
been done in developing aptitude tests could be broadly applied to
the problem of selecting trainees for electronics technician work.
The findings also provide information on the methods
and content of an effective training program. Electronic techni
cians and their employers were asked for specific suggestions
about the best ways of training electronic technicians. The most
frequent response was that an ideal program would combine class
room instruction in electronics theory, repair and service proce
dures, and related topics with actual work in a particular job on
a concurrent, dally basis. Both elements are necessary— without
substantial theoretical training, a worker may not fully under
stand how electronic equipment operates; without actual work ex
perience, the practical applications of theoretical instruction
are not fully appreciated and much of the theory is forgotton
during the training period.
Logically, a program for training electronic technicians
should be started before mobilization actually begins. In practice,
however, such a program would face many difficulties. For example,
is it feasible to train a large number of technicians in advance
of actual mobilization needs in the light of more limited peace
time requirements for such workers? Past experience in war emer
gencies indicates that this is not a very efficient method of meet
ing the problem. A more effective measure would be the development
of a program of giving broad technical, training to as large a pro
portion as possible of the new entrants into the field. Although
many men qualify as electronic technicians each year, they do not
have the all-round, varied abilities of experienced men in the field.
In addition, there are other people such as television antenna in
stallers, doing work related to electronics who do not qualify as
electronic technicians. Establishing a broad program of training
for these groups would provide a large new pool of skilled workers
who would be available for electronic technicians work in a mobi
lization period* Although this program would give many workers
training beyond the minimum requirements for the jobs they actual
ly hold, it would be more desirable than training large numbers of
men to be technicians, beyond the needs of the peacetime economy.
This is emphasized by the fact that formal training alone is not
sufficient to qualify a man for electronic technician's work,espe
cially when it is not combined with actual job experience.
One method of Increasing the number of men with broad
technical background is by stimulating an expansion in apprentice
ship training. Since this approach would probably not expand the
supply of skilled workers to necessary levels, additional training
programs would be required to bring in such workers above the
18
normal inflow of trainees. Such programs should be carefully
planned to make sure that the students receive training which will
directly qualify them for jobs and that the skills they '.quire
will be maintained for early use in a possible full mobilization
period. This might be accomplished by capitalizing on the hobby
interest of many persons in the electronics field. They could be
given part-time, intensive courses in electronics combined with
practical work-type experience. Periodic refresher courses and
tests of work proficiency would help keep them prepared for quick
transfer into electronic technician jobs in an emergency and would
keep them abreast of current developments in electronic equipment.
A special reserve of qualified technicians would thus be available
in an emergency.
19
FINDINGS
THE NATU RE O F THE S T U D Y
The findings of this study must be interpreted in the
light of the nature of the survey and the time period which it
covered. A limitation on the significance of the findings arises
out of the fact that an unknown number of men have entered and
left electronic technicians' Jobs in past years and are thus not
represented in our sample. However, this limitation is not very
serious in the case of electronic technicians because of the
peculiar experience of the electronics industry in the period
covered by the survey.
From 19^+0 to 1952, skilled electronic technicians were
in short supply. Wages offered were relatively high, and a
generally favorable labor market made it easy for workers to
change Jobs. These and other factors, particularly the continu
ous expansion in the field of electronics make it very unlikely
that many men who were below retirement age and had the skills
of an electronic technician were not working as technicians at
the time of the survey. As for those who had retired, both the
fact that hardly any electronics Jobs existed before 1920 and that
so few older men were found in the survey (see chart 3 on page 11)
indicate that they were a very small group.
Since this survey was confined to eight large metropol
itan areas, its findings are directly applicable only to elec
tronic technicians in such areas. Most men employed in manufac
turing and research live in large metropolitan areas, so that the
findings about these groups may be considered typical. However,
electronic technicians in broadcasting stations and in radio and
television repair shops in smaller cities and towns are much less
adequately described by the findings.
This report describes 1,926 men who were working as
electronic technicians in April-May 1952. It is based on informa
tion they gave about their past history and present status.
Three time periods derived from the survey data are covered in
the analysis:
1.
The time at which the respondents were inter
viewed (April-May 1952).
20
2.
The time when they took their first full-time
job as electronic technicians (varies from
191^ to 1952).
3*
The work history period reported by the re
spondents (January 19^0 to April-May 1952).
The first time period covers the facts about elec
tronic technicians as of April-May 1952. The second period—
at time of first entry into the occupation— is essential for
studying the factors surrounding the transition from other sta
tuses into electronic technician jobs. The third period, on
which the analysis of mobility is based, covers all the facts
reported by the 1,926 men about their labor-force status changes
since January 19^0.
All three of the above time periods figure in the anal
ysis, but only those findings dealing with the first are entire
ly free from misinterpretation because they deal with the re
spondents after they had all become electronic technicians. The
second period, on the other hand, covers the respondents at a
time when they had not yet become electronic technicians, and the
third covers both situations. Thus, in the sections about entry
into electronics and movements since 19 ^0 , the characteristics
of a group of individuals destined to become electronic techni
cians are described.
The work history information obtained in the survey per
tains to a period of high employment levels. It is therefore a
good indicator of full mobilization propensities but a much less
reliable indicator of behavior in an unfavorable economic climate.
Comparisons made in the following sections sire intended
for consideration in the following frame of reference: How were
electronic technicians different from other members of the labor
force? Adjectives such as "high", "low", "young", and "mobile"
are used here to mean that electronic technicians possessed the
characteristic under discussion to a greater or lesser extent
than other workers.
In many instances, no control group data were available.
Nevertheless, inferences were drawn on the basis of deviations
from expected results, assuming that certain facts about elec
tronic technicians— for example, that 36 percent reported mathe
matics as their favorite high school subject— were not true of
the male labor force generally. The validity of these inferences
depends upon the accuracy of our analysis of indirect sources of
information about the male labor force.
21
M O B IL IT Y OF ELEC T R O N IC T E C H N IC IA N S , 1 9 4 0 -5 2
A n alytical Concepts
The main object of this study was to learn how men find
their way into electronic technician jobs, and how they then move
among different types of electronics establishments, employers,
and labor market areas. The work-history analysis used in this
study is more comprehensive than those used in previous studies
of occupational mobility.
Instead of selecting from a com
plete work-history period specific types of activity or specific
points in time, this study considers the work-history period in
its totality, showing what each respondent was doing in each month
of the 12 years in terms of type of labor-force status. 6/ This
method permits a detailed tracing of the steps through which new
men enter a skilled worker .category, and, at the same time, allows
the usual analysis of the movements of workers after they are quali
fied. A brief description of the analytical procedures follows.
Each continuous time segment spent in one pursuit by
each respondent (after leaving high school) from January 19^0 to
April-May 1952 was considered a "labor-force status." These laborforce statuses were then classified into the following groups:
Types of labor-force statuses
0
1
2
Electronic technician job
Other civilian job
Armed Forces job as an electronic technician 7/
3
Other Armed Forces job 7/
4
5
Unemployment
Student in electronics at technican or voca
tional school or college
Student in college or other post-high school
6
The term "labor-force status" is used to describe these
categories because it comes closest conceptually to the kind of
situation under consideration— that of a man to whcan seeking a job
or not seeking a job is a matter of choice or chance. For example,
a boy in high school is not usually considered free to take a full
time job, so he has no status in relation to the labor force. On
the other hand, men in the Armed Forces or in a post-high school
educational institution would, but for their choice or the needs of
6/
7/
See definition in following paragraph.
Technically, these statuses are outside the labor force.
22
the Nation, be in the labor force. These categories (groups 2, 3>
and 6 above) are essentially negative labor-force statuses. They
are used in this analysis because they appear in the work histories
of a great many respondents, who interrupted their work careers to
attend technical schools or to serve in the Armed Forces.
For each of these statuses, the data answer the questions,—
When?, Where?, and For how long? For each job held by a respondent,
whether in or out of the Armed Forces, (groups 0, 1, 2, and 3) the
data show what kind of work he performed. For every civilian job
(groups <0 and l) held by a respondent, information is provided on
how he happened to get the job and why he left it.
Analysis of worker movement involves breaking up the
"flow" of changes into static situations, delineating the character
istics of those situations, and then attempting to reconstruct the
reality by studying the order in which the different situations
follow each other. Thus the analysis of "changes" in labor-force
statuses actually consists of a presentation of static situations
(labor-force statuses) in terms of number, type, timing, and
sequence.
For the purposes of this report, a labor force status
change is defined as a movement from one job or pursuit to another.
It may or may not involve a change in type of status. Thus, a move
ment from one electronic technician job to another is one change, and
a movement from an Armed Forces job to technical school is also one
change.
The findings presented in this section deal with (l) all
changes in labor force status made by the 1,926 respondents from
January 19^0 to April-May 1952, and (2) movements of these men
among electronic technician jobs during this period.
La b o r-fo rce Status C h a n g e s
The labor-force status changes of the 1,926 respondents
during this 12-year period can be studied from several different
viewpoints:
a.
Volume, type, and time of changes--How many and what
kinds of changes were made, and when?
b.
Direction of changes— What were the net effects of
ithese changes in terms of tne number of men ini
each type of status each year as they moved toward
the electronic jobs they held at the end of this
period?
c.
Distribution of changes among individuals— How many
individuals spent time in how many statuses, in
total and by type over the 12 years?
23
Volume, Type, and Time of Changes. All labor-force sta
tus changes made by the respondents from 19^0 to 1952 are shown in
chart k. The upper half of the chart shows how many changes of all
types occurred in each of the 12 years, and indicates how many of
these changes consisted of direct shifts from one electronic tech
nician job to another. The lower half of the chart shows the total
changes made in terras of the type of status left and the type of sta
tus entered. 8/ For example, it shows that 393 of the changes were
made by men who moved into civilian electronic technician jobs from
an electronic technician assignment in the Armed Forces.
The 1,926 men in the survey made a great many labor-force
status changes from January 19^0 to April-May 1952, reporting
9 ,1 8 7 different statuses over this period, or 7*261 status changes
(9>l87 minus 1,926). The most common type of shift was from one
electronic technician job to another. There were also a great many
movements into and out of the Armed Forces and civilian electronics
schools. Each year, a considerable number of electronic technicians
left this field to take other work or attend school. Discharges from
the Armed Forces and postwar reconversion to a peacetime economy
made 19^6 the year of greatest movement, when 1,080 labor-force sta
tus changes were made. The volume of changes continued high
through the postwar period as more and more men moved between statuses
in electronic technician jobs, other civilian jobs, and civilian
electronics schools.
Nearly a thousand of the respondents left high school
during the 12 years to enter one of the status categories mentioned
above, with most of them moving out during the earlier years of
the work history period. These movements are not counted as laborforce status changes, however, since they do not involve leaving
a previous labor force status.
Direction of Changes. The net effects of the status
changes made each year on the number of respondents in each sta
tus determine the general direction of movement over the 12 years.
For instance, the net effect of all the movements was that all
1,926 men had moved into electronic technician jobs by April-May
1952* Chart 5 illustrates the changing importance of the several
types of statuses over the 12 years.
The general pattern of movement of men into electronics
was from high school to technical school or an interim job into
electronic technician jobs. A great many of the respondents moyed
into the Armed Forces during World War II; almost half of them (t8.
percent) were in this status at the end of 19^*
Over half of those
in the Armed Forces served as electronic technicians. Unemployment
was infrequent and of short duration, and occurred mostly in the
postwar reconverion period.
8/
See appendix C for table showing all movements by type and year.
Chart 4. THE 7,261 LABOR-FORCE STATUS CHANGES
MADE BY THE RESPONDENTS:
NUMBER
When the Changes Were Made....
1.200
A ll O th e r C h a n g e s
1,000
D irect M o ve m e n ts From
O n e E lectro n ic Job to
A n o th e r
800
600
400 -
200
OL
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
____
a
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
____
’951
1952
* J a n u a r y to M ay
• The Types of Changes That Were Made
To
1
E. T.
0*h er
T echn ical
A rm ed F.- A rm ed F.-
Unem -
Job
C iv . Job
Sch ool
E. T. Job O th e r Job
p lo y m e n t
7,261
4,049
1,200
668
472
393
398
81
Electronic- Tech. Job
2,790
2,253
122
79
192
72
66
6
O th e r C iv ilia n Job
1,985
597
561
220
232
294
67
14
765
576
60
41
33
12
39
4
635
303
115
103
-
-
92
22
563
114
205
106
-
-
123
15
U n e m p lo ym e n t
410
165
109
106
7
9
-
14
C o lle g e
113
41
28
13
8
6
11
6
TOTAL
TOTAL
F
r.
0
m
T e ch n ical Sch ool
A rm ed B *»-ce«
Electro n ic Tech. Job
A rm ed Fo rc e s
O th e r Job
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
C o lle g e
A few case histories will illustrate more graphically the
way in which respondents moved among labor-force statuses over the
12 years. The following three were chosen as examples of workers
who, in terms of labor-force status, were (a ) nonmobile, (b ) of
average mobility, and (C) exceptionally mobile.
Mr. A was working in a broadcasting station in Boston at
the time of the survey. He was 35 years old, a high school graduate,
married, and had k dependents. He had held only this one job, which
he took in 1939* over the entire work history period.
Mr. B, a television repairman in a radio-television repair
shop in Chicago, had held 5 different statuses over the 12 years.
He was 31*- years old in 1952, married, but had no children. He had
had some college work in electrical engineering. In 1939, he took
a job in a drug store. After 2 years, he moved to a job as a govern
ment clerk, where he remained until he entered the Armed Forces in
19k2. After k years in the service, he entered a technical school
where he studied electronics under the GI bill. In 19k7, after a
year of schooling, he obtained a job as an apprentice technician
in the repair shop where he worked at the time of the survey. The
apprenticeship, lasted 2 years, after which Mr. B became a qualified
technician.
Mr. C was working as a research assistant in a Los
Angeles aircraft plant at the time of the survey, He was 26 , single,
and had no dependents. After leaving high achool in 19k3, he spent
a year in college studying electronics. In 19kk, he entered the
Navy, serving as an electronic technician until his discharge in
19k6. After a 3-month period of unemployment, Mr. C returned to
college for a year. He left to take a job as a TV technician with
a large home-receiver repair firm in 19k7« The following year, he
quit the job to return to college. He left college again at the
end of the school year, taking a job as a machinist in June 19k9*
After 5 months, he left this job to return to the repair firm as
a TV technician, where he remained until October 1951, when he
took the job at the aircraft plant.
Distribution of Changes Among Individuals. The analysis
of the gross volume of labor-force status changes does not indicate
to what extent the group experience is typical of individuals. How
many changes did each man make over the 12 years? What kinds of
changes were they?
The great volume of status changes were caused by the
majority of the men making several moves. Two-fifths of the re
spondents held 3 or more jobs as an electronic technician over the
12 years. More than one-fourth of them held two such jobs, and the
remaining third held only one job.
26
Chart 5. CHANGING LABOR FORCE STATUS OF RESPONDENTS,
January 1940 - April-May 1952
Distribution of 1,926 Respondents By Labor Force Status
As of End of Year
N um ber of
R e sp o n d en ts
1,926
1,800
1,600
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
1940
’41
’42
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
’43
’45
’46
’47
’48
’49
’50
’51
1952
In addition, over half of the respondents had held
civilian Jobs other than electronic technician jobs. One-fourth
of them held one such job, one-sixth held two such jobs, and
about one-eighth of them held 3 or more.
Thirty-two percent of the respondents had been in an
Armed Forces electronic technician job, and 29 percent had been
in the Armed Forces in some other assignment. Thirty-five per
cent attended civilian technical school at some time during the 12
years, and 5 percent attended such schools on two or more occa
sions. Unemployment was experienced once by l6 percent of the re
spondents, and two or more times by 3 percent.
M o v e m e n t s I n t o a n d O u t of E l e c t r o n i c T e c h n i c i a n J o b s
Although the complete work history of the respondents
is necessary to an understanding of their labor force experience,
a detailed analysis of their movements into and out of electronic
technician jobs is more directly related to the central problem of
the study— how often and for what reasons electronic technicians
change jobs.
In this section, movements into electronic technician
jobs include not only direct movements from one electronic tech
nician job which involve movements out of other types of laborforce statuses. Similarly, movements out of electronic technician
jobs include movements into other types of statuses*
These job changes are analyzed from four general
viewpoints:
a.
How often did electronic technicians change jobs?
b.
How were electronic technician jobs obtained?
c.
How many movements between electronic technician
jobs involved changes in: type of establishment,
job duties; employer; and labor market area?
d.
What factors influenced respondents to make these
job changes? Were men who made changes different
from those who made no changes?
The answers to these questions were obtained by analyzing the
U ,712 electronic technician jobs held by the respondents from
January 19^0 to April-May 1952.
28
The Rate of Job Changing Among Electronic Technicians.
Electronic technicians changed Jobs frequently from 1940 to 1952.
The survey shoved that the average respondent had changed jobs
about once every it years. However, these movements vere not
evenly distributed over the work history period.
Chart 1 shows that the rate of Job changing varied consid
erably from year to year. In 1940, the year of least relative
movement, about 1 technician in 12 changed Jobs, while in 1951,
the year of greatest movement, 1 technician in 4 changed Jobs. The
upward trend in the rate of Job changing reflects the rapid develop
ment of the electronics Industry.
Methods of Obtaining Electronic Technician Jobs. For each
of the 4,712 electronic technician jobs held by the 1,926 respon
dents over the 12 years, the question "How did you happen to get
this Job?” was asked. The answers, summarized in chart 6 , shew the
relative importance of various methods of obtaining electronic tech
nician Jobs.
Chart 6.
HOW RESPONDENTS OBTAINED ELECTRONIC
TECHNICIAN JOBS . . .
Percent of Electronic Technician Jobs Held By Respondents
From 1940 to 1952 That Were Obtained Thru Specified Methods
P ER C EN T O F T O T A L
Went to Plant
Employment Office
Heard of Opening
"Srough Someone
Working in Plant
Opened Own Business
Saw 'HELP WANTED'
Advertisement
Promotion
Referred by Technical
School
Through Public
Employment Office
Other Methods
JNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
29
Chart 7. ELECTRONIC TECHNICIANS MOVED FR EELY AMONG THE SIX TYPES OF ESTABLISHMENTS
Percent of Electronic Technician Jobs Held by Respondents in Specified Types of Establishments
From 1940 to 1952, by Type of Establishment at Time of Survey
TYPE OF ESTABLISHMENT
IN WHICH M SPOND EN T
WAS EMPLOYED
APRIL-MAY 19S2
Radio -TV Repair
Broadcasting
Manufacture of Radlo-TV
Manufacture of Other
Electronic Equipment
Manufacture of Aircraft
Research
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Over one-fourth
percent) of the men entering civilian
electronic technicians jobs over the 12 years obtained them through
unsolicited applications at plant employment offices. Another com
mon method (2b percent) was through hearing of openings through rel
atives or acquaintances working in the plant. Help-wanted ads ac
counted for about a tenth of the hirings. Among radio repairmen,
opening a business of their own was a very common method of getting
the "job." Five percent of the jobs resulted from referrals by
technical schools.
30
Changes In Type of Employing Establishment, Job Duties,
Employer, and Labor Market Area. The sections of the report vhlch
deal with training and skills supply a good deal of evidence for
the belief that electronic technicians in the six different types
of establishments covered in the survey constitute a valid job
group. It might be implied from this fact that electronic techni
cians working in one type of establishment could move to techni
cians' jobs in one of the other types of establishments. This
section shows to what extent they did make such moves from 19^0 to
1952. Chart 7 shows the extent to which electronic technicians
employed in each of the six types of establishments in April-May1952 had worked in each of the six types of establishments over
the 19 ^0-52 period.
Electronic technicians moved freely among the different
types of electronics establishments between 19^0 and 1952. Radio
and television repairmen had the least varied background in terms
of the percentage of their 19^0-52 electronic technician jobs that
were in other types of establishments. Electronic technicians in
research had had the highest proportion (51 percent) of electronic
technicians jobs in other fields, with the aircraft manufacturing
group a close second (^5 percent). In the other three groups—
radio and television manufacturing, other electronics manufacturing,
and broadcasting— only about 3° percent of the respondents' jobs as
electronic technicians over the 12 years were in other fields.
Past experience in radio and television repair was com
mon among men working in other types of establishments at the time
of the survey. Jobs in other electronics manufacturing and radio
and television manufacturing also appeared frequently in the work
histories of men working in other fields. On the other hand, ex
perience in broadcasting stations, aircraft plants, and research
laboratories was relatively rare among technicians not working in
those fields. In the case of broadcasting, this may be due to the
fact that the electronic technicians in this field were relatively
well paid, and tended to remain in this field after they had en
tered it. As for electronics experience in aircraft manufacturing
and research laboratories, its rarity in the work histories of
technicians in other types of establishments is a result of the
very recent development and expansion of these fields.
To what extent had electronic technicians employed in
one activity in Aprll-May 1952 performed other job duties in elec
tronic technician jobs from 19^0 to 1952? Chart 8 compares the
main job duties performed by the workers in each type of establish
ment at the time of the survey with their main job duties in all
the electronic technician jobs they held over the 12 years.
3X
Electronic technicians performed a vide variety of job
duties from 19^0 to 1952* Although those in radio and television
repair and manufacturing in April-May 1952 had held jobs which
were very similar to their current jobs in terms of functions,
many men in the other groups had done a number of different kinds
of electronic work over the 12 years. For example, of all the
jobs held by the broadcasting group over the 12 years, 6 percent
involved radio and television receiver repair, and 9 percent in
volved research laboratory work. Similarly, over 12 percent of
the jobs held during the 12 years by men in the other electronics,
aircraft manufacturing, and research groups were mainly concerned
with the repair of radio and television sets
These findings suggest that radio and television repair
vork was often a first job in which respondents acquired experi
ence and skill and then moved into the other electronics speciali
zations. On the other hand, very few technicians moved out of
broadcasting stations into jobs in other fields.
The identity of the employer is one of the factors in
volved in a job change which must be examined before the signifi
cance of the movement csua be fully evaluated. The survey shows
that most of the electronic technician jobs entered by the re
spondents from 19*10 to 1952 represented a move to a new employer;
only in one-eighth of the cases did the respondent return to an
employer for whom he had worked previously. A few of these men
merely returned to their previous employer after service in the
Armed Forces.
Some information about the extent of movements of elec
tronic technicians between labor market areas is essential to
the evaluation of the supply of electronic technicians in relation
to the demands for them in specific localities. Geographical
moves made in connection with taking an electronic technician job
are analyzed here. How many of the movements into electronic
technician jobs made by respondents over the 12 years Involved
changes in labor market areas? How many respondents in each city
had made these moves?
In this analysis, a geographical shift is defined in a
movement into or out of the 8 metropolitan areas in which the sur
vey was conducted or between states where none of these 8 areas
was involved. Thus the actual amount of movement between differ
ent labor market areas is slightly understated because of exclusion
of movements that occurred between two labor market areas located
in the same State, neither of which was one of the survey areas.
This exclusion does not significantly affect the validity of the
32
Chart 8. CURRENT JOB DUTIES OF ELECTRONIC TECHNICIANS COMPARED
WITH THE KINDS OF ELECTRONICS WORK THEY HAD DONE PREVIOUSLY
Main Job Duties of Current Jobs (April - May 1952) Held by Electronic Technicians in Each Type of Establishment
Compared With Their Main Duties in All Electronics Jdjbs They Held From 1940 to 1952
Percent of Jobs Involving Specified Main Job Duties
TYP E
OF
10
0
E S T A B L IS H M E N T
i—
l
20
30
----------1------------- 1—
40
60 ]
50
70
80
90
100
---------- 1-------------- 1------------- 1------------- 1------------- 1------------- 1----------- “ i
Present
Job
Radio - TV
R e p a ir
All Jobs
’40 - ’52
Present
Job
{
B ro ad ca stin g
All Jobs
40-52
M an u factu re of
Radio - TV
M a n u fa ctu re of
O th e r Electronic
Equipm ent
M an u factu re
of A ir c r a i.
R e se arch
_________________________ ___________ _
b u r e a u o f l a b o r s t a t is t ic s
_________
■
R e p a ir
R a d io - T V
S e ts
R e p a ir
KB
2
M
O th e r
E le c t r o n ic
E q u ip m e n t
l
2
z ^
O p e ra te
i—
T r a n s m it t in g
i,
E q u ip m e n t
- i In s p e c t
I Test
an d
E le c t r o n ic
E q u ip m e n t
In s ta ll
O th e r
iV V V J j j * c *ro n '<
E q u ip m e n t
17777
\
l//A
) R e se a rch
lo b .
W o rk
i -;
7
. i O th e r
E le c t r o n ic s
W o rk
Chart 9. THE PROPORTION OF ELECTRONIC TECHNICIANS
WHO HAD SHIFTED BETWEEN LABOR-MARKET AREAS
VARIED WIDELY AMONG THE 8 METROPOLITAN AREAS
Percent of Respondents Making One or More Area Changes in
Acauiring an ciecrronic Technician Job, from 1940 to 1952,
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
geographical data because such intrastate movements were rare.
Shifts of electronic technicians out of the 8 metropolitan areas
are also understated by the survey data because of the fact that
the men who moved out of these areas during the 12 -year period
and were not vorking in any of them in 1952 are not covered in
the survey.
The survey shows that about one-eighth of the move
ments cf respondents into electronic technician jobs from 19^0
to 1952 involved a change in labor market area. These area
shifts were made by one-fifth of the respondents, with 12 per
cent making one shift, 5 percent making 2 shifts, and 3 percent
making 3 to 5 area shifts.
Respondents who were working in Atlanta and Los Angeles
at the time of the Burvey had made the highest proportion of area
shifts, while those in Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia had
made the lowest proportion of area shifts (chart 9 )*
Causal Factors in Electronic Technician Job Changes* The
causes of Job changes were analyzed in several ways* First the data
were examined to determine the relative strength of objective labor
market conditions and personal motivations in bringing about Job
changes. Then the reasons given by the men for changing Jobs were
analyzed for significant motivation patterns. Finally, the personal
characteristics of the men who made Job changes were compared to those
of the men who made no changes to determine the influence of these
characteristics on mobility.
The Job changes made by electronic technicians over the
12 -year work-history period have resulted from the interplay of
two forces— the needs of industry and the desires of the individuals
to change their Jobs. The relative importance of the two factors
was evaluated by studying the annual rate of Job shifting among elec
tronic technician Jobs in each of the 12 years covered by the work
history. If the objective factor— the varying needs of employers for
electronic technicians— is the major cause of Job changing, it would
be likely that the annual rate of Job changing would vary irregularly
from year to year, being highest in times of industrial expansion,
and lowest in times of relatively stable economic conditions. The
survey data support this view
(chart 1 on page 7)* The conclusion
may therefore be drawn that the major force bringing about Job
changes was the pull of the labor market.
Granting that the respondents as a group changed Jobs in
response to labor market conditions, the next problem is to determine
why the particular Individuals who changed Jobs did so. The personal
or psychological motivations for Job changing were approached direct
ly by asking the Job changers to give their main reason for leaving
the 2,786 electronic technician Jobs which they left from 19^0 to
19^2. Analysis of the replies shows that the most common reason
(47 percent) was to take another Job which they considered better
in terms of pay, working conditions, prospect of advancement, etc.,
(Chart 10). Nine percent of the changes were made because of dis
satisfaction with the present Job.
35
Chart 1 0 . ALMOST HALF OF THE MOVEMENTS OUT OF
ELECTRONIC TECHNICIAN JOBS WERE MOTIVATED
BY A DESIRE TO TAKE A BETTER JOB
Percent of Electronic Technician Jobs Left By Respondents
For Specified Reasons, 1940-1952
Took a Better Job
layoff
Entered Armed
Forces
Dissatisfied
With Job
Company Went
Out of Business
Family Moved
Entered Full-Time
School
Was Terminated
Other
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Job movements influenced by factors over which the re
spondents had relatively little control were less important.
Twelve percent of the jobs were left because of layoffs, and 2
percent were due to firings. The role of the individual was
less clear in the case of the jobs which were left because the
"company went out of business;" of the 9 percent of jobs left for
this reason, many were cases in which electronic technicians
closed their own repair businesses.
In 3 percent of the cases men left jobs because their
families moved to another area. Nine percent of the jobs were
left by men entering the Armed Forces, and 3 percent by men
entering full-time school.
36
An indirect method of analyzing the forces motivating
men to change jobs is to study their personal characteristics in
relation to those of men in the same worker group who do not
change jobs. For example, if young workers move more often than
older workers, then age is a factor affecting mobility. Such an
approach is rather difficult to apply because it requires that all
other factors that might affect frequency of job changing be eli
minated before any given personal factor can be studied.
The main influencing factor— industrial requirements—
would have to be removed to prevent giving equal weight to move
ments made under widely varying external pressures. For instance,
chart 9 shows that 19^2 was a year in which a high proportion of
the electronic technicians who could move between jobs did so.
Thus any analysis of the total job changing over the 12 years
covered by the survey in terms of personal characteristics would
overweight the characteristics of the respondents who were working
as electronic technicians in 19^2. While the 12-year experience
could have been used for this analysis, it would be extremely
cumbersome because of the complex weighting system that would be
required*
Other factors prevented use of the 12-year experience
for testing the effect of personal characteristics in job changing.
So few of the respondents (25 percent) were working as electronic
technicians in January 19 ^0, and so many of them left the field
temporarily during the following 12 years that the determination
of the Identity and characteristics of the men who were actually
working in the field each year and thus could have moved, would be
too complex and obscure to present. In addition, the movements
of new men into first electronic technician jobs made up a large
proportion of all movements in relation to these jobs in most of
the 12 years. These considerations led to the development of a
simpler method of testing personal factors in job changing.
All respondents working as electronic technicians from
January 1951 to April-May 1952 were divided into two groups: Those
who had made moves between electronic technician jobs during this
period, and those who had not
(Chart 11). The personal charac
teristics of these groups— the "movers" and the hon-moversB— were
then analyzed for any significant differences. This method was
most feasible because it dealt with a short period in which few
changes in the characteristics of the respondents occurred, and
in which the number of direct movements made between electronic
technician jobs was sufficiently large to support analysis.
Age was the main personal characteristic affecting
mobility. The only other significant differences between the men
who changed jobs from January 1951 to April-May 1952 and those
who did not were in number of years of experience as an elec
tronic technician and home-ownership. Those who changed jobs
37
Chart It. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF RESPONDENTS
WHO CHANGED JOBS
Comparison of Electronic Technicians Who Made One or More
Job Changes and Those who Made No Job Changes
From January 1940 to April - May 1952
AGE
YEARS OF ELECTRONIC
EXPERIENCE I ~
EDUCATION
MARITAL STATUS
O
High - School
Graduates
Married
Nongraduates
Not
Married
FATHERHOOD
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
25
50
75
HOMEOWNERSHIP
100%
were younger, they included a lower proportion of home owners,
and they had fewer years of experience in electronics.
Though job changers included a lower proportion of
married men and fathers, and a slightly higher proportion of
high school graduates, these differences can be attributed to
age and other factors.No direct influence of marriage, father
hood, or education on job changing is apparent in the findings.
Electronic technicians who changed jobs were more
likely to do so during their first year or two in the field.
However, after 2 or 3 years of experience, they did not change
much in their propensity to move between jobs; for example, men
with 5 years of experience were only slightly less mobile than
those with 10 years of experience.
THE P EO P L E W H O ENTERED T H I S O C C U P A T I O N
Personal C h a ra c te ristic s
From the standpoint of labor mobility, one of the most
significant aspects of a new occupation such as electronic tech
nician is the type of people who obtained such jobs. Were they
people who moved directly into electronics from high school or
technical school? Were they older or younger than workers in
established industries? Were many of them women? Were they
people who showed special aptitudes for this type of work? How
well educated were they?
Less than six-tenths of one percent of the technicians
surveyed were women. This extremely low participation by women
is due more to their lack of appropriate educational background
than to the physical requirements of the work or discrimination
by employers. Very few, if any, girls take the vocational or
mechanical arts curriculum in high school. The girls who take
the academic course are usually preparing for college and do not
concentrate on technical or scientific subjects such as mathe
matics and physics. Most girls who do not plan on college take
the commercial course, which does not provide an adequate mathe
matical background for electronics.
Most of the respondents took their first full-time
jobs as electronic technicians when they were young men. More
than one-fourth of them entered their first electronic techni
cian jobs before they were 20 years old, and almost all of them
(9^ percent) entered before they were 35* Their median age at
the time they entered electronics was 23 .
39
Table !•— Education Completed by Respondents, by Type of Establishment
Type of establishment
Regular school
Total ...........
0
1
2
3
4
- Below 8th grade ---- 8th to 11th grade--- Graduated high school
- Some college----- —
- Graduated from
college — --- ---5 - Graduate work — — —
J - Not reported -------
All
establishments
Radio-tv repair
Number Percent
Number
Percent
1,926
100.0
1,017
100.0
35^
100.0
32
421
1.7
21.9
49.8
20.8
26
272
2.6
26.7
50.3
i6 .u
3
34
168
118
.8
9.6
47.5
33-3
3.6
24
6.8
.k
6
1
1.7
•3
962
401
90
19
4.7
1.0
.1
1
511
167
37
4
--
Broadcasting
Manufacture of
radio-tv
Manufacture of
other electron
ic equipment
Manufacture of
aircraft
Research
Number Percent
Number Percent
Number Percent
Number Percent
Number Percent
79
m
m
m
m
100.0
__
1
30
66
•7
20.4
44.9
39
26.5
25
18.9
51.6
25.0
**•5
—
6
5
4.1
3.4
2
42
68
_
103
1.0
21.3
52.4
12
32
16.2
33
1
2
1.3
2.5
16
2
8.1
1.0
--
46
100.0
100.0
100.0
22.8
58.2
15.2
18
147
132
197
6
Table 2.— Number of Respondents Reporting Specified Types of Job Arrangements,
by Type of Establishment, April-May 1952
Type of establishment
Job
arrangement
All
Radio-tv repair
Number Percent
Total ----------0 - Work independently1 - Supervise others
doing electronic
w o r k --- ------2 - Act as helper to
higher grade
m a n ---- ---------3 - Work in a crew with
other technicians
at the same grade
4 - Other — — ----- ----
Broadcasting
Manufacture of
radio-tv
Manufacture of
other electronic equipment
Manufacture of
aircraft
Research
Number Percent
Number Percent
Number Percent
Number Percent
Number Percent
establishments
Number
Percent
1,926
100.0
1,017
100.0
354
100.0
79
100.0
197
100.0
132
100.0
lVf
100.0
820
42.6
550
5^.1
83
23.5
39
i4-9.it
77
39.1
26
19.7
45
30.6
277
14.4
158
15-5
52
14.7
11
13-9
21
10.7
21
15.9
14
*9.5
111
5.7
39
3.8
4
1.1
7
8.9
16
8.1
7
5-3
38
25.9
676
35-1
2H-9
2^*5
209
22
27.8
1-7
--
--
78
5
39.6
2.5
72
2.1
6
5 9 .0
21
54.5
4.6
46
4
31.3
2.7
42
2.2
4o
6
Three out of k electronic technicians graduated from
high school, and 1 out of k had had some college training
(table l). Less than 2 percent of them left school before the
eighth grade. At the upper end of the scale there were 6 per
cent who were college graduates. This group included 1 percent
who had done graduate work. In addition to the education
covered in this section, many respondents also had training in
technical schools, which is described in the section on elec
tronics training.
The relatively high educational attainment of elec
tronic technicians in comparison with other skilled trades is
partly attributable to the fact that they were young. The aver
age number of years of school completed by American youth has
steadily increased over the years. GI bill benefits after
World War II made college and technical school training avail
able to millions of veterans, and raised even higher the average
educational attainment.
The survey also showed a relationship between formal
education and type of establishment in which the technician was
employed. One-third of the technicians in broadcasting had had
college work, while only about one-sixth of those in radio-television repair and radio-television and other electronic equipment
manufacturing had had any college. About one-fourth of those in
research and aircraft manufacturing reported some college work.
The proportion of college graduates was high among the techni
cians employed in manufacturing other electronic equipment (8
percent) and in broadcasting (7 percent). Only one college
graduate was in the group employed in manufacturing radio-tele
vision receivers.
To gain some insight into what might be called the
field of interest or "bent" of these men before they entered the
labor market, they were asked "What was your favorite high
school subject?" The responses (chart 12) indicate that the men
who became electronic technicians can be differentiated from
other workers by the fields of knowledge in which they had shown
the most interest in high school. The survey disclosed that 36
percent of the technicians preferred mathematics to all other
subjects. A strong preference for the general field of physical
science is evidenced by the fact that 35 percent mentioned one of
the physical sciences (physics, radio, electricity, electronics,
chemistry, etc.) as their favorite subject. The next largest
group, 9 percent of the technicians, preferred shop work or me
chanical arts. Thus, about 8 out of 10 of the men who became
electronic technicians favored high school subjects whose mastery
is closely related to successful work in the electronics field.
Chart 12. MATHEMATICS AND THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES WERE
FAVORITE HIGH SCHOOL SUBJECTS OF ELECTRONIC TECHNICIANS
Percent of Respondents Who Preferred Specified High School Subjects
PERCENT
Mathematics
Physical Science
(Other than specified
below)
Shop Work and
Mechanical Arts
Radio, Electricity,
or Electronics
History
English
Other Subjects
5.7%
No Preference
No High School
or Not Reported
UNITED SJATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR'
•BUREAU OF LABORJJATISTICSj
A c t i v i t i e s or O c c u p a t io n s From W hich T h e y C a m e
One of the objectives of the survey was to determine the
fields of activity from which men move into jobs in electronics.
More than 50 percent of the respondents, the survey shows, were en
gaged in activities outside the labor force immediately before thej
became electronic technicians (chart 13). About 21 percent were
attending high school just before they entered their first elec
tronics job, 15 percent were studying electronics at technical
schools, 8 percent were attending college, and 7 percent were
serving in the Armed Forces.
k2
Chart 13. MORE THAN HALF OF THE RESPONDENTS CAME INTO
THE ELECTRONICS FIELD DIRECTLY FROM SCHOOL
OR THE ARMED FORCES
Percent of Respondents Engaged in Specified Activities
Before Entering Their First Electronic Technician Job
IN THE CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE
In the
_ Civilian
Labor
Force
High School
Full-Time
Electronic School
College
Outside
the
Civilian—|
Labor
Force
Armed Forces
Other
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
The previous occupations of the 1+5 percent who came into
electronics work directly from other jobs can be classified rough
ly as jobs related to electronics and jobs not related to elec
tronics. About 9 percent of the technicians were in the first
group, which included jobs like electrician, radio parts salesmen,
and electrical appliance repairman. The remaining 36 percent were
employed in a wide variety of other types of jobs.
Why They Entered E le ctro n ics
The reasons why people choose a particular field, as their
life's work are difficult to ascertain and evaluate. On the one
hand, the fact that jobs available in one's particular locality in
volve minimum social dislocation and offer immediate income tends
to draw workers into such jobs. On the other hand, the
individual's educational and social background, psychological
makeup, and long-run career and income objectives influence him
to seek a particular kind of job, regardless of whether such jobs
are available at the particular time and place.
When jobs are scarce and unemployment is widespread,
the heavy pressures on workers to earn any income they can tends
to make the long-run, personal preference aspect of job-choosing
almost completely inoperative, especially in the case of men with
family obligations. Conversely, prosperous conditions give the
worker a much wider range of jobs from which to choose and a much
greater opportunity for indulging preferences for certain types
of work. If he wants a job that requires special training, the
fact that other members of his family are working may enable him
to defer his entrance into the labor market while undergoing
training.
The survey made only one direct attempt to determine the
motivations underlying the respondents' entrance into the elec
tronics field. The question asked was, "How did you happen to
become interested in electronics?" The phrasing of this question
was designed to get at the earliest forces operating to influence
the individual's choice of electronics as a career.
The most striking fact about why electronic technicians
entered this field is that a very high proportion, 51 percent, be
came interested in electronics long before they even thought
seriously about the kind of work they wanted to do (chart 1*0. Of
these, 15 percent said that they had been interested in electron
ics since early youth. Typical answers were: "I was always in
terested in radio;" "I was interested in it since I was child;"
or nI always liked radio." Hobby work was mentioned specifically
by 36 percent, for example: "I became interested in it as a hobby;"
"I was a ham operator and had radio as a hobby;" "It began as a
hobby in elementary school;" or "I had it as a hobby since I was
8 years old."
Another sizable group, 1^- percent, entered electronics
because they were assigned and trained in this field while in the
Armed Forces. A typical response was, "I was a radar mechanic
during the war."
The influence of families or friends was cited by 9 per
cent of the technicians as the main factor directing them toward
electronics. For instance, "I got interested through a friend who
was a ham," or "Through an acquaintance, I became very Interested
in the trade," or "My dad and brother were both electronic techni
cians, ao I just naturally got interested in the field."
kk
About 9 percent of the group entered electronics primarily
because they thought it offered favorable opportunities for a suc
cessful career. As one man said, "It looked like an up and coming
field with a good future."
Only about 6 percent attributed their interest in elec
tronics to their previous experience in jobs related to electron
ics, such as electrician or radio parts salesman.
A very small proportion— less than 2 percent— said that
their entering this field was accidental— “that they "just drifted
into electronics."
*+5
It is important to note certain facts about the labor
market conditions at the time these workers entered their first
electronics Jobs. More than two-thirds of the technicians en
tered the field after 1939* The years following 1939 have been
characterized by high employment levels and, consequently, fa
vorable conditions for the exercise of personal preference in
Job-choosing. It is, therefore, not surprising that most of
the men who entered this field did so by choice.
H O W E L E C T R O N I C T E C H N I C I A N S WE RE T R A I N E D
The methods by which untrained men can become qualified
skilled workers have direct implications for effective manpower
mobilization. The survey therefore attempted to ascertain how
the men now employed as technicians acquired their skill in elec
tronics.
The survey indicates that there was no set pattern of
training among electronic technicians. Most of the respondents
acquired their skills through two or more different kinds of
training.
There was a marked similarity in the relative importance
of particular training methods among the six groups covered. The
most common type of training among every group of electronic tech
nicians was full-time electronics training in a civilian techni
cal school (chart 2 on page 10 ). Fifty-six percent of all the
technicians attended such schools, with the proportion among
groups ranging from 72 percent for those employed in the radio and
television manufacturing group at the time of the survey to 45
percent in other electronics manufacturing group. Armed Forces
technical schools were attended by 34 percent of the electronic
technicians. Over one-fourth (26 percent) of the technicians at
tended part-time technical schools, with the proportion highest
in research (35 percent), and lowest in aircraft manufacturing
(20 percent).
Training in the plant consisted of apprenticeship and
other less formal on-the-job training programs. Five percent had
been through apprenticeship programs and 13 percent had had other
on-the-job training.
The most unusual fact about the training of electronic
technicians was that a great many of them acquired some of their,
skills at home. As noted earlier, radio and electronics was a
hobby of many of these men. Operating an amateur "ham" radio
station as a hobby was mentioned by 35 percent of the electronic
technicians in broadcasting as part of their training, and by 14
percent of all the electronic technicians. Other hobby work was
reported by 40 percent of the technicians. About 23 percent took
46
correspondence courses in electronics, and 18 percent gained some
of their electronics knowledge through home study and reading#
How much time did the above training consume? Most of
the technicians who attended full-time civilian technical schools
took courses lasting 12, 18, or 2k months. However, a few spent
3 years and more in technical school. Armed Forces schools
usually had shorter courses lasting 6 or 12 months, although a few
courses ran 18 months or longer. The length of time electronic
technicians spent in part-time technical schools varied from 1
month to over 3 years, but most courses lasted 6 or 12 months.
On-the-job training was also most commonly of 6 or 12 months dura
tion, though some programs lasted 2k months and more.
E L E C T R O N I C T E C H N I C I A N S IN 195 2
The characteristics of the existing supply of electron
ic technicians must be understood before accurate predictions of
their labor force behavior can be made. This section discusses
the findings which describe the personal characteristics, jobs,
and electronic skills of electronic technicians as of the time of
the survey, April-May 1952.
P erso n al C h aracteristics
Certain personal characteristics of workers have a
direct bearing on their future supply and their tendency to change
job statuses. Most important of these are age, marital status, num
ber of dependents, housing arrangement, and veteran or reserve sta
tus.
Electronic technicians, the survey shows, were a very
young group of skilled workers (see chart 3 on page 10 ). Over
half of them were between the ages of 25 and
and less than 3
percent of them were over Jk years of age. This contrasts with
the age distribution of the nonagricultural male labor force at
the same time (April 1952), where only one-fourth were between 25
and 3^j and 18 percent were over 5^*
Electronic technicians working in plants manufacturing
radio and television receivers and in research laboratories were a
little younger than those in the other groups. Their median age
was 30 * as compared with 33 for those in radio and television re
pair, other electronic manufacturing, and aircraft manufacturing.
The highest median age, 3^> was found in the broadcasting group,
which had 15 percent of its technicians in the age group ^5 to k9,
compared with an average of 8 percent for all groups.
More than four-fifths of the electronic technicians
were married, reflecting the high marriage rates during World War
II and the postwar period; about three-fourths of the married men
were fathers. About 83 percent had one or more dependents in
addition to themselves.
k7
The marked trend toward home-ownership shown in re
cent censuses is apparent in the survey results, which show that
42 percent of the electronic technicians owned their own homes
in 1952. About one-third of them rented apartments, 8 percent
rented houses, and about 12 percent resided in their parents'
homes.
The proportion of home owners varied from 57 percent
in the broadcasting group to 19 percent in the radio-television
manufacturing group. For the other groups, the figures were: 52
percent in aircraft manufacturing; 39 percent in radio-television
repair; 3® percent in research; and 38 percent in other electron
ics manufacturing.
About 62 percent of the electronic technicians were
veterans of World War II. Over half of these veterans served in
the Army, and lk percent were in the Army Air Force. Twentyseven percent had been in the Navy, 3 percent in the Marine Corps,
and 1 percent in the Coast Guard.
Eight percent of the technicians belonged to a military
reserve. This group includes veterans of World War II and seme
younger men who either were in the Armed Forces during the post
war period or who joined a reserve with previous service.
C u r r e n t Job D uties, E a r n i n g s , Hours, an d T enure
Many aspects of the jobs which electronic technicians
hold are related to the general problem of planning an adequate
supply of these workers. The kinds of work they do, their work
organization arrangements, the way they are paid and the amount
they earn, the number of hours they work, their length of service
in the plant— all these factors aid in evaluating the adequacy of
the present supply in relation to future needs.
The findings show that the characteristics of jobs held
by electronic technicians varied greatly by type of establishment.
Those working in radio and television repair, broadcasting, and
research showed greater homogeneity in job duties within their
group than did the others.
As expected, practically all the electronic technicians
in radio-television repair shops were engaged in repairing home
receivers (see chart 8 on page 33). The main job duty of over
half of the technicians in broadcasting was operating transmitting
equipment, but 37 percent of them had a combination of different
duties such as repairing radio and television transmitting equip
ment, operating a master-control board, operating and repairing
recording equipment, and setting up, operating and repairing re
mote pickup equipment. Thirty-eight percent of those working in
plants manufacturing radio and television sets said they re
paired them, while another 38 percent inspected and tested them.
48
In plants manufacturing other electronic equipment, 44 percent of
the technicians reported their main job duty as the inspecting and
testing of electronic equipment. About 21 percent of this group
did research laboratory work, and a rather high proportion— 28
percent— were classified under "other electronics work" because
none of the six given categories adequately described their main
job duties. Technicians in aircraft manufacturing were engaged
mainly in inspecting and testing electronic equipment (3 8 percent),
doing research work (2 7 percent), and installing electronic equip
ment (13 percent). About 71 percent of those in research labora
tories said they spent most of their time doing research work,
while l4 percent reported inspecting and testing electronic equip
ment as their main job duty.
To provide information on the utilization of the skills
of electronic technicians in the different types of electronics
establishments, respondents were asked to choose from among four
categories the one which best described their present job arrange
ment. For cases which might not fit any of the categories, an
"other (specify)" option was provided. Only 2 percent placed
themselves outside the suggested categories (table 2 on page 40)
Working independently was the most common job arrange
ment in radio and television repair and manufacturing, while work
ing in crews was most common in broadcasting, aircraft manufac
turing, and other electronics manufacturing, and research.
Over half (54 percent) of the technicians in radio and
television repair and about half (49 percent) of those in radio
and television manufacturing said they worked independently (see
table 2 on page 40). Working in a crew with other technicians at
the same skill level was the most common job arrangement among
those in broadcasting (59 percent), aircraft manufacturing (55
percent), other electronics manufacturing (40 percent), and re
search (3 1 percent).
The research group was unique in the high proportion26 percent— who acted as helpers to higher-skilled men. No other
group had more than 9 percent in this category. This variation is
due to the fact that a great many technicians in research labora
tories work as skilled assistants to professional engineers.
Another 31 percent of this group said they worked independently.
Working independently also characterized 39 percent of the techni
cians in other electronics manufacturing and 24 percent of those
in broadcasting. These two categories— working independently,
and working in a crew— described the job arrangements of over threefourths of all the men in the survey.
Supervising others doing electronics work was the main
function of 14 percent of the respondents, with the proportion
ranging from 10 percent in research to 16 percent in aircraft manu
facturing.
49
Chart 15. EARNINGS OF ELECTRONIC TECHNICIANS
VARIED WIDELY
Percent of Electronic Technicians in Each Type of Establishment
With Specified Average Weekly Earnings and Median Earnings
Apri 1-May 1952
MANUFACTURE OF
AIRCRAFT
100
80
MEDIAN $95
60
40
20
0
MANUFACTURE OF OTHER
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
100
RESEARCH
100
80
80
MEDIAN $82
MEDIAN $84
60
- 60
40
40 h
20
0
20
'/////).
0
£ 2 2 9L
Less
than
$60
60
to
79
80
to
99
100
to
119
120 139 Not
to and reported
139 Over
Less
than
$60
60
to
79
A V ER A G E W EEK LY EA R N IN G S
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
80
to
99
100
♦a
119
120 139 Not
to and reported
139 Over
About 38 percent of the radio and television repairmen
received earnings in the form of income from their own businesses;
1*3 percent were salaried (table 3)* Hourly wages were earned by
most of the electronic technicians engaged in manufacturing radio
and television sets and aircraft, and by the majority of those in
other electronics manufacturing and in research, but a third of
the research group were also salaried. A weekly salary was the
most common method of payment in broadcasting.
Electronic technicians paid by the hour were asked the
amount of their straight-time hourly rates. Over half of the
technicians in aircraft manufacturing who were paid by the hour
reported hourly rates of from $2 to $2.2l*. Over half (53 percent)
of those in radio and television manufacturing, h-5 percent in
other electronics manufacturing, and 28 percent in aircraft manu
facturing had hourly rates ranging from $1.75 to $1.99« Over
one-fifth of the hourly-rate technicians in broadcasting who were
paid by the hour, only 21 percent received under $2 .2 5 per hour
and about 12 percent earned $ 3*25 or more.
The earnings figures presented below are the respondents'
best estimates of how much they earned per week, on the average,
over the 2 months preceding the interview. Thus they include pay
ment for overtime, and can only be properly evaluated in conjunc
tion with average weekly hours covering the same period. For
instance, the pay scale of radio and television repairmen ranks still
lower when allowance is made for the longer hours characteristic
of this group.
Average weekly earnings were highest among electronic
technicians in broadcasting stations £/, with 71 percent of them
earning $100 or more per week (chart 15). At the low end cf the
earnings scale were those in radio and television manufacturing,
81* percent of whom earned less than $80 per week. In aircraft
manufacturing plants, average weekly earnings of most of the elec
tronic technicians were high and had a rather narrow range, with
79 percent of them earning from $80 to $119 per week. Technicians
in other electronics manufacturing were third highest in average
weekly earnings among the six groups covered. About
percent of
them earned between $80 and $119 per week, though the earnings of
the whole group ranged from below $50 to over $160 . In research,
earnings also had a wide range, with 75 percent of the technicians
earning from $60 to $119 per week.
The radio and television repairmen ranked second from
the lowest in average weekly earnings, but their earnings had a
very wide range. While no other group had as much as 1 percent
of its technicians in the less than $50 per week category, 10
percent of the repairmen were in this group. The earnings of 80
percent of the repairmen ranged from $50 to $119 a week.
£/ These earnings are representative of only the stations in
large cities. (See page 1*0).
51
Table 3*— Type of Earnings Received by Respondents by Type of Establishment
Type of establishment
Type of
earnings
Total, all types —
Q - Income from own
business -------1 - Salary -----------2 - Hourly rate ------3 - O t h e r ------- — — J - Not reported ------
All
establishments
Radio-tv repair
Number Percent
Number
1,9 2 6
100.0
1 ,0 1 7
100.0
35^
100.0
393
800
702
30
1
20.lt
*1.5
36.lt
1 .6
.1
393
^33
162
28
l
38.6
It2.6
15 .9
2.8
.1
—
—
257
95
2
■*—
72.5
26.8
•7
——
5
7U
—
——
Table
k,—
Percent
Broadcasting
Manufacture of
radio-tv
Manufacture of
other electron
ic equipment
Manufacture of
aircraft
Research
Number Percent
Number Percent
Number Percent
Number Percent
Number Percent
79
100.0
197
—
—
6 .3
9 3 .7
—
——
51
lit6
100.0
132
—
—
25.9
7^.1
—
—
——
-—
100.0
128
—
——
3 .0
97.0
—
——
100.0
- -
- -
—
k
1 U7
50
97
-far——
34.0
66.0
—
——
Average Weekly Hours Worked by Respondents by Type of Establishment
Type of establishment
Average weekly
hours
Total, all respondents — —
All
establishments
Radio-tv repair
Number Percent
Number Percent
--
1,9 2 6
100.0
1 ,0 1 7
100.0
Less than 3 5 ------------35 - 39 --------------k0 ....................
itl - lt7 --------------kQ ....................
1*9 _ 51* ---------------
Ito
Ito
697
310
320
177
5 5 - 5 9 --------------6 0 ............. -.....
6l - 6 9 ---- --- -----70 and o v e r ----- -----
126
29
2 .1
2 .1
36.2
1 6 .x
1 6 .6
9 .2
3 .5
6 .5
1 .5
6 .2
3^
23
19^
128
232
108
36
116
26
119
3 .5
2 .3
1 9 .1
1 2 .6
22.8
10 .6
3 .5
1 1 .it
2 .5
1 1 .7
68
119
Broadcasting
Manufacture of
radio-tv
Manufacture of
other electron
ic equipment
Manufacture of
aircraft
Research
Number Percent
Number Percent
Number Percent
Number Percent
Number Percent
3 5 *i
1
it
252
75
6
9
3
3
l
——
100.0
79
1 0 0 .0
_
•3
1 .1
2
59
9
5
3
1
-—
——
7 1 .3
2 1 .2
1 .7
2.5
.8
.8
•3
——
52
2 .5
7^ .7
1 1 .it
6 .3
3 .8
1 -3
—
—
——
197
100.0
1
2
7 *t
.5
1 .0
30
33
33
18
it
2
——
3 7 -6
132
1
—
39
1 5 .2
16 .8
16 .8
hi
9-1
2 .0
7
2
—
——
1.0
——
30
12
1 0 0 .0
llt 7
1 0 0 .0
i.* t
6 .1
.8
2
—
29.5
9
79
3 1 .1
2 2 .7
27
9-1
5 -3
1-5
12
—
***
Ih
3
1
—
5 3 -7
l 8 .it
9-5
8 .2
2 .0
•7
—
mum
Three-fourths of the electronic technicians in radio and
television manufacturing worked the 40-hour week, and 18 percent
of them worked 4l to 48 hours (table 4). The 40-hour week was
also the rule in broadcasting, with 71 percent working 40 hours.
Most of the technicians in broadcasting who did work more than 40
hours worked only a few hours of overtime. Twenty-one percent of
them averaged from 4l to 46 hours, and only 6 percent worked 48 or
more hours. Thus the high earnings of this group appear even more
attractive when the hours worked are considered. A majority (54
percent) of the electronic technicians in research also worked 40
hours per week. In this group, also, most hours in excess of 40
represent irregular overtime rather than an established longer
workweek, though more overtime was worked in research than in
broadcasting. Eighteen percent in research worked 4l to 47 hours,
1 0 percent worked 48 hours, and 11 percent worked longer than 48
hours.
Electronic technicians in radio and television repair
had the longest workweek of all the six groups. Twenty-three per
cent of them worked 48 hours, indicating that the 6-day week is
fairly common in this group. Only 19 percent worked 40 hours. A
very large proportion— 40 percent— worked more than 48 hours, and
nearly 12 percent worked JO or more hours. These hours are not
strictly comparable with those in the other groups because they
often represent the hours in which a repairman keeps his own shop
for business, and they thus include time for lunch or dinner and
other activities not directly concerned with repairing equipment.
Overtime was quite common in other electronics manufac
turing and aircraft manufacturing. Thirty-eight percent of the
electronic technicians in other electronics manufacturing worked
40 hours, but 32 percent worked 4l to 48 hours, and 29 percent
worked more than 48 hours, and 29 percent worked more than 48
hours per week. Comparable proportions for those in aircraft
manufacturing show that 30 percent worked 40 hours, 54 percent
worked 4l to 48 hours, and l6 percent worked more than 48 hours.
Most respondents had been in the jobs they held at the
time of the survey for short periods of time (table 5)« Twentysix percent of all the electronic technicians had been in their
jobs only 12 months or less, and 54 percent had been in their jobs
only 36 months or less. In contrast only l4 percent had spent as
many as 8 years in their jobs.
Tenure of electronic technicians in their jobs varied
considerably by type of establishment. Technicians in broadcasting
had the longest tenure, with 27 percent in their job longer than
8 years, but even here a large proportion— 32 percent— had been in
their Jobs only 24 months or less. In aircraft manufacturing, which
underwent a rapid expansion after the Korean outbreak in 1950* job
tenure was shortest, with 74 percent of the technicians in their
jobs only 18 months or less. Technicians in research and other
53
Chart 16. ELECTRONIC TECHNICIANS COULD REPAIR
A VARIETY OF TYPES OF EQUIPMENT
Percentage off Electronic Technicians in Each Type off Establishment
Who Reported That They Could Make Major Repairs
on Specified Types of Equipment, 1952
MANUFACTURE OF
RADIO-T V
BROADCASTING
RADIO-T V
REPAIR
100%
O
100%
Home TV
Receivers
Radio Broadcasting
Trans. Equip.
m
TV Broadcasting
Trans. Equip.
1
Radar
Ground Control
Approach System
Loran
Sonar
ServoMechanisms
^
3
I
I
3
3
3
3
]
F
3
3
c|ectronic Comput
ing Machines
Guided Missile
Control System
MANUFACTURE OF
OTHER ELECT. EQUIP.
Home TV
Receivers
MANUFACTURE OF
AIRCRAFT
1
RESEARCH
Im H H
Radio Broadcasting
Trans. Equip.
T V Broadcasting
Trans. Equip.
Radar
Ground Control
Approach System
Loran
Sonar
I
ServoMechanisms
Electronic Comput
ing Machines
551
Guided Missile
Control System
-J
ioo%
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
J
100%
electronics manufacturing also had very short tenures, with 57
percent of those in research and 46 percent of those in other
electronics manufacturing in their jobs only l8 months or less.
However, although most of those in other electronics manufac
turing had short tenures, this group as a whole ranked second
in proportion (15 percent) of technicians with more than 8 years
in their jobs.
Second to the broadcasting group in average length of
job tenure, the radio and television repair group had only 31
percent in the 18 months or less category and 12 percent in the
over 8 years category. Thirty-two percent of the electronic
technicians in radio and television manufacturing had less than
18 months tenure in their jobs.
Equipm ent S k ills
To provide information on the range and degree of the
skills of electronic technicians, each Respondent was asked to
check those items on which he could make a minor or a major re
pair from a list of 17 of the better known kinds of electronic
equipment. The equipment items on which the respondent said he
could make major repairs offered the most reliable indicators of
skill and were therefore used as the basis for this analysis.
Several considerations limit the implications of these
findings. The data represent the respondent's statement of his
abilities and sure not the result of objective tests. Since the
1 7 types of equipment listed vary widely in size and complexity,
an ability to repair one type of equipment cannot necessarily
be equated with the ability to repair a different type of equip
ment. For instance, a man who could repair home radios, tele
vision sets, and military radio equipment would seem to rank, in
terms of versatility, as high as a man who could repair radsir,
guided missile control systems, and electronic computing machines,
though it is obvious that the second man had skills of higher
order. Thus, while the data often reflect differences in degree
of skill, they are conclusive with respect to versatility in terms
of equipment skills.
The data obtained to evaluate equipment skills can be
considered in several ways: To what extent do electronic techni
cians in the six different types of establishments possess the
same equipment skills? How versatile are they in terms of re
pairing various kinds of equipment? What, if any differences in
overall skill level are apparent among the six groups?
Electronic technicians in all six of the types of es
tablishment covered in the survey possessed enough skills in com
mon to permit the conclusion that they constituted a true occupa
tional class (chart l6). The findings illustrate this point very
dramatically. For instance, radar, which had no place in the jobs
55
Table 5.— Respondents* Tenure in Job, by Type of Establishment
April-May 1952
Type of establishment
Tenure in job
held at time
of survey
Total ----------
1 - 6 months-----7 - 1 2 months —----13 - 18 months---- —
19 - 24 months---- 25 - 38 months -----37 - 60 months -----6l - 96 months--- -—
Over 98 months ------
All
establishments
Radio-tv repair
Number Percent
Number
1,926
100.0
1,017
100.0
354
100.0
79
100.0
197
100.0
132
285
137
106
181
14.8
11.4
9.4
39
23
29
28
26
11
13-9
7
8.8
20
11
17.0
83
18
19.8
11.7
14.7
10.2
5.6
40
27
19
4
17.0
7.6
9.0
7.1
7.9
7.4
23.4
15
7
3
7.6
73
74
150
173
27
32
25
19.0
8.9
3.8
lk6
13-5
10.4
7.2
7.3
14.8
22.7
24
15
14.4
14.1
181
17-7
36
10.2
12.1
97
27.4
15.3
7-6
21
123
12
6
12.2
10.6
14.4
3.0
9-1
11.3
30
15.2
7
8
6.1
220
217
327
278
272
11.3
Percent
Broadcasting
Manufacture of
radio-tv
Manufacture of
Manufacture of
other electron
aircraft
ic equipment
Number Percent
Number Percent
Number Percent
Number Percent
12
Research
Number Percent
100.0
147
100.0
30.2
27
25
32
9
18.4
17.0
21.8
6.1
7.5
9.5
14.3
20.5
5-4
11
14
21
8
5-1*
Table 6.— Number of Specified Types of Equipment on Which Respondents Could Make Major Repairs
by Type of Establishment, April-May 1952
Type of establishment
Number of types
of equipment
Total, all types —
O n e ---- -— ----- ----T w o -----------------Three — — ----- — — —
Four — — --- --------- F i v e ----- -----------S i x -----------------Seven----- ------- — —
Eight or more — ---- —
Not reported — --- ----
All
establishments
Radio-tv repair
Broadcasting
Manufacture of
radio-tv
Manufacture of
Manufacture of
other electron
aircraft
ic equipment
Number Percent
Number Percent
Number Percent
Number Percent
Number Percent
1,926
100.0
1,017
100.0
354
100.0
79
100.0
73
475
315
271
204
186
118
232
52
3.8
24.7
16.4
14.1
10.6
9.7
6.1
11-9
2.7
27
341
203
138
96
71
40
97
4
2.7
33.5
19.9
13.5
9.4
7-0
3.9
9.7
.4
11
3-1
9-9
4
24
11.6
12
16 A
13.9
A A
10.7
16.6
3A
15
5.1
30.3
15.2
19.0
8
10.1
9
3
4
——
11.4
3.8
5-1
——
35
41
58
49
51
38
59
12
56
197
100.0
Number Percent
132
11
5.6
6
40
20.3
11.2
16
15
16
17
15
14
25
22
27
17
22
10
30
18
13-7
8.6
11.2
5.1
15.2
9.1
8
Research
Number Percent
100.0
147
100.0
4-5
12.9
11.4
14
19
22
14.9
12.1
19*0
17
17
18
13
17
6.0
10
11.6
11.6
12.2
8.8
11.0
6.8
12.1
12.9
11.4
10.6
9-5
being done by the electronic technicians in radio and television
repair, broadcasting, and radio and television manufacturing, was
mentioned by at least one-fifth of the technicians in each of
these groups as a type of equipment on which they could make major
repairs. Conversely, over two-thirds of the technicians in other
electronics manufacturing, aircraft manufacturing, and research
could make major repairs on home television receivers, a type of
equipment which had no direct relationship to their jobs. The
fact that there were some men in each of the six groups who could
make major repairs on every one of the types of equipment listed
also evidenced a homogeneity of skill.
Electronic technicians were versatile in terms of the
number of different types of electronic equipment on which they
could make major repairs (table 6). Almost all electronic tech
nicians could make major repairs on 2 or more types of equipment,
over half (53 percent) of them could repair ^ or more, and 28
percent of them could repair 6 or more.
The proportion of technicianswho could make major re
pairs on six or more types of equipment is a fairly accurate in
dex of versatility because it separates those who were conversant
with only radio and television equipment from those with a wider
range of skills. Versatility, measured in this way, varied some
what by type of establishment. The proportion of men who could
repair 6 or more types of equipment was highest among electronic
technicians in broadcasting (k2 percent), and lowest among those
in radio and television manufacturing (20 percent), and radio and
television repair (21 percent). Midway between these extremes
were the other 3 groups, with the proportion being 31 percent in
aircraft manufacturing and 32 percent in other electronics manu
facturing and in research. Thus, it appears that electronic tech
nicians in broadcasting were most versatile, those in repair and
manufacture of radio and television were least versatile, and those
in aircraft manufacturing, other electronics manufacturing, and re
search were intermediate in versatility.
On the basis of these findings, what can be said about
the relative overall skill level among the six groups in the sur
vey? The above data on versatility sire sufficiently variant to
justify the view that, considered as groups, the electronic tech
nicians in broadcasting were most skilled, those in radio and
television manufacture and repair were least skilled and the
other three groups— other electronics manufacturing, aircraft
manufacturing, and research— were about equal in skill, ranking
between the others.
57
APPENDIXES
A - METHODOLOGY
The objectives of this study required the collection of
a great deal of detailed information about the worker's personal
background and his work history during the 12-year period from
January 19^0 to April-May 1952. A personal interview survey was
chosen as the best method for obtaining this information.
Q u estion n aires
Two questionnaires were used in the survey; an establish
ment form for information obtained from employers, and an employee
questionnaire for information obtained by interviewing the individ
ual technicians. Both forms were pretested in Philadelphia and
Baltimore before the final form was determined.
The establishment schedule 10/ was designed to supply
those facts that an employer would be better qualified to provide,
such as hiring methods, training conducted in the plant, job
breakdowns, plant employment, number of technicians employed, and
job descriptions for electronic technicians. The establishment
interview also enabled the field supervisor to arrange for personal
interviews of a representative sample of the electronic technicians
employed in the plant.
The individual technician questionnaire 11/ provided de
tailed information on the worker, his job, his skills, his training,
and his work history. Tabulations from this form provided the
statistics on which the main conclusions of this report are based.
Almost all questions were pre-coded in order to help the field
staff better understand what information was sought by each question,
to hold writing during interviews to a minimum, and to facilitate
preparation for machine tabulation.
10/
11/
See appendix B.
See appendix B.
58
Sam ple D esig n
The primary consideration in the selection of a sample
for the survey was the relationship between available funds and
the maximum reliable information about electronic technicians
that could be obtained. Sampling all electronic technicians on
a nation-wide basis was not feasible. On the other hand, concen
trating on only one or two of the industries in which technicians
are employed would have made it impossible to apply the findings
to all electronic technicians, since no one subgroup can be con
sidered typical. It was therefore decided to select a sample of
1,800 technicians from among 6 types of establishments that em
ploy over 90 percent of all civilian electronic technicians in
the United States. The survey was further restricted to eight
of the largest metropolitan areas, which include the heaviest
concentrations of electronic technicians and represent every ge
ographical section of the Nation. Thus the universe from which
our sample of electronic technicians was drawn includes all estab
lishments located in these cities which are engaged in: (l) re
pair of hone radio and/or television receivers; (2) radio and/or
television broadcasting; (3) manufacture of radio and/or tele
vision receivers; (4) manufacture of other electronic equipment;
(5) manufacture of aircraft; and (6) research and development.
Table 7 illustrates the theoretical basis of the sample.
Table
Type of establishment
Total, all establishments— -—
Repair of radio and/or
television -— -— -— -— -— -—
Broadcasting — ---- -— ---------Manufacturing:
Radio and/05 television ------Other electronic equipment ---Aircraft — — — — — — — — --Research — -— -— — —
—
— -—
Other (not covered in survey) ---
7*—
Theoretical Basle for Allocation of E m p l o y e e Schedules
Estimated
number of
electronic
technicians
employed in
United
States in
April-May
1950
Estimated
number of
electronic
technicians
in 8 cities
visited in
April-May
1950
Is this
group
rela
tively
homoge
neous
as to
Job
duties,
etc.?
100,000
3*,ooo
-
~
70,000
13,000
20,000
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
1,500
3,500
3,300
1,500
7,000
3,500
1,000
2,500
(2,500
1,000
3,500
59
Is propor
tionate
represen
tation by
city
feasible?
Distribution of
employee sched
ules
Percent of sample
to universe of 8
cities
Planned Actual
Planned
Actual
1,800
1,926
900
1,017
350
35*
10.0
10 .1
79
197
10.0
6.0
6.0
15.0
7.9
7.9
5.3
100
150
150
I50
““
132
147
5.9
*•5
6.k
5-1
1*.7
Research establishments to be visited were chosen random
ly from lists obtained from the 1950 edition of Industrial Research
Laboratories of the United States and other more recent data in the
files of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Lists of broadcasting sta
tions obtained from the Federal Communications Commission were
stratified by number of technical employees and by city and then
sampled randomly within these groups. Manufacturing establishment
lists compiled from Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Production
Authority, and other government sources were stratified by size of
employment and then sampled randomly within groups. Repair estab
lishments were chosen randomly from a list obtained by combining
the radio repair and the television repair phone book listings for
each metropolitan area and eliminating duplicate listings.
The Standard Industrial Classification 12/ was adhered
to wherever possible. However, its application in this study was
limited by the indefinite relationship between certain SIC indus
try groups and employment of electronic technicians. For instance,
many plants making electronic equipment employ no electronic tech
nicians, while many department stores employ electronic technicians
in their radio-television service departments. The relationships
between SIC industries and the six types of establishments covered
in the survey are shown by the following outline:
SIC Coverage
Survey Designation
SIC Designation
Establishments engaged in:
7621
Part of 5723
Part of 5311
Electrical repair shops
Radio stores
Department stores
7712
7713
Radio broadcasting
Television broadcasting
Part of 3661
Radios, radio and tele
vision equipment, ra
dar and related detec
tion apparatus, phono
graphs.
Part of 3661
Part of 3662
Part of 3669
(See above)
Radio tubes
Communication equip
ment, n.e.c.
Radio-Tv repair - - - -
Broadcasting - —
- - - - -
Radio-Tv manufacturing
- -
Other electronics manufac
turing - - - - - - - -
Aircraft manufacturing
-
3721
Research and development-
Part of 7399
Aircraft
Business services,
n#e.c *
12/ Standard Industrial Classification Manual, Bureau of the
Budget, Volume I, Manufacturing Industries, 19^5J Volume II, Non
manufacturing Industries, 19 ^9 .
60
Table 8 shows the distribution of the technicians who
participated in the survey by metropolitan area and type of estab
lishment.
Table 8.— Distribution of Electronic Technicians Surveyed, by Metropolitan Area
and Type of Establishment, Aprll-May 1952
Type of establishment
Metropolitan
area
Total ---------Atl a n t a--- --------Baltimore — — — — -Boston — — — — — — —
Chicago — — ----- --Detroit ----- ------Los Angeles --------New York -----------Philadelphia --------
All types of
establishments
1,926
119
187
210
2k3
162
288
k90
227
Radio-tv
repair
Broad
casting
Manufacture of
radio-tv
1,017
35^
79
197
132
__
_
28
10
—
90
103
117
139
112
136
190
130
19
27
35
k6
kl
52
35
38
17
--
—
—
8
100
36
3^
Manufacture of
other electron
ic equipment
—
8
62
kk
Manufacture of
aircraft
7
—
—
2
7k
33
6
Research
lk7
__
22
20
63
7
10
69
13
C o llectio n
Individual technicians to be interviewed were selected
from these establishments by obtaining a complete list of elec
tronic technicians employed at each establishment and selecting
randomly a proportion of the total that would give the plant the
proper representation. A minimum of 1 year of school or on-thejob training in electronics was used as a criterion for select
ing respondents. When other factors, such as equipment skills
and wages, indicated that, despite job titles, the worker did
not perform the duties of an electronic technician, he was not
selected.
All employee schedules were edited in the field by the
field supervisor. In cases where interviewers turned in sched
ules which had inconsistent entries or unanswered questions,
follow-up telephone calls were made to obtain the correct infor
mation. These precautions resulted in a very high percentage of
usable schedules being obtained; of 1,9 6 3 schedules collected,
1,937 were complete in all respects. Since the 11 women were
too small a group for analysis, 1,926 schedules from male tech
nicians supplied the basis for this report.
6l
Coding and Tabulation
When the establishment schedules were received, they were
arranged by size of total employment, and the coded information on
them was transcribed to a master sheet, from which hand tabulations
were made.
The information on the employee questionnaires was punched
on IBM cards. A Primary Card 13/ containing all information except
the work history was punched first. Then for every status (job,
service in Armed Forces, unemployment, or schooling after high
school) appearing in the work history, an Excess Card 13/ was
punched.
Analyzing the movements of electronic technicians over a
12-year period during which many of them were in statuses other
than electronic technician jobs presented a rather complex problem.
On the one hand, to consider together all movements made by respond
ents would result in adding together such things as jobs, unemploy
ment periods, Armed Forces service, and schooling. On the other
hand, studying each type of status separately would lose the conti
nuity of the respondents' work histories. The solution arrived at
was to show all movements in terms of type of status entered and
left and time of occurrence. This system allowed all changes made
by respondents to be shown while still allowing the analysis of any
particular type of status.
Special tabulation techniques were developed to effect this
end. The object of the tabulation scheme was to transfer the work
history information from the schedules to IBM cards in such a manner
that:
1.
The entire coded work history of each respondent
could be reproduced by machine.
2.
All statuses in the work histories could be analyzed
by machine from any of the following standpoints:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
w
Type
Sequence of types
Time
Duration
Location
Characteristics of respondent at time of
entry into the status
See appendix B.
62
The unit on which the excess cards were based was the
"labor force status." (See definition on page Uk). For every
such status, an Excess Card was punched containing the following
information:
1.
Schedule identification —
particular respondent.
identifying the
2.
Background characteristics as of time of survey, 1952.
3.
Status number - numbered consecutively backward
from respondent's present status to last entry on
work history. This number and the schedule identi
fication (l. above) enable the machine grouping of
individual work histories in order of successive
statuses.-
U.
Type of status and type of next previous status allows sequence analysis
1
5 . Other facts about the status:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
6.
Location
Year began
Year ended
Type of plant
Main job duties
Method of getting job
Reason for leaving job
Personal characteristics at time status began — age,
marital status, fatherhood, years in field of elec
tronics
These cards permitted the placing of every status change in
time and provided for the analysis of movements on a yearly basis.
They made it possible to separate all electronic technician jobs
held by respondents over the 12 years and to study them in detail.
They showed just how and when the needs of our Armed Forces in
World War II affected these men.
63
S t a t is t ic a l R e l i a b i l i t y
The sample of 1,926 electronic technicians was one of the
largest groups of workers in a single occupation that had ever been
studied. It thus offered many opportunities for detailed analysis
without sacrifice of statistical reliability. Nevertheless, in
some instances, cross tabulations resulted in very small groupings.
To prevent erroneous conclusions, basing of conclusions on groups
containing too few cases (in general, less than 50 ) was avoided
even though the figures may have appeared significant. The Chisquare test was used to guard against the imputation of signifi
cance to variations which could be due to chance.
6k
B - S U R V E Y FORM S
B~I>. S. No.
I n d i v i d u a l Technician S c h e d u le Budget
, ,
,Bureau No.
„ 44-5202.1
..
,
227 5 A
Approval expires September 10,
UNITED
STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
B U R E A U OF L A B O R S T A T I S T I C S
W A S H I N G T O N 25, D. C.
C o n fid e n tia l
C o n fid e n tia l
OCCUPATIONAL MOBILITY
OF
ELECTRONIC
TECHNICIANS
Name of Interviewer: _________________________
i-f
□
3. City.....................
1.
1052
4. Establishment...........
• • m 2> 3
5. Technician........... .
..(
6* Type of establishment ••••
........ Q
|
j 4, 5
2• Date of Interview: _____________________ , 1952
6
A* Sex:
______ O. Male
_ _ _ _ _ 1. Female
A j
brn
B. IN WHAT TEAR WERE YOU BORN?
0.
ARE TOU MARRIED?
______ 0*
_______1.
_______2.
D
.
Check one:
Single
Married; INWHAT YEAR WERE YOU MARRIED?
Other:(Divorced, widowed,
separated*)
DO YOU HAVE ANY CHIIDREN?
[ 7
®
c □
10
D Q
11
E Q
12
F Q
13
0 Q
14
In 19
Check one:
______ 0. No
___ 1* Yes: WOULD YOU TELL ME THE YEARS IN WHICH THEY WERE BORN STARTING
WITH THE OLDEST CHILD?
9
K. HOW MANY DEPENDENTS DO YOU HAVE, INCLUDING YOURSELF?
Check one:
1. One
4. Four
2. Two
5* Five
3. Three
6. Six
7. Seven or more
F. DO YOU RENT YOUR APARTMENT (OR HOUSE)? Check one:
______ 0. Own house; IN WHAT YEAR DID YOU BUY YOUR (FIRST) HOME?
In 191 T
\
______ In
______ 2*
- ___— 3*
_____4*
______ 5*
G.
Rent house
Rent apartment
Rent room
Living with parents in their home
Other (specify______________ ___________
WHAT WAS THE HIGHEST GRADE OF REGULAR SCHOOL YOU COMPIETED?
Check one:
71,72
)
______ 0. Below 8th grade
______ 3* Some college*
------ 1* 8th to 11th grade
______ 4* Graduated college*
--- — ...2* Graduated high school —
_ 5* Graduate work*
♦If 3, 4, or 5 was checked, ask:
WHAT WAS YOUR MAJOR FIELD IN COLLEGE?
... .
Check one:
Q- Electrical or electronic engineering
1. Other (specify_________________ )
0* |“ J 15
-
H.
2
-
WHICH SUBJECT DID YOU LIKE BEST IN HIGH SCHOOL?
I. ARE YOU A VETERAN OF WORID WAR II?
Check one:
H □
16
I Q
17
J Q
18
______ 0. No
______ 1# Yes
J. DO YOU BELONG TO A MILITARY RESERVE?
Check one:
______ 0. No.
______ 1. Yes
K. IN WHAT YEAR DID YOU START YOUR FIRST FULL-TIME JOB, CIVILIAN OR
MILITARY, AS A TECHNICIAN IN THE GENERAL FIELD OF ELECTRONICS
(RADIO, ETC.)?
In 19__ .
L. a. WHAT WERE YOU DOING BEFORE YOU WENT INTO ELECTRONICS WORK?
Check one:
K |
j
| 73,74
*
La Q J
66
tb Q
67
M Q
68
______ 0. Was full-time student in electronics course at a
technical school.
______ 1. Was a student inhigh school
______ 2. Was a student in college
______ 3. Was in the Armed Forces in a non-electronics Job.
______ 4.
Worked in another Job*
_____ . 5. Other (specify___________________________________________ )
b. If respondent was working previously (if 4 above was checked) ask:
WHICH OF YOUR PREVIOUS JOBS WOULD YOU SAY WAS YOUR USUAL
OCCUPATION? ______________________________________________________
c. WHAT DID YOU DO IN YOUR USUAL OCCUPATION? (Briefly): ______________
M.
HOW DID YOU HAPPEN TO BECOME INTERESTED IN ELECTRONICS?
N. HOW MANY MONTHS OF YOUR TRAINING IN ELECTRONICS CONSISTED OF:
&• FULL-TIME COURSE IN CIVILIAN SCHOOL?
(WHAT SCHOOL?
>
Mos.
b. ARMED FORCES ELECTRONICS SCHOOL ?
(WHAT SCHOOL?
)
Mos.
af
(WHAT TRADE?
e. OTHER ON-THE-JOB TRAINING?
____
J
19,20
1 21,22
J
— ,—
Mos.
)
Mos.
Mos.
f. OTHER, SUCH AS CORRESPONDENCE COURSES, AMATEUR ■HAM" or HOBBY WORK,
HOME 8TUDY, ETC. GIVE DETAILS
i
bf
c. PART-TIME CLASSES IN CIVILIAN SCHOOL? .
d. APPRENTICESHIP?
N
C| "T1
dl li
el ii
f! 1
T
1 23,24
| 25,26
"
1 27,28
1 29,30
3
0. DO YOU HAVE A LICENSE FOR OPERATING OR REPAIRING ELECTRONIC
EQUIPMENT ISSUED BY THE FEDERAL, STATE, OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT?
Check one:
0 Q
31
P. WHICH OF THESE ARRANGEMENTS BEST DESCRIBES YOUR PRESENT JOB?
Check one:
______ 0. Work Independently
______ 1. Supervise others doing electronics work
______ 2* Act as helper to a higher grade man
______ 3* Work in a crew with other technicians at the same grade
______ 4. Other (specify__________________________________________)
P [
| 32
Q. ON WHAT BASIS IS YOUR PAY FIGURED AT YOUR PRESENT JOB? Check one:
_______0. Income from own business
______ 1. Salary
------ 2* Hourly rat''*
_______ 3. Other (specify_________________________________________ )
Q Q
33
Q* |
| 34
R Q
35
______ 0. No
______ 1. Yes; WHAT KIND? ________________________________________
♦If 2 is checked, ask:
WHAT IS YOUR STRAIGHT-TIME HOURLY RATE?
0*
1.
2.
3.
4.
Less than $1.25
$1.25 - $1.49
$1.50 - $1.74
$1.75 - $1.99
$2.00 - $2.24
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Check one:
$2.25
$2.50
$2.75
$3.00
$3.25
- $2.49
- $2.74
- $2.99
- $3.24
or more
R. OVER THE PAST 2 MONTHS, ABOUT HOW MUCH DID YOU EARN PER WEEK
(BEFORE DEDUCTIONS) 7 Check one:
0.
1*
2*
3*
4*
Less than $50
$50 - 59
$60 - 69
$70 - 79
$80 - 89
_______ i5.
6.
7.
8*
9*
$90
$100
$120
$140
$160
- 99
- 119
- 139
- 159
or more
•* EZ1 36,37
S. OVER THE PAST 2 MONTHS, HOW MANY HOURS DID YOU USUALLY WORK
PER WEEK?________ hour*.
T. a. HOW LONG DO YOU THINK IT WOULD TAKE TO TRAIN A HIGH SCHOOL
GRADUATE TO DO YOUR TYPE OF WORK?________________ months.
Ta
b. IF YOU WERE TRAINING THIS MAN, HOW WOUIA YOU DIVIDE THIS
TIME BETWEEN TECHNICAL SCHOOL AND ON-THE-JOB TRAINING?
Tb
------ months in technical school*
43,44
T
45,46
______i
47.48
------ months in on-the-job training*
U. WHAT OTHER IDEAS DO YOU HAVE ABOUT THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY8 TO TRAIN
ELECTRONIC TECHNICIANS?
[
66
4
-
V. ON THE BASIS OF YOUR ACTUAL EXPERIENCE WITH THE EQUIPMENT LISTED BELOW, INDICATE WHICH OF
THESE OPERATIONS YOU CAN PERFORM:
Check as many squares as apply:
Equipment
Make major
repairs on
(4)
b.
Make minor
repairs on
(2)
c.
Operate
d.
Code
Total
e.
Col.
No.
a)
1. Home radio receivers
xxxxxxxxxx
40
2. Home television receivers
xxxxxxxxxx
50
3* Police, taxi, etc. radio equip.
xxxxxxxxxx
51
xxxxxxxxxx
52
4. Military radio communication
equipment
0.
Radio broadcast transmitting
equipment
53
TV broadcast transmitting equip.
54
7. Radar
55
8* Ground control approach system
56
°. Sonar
57
10. Loran
58
11. Shoran
59
12. Teleran
60
13. Guided missile control system
61
14. Electronic computing machines
62
15. X-ray equipment (Industrial
or medical)
63
16. Servomechanisms
64
17. Electronic counting and
sorting devices
65
69
-
W.
Work History.
Present job back
through 1940
5
-
Instructions: Introduce this section by asking WHEN DID YOU START
YOUR PRESENT JOB? List present job first and enter length of time
in each different job on a separate line even if employment was in
the same firm or plant; aocount for all months, January 1940 to
date, including periods of military service, unemployment, or
schooling between jobs# Lead into each previous job by asking
WHAT DID YOU DO BEFORE THAT?
AA_____________________ BB_________________ CC_______________ DP
WHAT WAS THE NAME
OF THE FIRM?
IN WHAT CITY WAS
IT LOCATED?
WHAT WAS YOUR EXACT
JOB TITLE?
WHEN DID YOU
WORK THERE?
From
Mo.
&•
&•
b.
b.
c.
c.
d.
d.
e.
e.
f.
f.
g*
•g*
h.
h.
1.
i.
j.
J•
k.
k.
1.
1.
m.
m.
n.
n.
REMARKSl
70
Yr.
To
Mo.
Yr.
-
6 -
EE________________ FF________________ GG___________
WHAT DID THE PLANT DO?
WHAT DID YOU DO (HOST OF
THE TIME) IN THE JOB?
HOW DID YOU HAPPEN TO
GET THE JOB?
Insert proper code no.
Insert proper code no.
Insert proper code no.
here code #
here code #
here code #
+
♦
a*
♦
a*
A*
g*
0. Repair home
radio or TV sets* b.
1* Mftr. radio or
c*
TV sets*
2. Mftr. other
d.
civilian elec-*tronlc equipment*
e*
3* Broadcasting*
4* Mftr. aircraft*
f.
5. Other (specify
below) •
g*
h.
h.
b.
c.
d.
e*
f.
1.
2*
3*
4.
5.
radio and TV
sets*
Repair other
electronic
equipment*
Inspect and test
other electronic
equipment*
Install other
electronic
equipment*
Research
laboratory work*
Operate transmitting equip
ment*
Other electronic
work (specify
below) •
Other
b.
c*
working in plant*
Referred by
technical school*
Just went to
plant employment
office.
Worked there
before; called
back*
Saw help-wanted
advertisement*
Through public
employment
office*
Through private
employment
agency*
Through labor
c*
1.
d.
2*
e*
f.
3*
g*
4*
h.
5.
i.
j.
j*
k.
k*
1.
1.
1.
m.
m.
m.
'n.
n.
n*
j*
6*
k.
7*
\
a*
XXX
through
acquaintance
i.
7*
Insert proper code no.
here code #
b.
i.
6*
WHAT w a s YOUR MAIN
REASON FOR USAVING THE
JOB?
+
0. Heard of opening
0* Repair home
71
HH
union*
8* Was promoted*
9. Other (specify
below).
d.
e.
f.
gh.
i.
J-»
k*
1.
m*
n.
0* Layoff
1. Was terminated
(discharged) •
2* Company went
out of business.
3* Entered Armed
Forces*
4. Family moved*
5. Entered fulltime school*
6. Was promoted.
7. Was dissatisfied
with job.
8. Took a better
job.
9* Other (specify
below) •
BLS No.
E s t a b l i s h m e n t Schedule
22T5B
U N IT E D
STATES
Bndgnt B«r«*« No. 44-6202.\
Approval expires September 20, 1962
D EPARTM EN T OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR S T A T IS T IC S
W a sh in g to n
25,
D.
C.
O C C U PA T IO N A L M O B IL IT Y OF E L E C T R O N IC T E C H N IC IA N S
Confidential
Confidential
ESTABLISH M ENT
1
2
3
4
Name
of
i n t e r v i e w e r : ____________
Date
Type
of
i n t e r v i e w : _________ _____
of establishment
manufacturer
or
is p r i n c i p a l
product
Code
research
No.
If
laboratory
or p r o d u c t s
what
made
6.
Establishment
7
F i r m n a m e : ____
8
Plant
address.
Title:
HOW MANY PEOPLE
a.
C i t y ..........
or
w o r k e d on ?______ _______________________________
Names and titles of of f i c i a l s interviewed:
LA8T
B.
5.
1952
Name:
A.
INFORMATION
WERE EMPLOYED
AT
THI8 E8TABLI8HMENT AT YOUR
A
R E G U L A R P A Y P E R I O D ? ______________.
WHAT JOB
THE
TITLE8 USED
GENERAL JOB
_______L.
0 7
8
IN Y O U R P L A N T M I G H T B E
GROUP OF ELECTRONIC
INCLUDED
IN
B
TECHNICIAN?
--- ----- ----
10
•
b.
W H A T DO
THE8E WORKERS DO?
c.
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE NO W W O R K I N G
(HOW M A N Y A R E W O M E N ? )
a.
Job
able,
C.
OVER
THE PAST
F E W YEARS,
JOBS BY TRAINING MEN
_____0.
No
________1 .
Y es*
*If 1
DO
is c h e c k e d ,
YOU CONDUCT
11
12
( B riefly)
IN E A C H O F T H E 8 E J O B S ?
b.
job description
(If p r i n t e d d e s c r i p t i o n s a r e
title
9
T
attach
to
this
c.
avail-
form.)
HAVE YOU FILLED ANY OF THESE
IN Y O U R P L A N T ?
No.
Both
of workers
sexes
TECHNICIANS'
Women
C
13
C h e c k one:
ask:
ANY:
a.
FORMAL APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM?
b.
ON-THE-JOB TRAINING PROGRAM
c.
SUPPLEMENTARY TRAINING OUT8IDE
No.___0;
Y e s ____1
O T H E R T H A N A P P R E N T I C E S H I P ? ho_J>; Y e s _ l ,
THE PLANT?
(Over)
72
Net__ Yes.
C*
14
18
16
- s
D.
TO M K T
SHORTA0K8 O F 8KILLED
UPGRADE WORKERS
IN R E L A T E D J O B S ?
F R O M W H I C H J0B8 DO
b.
BREAK DOWN
THE JOB?
YOU
N o __ 0;
Y e s ___1.
If Yes,
____ 0.
.1.
____ 2.
nost
Hire
No__ 0;
through
Advertise
this
applications
In H e l p - W a n t e d
____ 3.
Hire
through
a labor
____ 4.
Hire
through
a technical
____ 0.
Hire
through private
____ 0.
Hire
people
____ 7.
Other
DO YOU
HAVE ANY
on
(specify
8ervlce
at
the p l a n t
columns
union
school
employment
recommendations
agency
of employees
__________________________________________________ __)
FORMAL MINIMUM
QUALIFICATIONS
THAT
LEVEL ELECTRONIC
YOU R E Q U I R E
1
Formal
4
e d u c a t i o n _________________________________________________________
s c h o o l i n g ______________________________________________________
8
W o r k e x p e r i e n c e ___________________________________________________________
16
Other
DO
t e s t ________________________________________________________________
TO HAV E A N Y D I F F I C U L T Y
Remarks:
32
128
IN MEETING' Y O U R N E E D S
F O R E L E C T R O N I C T E C H N I C I A N S IN T H E N E X T Y E A R O R T W O ?
DIS
CUSS . • ( S u m m e r l z e c o m m e n t s o f r e s p o n d e n t w h i c h b e a r on
a n t i c i p a t e d n e e d s for w o r k e r s a n d
a b i l i t y o f t r a i n e d m e n from local
23
64
( s p e c i f y __________________________________________________________)
YOU EXPECT
'
.
21 22
2
L i c e n s e s . ________
H.
F]
TECHNICIANS'
8 e x _________________________________________ .
________________________________
Formal
19
20
A g e --------------------------------------------------------------------------
Technical
E
employer.)
State Employment
OF ALL APPLICANTS FOR LOWEST
JOBS?
( W H A T A R E TH E Y ? )
G.
I S
Y e s ___1.
often u s e d by
Take unsolicited
17
ask
U P G R A D E ?______________ ___________________ _
W H E N Y O U NEE D TO H I R E T R A I N E D M E N F O R E L E C T R O N I C T E C H N I C I A N S ' JOBS,
W H I C H O F T H E S E M E T H O D S D O Y O U U S E ? (P l a e e n u a b e r s 1 a n d 2 b y the
two n e t h o d s
F.
DO TO O USUALLY:
D
a.
E.
TECHNICIANS,
a p p r a i s a l s o f the
labor market.)
avail
24
IBM C a r d L a y o u t F o r m s
Primary Card
Excess Card
BUSSAU OF LABOR STATISTICS - U.S, LBFABTMEST OF LABOR
® CP®
-U
cn
GO
GO
4C.
n»
*0k
-M
o
co
co
'
£
s
li
cd cm
U .S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR - BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
-B
:W
^cSTABL*
r?
a 40
pw o
NO
'•M
na
>— |f: ^mCHRIClAli
: GO
%\
®*
rva^ car*
CD
ca
GO
"M co TIPI OF ESTAS,
at
cn
oa
ISO O' —*■:
2* «** fcJ»M
48*
'
*
*
*
&
an
4*
t
a
>
—•
co
S SI
co
or*
■
M
*
<» ~ <X5^
NO
GO
on
4*
oa
St
n
to
33
^ IL A B BDRM
**4
|®
GO
GO
On
oa
na
4*
2)
NO Gi «**
oa
at ‘
on
4* ? ca
<=>MARITAL ST*
**o
©a
GO
ca
K»;W —* ‘ M
m
on
4*
NO 1
GO
J'*S t c ®
oa
GO
oa
4P*
S3 c p rd * m m u m * §
gf
—
*
oa
-*a
at
Ca
GO
4*
§j$&: |
3;; upm :
r G o m m m
i
■
.
■m
a &0H
CO
GO
i f e ; ^» —* s o
r
a
N*
cn
4*
ca
cn
4*t
na & * —<*|H: cj9' COHL» MA«CR
eh
4a* |■;:ca>:
■«S3^ OB
GO
go
04
na aa - a
cn
4*
oa
caH J . SUBJECT A
r*a m ■'—s ilB e » TE1&RAE
cn
ca
4*ft c©m oa , *«4 - at
5> «©m oa : * 4
at
■lill::;
M fc, M *38 c a H i i l H
48*
cr*
GO
GO
cn
4*
oa
*
* ^
FIRST IT JOB
GO
On
ls>
4*
ca
f t t e * 0 co ;
S
i
GO
P fNS
oa
:
GO
oa
4
*
is c a m H t t r n m n
- “ H
*■*4
oo
cn
GO
4*
c a ■m fO *
as PREFICUS FISLi>
ft co H oo
cr
cn
4*
oa
r a IK —'
® n m m s f sl e c t e ,
■Sa|
CO
.ile a
GO
oa tx r a 1
cn
4*
— u
fa
cn
U «5 M oo
GO
4*
oa
cc
GO
cn
4*
c a M iim R I
s M a ra
5?
Z C3 TECS* SCH*
5f co
.oo
GO
cn
*a
oo
GO
ra
on
4*
oa
<=> EART~T1M
c a TECH. SCH.
oa
GO
cn
4 * s*s> c a «
i
co
GO
S' to
cn
4 * to oa
ra
fe1 ^ APFRBJfk'
w
c
cn
- CO*'* oo
GO
4afc m c a % r a ! «
i n c a TICESHIP
ca
fa
te>^ oo
GO
on
4*
X
■g- c a GM“THS-JOB
•
la : c a THAISIKO
oo
cn
***4
cn
4*
ca
|
1 "top"" ©a
'•M
on OS On
ca
ra
4*
—* £
r
cr, b on
4S* i '"'Sa' ' w M
c r * - *| y.At
«Oj^» OO
cr la on
4s* 8 <?ii|
r a 43
o c a UCcKSLSG
g» C©m oo
m
*? —* iC <=> JUi.ABJotGMT
—0 r* ;ssm
on 5 4*. 0 !S4i*
E lo ^ T " oo
8 on
4 * H* oa
-H «a
aa c=> rvi.i SARKGS
N>» ~ <^ m ; c «
3
Cr.»» ■cn
r a joA--*
4 * Sae : s i#
:;ii
H COM GO
c» hourly rati ..I K
*1
»*a §
r a s53 ***** & c a A f i i i l l i l M
CO
on
o
* sOa?
H
cr.orj cn
OO
ca
S «jp
fa .
4s*
»
Z
- 4 X c n ► on w 4 * s c a
ra *
$ © ! * oo
; *&*.
CO
cr
cn
ca t o m
;|l*g *SsS «*9
g
$ m d
2 £m I
4W
ca
on
oa
ra
*-* 5 c a MGEfHS
8e
m
mmP
-M
<£>
or.
fi CO
ra
ca
4a*
cn
ca m m m i
.I r C
ro
o
i cd SCHOOL
CO
or i
ra
4*:
ft t o
cn
[8
4*
r a * —A "ca 0 8 « T ^ * 3 t i n '©
oo
cn
GO
”"<a
ft t o
SK
2 ;;
l c a TRAINIRQ
4 * S ca
cn
& s o ** oo
::ia ,
-*» M c a M S I®
•Li
oo
cn
4 * *4 c a M r a
# co > » GO
„1!
■~a;P COM oo
4a*. B c a *s> r a
—* % o i n s s ~ "
on
fa
—*
4* M ca
oa
on
fe::;COjM . oa ■ §§l!
=» PCrMCE.TAXI
j
e- r a
J* COM oo. gg: - 4
cr>
4a*
c a MIL. COMM,
oo g
oa : cn g 4a* 3 ca vs r a .
c a RADIO TEARS,
o*
1
4 * fi ca
ra :
CO
oa . on
ca TV TEAKSM.
s c com
«
'***$
:o a
■4a*c a •cr r a
c a RADAR
f Ic o M CO
cn
1ST
ca
cd GCA Sl^WMS
ra
cn
—
5$ COM oo
oa
1
«-4 m
f a '-■■■;■**-*/-.'* | c a SGRA1
“ WM CO
1H
PS|
oa
ft SOM oo
cn
4*
«~4
08 , on D D M F ~
cn
. 4*
g®gg? 09
P B g laM^o
c a SHORAH
S COM oo
*i|g
an
oa
: Pig
4*
cn
c a TELERAE
S t©M oo
gliOl 2 on .: ■% , ligig C#GS3
22 ''S ' ouibe S 'mB J T
S COM CD
-~4 g .■oa 'g ;i#igig 4s*
jp M o
ca ■
® COM CO
S! O
4w I ;..6
j
ca v i+ o
"4
co
4*
on
—>m ‘CD I* lA f
S COM oa
!
*»*«4
era
on
c a OsMsa
—* « c a SERVOS.
4*
£ tOM oo
,
—
*
c
a
*^+s3
,
-4
4*
cn
si c a m P.fSO &T*
"am
.? «>M GO
«*0
OO
GO
on
4*
oa
ra
SI <o
«=» W M - m m M l X Q M
s c a of r m m m m
'~4
err
SLco**
on
ca
ra
4a*:
+*"i
OO
ca
1 ||
4*
Oo
cn
oa
ra
ffg CO
s os Ktu.
|
*~*4
oa
CD
cn
Oa
ra
4*
s '
4s*
ra
; era
on
ca
—* s c a ET JOB
,ft,:-®M oa
ca
r a ' —* l i l c a Q T F £ I1 3 ? r ” 0
on
CD
4*
^ COM co
♦**4
CD
cn
4*
oa
ra
ft COM oo
*—•
c a M L IT JOB]< ,1
4a*
-M
ra
oa
cn
oa
—* pf c a OTHER MIL.
COM oa
«*4
CD
ca
ra
on
i r 1
4*
— s o i i M
M w H oo
ra
GO
*4&*
oa
on
a? co m ■cmm ***4
--*■ eHI cd T E « .S C iL . g .
CD
on
ca
ra
4*
*4
—* 55 .c a & m n sa m * M
ft co m GO
OO
at
on
oa
ia
4s*
“M
—* n c a H S S S i i i
co m
**4
oa
OS
CD
cn
4*
ra
ft CO
CD
a t CttTPvV
IT * ca m ro is r £ t jo b
CD
GO
ca
ra
- Oa *
4*
4
*
c
a
r
a
on
g§,CC>
ca
■CD
09
f» OO^
-> oo
cn
oo
oo
oa
,
CO
a * ^
■ ,,...y ca
. co
. ^ «S« COH oo
j
~s OD>-* CO
0 • 03 ro oa
co
i *n » t o
»~ a oo*- oa
r UDM oa
:j»S COM oo
"a to *— co
. £ COM co
< a com co
a com oo
, 53 COM oa
a com oo
OO
a co
at c o '0 oo
‘ 5 “<o'
<x>
—4
>**4
a CITT
co
r*o w
NO fr *""* so
co
3 s TAB,
i? ; '
CO
NO
*o ca
co
NO,m
'
^ISCHNIC.
NO
CO
cn
4s*
caTYPE OF ESTAB
CO
NO cn : _»
"35E X ------- --------*
NO*
....c n ........-** . CO
GO
4*
CO
NOCO —* j caHAR OF
cdBIRTH
. . «n....... 48*... .. CO , NO...... —*
1
cn
4*
NO<D __ - c^KARITAL ST. I I
CO
g4
t*
cdCHIIDHEH
M O —*
cn
4s.
CO
a
cn
4s*
NO<30 —. - cdR0.33EPEHDS.
co
cn
4a*
co
NO
*— Im ^DWELLING
■3$K
a
cn
4a*
M O <—
co
I
$33
CO
c n ; 4a*
c a C O li. MAJOR
ro o * —
cn
4s.
" s r o iS H r
CO
NOW «•
cn : 4s*
(OH —. |« .V
CO
cn
4a.
ico
NO*C ' —*
c a RESERVE
cn
4s*
CO
NOf
c a TEAR TOOK FIRST
a?
NO
co
I c a ET JOB
cn
43s*
CO
NO; ' — '
<=»HAR
GO
cn
cn
an
co
GO
—4
-M
-M
**4
****1
—4
W -3'
-M
at
at
CD
CD
CD
co
CD
CD
CO
do
GO
*h$
-4
-*4
GO
GO
GO
CO
CO
43*
4>*
4»*
3B-1RTF :
»OHEST CHILD
» TEAR BOUGHT
—
3
9mm
c=» STATUS
— ft c s
number
«— a c=»gMFLoWi~~
% ca
■M:Oa
UD
35 COM
com
t tOM
ft tt)H
0 0
IS*
• OOM
4 4
GO
at
GO
at
GO
5 5
oo
oa
09
oa
oo
CO
oa
oa
ft CD
£ coM
ft COM
ft UDM
ft COM
& to
OO
cn
oo
<x 03
oo
cr r
•
oo
W cr
**4 b CF! $r
CO
oo
cr r
oo 5 ***4
or
Fa
oo
r. cn
oo
cn sn
co
->*4 3E cn 8**
oo
~*-l
an o
4r
ao
cn p
—J
oo
co 8
oo
GO K
oo
-4
- GO
4s* §
s
ro ® - J
CO
NO
—*
CO
» year
co:co BEGAN
4»*
ca “ 7 3 ^
—
NO
* 3ft
4Sk* | CO
r* co- - f*O W 6*3—* $
NO98
*
4* * c a
4s* m ca
NO O O—» n ca HOW GOT JOB
43.
ca
no « as—
4a. M c a
N ifl — -*g
P
’ AGE
cn £» 4a* © . c a .. .... r a g —> ft
, MARITAL ST*
cn §2 4s. **s
no Z
— fi
NO <= —*
ca
>FATHERHOOD
-cn § 4a.
cn
4a. rs ,.fc * ,„„- J & i g 4a* »
cn
co kQt ~(OkmT
cn
cn o ;
.cn 5*»
.cn @
cn
cn
cn N8
tn
M
4**
4*
>TEAR
»ENDED
rrorrar"
riAIMTOSS*’
E
c a tC A H S
ISto
r m
m co
5C co
H to
co
ft; co
iD
-B co
S to
ft UD
& «o
£ UD
S co
I? co
‘1 CO
£ CO
S CO
S co
2? co,
ft CO
CD
*U co
£ CO
ft UD
sE t o
ft CD
ft co
ft t o
S to
s
74
oe»
OO
oo
CO
oo
co
oo
oo
co
oo
oa
co
oo
oo
oo
oo
OO
oo
cc*
oo
CO
oo
oo
oo
CO
oo
oo
oo
oo
-a
. .-a
-a
-a
CD
GO
CD
CD
CD
■***4 .:;. ; CD
I l i f a ■: OD
; **a
CP
5*4
CP
***4 | CD
g|®|g CD
-a
CD
GO
*«a
|||*4
-a
-4
<**a
■®
**4
*01
N4
•*«a
—•
-a
-a
H«4
GO
GO
CD
<39
CD
©9,
CD
09
at
GO
CD
CP
CD
CD
CP,
CD-
tn
4N
4s.
tn
an
4*.
4a.
cn
cn
-43.
cn
4s*4a.
Cn
cn
43*
■jigon:/, s 43*.
i i i i ig -4s*
cn
43.
43.
cn
43*
cn
cn
43.
cn , 4s*
4a.
cn
cn
4a.
43*
cn
cn g 4s.
cn
4*.
4s.
cn
cn
48.
tn
4s*
48s,
cn
cn
4s*
05
4a>
48.
tn
cn
4s.
4*
cn-
* ta
o ca
■
ca
(A
ca
oa
ca
co
ca
ca
ta
ca
ca
ta
ca
1 ca
ta
Ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ca
ta
ca
ca
ca--
,HP?
<=> >Of**ATlON
>OF 5TA TU S
no
«S* m c a
*—* n ca
NO
—* % CD
NO
—* M ca
NO
NO
M CD
NO 1 1 ® M- CD
—» «e CD
NO
—* m CD
NO
NO f: —* m CD
NO,
ca
—» M CD
NO
—s & CD
NO
—» T. CD
NO
NO
— m CD
—*
NO
m CD
—* HI CD
no
NO . —* m CD
—* 1 CD
NO
-~* M CD
NO
—*
§§§ c a
NO
NO
n CDNO
—1* ■M C D
—*
NO
CD
NO . —*
CD
—* ft C D
NO
—* ft CD
, NO
NO
ft C D
NO,. g ®
CD
- * I CD
NO-
ft
ft
ft
m
$mc£
C - MOBILITY TABLE
Number o f la b o r-fo rc e sta tu s changes respondents made each year by type o f sta tu s moved out o f and in to ,
19^0-52
Type of labor-force
status change
Total
Year
19^0
Toted changes .............. ...........
7 ,26 l
Into electronic technician jobs, . . .......
from:
Electronic technician jobs .............
Other civilian jobs ....................
Armed Forces— electronic technician.......
Armed Forces— other jobs ........... .
Unemployment ........................
Technical school— electronics............
College...... ............... .
i*,oi*9
136
55
1*01*
596
676
770
689
686
656
209
1*10
367
1*87
1*95
51*1*
1
613
208
260
65
291
337
1*31
77
12
2
156
137
89
111*
56
2
57 111* 132
28
21
33
7 id* 123
28
7
1*7
1*
1*1
11
6
32
5
2
1
—
168
60
2
1*2
Ikk
1
l6
3
2
12
1
Other civilian jobs,................ . .
from:
Electronic technician jobs .............
Other civilian jobs . . . . . . . . . ......
Armed Forces— electronic technician.......
Armed Forces— other Jobs...............
Unemployment.......................
Technical school— electronics............
College . ' . . . . . . .............
1,200
52
112
100
1*7
122
k
8
86
10
77
Into Armed Forces— electronic technician, . . . .
from:
Electronic technician jobs .............
Other civilian jobs ...................
Armed Forces— electronic technician.......
Armed Forces— other Jobs ..............
Unemployment ...................... .
Technical school— electronics ......... . .
College ............................
1*72
Technical school— electronics ................
College ................ .....................
Into u n e m p l o y m e n t ,................ ..
from:
Electronic technician jobs . . ..............
Other civilian jobs . . . . . ................
........
Armed Forces— electronic technician
Armed Forces— other J o b s ....................
U n e m p l o y m e n t ........................ .
Technical school— electronics................
C o l l e g e.............................. ..
Into technical school, . . . ..................
from:
Electronic technician jobs ..................
Other civilian jobs ..........................
Armed Forces— electronic technician...........
Armed Forces— other J o b s ....................
U n e m p l o y m e n t .............. ..................
Technical school— electronics ................
College ......................................
Into college,........ ......................
from:
Electronic technician jobs . ................
Other civilian j o b s .................. ..
Armed Forces— electronic-technicians ........
Aimed Forces— other jobs .....................
Unemployment .......................... . . .
Technical school— electronics................
College ........................ ............
in
115
205
2
6
8
2
1
1
2
109
60
28
3
1
5
2
5
9
33
1
1
1
1
1
3
21*
2
8
5
—
15l*
9
32
1*6
63
1*
278
12
6
29
85
6
6
17
128
7
5
107
73
16
12
1*0
11
6l
1*9
96
20
70
9
50
56
2
11
10
8
1*
Ik
—
8
3
15
10
6
—
76
3
2
19
97
7
2
1*
5
9
1
7k
5
2
18
101*
1*
70
16
67
8
20
15
2
1*
10
1
20
1
—
17
25
1*
1*
6
11
3
3
15
1
1
—
—
—
—
—
1
—
—
—
10
73
176
109
1*8
21
9
3
6
—
13
i*
—
3
5
33
to
63
98
«*5
1*6
21
22
9
10
2
1*
—
2
1
5
—
11
i*
—
1
1
—
—
3
13
2
1
1*
1
3
—
1
—
1
1
22
17
1*
2
2
1*
--
--
Ik
7
2
12
2
1
—
1
2
—
3
1
—
—
—
—
1
2
1
192
232
—
—
1
—
—
1
11
3
393
10
1*6
105
5
35
—
18
81*
3
1
2
2
1
--
1*
8
16
13
6
81*
123
33
1*8
30
20
13
—
3
3
11
5
1
1
l*
1
12
9
—
i*
36
1*3
—
—
—
1
9
9
3
1
9
1
2
1
5
6
2
8
6
8
123
2
1
1
1
9
67
1
3
2
1
—
1
—
7
33
8
72
—
29 ^
10
9
12
6
—
—
—
—
—
—
398
65
—
129
25
91*
2
6
2
92
1
39
11
-—
668
1
—
2
3
1
9
9
—
—
52
8
1*2
—
—
—
—
—
2
—
—
10
--
8
78
2
1
6
9
31
1*0
59
1
—
10
2
1
li*
7
5
1
10
2
5
3
115
109
81*
13
33
52
55
1*2
6
2
21
39
8
1*9
1*
8
21
11
5
11
53
1*
7
20
10
1*
1*0
10
11
5
2
2
2
1
2
1
3
1
1
3
203
—
6
6
—
i*
—
—
35
79
220
103
106
106
3
3
—
1
1
1
—
1
3
6
3
i*
2
—
1
5
—
—
1
—
—
28
i*
in
13
—
81
6
ll*
22
15
ll*
1*
6
1
3
3
2
1
1
3
—
1
—
—
—
1
1
—
1
—
1
—
—
5
1
2
2
—
1
1__
1/ Prom January to April-May only.
1950 1951 1952 1/
1080
187
1*2
191*9
291
153
—
191*8
655
—
6
—
561
191*7
102
576
in
16
597
303
11U
I9i*5 191*6
259
165
2 ,2 5 3
191*1*
1*1*5
71
29
12
12
3
8
2
Into Armed Forces— other jobs,............
from:
Electronic technician Jobs . ............
Other civilian Jobs............. .
Armed Forces— electronic technician...... .
Armed Forces— other jobs ...............
Unemployment...... .................
33
I9*n 191*2 191*3
75
5
Ik
11
8
1
1
10
««•
. l
2
1
2
—
2
9
—
2
3
3
—
—
—
2
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
18
—
13
9
1
1
2
Occupational Outlook Publications
of the Bureau of Labor Statistics*
Studies of employment trends and opportunities in the various
occupations and professions are made available by the Occupational
Outlook Service of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
These reports are for use in the vocational guidance of vet
erans, in counseling young people in schools, and in guiding
others considering the choice of an occupation. Schools concerned
with vocational training and employers and trade unions interested
in on-the-job training have also found the reports helpful in plan
ning programs in line with prospective employment opportunities.
O ccupational Outlook Handbook
Employment Information on Major Occupations for Use in Guidance.
Bulletin Ho. 998 (1951 Revised Edition). Illus. $3*
Includes brief reports on more than hOO occupations of inter
est in vocational guidance, including professions; skilled trades;
clerical, sales, and service occupations; and the major types of
farming. Each report describes the employment trends and outlook,
the training qualifications required, earnings, and working con
ditions. Introductory sections summarize the major trends in
population and employment and in the broad industrial and occupa
tional groups, as background for an understanding of the individual
occupations.
The Handbook is designed for use in counseling, in classes or
units on occupations, in the training of counselors, and as a gen
eral reference. Its 575 pages are illustrated with 103 photo
graphs and 85 charts.
♦Unless otherwise designated, for sale by the Superintendent
of Documents at prices indicated. How to order publications:
Address your order to the Superintendent of Documents, Government
Printing Office, Vbshington 25, D. C., with remittance in check
or money order. Currency is sent at sender’s risk. Postage
stamps are not acceptable.
Those reports which are listed as free may be obtained di
rectly from the U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statis
tics, Washington 25, D. C., as long as the supply lasts.
76
O ccu p atio n al O utlook Bulletins
Bulletin No.
Employment Outlook in the-Electric Light and Power Occupations.
(19^8) U l u s ------------------------
961
99k
1010
1020
10fc8
105^
1072
1126
1128
1130
1138
1156
Railroad Occupations. (19^9) Ulus - Petroleum Production and Refining
(1950) U l u s ---------- ----------- Men's Tailored Clothing Industry.
(1951) Ulus - - - ---- -----------Department Stores. (1951) U l u s —
- Accounting. (1952) Illus - - - - - - Merchant Marine. (1952) Illus - - - - Electronics Manufacturing. (1952) Illus
Printing Occupations. Reprinted from
the 1951 Occupational Outlook Hand
book. (1953) Illus ................
Air transportation. Reprinted from
the 1951 Occupational Outlook Hand
book. (1953) I H u s ................
Metalworking Occupations. Reprinted
from the 1951 Occupational Outlook
Handbook. (1953) Illus - - - - - - Automobile Industry. (1953) Illus - - Banking Occupations. (195M Illus - - -
Price
30 cents
30 cents
30 cents
25
20
20
30
25
cents
cents
cents
cents
cents
25 cents
20 cents
30 cents
25 cents
30 cents
Employment Outlook for— -
968
972
1050
1129
1131
llMt-
Engineers. (19^9) Illus - —
—
- - - 55 cents
Elementary and Secondary School
40 cents
Teachers. (19^9) Illus - - - - - - Earth Scientists. (1952) Illus - - - - 30 cents
Mechanics and Repairmen. Reprinted
from the 1951 Occupational Outlook
20 cents
Handbook. (1953) Illus - - - - - - Technicians. A Report on Draftsmen,
Engineering Aids, Laboratory Techni
cians, and Electronic Technicians.
(1953) Illus. .................. .... 25 cents
25 cents
Physicists. (1953) U l u s - - - - - - -
77
Occupational Outlook Supplem ents
Price
Supp. to 968
Supp. to 972
Effect of Defense Program on Employment
Outlook in Engineering. (1951) - - - Effect of Defense Program on Employment
Outlook for Elementary and Secondary
School Teachers. (1951) - - - - ----
15 cents
15 cents
S p e cia l Publications
Price
Bulletin No.
1001
1027
1092
1117
1119
1120
1121
1132
1148
Tables of Working Life. Length of
Working Life for Men. (1950) - - - - Employment, Education, and Earnings
of American Men of Science. (1951) ■ *
Employment and Economic Status of Older
Men and Women. (1952) - - - - - - - Employment Opportunities for Student
Personnel Workers in Colleges and
Universities. (1951) - - - - - - - - Elementary and Secondary School
Principalships— Chief Advancement
Opportunity for Public School
Teachers. (1951)• - - - - - - - - - Employment Opportunities for Counselors
in Secondary and Elementary Schools.
(1951) .............................
Federal White-Collar Workers--Their
Occupations and Salaries, June 1951*
(1952) .............................
Negroes in the United States: Their Em
ployment and Economic Status.
(1952 ) 60 pp ---------------------The Mobility of Tool and Die Makers
1940-1951. (1952) 67 pp ............
Occupational Mobility of Scientists. A
Study of Chemists, Biologists, and
Physicists with Ph.D. Degrees. (1953)
Manpower Resources in Chemistry and
Chemical Engineering. (1953) - - - - Employment, Education, and Income of
Engineers, 1949-1950* (1952) 48 pp - Scientific Research and Development in
American Industry— A Study of Manpower
and Costs. (1953) 106 pp - - - - - - Occupational Planning and College
(1954) 20 pp .......................
78
40 cents
45 cents
30 cents
Free
Free
Free
15 cents
30 cents
35 cents
35 cents
50 cents
Free
50 cents
10 cents
O c c u p a t i o n a l O u t l o o k M a i l i n g List
Schools, vocational,guidance agencies, and others who wish
to receive brief summaries of each new Occupational Outlook re
port, usually accompanied by a wall chart, may be placed on a
mailing list kept for this purpose. Requests should be ad
dressed to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of
Labor, Washington 25, D. C., specifying the Occupational Out
look Mailing List. Please give your postal zone number.
☆ U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING O F F IC E : 1954 O - 293241
79
@FedFRASER