The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.
OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION ON MAJOR OCCUPATIONS FOR USE IN GUIDANCE 1957 edition Bulletin No. 1215 (Revision of Bulletin 998) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR James P. Mitchell, Secretary BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS Ewan Clague, Commissioner For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D . C, Price $ 4.00 This volume was prepared by the U. S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics with the cooperation of the following Bureaus of the Department— Bureau of Employment Security Robert C. Goodwin, Director Women’s Bureau Alice K. Leopold, Director Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training W. C. Christensen, Director Bureau of Labor Standards Paul E. Gurske, Director and the— VETERANS ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE Foreword The years ahead present a challenge to everyone concerned with education, guidance, and personnel work. Our growing economy creates an expanding need for skilled manpower that can be met only by e n a b lin g each individual to use his capacities to the utmost. To this end, young people need the best possible education, as well as competent guidance in selecting a career. Schools and colleges have increasing enrollments and there is an increased demand for guidance services; at the same time, there is a need for the expansion of school facilities and teaching staffs. These expansions must be planned in such a way as to prepare adequate numbers of trained workers for each of the various occupations required by the Nation’s economy. The Department of Labor is actively engaged in aiding the development of a skilled and versatile work force, and contributes to this goal in several ways. We promote the development of skills through apprenticeship and other training programs within industry. We aid the State employment services in their programs of providing placement and counseling services. Finally, we carry on research and make information available on manpower needs and employment opportunities in the various industries and occu pations, so that individuals can make their career choices, and educational authorities and industry can develop their training plans, on the basis of the best possible information. As a major part of this research and informational program, the Depart ment is proud to present the third edition of the Occupational Outlook Handbook, which, in its earlier versions, has been so useful to guidance and personnel workers and to young people entering our labor force. J ames P. M itchell , /Secretary of Labor h i Prefatory Note This third edition of the Occupational Outlook Handbook is being issued to replace the second edition, Bulletin No. 998, which was published in 1951. Recognizing that people interested in choosing a career need information on the employment outlook in the Nation’s occupations, the Congress in 1940 provided for the establishment of an Occupational Outlook Service in the U. S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. The wide use of the first and second editions of the Hand book clearly attests the need for such information. More than 40,000 copies of the first edition were sold, and more than 45,000 of the second. Many high schools, colleges, and community agencies throughout the country rely upon the Handbook in their vocational guidance services, as do Federal and State agencies offering counseling services—includ ing the Veterans Administration, the Department of Defense, State rehabilitation agencies, and offices of State employment services affiliated with the United States Employment Service. In view of the rapid changes which characterize the American economy, the Con gress in 1955 provided for a program of regular reappraisal of the employment outlook and for the maintenance of the Occupational Outlook Handbook and its related publi cations on an up-to-date basis. This action made possible the present edition of the Handbook and its subsequent biennial revision, as well as the initiation of a new periodi cal, The Occupational Outlook, which is being issued four times annually to provide a flow of up-to-date information between editions of the Handbook. The third edition includes new chapters on such significant fields as the physical and biological sciences and the rapidly growing chemicals and atomic energy industries. It also embodies a reappraisal of the employment outlook in nearly all the industries and occupations described in the second edition, together with the latest available information on earnings, training, and entrance requirements in these fields of work. The Bureau of Labor Statistics wishes to acknowledge with gratitude the coopera tion of hundreds of industrial firms, unions, trade associations, and professional societies whose officials gave freely of their time in discussing employment trends in their respective fields, in supplying information, and in reviewing and commenting upon drafts of the various chapters. Contributions were made by the Women’s Bureau and the Bureau of Employment Security of the U. S. Department o f Labor, the Agricultural Research Service of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, and the Office of Education o f the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The Veterans Administration has also made a major contribution to the Handbook, since much of the basic research underlying this edition was carried on over the past 12 years with the counsel and financial support of that agency. E w a n C lagtje, Commissioner of Labor Statistics TV Letter from the Veterans Administration The need for information on employment outlook to assist veterans in choosing their vocational goals and in planning their courses of training was clearly seen by the Congress when the Vocational Rehabilitation and Education programs were established in 1943 and 1944. Sound vocational rehabilitation and counseling practice requires that information be available on the day-to-day demands of an occupation and that these requirements be translated in terms of the counselee’s capacities, abilities, interests, needs, and aspirations. It is equally important for the veteran undertaking training to see as clearly as possible the expansion or decline in employment opportunities and the factors in our economy and culture affecting the demand for varied products and services. In order to make such information available on a systematic and comprehensive basis, the Veterans Administration in 1945 initiated a program in cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U. S. Department of Labor, and the Bureau of Agricultural Economics of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. There is reason to believe that this program constituted the first ambitious effort at long-range forecasting in a wide variety of occupations. As a result of this cooperation, preliminary occupational outlook releases were pub lished in the fall of 1945 and spring of 1946. In August 1946, the first comprehensive report was released as V A Manual M7-1, Occupational Outlook Information. In 1949 and 1951, two subsequent revisions, the first and second editions of the Occupational Outlook Handbook, were issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with the Veterans Administration. The present revision is the result of further research by the Bureau of Labor Statistics which has been supported in part by the Veterans Administration. It is gratifying that this Handbook, brought into being by the joint effort of two major governmental agencies, not only has been of substantial benefit to veterans but also has provided counselors throughout the Nation with a valuable resource in assisting other young people and adults in the choice of a career or a course of training. H . V. H igley , Administrator Vetevans Administration v Letter from the Bureau of Employment Security The Bureau of Employment Security welcomes this third edition of the Occupa tional Outlook Handbook. Local employment counselors of State employment services have made good use of previous editions. We are, therefore, pleased to have this expanded edition, which brings the occupational information up to date and gives local office staffs a helpful reference document regarding most of the important occupa tional and industrial fields in our economy. About 8 million job seekers come to local employment service offices each year. About 850,000 of them receive employment counseling in these offices. Employment service counselors use the Occupational Outlook Handbook as an important source of national information to supplement the local, State, and national information they get: through regular employment service channels. Employment service counselors also encourage counselees to read the Handbook for information that will help them in determining the extent of their interest in specific occupational fields and their possible qualifications for entering them. Occupational choice is so wide these days that the prospective worker needs reliable and up-to-date factual information on which to base his vocational decision. We know that knowledge of the occupational opportunities is but one side of the business of selecting a life's work, though a vital one. Increasingly, people seek professional help from counselors in analyzing their own interests and abilities, and in matching these characteristics to job demands and employment possibilities. Such counseling help is available in all 1,800 local employment service offices, along with job placement, testing, and other related services. A brief description of what the USES local offices offer the job seeker appears on page 10. On behalf of the Bureau of Employment Security and its affiliated State employment security agencies, I extend to all readers of the Handbook who are making occupational choices, an invitation to go to the nearest local office of the State employment service if they desire additional information and assistance in formu lating their vocational plans. R obert C. G o o d w ix , Director Bureau of Employment Security VI Letter from American Personnel and Guidance Association Never before has the need for sound occupational information been so great. Rapidly changing career patterns and the many vacancies in the employment market are two conditions that have thrust individuals into unusual situations, whether planning careers or shifting and modifying existing career plans. The kind of occupational information that is needed includes information about occupations— authoritative, current, and realistic— and information about trends of employment in the occupations. The Occu pational Outlook Handbook meets this need. The publication of the third edition is most welcome. Counselors of youth, of the unemployed, of adults who are changing their careers, of the older workers, of various other groups depend upon the Occupational Outlook Handbook. Particularly, do they depend upon the Handbook for helping to see the future view of occupations. The Occupational Outlook Handbook is an indispensable tool for workers in guidance. In helping individuals reach vocational decisions, the counselor must have knowledge of a world of work that is complex in nature and subject to change. The counselor recognizes the impossibility of attaining an encyclopedic knowledge of occupations. He must rely on information from numerous sources in order to keep abreast of developments in the rapidly shifting work structure, and attempts to keep up to date become ever more exacting labor for the conscientious. The Occupational Outlook Handbook works for the counselor. Drawing on the countless available resources, it presents information in usable, compact form ; it is the authorita tive source for occupational information, including employment trends. The counselor is indeed fortunate to have this third edition in his possession and can look forward not only to successive biennial editions but also to current outlook information through the periodical The Occupational Outlook, wall charts, bulletins, and special reports. The new Occupational Outlook program promises to furnish a product embodying the results of a continuous and systematic research program. Heartily and with pleasure I commend the Occupational Outlook Service of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for a new and improved Handbook and for a more even and current flow of occupational information. C lifford P. F roehlich , President American Personnel and Guidance Association V II Contributors This Handbook was prepared in the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Division of Manpower and Em ployment Statistics under the direction of Sey mour L. Wolfbein, Division Chief, and Harold Goldstein, Assistant Division Chief for Analysis. The general planning of the Handbook was done under the direction of Helen Wood, Chief of the Branch of Occupational Outlook and Special ized Personnel, who also provided general super vision over the research program on professional, clerical, sales, service, and related occupations. Stella P. Manor assisted in the planning, reviewed the manuscripts for consistency with vocational guidance standards, and supervised the assembly of the manuscripts for publication. The research on professional, clerical, sales, service, and related occupations and the writing of these chapters were carried on under the direct supervision of Cora E. Taylor. The research program and the writing of chap ters on trades and industrial occupations and major industries were directed by Sol Swerdloff, Chief of the Branch of Skilled Manpower and Industrial Employment Studies, with the assist ance of Howard Posen. The long-range economic projection studies were carried on under the direc tion of Mr. Swerdloff by Murray S. Weitzman. Members of the staff of these two branches who contributed sections were: William L. Copeland, Mannie Kupinsky, Bernard Michael, William Paschell, Pearl C. Pavner, Max A. Putzick, Robert J. Posenthal, James J. Treires, Ber nard Yabroff, Gerard H. Cormier, Leo E. Gershenson, Annie Lefkowitz, Morton Levine, Harold S. Liebling, Pose K. Wiener, Daniel P. Willis, Jr., Vincent H. Arkell, Evelyn P. Kay, Clare Shove, Howard V. Stambler, William M. Topolsky, Mar ian A. Lacklen, Lorraine O ’G. Jones, and Carole F. Papp. Arthur Schatzow assisted in the review o f manuscripts and assembly of the Handbook for publication. James W. Longley assisted in the long-range economic projection studies. J. Sue White, Catherine F. Delano, and Anna M. Latimer provided research assistance, checked the manuscripts for factual accuracy, and assisted in other ways. V III Introductory chapters on population and em ployment trends were prepared under the general direction of Raymond D. Larson, Chief of the Branch of Employment and Labor Force Analy sis, with the assistance of Sophia Cooper. Jacob Schiffman carried on the research and wrote the chapters. The chapter on earnings was written by Harry M. Douty, Chief of the Bureau’s Division of Wages and Industrial Relations. Three members of the staff who left the Bureau during the preparation of the Handbook also made significant contributions. They are Richard H. Lewis, formerly Chief of the Branch of Skilled Manpower and Industrial Employment Studies, Robert W. Cain, formerly in charge of studies of scientific and technical personnel, and Theresa P. Shapiro, who contributed sections on professional occupations. Reports on 13 occupations in which women pre dominate wTere prepared in the Women’s Bureau of fche U. S. Department of Labor under the general supervision of Anna Jo Behrens, Mar guerite W. Zapoleon, and Winifred Helmes. The following individuals wrote the various reports: Mildred S. Barber, Jean Campbell, Agnes W. Mitchell, Kora Tucker, and Jean Wells. The section on services to job seekers at public employment offices was prepared by the Bureau of Employment Security. The chapters on agricultural occupations were prepared in the Farm Economics Research D i vision of the Agricultural Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture under the direction of Wylie D. Goodsell, William H. Metzler, Ronald L. Mighell, and Orlin J. Scoville, with the as sistance of W. H. Brown, H. C. Fowler, A. S. Fox, R. B. Glasgow, Erling Hole, E. B. Hurd, P. R. Kulp, E. J. Smith, and J. C. Volentine; Pelagia Schultz, Information Division; Tom Gardiner, Soil Conservation Service; John Speidel and Ralph Groening, Federal Extension Serv ice. Assistance was also given by E. C. Johnson, Farm Credit Administration; and R. E. Kaugher, Office of Education, in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The Occupational Analysis Branch, Division of Placement Methods, Bureau of Employment Security, U. S. Department of Labor, gave ad vice and assistance particularly on matters of oc cupational classification and descriptions of occupations. The photographs credited to the U. S. Depart ment of Labor were taken by James B. Lindley of the Visual Services Section. Some photo graphs were supplied by various other Govern ment agencies as shown by the credit lines ac companying the pictures. The remaining photo graphs were contributed by: American Dental Association; American Optical C o.; Bausch and Lomb Optical Co.; D. C. Optometric Associa tion; American Security and Trust Co.; Ameri can Telephone and Telegraph C o.; Arizona State Board for Vocational Education; National Edu cation Association; Bakelite Co.; Brookliaven National Laboratory; Capitol Radio Engineering Institute; CBS-Hytron; Chrysler Corp.; Ford Motor Co.; General Motors Corp. Detroit Edison C o.; Douglas Aircraft Co., In c.; Lockheed Aircraft Corp.; North American Avia tion, Inc.; North Central Airlines; United Air Lines; Dupont Chemical Co.; Jefferson Chemical Co.; Eagle Clothing Co.; The Hecht Co.; Gen eral Electric C o.; Harper Hospital, Detroit; Hickey Freeman Co.; Hilton Hotels; Mayflower H otel; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; International Business Machines Corp.; Marchant Calculating Machine Co.; The New York Employing Printers Association ; Ransdall Printing Co.; New York Central System; Nor folk and Western Railway; Rock Island Lines; S a n ta Fe Railway; Union Pacific Railroad; The Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey; The United Horological Association of America, Inc.; The IT. S. Steel Corp.; Washburne Trade School; The Washington Post and Times Herald; The Willamette Iron and Steel Co.; and The Zontian of Zonta International. Note A great many trade associations, professional societies, unions, and other organizations in industry are in a position to supply valuable information to counselors or young people seeking information about careers. For the convenience of users of this Handbook, the reports on occupations or indus tries list organizations or publications which may be able to provide further information. While these references were assembled with care, the Bu reau of Labor Statistics has no authority or facilities for investigating organizations. Also, since the Bureau has no way of knowing in advance what information or publications each organization may send in answer to a request, the Bureau cannot evaluate the accuracy of such information. The listing of an organization, therefore, does not in any way constitute an endorsement or recommendation by the Bureau or the Department of Labor, either of the organization and its activities or of the information it may supply. Such information as each organization may issue is, of course, sent out on its own responsibility. IX CONTENTS Page Points to keep in mind when using the handbook___________________________________________________ x vi Putting the handbook to work________________________________________________________________________ 1 Guide to the handbook________________________________________________________________________________ 3 Where to go for more information or assistance_____________________________________________________ Keeping up to date on occupational outlook______________________________________________________ Services to job seekers at public employment offices______________________________________________ 9 10 10 Economic and occupational trends______________________________________________________________________ Population and labor force trends^ _______________________________________________________________ Industrial and occupational trends____________________________________________ 13 14 Earnings from work______________________________________________________________________________________ 36 21 Professional, administrative, and related occupations__________________________________________________ Teaching_____________________________________________________________________________________________ Health service occupations__________________________________________________________________________ Engineering__________________________________________________________________________________________ Physical and earth sciences_________________________________________________________________________ Biological sciences___________________________________________________________________________________ Social sciences_______________________________________________________________________________________ Other professional and related occupations_______________________________________________________ 49 57 66 103 116 137 146 159 Clerical, sales, and service occupations___ ______________________________________________________________ Clerical occupations_________________________________________________________________________________ Sales occupations____________________________________________________________________________________ Service occupations_________________________________________________________________________________ 199 199 207 209 Skilled trades and other industrial occupations________________________________________________________ Building trades______________________________________________________________________________________ Printing occupations________________________________________________________________________________ Mechanics and repairmen__________________________________________________________________________ Machining occupations_____________________________________________________________________________ Foundry occupations_______________________________________________________________________________ Forge shop occupations_____________________________________________________________________________ Other trades and industrial occupations___________________________________________________________ 220 226 283 307 336 350 360 364 Some major industries and their occupations Occupations in aircraft manufacturing____________________________________________________________ Occupations in air transportation_____________________________________________ Occupations in the atomic energy field________________________________________________ Occupations in the automobile industry________________________________________________ Banking occupations________________________________________________________________________________ Department store occupations_______________________________________________________________ Electric light and power occupations___________________________________________________ Electronics manufacturing occupations_________________________________________________ Hotel occupations_________________________________________________________________________ Occupations in the industrial chemicals industry_______________________________________ Insurance occupations______________________________________________________________________________ Occupations in the iron and steel industry_______________________________________________________ Occupations in the men’s tailored clothing i n d u s t r y ___________________________________ Petroleum production and refining occupations_____ _____________________________________________ Occupations in plastic products manufacturing________________________________________________ Radio and television broadcasting occupations___________________________________________________ Railroad occupations_______________________________________________________________________________ Restaurant occupations_____________________________________________________________________________ Telephone occupations_____________________________________________ XI 38 381 393 410 420 432 441 453 467 478 489 499 512 524 534 548 554 565 589 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK X II CONTENTS— Continued Page Agricultural occupations___________________________ Employment opportunities on farms_________ Specialized agricultural occupations__________ Government occupations___________________________ Civilian employment in Federal Government Armed Forces__________________________________ State and local government___________________ 614 617 644 659 661 Index I— Occupations classified by broad fields of work____________________________________________ 671 Index II— Alphabetical index to occupations________________________________________________________ 681 666 668 LIST OF OCCUPATIONAL REPORTS Professional, Administrative, and Related Occupations Page Page T E A C H I N G _________________________________________ Kindergarten and elementary school teachers. _ Secondary school teachers______________________ College and university teachers________________ 57 58 61 63 P H Y S IC A L A N D E A R T H S C IE N C E S — Con. Geophysicists _ . _______________________________ Meteorologists___________________________________ Mathematicians_________________________________ 127 130 134 H E A L T H S E R V IC E O C C U P A T IO N S ___________ Registered professional nurses__________________ Physicians_______________________________________ Pharmacists_____________________________________ Dentists__________________________________________ Medical X -ray technicians______________________ Medical laboratory technicians_________________ Chiropractors____________________________________ Optometrists_____________________________________ Veterinarians____________________________________ Osteopathic physicians__________________________ Dental hygienists________________________________ Physical therapists______________________________ Medical record librarians_______________________ Occupational therapists_________________________ 66 66 70 74 76 79 81 84 86 88 90 92 94 98 100 B IO L O G IC A L S C IE N C E S _________________________ Animal sciences_________________________________ Plant sciences____________________________________ Microbiology____________________________________ 137 140 142 144 SO C IA L S C IE N C E S ________________________________ Anthropologists_________________________________ Economists______________________________________ Historians________________________________________ Political scientists_______________________________ Sociologists____ __________________________________ 146 149 151 153 155 156 OTHER P R O F E S SIO N A L AND RELATED O C C U P A T IO N S __________________________________ Accountants_____________________________________ 159 159 E N G I N E E R I N G ____________________________________ Aeronautical engineers__________________________ Ceramic engineers_______________________________ Chemical engineers______________________________ Civil engineers___________________________________ Electrical engineers________________________________ Industrial engineers_______________________________ Mechanical engineers___________________________ Metallurgical engineers_________________________ Mining engineers________________________________ 103 108 109 110 11.0 111 112 113 114 115 P H Y S IC A L A N D E A R T H S C IE N C E S ____________ Chemists_________________________________________ Physicists__________________________________________ Geologists__________________________________________ 116 117 121 123 Clerical, Sales, and Architects________________________ 161 Commercial artists______________________________ 164 Dietitians________________________________________ 167 Draftsmen_______________________________________ 169 Foresters_______________________________ 171 Home economists________________________________ 175 Interior designers and decorators______________ 177 Lawyers__________________________________________ 180 Librarians________________________________________ 183 Newspaper reporters____________________________ 185 Personnel workers_______________________________ 188 Psychologists - ___________________________________ Social workers___________________________________ 190 193 Statisticians_____________________________________ 196 ice Occupations Page Page C L E R IC A L O C C U P A T IO N S ______________________ Bookkeepers_____________________________________ Secretaries, stenographers, and typists________ 199 204 205 S E R V IC E O C C U P A T IO N S ________________________ Beauty operators________________________________ 214 SA LES O C C U P A T IO N S ____________ 207 Practical nurses and auxiliary nursing workers. 216 _____ Barbers__________________________________________ 209 212 Skilled Trades and Other Industrial Occupations Page B U IL D IN G T R A D E S ______________________________ Carpenters_______________________________________ Painters and paperhangers_____________________ Plumbers and pipefitters_______________________ Operating engineers_____________________________ Bricklayers_______________________________________ Electricians (Construction)_____________________ Structural, ornamental, and reinforcing iron workers____________________________________ _ Sheet metal workers____________________________ Roofers___________________________________________ 226 232 236 239 243 245 249 252 256 259 Page B U IL D IN G T R A D E S — Continued Plasterers________________________________________ Cement finishers_________________________________ Lathers_________ Stonemasons_____________________________________ Elevator constructors___________________________ Marble setters, tile setters, and terrazzo workers________________________________________ Glaziers__________________________________________ Asbestos and insulating workers_______________ Construction laborers and hodcarriers________ X III 262 264 267 269 271 273 276 278 280 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK X IV Skilled Trades and Other Industrial Occupations— Continued Page P R IN T IN G O C C U P A T IO N S ______________________ 283 Composing room occupations___________________ 291 Photoengravers__________________________________ 294 Electrotypers and stereotypers_________________ 297 Printing pressmen and assistants_______________ 299 Lithographic occupations_______________________ 301 Bookbinders and related workers______________ 304 M E C H A N IC S A N D R E P A IR M E N ______________ 307 Automobile mechanics__________________________ 307 Business machine servicemen___________________ 310 Diesel mechanics________________ 315 Electronic technicians___________________________ 317 Industrial machinery repairmen----------- 322 Jewelers and jewelry repairmen________________ 324 Maintenance electricians________________________ 326 Millwrights______________________________________ 329 Refrigeration and air-conditioning mechanics. _ 331 Watch repairmen________________________________ 333 Page M A C H IN IN G O C C U P A T IO N S ___________________ All-round machinists____________________________ Tool and die makers____________________________ Machine tool operators_________________________ Setup men_______________________________________ Layout m en______________________________________ 336 340 342 345 347 348 F O U N D R Y O C C U P A T IO N S ______________________ Molders__________________________________________ Coremakers______________________________________ Patternmakers___________________________________ 350 354 356 358 F O R G E SH OP O C C U P A T IO N S __________________ 360 O T H E R T R A D E S A N D IN D U S T R IA L O C C U P A T IO N S __________________________________________ Blacksmiths______________________________________ Boilermaking occupations_______________________ Dispensing opticians and optical mechanics___ Electroplaters____________________________________ Instrument makers______________________________ Welders and oxygen cutters_____________________ 364 364 366 369 371 373 376 Some Major Industries and Their Occupations Page O C C U P A T IO N S IN A IR C R A F T M A N U F A C T U R I N G ___________________________________________ Professional and technical occupations________ Managerial and clerical occupations___________ Plant occupations_______________________________ 381 384 384 384 O C C U P A T IO N S IN A IR T R A N S P O R T A T IO N . Pilots and copilots_______________________________ Flight engineers_________________________________ Stewardesses____________ Airplane mechanics______________________________ Traffic agents and clerks___________________ Dispatchers and assistants______________________ Airport and air-route traffic controllers________ Ground radio operators and teletypists________ 393 396 399 401 402 405 406 407 408 O C C U P A T IO N S IN T H E A T O M IC E N E R G Y F I E L D _____________________________________________ Uranium mining_________________________________ Uranium ore milling_____________________________ Uranium refining________________________________ Enrichment of uranium_________________________ Reactor manufacturing_________________________ Radiation instrument manufacturing__________ Construction of facilities________________________ Reactor operation and maintenance___________ Research and development centers_____________ Government employment_______________________ Unique atomic energy occupations_____________ 410 413 414 414 414 414 414 415 415 415 415 416 O C C U P A T IO N S IN T H E A U T O M O B IL E I N D U S T R Y __________________________________________ Professional and technical occupations------------Administrative and clerical occupations----------Plant occupations------------------------------------------------ 420 423 424 424 Page B A N K IN G O C C U P A T IO N S _______________________ Bank clerks and related workers_______________ Tellers____________________________________________ Bank officers_____________________________________ 432 436 438 439 D E P A R T M E N T S T O R E O C C U P A T IO N S _______ Buyers____________________________________________ Salespersons______________________________________ Receiving, delivery, and related occupations. _ 441 446 448 450 E L E C T R IC L IG H T A N D P O W E R O C C U P A T IO N S ______________________________________________ Powerplant occupations_________________________ Transmission and distribution occupations____ Customer servicing occupations________________ 453 458 461 465 E L E C T R O N IC S M A N U F A C T U R IN G O C C U P A T IO N S __________________________________________ Professional and technical occupations________ Administrative and office occupations_________ Plant occupations_______________________________ 467 471 472 472 H O T E L O C C U P A T IO N S ___________________________ Bellmen and bell captains______________________ Front-office clerks_______________________________ Housekeepers and assistants. ___________________ Hotel managers and assistants_________________ 478 483 484 485 487 O C C U P A T IO N S IN T H E IN D U S T R IA L C H E M IC A L S I N D U S T R Y _______________________________ Plant occupations_______________________________ Technical occupations___________________________ Administrative, clerical, and related occupa tions___________________________________________ 489 491 493 494 LIST OF OCCUPATIONAL REPORTS XV Some Major Industries and Their Occupations— Continued Page IN S U R A N C E O C C U P A T IO N S ____________________ Insurance clerks and office-machine operatorsLife insurance agents____________________________ Property and casualty insurance agents and brokers_________________________________________ Actuaries_________________________________________ O C C U P A T IO N S IN T H E IR O N A N D S T E E L I N D U S T R Y _______________________________________ Processing occupations__________________________ Mechanical, transportation, and plant service occupations____________________________________ Technical and office occupations_______________ 499 502 504 507 509 512 513 518 519 O C C U P A T IO N S IN T H E M E N ’S T A IL O R E D C L O T H IN G I N D U S T R Y ________________________ Designing, patternmaking, and pattern grad ing occupations_______________________________ Cutting room occupations______________________ Sewing room occupations_______________________ Tailoring occupations___________________________ Pressing occupations____________________________ Other plant occupations________________________ Administrative and clerical occupations_______ 526 527 527 528 529 529 529 P E T R O L E U M P R O D U C T IO N A N D R E F IN IN G O C C U P A T IO N S ___________________________________ Petroleum production occupations_____________ Petroleum refining occupations_________________ 534 538 544 O C C U P A T IO N S IN PL A ST IC PRODUCTS M A N U F A C T U R IN G _____________________________ Occupations in molding plants_________________ Laminating occupations_________________________ Fabricating occupations_________________________ Other plant occupations________________________ Technical, office, and sales occupations________ 548 549 551 551 551 551 524 Page R A D IO A N D T E L E V IS IO N B R O A D C A S T IN G O C C U P A T IO N S __________________________________ Radio and television announcers_______________ Broadcasting technicians_______________________ 554 561 562 R A IL R O A D O C C U P A T IO N S ______________________ Locomotive engineers___________________________ Locomotive firemen and helpers_____ __________ Brakemen________________________________________ Conductors_______________________________________ Train baggagemen_______________________________ Telegraphers, telephoners, and towermen_____ Station agents___________________________________ Railroad clerks___________________________________ Redcaps__________________________________________ Shop trades______________________________________ Trackmen________________________________________ Bridge and building mechanics_________________ Signalmen and signal maintainers______________ Pullman conductors_____________________________ Pullman porters and passenger attendants____ Dining car cooks________________________________ Dining car waiters_______________________________ 565 570 571 573 575 576 576 578 578 579 580 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 R E S T A U R A N T O C C U P A T IO N S _________________ Waiters and waitresses________ ._________________ Cooks and chefs_________________________________ Restaurant managers and assistants___________ 589 591 593 595 T E L E P H O N E O C C U P A T IO N S ___________________ Central office craftsmen_________________________ Linemen and cable splicers_____________________ Telephone and P B X installers and repairmen. 598 602 605 607 Telephone operators_____________________________ 609 Central office equipment installers_____________ 612 Agricultural Occupations Page E M P L O Y M E N T O P P O R T U N IT IE S ON FA R M SCorn belt farms_________________________________ Wheat farms_____________________________________ Cotton farms____________________________________ Tobacco farms___________________________________ Sugarcane farms_________________________________ Peanut farms____________________________________ Rice farms_______________________________________ Sugar beet farms________________________________ Western crop-specialty farms__________________ Fruit and nut farms_____________________________ Vegetable farms_________________________________ Dairy farms______________________________________ Poultry farms___________________________________ Livestock ranches_______________________________ 617 622 624 626 628 630 631 632 633 633 635 637 638 640 641 Page S P E C IA L IZ E D A G R IC U L T U R A L OCCUPA T IO N S _____________________________________________ 644 Agricultural extension service workers_________ 644 Vocational agriculture teachers_________________ 646 Agricultural research workers__________________ 648 Agricultural economists_________________________ 650 Agricultural finance workers____________________ 652 Agricultural engineers___________________________ 653 Soil scientists____________________________________ 655 Soil conservationists_____________________________ 656 Other professional work_________________________ 657 Farm service work_______________________________ 658 Government Occupations Page C IV IL IA N CM PLOYM ENT IN FEDERAL G O V E R N M E N T __________________________________ 661 Page A R M E D F O R C E S __________________________ STATE A N D LOCAL G O V E R N M E N T 666 668 Points to Keep in M ind W hen Using the Handbook This book answers many questions people ask when they are interested in choosing an occupation. It gives information on more than 500 occupations and industries—on the employment outlook in each of these fields, the nature of the work, training, and other qualifications needed for entry, lines of ad vancement, where jobs are located, and earn ings and working conditions. To find out how the book is arranged and how to inter pret the information, see Guide to the Hand book (beginning on page 3). What To Bear in Mind About Employment Outlook Statements All conclusions about the economic future necessarily rest on certain assumptions. The statements on the employment outlook in this book assume that: (1) there will not be a war; (2) the defense program will be con tinued at about the same level as in early 1957; and (3) the general level of business activity will remain high and unemployment low in the United States. Under other cir cumstances, the employment situation would, o f course, be changed—in ways indicated in the statements on the occupations likely to be most affected. Where To Go for Local Information The picture of employment opportunities given in this book applies to the country as a whole, unless otherwise indicated. People who want supplementary information on job opportunities in their community should con sult local sources of information, particular XVI ly the offices of State employment services affiliated with the U. S. Employment Servvice. For suggestions as to other local sources, see page 10. How To Keep Up To Date on Occupational Outlook This Handbook contains the most recent information available when the book was prepared in late 1956 and early 1957. To keep readers up to date on new developments affecting the employment outlook and on changes in earnings and other items, the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a pe riodical, The Occupational Outlook, four times each year. To find out about this pub lication and how to order it, see Other Pub lications Useful to Counselors at the back of the Handbook. What Other Information Is Needed A career decision means matching a per son and an occupation. Information on oc cupations and the employment opportunities they offer is only part of that needed in this process. The other part relates to the poten tial worker himself—his interests and apti tudes. People can obtain help in assessing their own abilities and interests and in se lecting the occupations for which they are the best suited from vocational counselors in schools and colleges, State employment service offices, Veterans Administration re gional offices and guidance centers, and many community agencies. OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Putting the Handbook to W o rk Counselors, teachers, guidance supervisors, and counselor trainers will welcome this revision of the Occupational Outlook Handbook as an es sential tool in carrying out one very important area of their work. As the name implies, the Handbook deals with and interprets trends in occupations. Basically, it is not a text in oc cupations, nor does it attempt to delineate methods for use in disseminating the storehouse of information which it contains. Rather, it provides fundamental information about job situations and future outlook which users can apply to the full advantage of individuals as they make career choices. The last edition appropriately placed emphasis upon the relative and often transitory nature of much occupational information, and indicated the need for those who use the Handbook to exercise caution in making unqualified statements about the characteristics of and opportunities in a par ticular job field. Developments some 5 years later have heightened the necessity for this warn ing. The impact of automation as it increases job opportunities for technically trained workers, the ebb and flow of prosperity and depression, shifts in industry from region to region, and the changing demands for luxury and “ bread-andbutter” items— all these factors have made persons who assist youth in career decisionmaking fully aware of the most puzzling, if not hazardous, as pect of dealing with occupational data, i. e., the fluctuant nature of the information available. Professionally trained people who utilize the Handbook will interpret its content in the light of industrial developments and shifting economic conditions within local areas, specific regions, and throughout the Nation. Constant study of eco nomic developments and the utilization of in formation from all sources, particularly local and regional employment offices, will provide valuable 4 2 7 6 7 5 ° — 57 ----------- 2 supplementary data in aiding individuals to make occupational decisions. For these and other reasons, the Handbook fills a real need in assisting counselors to pinpoint trends and to make interpretations which will aid youth materially in structuring consistent and realistic plans for the future. While the Hand book provides data on national trends, counselors and other professional people will be careful to use these data in the light of information upon specific conditions in local areas. Use by Teachers of Occupations A teacher of occupations will find that the general plan of the Handbook makes it possible to provide an overview of the major occupational groups and the dominant trends in particular oc cupations. Fortunately, the specifics regarding trends and outlook are also available so that the Handbook serves the purpose of aiding the teacher of occupations in providing students with both general and specific information related to an area of work. The teacher, no doubt, will wish to secure information about local and regional trends through such resources as the school coun selor and other agencies within the community. Since the occupations teacher fully realizes the fluctuant nature of occupational information, he will impress upon students the necessity of in cluding all local findings in any study of a par ticular area of work. Use by Counselees The Handbook makes its leading contribution to the counselee as he sets up a design of long term plans. At this stage in his high school career, the student is forced to project his think ing and make some long-term decisions. He must be able to determine the types of professional pre paration required if his occupational aspirations 1 2 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK indicate the need for such training. I f his pro posed occupation requires professional preparaT tion, he should have information on internships required and their availability. I f his interests point toward technical training, he should explore apprenticeship requirements, the value of formal courses, and the extent to which on-the-job train ing supplements, or in some instances supplants, formalized training. In this kind of setting, the national data are most helpful in answering ques tions and in assisting the student to determine whether he will be confronted with the need to make a change in geographical location to secure employment in his chosen field. The Handbook figures will prove valuable in providing clues for determining the regional location of greatest de mand for individuals with the skills he aims to acquire. While most students in high school may be able to make use of the Handbook, the teacher of occupations and the counselor can aid them in simplifying and interpreting the facts of per tinence to their long-range planning. changes mentioned earlier materially affect job opportunities and trends, make the counselor trainer’s course on occupational information a most difficult one to teach realistically. By utiliz ing the Handbook, the counselor trainer has at his disposal an arsenal of facts which will enable him to increase the proficiency of the counselorin-training in a field which requires constant reevaluation and reorientation. By concentrating on how to use the facts available, rather than amassing information on a few occupations, the prospective counselor is placed in a position to organize the information needed for counseling his students more effectively and more beneficially. In this connection, it is scarely necessary to say that many of the books furnishing occupational facts become obsolete almost as soon as they are printed. By emphasizing the procedure of study ing an occupation by use of the Handbook and other relevant information, the counselor trainer provides the counselor with valuable techniques which do not become obsolete as economic con ditions change. Use by Counselors The counselor, perhaps, will find the greatest number of uses for the Handbook. During this period of manpower shortages in certain key oc cupations, the information provided will aid the counselor in assisting the counselee to evaluate the pressures for recruitment into various oc cupational groups, and to weigh these in the light of actual needs and realistic planning. Decisions can then be made, in the light of the opportunities available, to utilize fully the skills and aptitudes of the counselee. While most counselors have had some nonteaching work experience, it is un fair to assume that they possess detailed and accurate information on a large number of the jobs described in the Handbook. Therefore, the volume is a valuable tool in supplementing the occupational information which the counselor al ready has available from his experience, his knowledge of the work world, and his more in tensive study of particular occupational fields. Use by Counselor Trainers The tentative nature of information about oc cupations, together with the fact that numerous Use in Gathering Information on Occupations Many factors in the dynamic economy found in the United States contribute to a confusing pat tern of job possibilities as teachers of occupations, counselors, or counselor trainers aid individuals in gathering pertinent information upon occupa tional opportunities. These can best be integrated if the resources of the Handbook are utilized to aid individuals in the analysis and interpretation of facts available through the Handbook. While the national scene is more stable than local and regional situations, users of the Handbook will find that local figures become meaningful only as national facts are applied to any one local setting. Gathering facts pertaining to occupations is a challenging process which is essential if students are to find helpful and significant assistance as they make occupational choices. F r a n k L. S ie v e r s , Chief, Guidance and Student Personnel Section, Office of Education, U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare Guide to the Handbook Every year more than iy 2 million young people enter the labor force. To provide these boys and girls with the occupational information they need to make a wise vocational choice is a matter of obvious importance both to their life adjustment and to the effective utilization of the Nation’s manpower resources. For this reason, the Presi dent’s Advisory Committee on Education recom mended, in 1938, that an Occupational Outlook Service be set up in the U. S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, to study the employment outlook in the country’s major oc cupations and prepare reports for use in voca tional guidance. The Service was organized in 1940, but during World War I I devoted its re sources to manpower studies needed in connection with the war effort. Immediately after the war, the Bureau started the program of occupational outlook research which led, in 1949, to the publi cation of the first edition of the Occupational Out look Handbook. A second edition appeared in 1951. This third edition of the Handbook summarizes the results of more than a decade of research, and particularly of recent studies of the employment trends and long-range outlook in more than 500 occupations. The reports on different fields of work, which make up the major part of the book, present the conclusions reached on employment outlook, together with information on a number of other topics of importance in vocational guid ance— for example, the nature of the work done in each occupation, the training and other quali fications needed for employment, and earnings and working conditions. Contents of Handbook Introductory Chapters Before using the reports on different fields of work, it is important to read the Guide to the Handbook, which forms the present chapter. Besides describing the content and organization of the Handbook, this chapter tells how the in formation was obtained and discusses a number of points which need to be borne in mind in interpreting the occupational outlook statements. The chapter following this one contains sug gestions regarding supplementary sources of in formation and describes how readers can keep up to date on developments affecting the occupa tional outlook— a highly important matter in view of the constant changes characteristic of the American labor market. A brief description is given also of the counseling, placement, and other services available to job seekers at public employ ment offices. In choosing a field of work, young people not only need information of the kind given in the Handbook but also require help in interpreting these data in the light of their own aptitudes and interests. Counselors in high schools and colleges provide such assistance to great numbers of students; regional offices and guidance centers of the Veterans Administration offer like services to many veterans; and counsel ing services are offered by many community agencies. The local offices of State Employment Services affiliated with the U. S. Employment Service are of special importance as a source of advice and assistance for workers seeking employment. Subsequent chapters describe the main trends in the population, labor force, industries, and oc cupations of the United States and discuss the earnings of American workers. These chapters are designed to provide counselors with back ground information which will add perspective to the reports on individual fields of w7ork. They should also be useful references for classes on occupations and for students and other individ uals interested in obtaining a general view of the world of work. Reports on Major Occupations and Industries The reports on different fields of work follow the introductory chapters just mentioned. These reports are arranged in chapters dealing with groups of related occupations or with occupations 3 4 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK within specific industries, and these chapters are, in turn, grouped into six major divisions of the book. The first three divisions cover occupations fhat are found in many industries and can best be discussed outside the context of a particular industry. They deal, respectively, with profes sional, administrative, and related occupations; with clerical, sales, and service occupations; and with skilled trades and other industrial occupa tions. The last three divisions of the Handbook discuss occupations in a number of the country’s major industries, in agriculture, and in govern ment. Even in a book as large as this one, it is ob viously impossible to present information on all of the many thousands of occupations in which American workers are employed. The occupa tions selected for discussion include those re ported to be of greatest interest to school and college students, veterans, and other young people requesting guidance. Most of them require rela tively long periods of formal education or on-thejob training; the need for long-range outlook in formation is most acute in connection with the choice of careers in such occupations. Another criterion used in deciding which occupations to cover was their relative size and the number of employment opportunities they offer. Some smaller fields have been included, however, either because there is special interest in them or be cause reports regarding them could be prepared readily in connection with studies of major oc cupations in the same industry. Altogether, the more than 500 occupations dis cussed in the Handbook employ about 85 percent o f all workers in professional and related oc cupations; 80 percent of those in skilled occupa tions ; 50 percent in clerical occupations; 45 percent in service occupations; and smaller pro portions in administrative, sales, and semiskilled occupations. They also include the main types of farming. Furthermore, each division of the Handbook has an introduction which briefly de scribes the chief occupations and employment trends in the broad field of work with which that division of the book is concerned. These intro ductions contain background data designed to aid the reader in interpreting the reports on different occupations; they also provide some general in formation on many fields of work which could not be covered in the occupational reports. The Handbook may, therefore, serve as a guide to the bewildering array of occupations in the United States, besides providing specific informa tion on a large number of occupations of interest to students, veterans, and other persons planning to undertake prolonged training. Indexes To assist readers in locating information on the occupations in which they are interested, a list of the occupational reports is provided following the table of contents. Persons desiring informa tion on occupations related to a general field of work—for example, artistic, technical, mana gerial, clerical, or manipulative work—may re fer to the Index to Occupations Classified by Broad Fields of Work (the first of the two in dexes at the back of the book). Finally, an al phabetical index to occupations is provided for ready reference. The Occupational Reports Subjects Covered and Sources of Information Young people in the process of choosing a ca reer need many different kinds of occupational information to aid them in this choice. They need to know, for example, what the work is like in various occupations, where the jobs are located, how much training is required to enter each field, and whether the field is likely to offer good opportunities for employment when they complete their training. An outline of the topics which should be cov ered in occupational monographs has been pre pared by the National Vocational Guidance As sociation on the basis of its members’ experience in vocational counseling. This outline served as a guide to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in deter mining the subjects which should be covered in the occupational reports. Although it was not possible to discuss all the suggested topics in de tail, the occupational reports contain some data on all major items listed in the N VGA outline which were considered relevant to the occupation under discussion. The subjects covered include: nature of the work, the number of workers in the occupa tion, employment of women, types of employers, GUIDE TO THE geographic location of employment, training and other qualifications needed, lines of advancement, employment trends and outlook, earnings and working conditions, and where to go for more in formation. In addition, the chapters on the oc cupations in particular industries include brief de scriptions of the goods or services produced by the given industry and of its operations and organization. In order to obtain information on this variety of topics for the hundreds of widely different oc cupations discussed in the Handbook, it was neces sary to draw upon many different sources. In describing the nature of the work done, for ex ample, the sources looked to first were the Diction ary of Occupational Titles compiled by the U. S. Employment Service, other job descriptions pre pared by that agency and affiliated State Employ ment Services, and job descriptions used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in connection with its wage statistics program. In addition, occupa tional descriptions prepared by the U. S. Civil Service Commission, professional societies, trade associations, and other governmental and private organizations were utilized extensively. The in formation on training and other qualifications needed for employment came from an equal vari ety of sources—including the U. S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, State Employment Service offices, State licensing boards, trade unions, trade associations, individ ual employers, professional societies, and college placement agencies. To indicate where the occupations discussed fit into the classification system of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, “ D. O. T.” numbers are given wherever possible, following the titles of the oc cupations discussed. By reference to part I I of the dictionary, which contains a listing of occupa tions in order of their D. O. T. numbers, one can find out in which broad occupational group an occupation falls— for example, whether it is a professional, clerical, service, or skilled occupa tion— and also determine its classification on a much more exact basis. (For a description of the D. O. T. classification system, see introduction to Index I— Occupations Classified by Broad Fields of Work.) The sections on employment outlook in the oc cupational reports present conclusions based not only on compilation of information from many HANDBOOK 5 sources but also on extensive economic and statis tical analysis. Both the sources and the analytical methods used in studying the employment outlook are described in the following section, along with some qualifications which the reader should bear in mind in interpreting the outlook data. The information presented on earnings and working conditions represents the most recent available when the Handbook was prepared for the printer early in 1957. A large part of the data came from Bureau of Labor Statistics sur veys of wages, other employment benefits, and industrial hazards and from the Bureau’s studies of trade union agreements. Here again, how ever, many different sources of information had to be utilized— including surveys of the earnings of professional personnel made by the National Science Foundation and professional societies, and information from the U. S. Civil Service Commission on salaries of Federal employees. Because of the variety of sources used, the figures presented in the different occupational statements refer to different periods of time, cover varying geographic areas, represent different kinds of statistical measures, and have varying degrees of accuracy. Comparisons between the earnings data for different occupations should, therefore, be made with great caution. However, a general picture of earnings in the United States is given in the chapter on Earnings From Work. The information there presented should be a useful frame of reference in interpreting the earnings data for a particular field of work. The occupational reports could not have been completed in their present form without the as sistance received from a great number of companies, trade associations, trade unions, professional societies, colleges and universities, and government agencies. Officials of these or ganizations generously made available much un published as well as published material and supplied a great deal of helpful information through interviews. Furthermore, they reviewed preliminary drafts of all the occupational re ports. The information and conclusions pre sented in each report thus reflect the knowledge and judgment not only of the Bureau of Labor Statistics staff but also of leaders in the field dis cussed, although the Bureau, of course, takes full responsibility for all statements made. 6 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK How Employment Outlook Conclusions Were Reached and How to Interpret Them In providing employment outlook information which will influence career decisions, it is neces sary to look ahead at least several years and, if possible, several decades. The emphasis in the employment outlook sections of the Handbook is, therefore, on long-run employment prospects, al though information has been included also on the employment situation in many fields of work in 1956, when the reports were prepared, and on the opportunities to be expected in the next few years. Since the Handbook is designed primarily for use by high school students and their counselors, the employment outlook information is presented in nontechnical language. Some indication is given of the general factors considered in arriv ing at the conclusions stated, but no attempt is made to describe fully the economic and statis tical analysis underlying them. In these studies of the employment outlook, as in all other appraisals of the economic future, it has been necessary to make certain assumptions as to the general economic and political environment in the country. A catastrophe such as a war or a severe economic depression would, of course, cre ate an employment situation entirely different from that likely to develop under more favorable circumstances. Young people can not build their lifetime plans in expectation of such unpredict able catastrophes, however. In this Handbook, it is, therefore, assumed that the general level of business activity will remain high and unemploy ment low, that the country will remain at peace; and also that it will continue to have a defense program of about the same size as in 1956. For practical purposes in vocational guidance, these assumptions are believed to provide the most use ful framework for analysis. To avoid constant repetition, the assumptions are seldom mentioned in the reports on fields of work which would probably be affected by a general decline in busi ness or a change in the scale of mobilization to about the same degree as the economy as a whole. On the other hand, in the statements on occupa tions where employment tends either to be un usually stable or to be subject to marked ups and downs, these facts are indicated. Even in the latter occupations, however, long-term trends in employment are more important than short- run fluctuations in appraising the outlook in connection with an individual’s choice of a lifetime career. Since the factors which determine the demand for workers and the available supply differ greatly from one occupation to another, the sources and methods used in the various employ ment outlook studies necessarily differed also. Certain general patterns of research were fo l lowed, however. The starting point in many studies was an analysis of past and prospective population trends, including the changes expected in popula tion of school and college age, in numbers of older people, in employment of women, and in the con centration of population in and around cities. In fields such as teaching, the health professions, and many personal services, population factors have a direct and obvious influence on employment op portunities. They are also of great importance in many industries— for example, residential con struction, telephone communications, men’s cloth ing, and retail trade. Changes in the volume of business and em ployment in each industry are brought about, however, by many factors besides the population— for example, by shifts in consumer preference from one type of product or service to another, by the development of new products which cut into the market for old ones, by the general rise in income levels which makes it possible for peo ple to afford more expensive items, and by tech nological developments affecting production meth ods and raw materials used. In studying the outlook in a particular industry, the factors hav ing the greatest influence in that industry were analyzed and projections were made of demand for the industry’s products or services. These projections were then translated into estimates of the numbers and kinds of workers that would be required to produce the indicated amounts of products or services—in view of the relative num bers currently employed in different occupations, productivity trends, probable further reductions in the workweek, and other factors. Past trends in employment were also given much weight in arriving at the conclusions as to probable future employment trends. To assist in carrying through this analysis and ensure that the assumptions made in the different occupational studies were consistent, overall pro jections of the economy over the next two decades GUIDE TO THE HANDBOOK were developed. This general analytical frame work included projections of the population, labor force, gross national product, average hours of work, employment in major industries, and re lated economic measures, by 5-year intervals up to 1975. In all studies of separate occupations and industries, the employment projections were tied in with those derived from the projections of the entire economy. The decennial Censuses of Population and the monthly Current Population Surveys conducted by the Bureau of the Census provided the basic data on population and labor force trends, both for the overall projections and for the studies of individual occupations and industries. The analysis and intepretation of these data stemmed from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ continuing program of labor force studies. Equally indispensable to the studies of employ ment trends in major industries were the statis tics on employment in nonagricultural establish ments compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statis tics. Each month, the Bureau prepares estimates of employment, hours of work, earnings, and labor turnover based on reports from about 155,000 establishments. Estimates are available for a great number of different industries, for the past quarter century or more. Another Bureau program which contributed to the analysis of future employment trends was its studies of productivity and technological develop ments. Anticipated productivity trends and tech nological changes were allowed for in converting the projections of demand for the products of a given industry into estimates of the numbers of workers who will be needed in that industry. Information on the magnitude of industrial re search programs and on the employment of scien tists and engineers in research and other activities from surveys conducted by the Bureau in co operation with the National Science Foundation and other agencies has been extensively utilized in studying the scientific and engineering profes sions. The findings with regard to the scale and trend of industrial research activities have con tributed also to the analysis of employment pros pects in many science-based industries. Still another Bureau project which played a major role in the development of estimates of future employment requirements in different oc cupations is the Occupational-Industry Matrix. The matrix consists of a set of tables for 159 in 7 dustry sectors which represent the entire economy of the United States. For each industry sector, the tables show a percentage distribution of em ployment among about 150 of the most important occupations and also among the major occupa tional groups. The matrix was valuable in ap praising the effects of changing employment levels in different industries on employment in specified occupations. It was also useful in estimating the numbers of workers currently employed in each occupation. This was an important function, since for many occupations the 1950 Census of Population was the most recent source of basic data on employment, and for many others only fragmentary data were available which had to be integrated by means of the matrix in order to de rive overall estimates of employment. By bringing together and analyzing informa tion from these many sources, conclusions have been reached as to prospective employment trends in the occupations covered by this Handbook. In general, increases in employment and, hence, openings for new workers are anticipated. How ever, the expected gains in employment are by no means an adequate indication of the total numbers of job openings which will need to be filled. In most occupations, more workers are needed yearly to fill positions left vacant by those who leave the occupation (to enter other occupations or be cause of retirement or death) than are needed to staff new positions created by growth of the field. Rarely do occupations grow fast enough so that the reverse is true. Even occupations which are declining in size may offer employment oppor tunities to many young people. The number of openings likely to arise in an occupation owing to deaths and retirements may be estimated by reference to the Tables on W ork ing Life developed by the Bureau of Labor Sta tistics for both men and women. The tables are similar to the actuarial life tables used by in surance companies as a basis for their premium and benefit rates. The value o f the tables in assessing employ ment opportunities is illustrated by a comparison of two skilled occupations—painter (in construc tion and maintenance) and automobile mechanic. Painters have a higher average age— and, there fore, a higher rate of deaths and retirements— than do automobile mechanics; about 2.4 percent of all painters retire or die every year, compared with only about 1.1 percent of all automobile me- 8 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK chanics. The difference between these two rates is so great that, even though the total number o f automobile mechanics employed is much larger than the number of painters (643,000 compared with 390,000 in 1950), many more new workers are needed each year to fill vacancies in painting than in auto repair jobs. In most occupations where men comprise the great majority of workers, as they do in the trades just referred to, the death and retirement rate is generally between 1 and 4 percent. However, the rate is usually somewhat higher in women’s occupations, because so many women “ retire” to get married or assume family responsibilities. The replacement rate among stenographers, typists, and secretaries, for example, is at least 6 percent a year. Besides vacancies due to deaths and retirements, many openings arise owing to transfers of workers from one occupation to another. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has made studies of the occupational mobility of scientists and of several groups of skilled workers (molders, elec tronic technicians, and tool and die makers). However, information on the movement of workers among occupations is still limited, and further studies are needed to indicate the full effect o f this mobility on employment opportunities. The types o f information mentioned so far in this section all relate to the demand for workers. In order to appraise the prospective employment opportunities in an occupation, it is important to have information also on the probable future sup ply of personnel. The statistics on high school and college enrollments and graduations compiled by the U. S. Office of Education are the chief source of information on the potential supply of personnel in the professions and other occupations requiring extensive formal education. Data on numbers of apprentices from the Bureau of A p prenticeship and T railing provide some informa tion on new entrants into skilled trades. Many of the statistical sources and analytical approaches listed in-preceding paragraphs did not exist, or existed in much more limited form, when the first precursor of this Handbook was prepared for the Veterans Administration in 1946. The in tervening decade has seen great progress both in compiling the basic data needed for analysis and projections of future trends affecting the employ ment outlook and in the development of analytical techniques. The reader should bear in mind, how ever, that the art of economic forecasting is still in an early stage of development and that it is, at best, fraught with difficulty and uncertainty. It is necessary to keep in mind also the basic assump tions underlying the forecasts—continuance of generally high levels of economic activity and the absence of large-scale war. The Bureau believes that, within this general framework of assump tions, the basic trends affecting employment can be discerned with sufficient accuracy to meet the needs of young people preparing for careers. Furthermore, since these trends change from time to time and information on earnings and related subjects becomes out of date quickly, provision has been made for review of the reports at frequent intervals. It is planned to make the results of this review available through biennial editions of the Occupational Outlook Handbook and through a periodical publication, The Occupational Outlook (described in the next chapter). W here To G o for M ore Information or A ssistance Young people using this Handbook may wish to supplement the information in a number of different respects. They may, for example, desire information on occupations which could not be covered in the occupational reports. They may also wish more detailed information on the nature of an occupation, training requirements, or other subjects than could be included in these condensed reports. Furthermore, they will often need in formation on the situation in particular localities, to add to the nationwide picture presented in this book. Suggestions as to sources of additional informa tion on the fields of work discussed are contained in each of the occupational reports. In general, the references given are limited to publications prepared by government agencies and to the names and addresses of professional societies, trade asso ciations, trade unions, and government agencies having special knowledge of the given fields. For suggestions as to other publications which might be consulted, the reader is referred to the several books and current indexes which list the great numbers of pamphlets, books, and monographs published on different occupations. These bibliog raphies, available in many libraries, may be use ful also in locating material on occupations not covered in the Handbook. The information on employment outlook, train ing requirements, earnings, and related subjects given in the occupational reports summarizes the situation in the United States as a whole. To find out about current job opportunities, hiring standards, or earnings in a particular community, it is necessary to check with local sources. In communities where there is a local office of the State Employment Service, this is one of the best places to obtain such information. The serv ices available in these offices are described on page 10 of this chapter. There are also many other possible sources of local information on occupations. The best source of information on a profession may often be the local branch of a professional society, such as the American Medical Association, American Bar As sociation, or American Chemical Society. Simi larly, the local offices of trade unions will usually have information on the occupations in which their members are employed. It is also possible to seek information directly from employers in the industry or business in which one is interested; lists of firms classified by industry can be obtained through the local Chamber of Commerce or from the classified section of the telephone directory. Other sources of information on opportunities in some localities are the special community occupa tional surveys made by some school systems and other organizations. For published information as to the occupa tions and industries which offer employment op portunities in each State and in or near each large city, one may refer to the reports in the Occupa tions and Industries Regional Series prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Veterans Administration (listed at the back of the Hand book) . The facts contained regarding the fields of work in which men and women are employed in different communities are important in vocational guidance, for two reasons—the great variation among communities in the types of jobs available and the fact that many young people prefer oc cupations in which there are local opportunities for employment. Information on earnings and working condi tions in important occupations is available for a number of major labor market areas from an other series of reports prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These reports, called Occu pational Wage Surveys, provide the following kinds of information wherever possible: the num bers of workers in selected occupations in major industries, average earnings in these occupations, and job descriptions. In addition, wage rates and weekly working hours are reported for some groups of workers in office-clerical jobs, pro fessional and technical occupations, skilled main tenance work, and less skilled occupations. The reports also show prevailing local practices in regard to pensions, vacations, holidays, and sick leave. A list of the Occupational Wage Surveys available may be obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, IT. S. Department of Labor, Washington 25, D. C. 9 10 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Keeping Up to Date on Occupational Outlook The occupational outlook program of the Bureau of Labor Statistics is designed to keep readers constantly up to date on occupational outlook information. The core of this program is the Occupational Outlook Handbook. It is planned to issue revised editions every 2 years hereafter. Each new edi tion will involve a thorough review of all infor mation presented and will incorporate revisions wherever needed. Futhermore, the Bureau’s continuing research program should make it pos sible, with each new edition, to extend the cov erage of occupations in the Handbook. It is planned to issue all editions both in bound form and in the form of a series of reprints relating to different fields of work—to meet the expressed need both for a single reference volume and for separate reports which can be filed by industry or occupation and utilized by students interested in particular fields of work. To keep readers up to date between editions of the Handbook on developments affecting employ ment opportunities and on the results of new occupational outlook research, a new periodical, The Occupational Outlook, is being issued four times yearly during the months schools are in session. The Occupational Outlook will be the same size as the Handbook and each issue will include a cumulative index to all issues since the latest Handbook. Whenever an article in the periodical supplements or supersedes information presented in the Handbook, a statement will be made to this effect, with a reference to the rele vant page of the Handbook, and the article will be arranged so that it can be detached and in serted in the Handbook if desired. When a new edition of the Handbook is published, it will in corporate the information contained in recent issues of the periodical. Besides these two publications, occupational outlook bulletins will be issued at irregular inter vals. These bulletins will contain much more de tailed information on the outlook in various fields of work than can be included either in the Hand book or in the periodical. They will be sum marized in articles in The Occupational Outlook. Thus, the reader can locate easily and quickly all up-to-date information published by the Oc cupational Outlook Service on the fields of work in which he is interested. He can do this by checking in only two places—the alphabetical index in the latest edition of the Handbook and the cumulative index in the latest issue of The Occupational Outlook. Directions for ordering the different Occupapational Outlook publications will be found at the back of the Handbook. In addition, the Bu reau will be glad to place any user of this Hand book on its mailing list to receive announcements of new publications and current releases sum marizing the results o f new studies. Anyone wishing to receive such materials should send the request to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor, Washington 25, D. C. Please include postal zone numbers in the address. Services to Job Seekers at Public Employment Offices* Many of the readers of this Handbook want as sistance in choosing a suitable type of work and in finding the right job. The reader who wants professional assistance from trained counselors and help in obtaining the right job should know about the services offered by his local public em ployment office. The U. S. Employment Service and affiliated State Employment Services form a nationwide organization which plays an important part in our economy. Through 1,800 local offices, convenient ly located in cities and towns throughout the ♦P repared by the B ureau o f E m p lo y m en t Secu rity, U . S. D e p a rtm e n t o f L abor. United States, this employment service finds jobs for workers and workers for jobs. Although the Employment Service is a FederalState system, each employment office is basically a local community organization. It is concerned with facilitating suitable and stable employment for the community’s working population and with adequately meeting the manpower needs of its employers. And because of this concern, the local office tries to do more than simply refer a worker to a job— it tries to match the worker and job so that the requirements of each are satisfied. To do this, the public employment office has developed a number of services that are available to all job W H ERE TO GO FOR MORE INFORMATION OR ASSISTANCE seekers. Many of them are particularly impor tant to young men and women about to enter the world of work. Counseling Services Employment Service counseling assists people in choosing a suitable field of work—both young people leaving school and experienced workers who wish or need to change their field of work. The major purposes of employment counseling are to help people to gain insight into their actual or potential abilities, their interests, and their per sonal traits; to understand something of the na ture of the world of work; and to make the best use of their capacities and preferences in the light of available job opportunities. In the Employment Service, the counselor has at his fingertips a vast store of resources, includ ing testing facilities and labor market and occupa tional information. Testing. Most local offices provide testing services, including the General Aptitude Test Battery, which measures basic abilities for many and varied broad fields of work and for more than 500 specific jobs within these fields. These tests help the applicant appraise his abilities. They may re veal aptitudes the job seeker did not know he had. Labor Market Information. The State employ ment office counselor has information about jobs in the community. He knows what kinds of jobs prevail in local industry, which jobs are more plentiful, what the hiring requirements and the opportunities for promotion are, and what the jobs pay. In addition, since his office is a part of the nationwide employment service, it has infor mation regarding employment opportunities in other areas all over the country. Occupational Information. The Employment Service office has occupational information which helps the job applicant decide whether he is suited to a particular kind of work. The Dictionary of Occupational Titles, Job Descriptions, and the other tools describe the work performed in the various occupations and the training required, lines o f advancement, physical demands, and working conditions for most occupations. 11 Cooperative Arrangements wifh Other Com munity Groups. Local employment office coun selors work closely with other public and private agencies and organizations which provide special services that the job seeker may need in order to become better prepared for employment. These groups include educational, training, vocational rehabilitation, and health and welfare agencies. Placement Assistance The primary objectives of the placement service in the local employment office are to fill employers' job openings with occupationally qualified work ers and to locate employment for workers (includ ing claimants for unemployment insurance) which is suited to their skills, knowledge, and abilities. The employment office placement service is de signed to eliminate the waste of “ hit-or-miss” job hunting. Local Openings. State employment office person nel maintain regular contacts with local employers and know their hiring needs and their jobs. Placement interviewers receive requests from em ployers for all kinds of workers. Through the local office, therefore, the job applicant has access to a variety of job vacancies with many em ployers, just as the employer has access to many applicants. When no suitable job exists for an individual worker, the employment service may attempt to solicit an opening for him from likely employers. Jobs Throughout the Country. The job clearance system of the nationwide network of State em ployment offices offers the applicant an oppor tunity to qualify for jobs outside his area, elsewhere in the State and the Nation, and even in foreign countries. Each State Employment Service prepares frequent inventories of hard-tofill jobs which are distributed to all other State Employment Services. This makes it possible for them to refer local workers to out-of-area jobs for which they qualify. Placement Aids. As in counseling, the informa tion on local job opportunities for industries, occupations, and areas, and occupational require ments which is available in the employment offices contributes greatly to getting the right job for the worker and the right worker for the job. 12 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Also available to the job seeker are aptitude and proficiency tests which help determine whether an applicant is qualified to perform satisfactorily on specific jobs. Services to Special Worker Groups The Employment Service has developed tech niques and procedures for particular applicant groups who may encounter special problems in their search for suitable jobs. Special services to youths include emphasis on counseling graduating students and school dropouts, and intensive efforts to promote em ployment opportunities for them. In many cities, employment service offices have cooperative ar rangements with high schools to provide counsel ing, testing, occupational information, and place ment services to students prior to their graduation as well as to other school leavers. The State employment offices have long main tained an active program for helping applicants with vocational handicaps. The emphasis is on what these people can do with their abilities rather than on what they cannot do because of a disability. The Employment Service provides special serv ices for veterans. In each local office there is a veterans’ representative who is trained to know veterans’ rights and benefits and who carries on job promotion for veterans. In order to speed their readjustment to civilian life, the State Em ployment Services provide information service to veterans at military separation and transfer points. The Employment Service also has developed techniques to deal with job problems of middleage and older workers. Special attention is being given to assisting them to make realistic job choices. Employers have been encouraged to re move age hiring restrictions and to hire only according to the qualifications of the individual. Similar attention is also being given to job problems of members of minority groups and others facing special difficulties in obtaining suit able employment. How To Locate the Local Employment Office The addresses and telephone numbers of local offices of State Employment Services affiliated with the U. S. Employment Service may be found in local telephone directories. Job seekers, em ployers, schools, and public and private agencies aiding clients to find employment are invited to utilize the services of the public employment offices in their communities and to avail themselves of the fund of job information maintained in these offices. Economic and O ccupational Trends To the student learning about occupations, to the counselor engaged in explaining their intricacies, or to the person seeking information on which to base his selection of a course of training or a ca reer, it is important to understand the rapidly changing nature of our economic life. Constant change is the most significant aspect of the occupational and industrial world in which we live. Technological, industrial, and social changes increase the need for workers in some occupations, reduce the demand in others, some times create new occupations and throw old ones into the discard, and continuously alter the con tent and character of every line of work. The rapidity with which the occupational pic ture changes is illustrated in chart 1. In 1890, a young man may have considered the choice be tween apprenticing himself to a cooper or to a plumber. The occupation of cooper was a wellestablished skilled trade while that of plumber was relatively new. Yet, within a 60-year period, the number of workers who made their living as plumbers or pipefitters increased almost fivefold, while employment opportunities for coopers shrank to a small fraction of their previous number. What happened? With growth in population, a shift of population from farms to cities, and increases in average income, the demand for houses with plumbing conveniences grew apace. Increasing numbers of plumbers were needed to install pipes and plumbing fixtures in new houses CHART 1 13 14 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK and to repair or modernize plumbing in older dwellings. Industrial and commercial expansion also created a growing demand for plumbing and pipefitting work in office buildings and industrial plants. On the other hand, the occupation of cooper declined as wooden barrels were displaced for various uses by other types of containers, and as factory methods were introduced in making the wooden barrels still needed for certain uses. Thus, one occupation grew tremendously, while the other declined rapidly, because of population growth, improvements in living standards, industrial growth, and technological changes. To young people looking forward to a lifetime of work— and that means nearly half a century— the fact that these changes occur is significant. To the best of our ability, we must try to antici pate the changes and provide as much informa tion on trends as is possible. Although we can not foresee all that may happen, a real service will have been performed if young people are made aware o f the dynamic character of the economy, and if they are prepared to expect changes and to adjust to them. This means main taining the utmost flexibility by taking the broad est kind of training consistent with adequate prep aration for a particular occupation. The number of changes made by individual workers within the dynamic setting of growing population and labor force and shifting industries and occupations is great indeed. In a single year, a large number of people leave the labor force because of death, retirement, marriage, etc., while an even greater number, largely young people or married women, go to work. But this is only part o f the story. The number of changes made by in dividual workers from job to job within an in dustry, from one industry to another, from State to State, or from one occupation to another are much more numerous than the movements into and out of the labor force in any given period. For example: In a 27-month period during W orld W ar I I , over 7 million civilian workers changed from one major occupational group to another. In 1955, an average of 265,000 manufacturing workers quit their jobs each month. Between April 1954 and April 1955, almost 2 million people in the labor force had moved from one State to another and more than 2 million other workers had moved from one county to another within a State. Taking into account the families of these workers, the number of people who move their place of residence is even greater. Thus, in April 1955, about 10.4 million people were living in a different county from the one in which they had been living in April 1954, and about 4.9 million of these people were living in a different State. Only in recent years have we been able to measure the movements of individuals, and to appreciate the extent and significance of this type of economic change. These movements represent the adjustments people make to a changing en vironment. Without these adjustments the labor market could not function. It is likely that most young people now in school will want to make similar changes in the course of their working life, either to improA^e their position, or because the change is forced upon them by loss of a job, poor health, or other causes. This suggests once more the importance of flexibility in preparing for an occupation. To emphasize the changing character of oc cupational life, as well as to provide background for the reports on trends and outlook in each oc cupation, the growth and changing composition of population and the labor force, the major trends in industry, and their effect on broad oc cupational trends will be reviewed in the next few pages. Population and Labor Force Trends Population A basic factor underlying the occupational out look is the trend in population growth. Changes in the size and composition of the population in fluence the amount and types of goods which will be demanded at various times. These changes also have a direct bearing on the supply of labor— on the number and on the characteristics of the persons available for work. Over the past century the population of our country has grown rapidly. This was particu larly true in the decades prior to World War I, when the liea\^y influx of immigrants, the higli birthrate, and the continuing reduction *of the POPULATION AND LABOR FORCE TRENDS 15 death rate all combined to increase our popula tion (chart 2). Population growth has been closely associated with expanding economic opportunity. The rapidly growing domestic market for goods and services, combined with great gains in technology, provided the impetus for large-scale expansion of manufacturing, railroads, public utilities, con struction, and other types of industry and busi ness. Employment opportunities grew apace. Although there were, of course, great differences in the rate of expansion among different occupa tions, there were very few trades or professions which did not record a substantial gain in number from one decade to the next. Up until the outbreak of W orld W ar II, the rate of population growth in contrast with the numerical increase was declining. Restrictions on immigration as well as the long-term decline in the birthrate tended to slow down the rate of population growth. During the depression years of the 1930’s, there were sharp declines in the rates of marriages and births, reflecting the effect of unemployment and economic insecurity. As a result, the average annual rate of population increase dropped from 1.5 percent between 1920 CHART 3 CHART 2 and 1930 to only 0.7 percent in the following decade (chart 2). BIRTHS REACHED 4 MILLION A YEAR IN 1954 M ILLIO N S m il l io n s CHILDREN 5-13 YEARS OF AGE WILL INCREASE BY 14 MILLION BETWEEN 1945 AND 1960 35 PROJECTED 30 — ✓ — ^ S' / - 25 20 - 15 10 5 0 1 _1___l__ 1___1___ 1940 1945 1950 U NI TE D S T A T E S DE PAR T M E NT OF L A B O R 1955 Source: 1 1 1 1960 i i i i 1965 U S. Bureau, of the Census PO PU LA TIO N GROW TH M ILLIO N S P ER CEN T Record Number of Births World War II marked the end of this down trend in the rate of population growth. There was a sharp spurt in births during the early war years. After a brief slackening during 1944 and 1945 when millions of young men were overseas, marriages and births mounted to extremely high levels. The number of babies born in 1947 reached 3.8 million compared to a yearly average of 2.4 million during the period 1935 to 1939. The annual number of births remained high (3.6 million) between 1948 and 1950 and then started to climb again. By 1954 the number exceeded 4 million (chart 3). As more and more babies born since 1940 reach school age, pressure on school facilities and teach ers increases. The cumulative effect of the increas ing number of births is dramatically shown by the sharp rise in the number of youngsters of elementary school age (chart 3). In 1955, there were 28 million children 5 to 13 years old compared with less than 19 /2 million 10 years earlier. By 16 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK 1960, they will total about S3/2 million— a rise of 14 million or almost 75 percent in a matter of 15 years. Since almost all youngsters in these ages attend school, enrollments in elementary schools will also show similar sharp increases (chart 3). High school enrollments, on the other hand, were still quite low in 1950. However, by 1955, the ef fect of increased births was beginning to appear in high school enrollments and the full impact will come in the early 1960’s. After the peaks have been reached, both elementary and high school en rollments are likely to continue at very high levels. It is estimated that the number of pupils in secondary schools will increase from about 7y2 million in 1955 to about 1H/2 million in 1965. The large number of births in recent years has also been the major factor in increasing the rate of population growth. The average annual rate increased from 0.7 percent in the 1930’s to 1.4 per cent in the 1940’s and will probably climb further to 1.6 percent in the 1950’s. Many population specialists believe it is pos sible that the recent high birthrates will continue for a number of years. I f the average birth rates for 1950-53 prevail through 1975, the total population will reach almost 180 million in 1960 and over 220 million in 1975. In terms of an nual average percent increase, this wTould mean 1.5 percent for the period 1960 to 1975— as much as in the 1920-30 decade. The continuing rapid growth of the popula tion has very important implications for the oc cupational outlook. It means that in coming de cades there will be many more people to be fed, clothed, housed, and provided with other con sumer goods and services; it will call for expan sion in production and employment in many industries. Increase in the Aged Population Another important population trend which is likely to continue for many years is the increase in the number of elderly persons (chart 4). The great advances in medicine and public health have enabled more people to live longer. In 1900, for example, only about 4 out of every 10 babies could expect to survive until age 65; at present, this proportion is about 7 out of 10. As a result, the number of persons 65 or over has been rising rapidly and their proportion of the total population has been increasing. CHART 4 P O PU LATIO N CH AN G ES BY AG E GROUP 1940, 1955, an d P ro jected 1965 an d 1975 Percent Change 1955-75 221.5 Millions of Persons /i Av i7-4k *•* i m \ i m 39.1 1 /T W W q \'//,'///A/ I j! *3] 25 -34 Y ears 14-24 Y ea rs U n d e r 14 P ro jected * U N IT E D S T A T E S DE P A RT M EN T OF LA BOR BUREAU OF L *A ssu m e s continuation of 1 9 5 0 -5 3 birth rotes Source: u .S. Bureau of the Census The number of persons 65 years or over tripled between 1900 and 1940—from 3 million to 9 mil lion—while the total population increased by about 75 percent. By 1955, the number of elderly persons had increased to a little over 14 million. I f recent trends continue these persons can be ex pected to number about 17^2 million in 1965 and about 21 million in 1975— an increase of nearly 50 percent in the 20-year period, 1955-75. As the number of older persons increases, we can expect increasing demands for medical serv ices, for institutions to care for the aged, and for those types of goods and services which meet their needs. Problems of social security and old-age pensions will become more and more important. At the same time, we can expect increasing efforts to provide more adequate employment opportuni ties for the older worker. As technological ad vances result in shifts in the demand for workers, there will be increased need for guidance as to oc cupations which older persons might enter or for which they might train. POPULATION AND LABOR FORCE TRENDS Rapid Growth Among 1J±- to 21^-Year Olds In the period 1955 to 1975, the population group 14 to 24 years old is expected to increase most dramatically. It is estimated that there will be a jump of 72 percent in the 14- to 24-year age group as against 35 percent for the youngest group and 47 percent for those 65 years of age and older. In 1955, there were slightly less than 243/2 million 14- to 24-year-olds, 2 million fewer than in 1940 as a result of the low birthrates in the 1930’s. In 1965, this group is expected to number more than 34 million, and in 1975, about 42 million. In the coming two decades, the unusually rapid growth in the number of these young people will present unprecedented demands on our high school and college facilities. Their increased numbers will also provide heightened demand for housing and other commodities as they marry and have children. At the same time, they represent a source of increase in labor supply as they finish school and start their work careers. The Labor Force Although the growth of total population has a far-reaching effect upon the occupational outlook, we are more directly concerned with the “ labor force,” which includes not only employees who work for wages or salaries, but also farmers, selfemployed businessmen, members of the Armed Forces, and those persons who are unemployed and looking for work. In 1955, the annual aver age number of persons in the labor force was nearly 69 million— about 58 percent of the popula tion 14 years of age and over. Almost 21 million or 30 percent of the total labor force were women. In the past, the rapid growth of the labor force largely paralleled the increase of population. The factors which influenced population growth also affected the rate of increase of the labor force. The work force nearly doubled during the 30-year period from 1890 to 1920 as large numbers of persons immigrated to this country and the high birthrates added large numbers of young workers to the labor force. However, with the slowing down in the rate of population growth there were corresponding declines in the rate of increase of the labor force. The annual average percent in crease in the labor force went down from 2.4 per cent for the period 1890-1900 to 1.6 percent for 4 2 7 6 7 5 ° — 5 7 ------- 3 17 1920-30. The further drop to 1.2 percent in the 1930’s was due in part to the same economic forces which brought sharp declines in the marriage and birthrates— fewer youngsters, women, and older people were in the labor force than might have been the case if the depression had not curtailed job opportunities. In the 1940’s, with improving employment op portunities and wartime needs for additional workers, the downward trend was reversed. Be tween 1940 and 1945, the manpower needs of the Armed Forces and of industry brought into the labor force 8 million workers over and above the number expected on the basis of long-term trends. While most of these “ extra” workers left the labor force shortly after the end of World War II, the annual average percent increase in the labor force over the whole decade (1940-50) rose to 1.4 per cent. There has since been an acceleration in the long-term increase in labor force participation of adult women, partly as a result of work experience gained during the war by women who had not previously worked. Population changes continue to play a decisive role in labor force growth in the present decade. Relatively small additions to the population of working age occurred in the first half of this de cade, primarily because of the slump in marriages and births during the depressed thirties. As a re sult, the annual rate of increase of the labor force declined slightly to 1.3 percent, despite the eco nomic expansion during the Korean period. Be tween 1955 and 1965, the labor force is expected to increase at about the same rate, rising from 69 million in 1955 to 79 million by 1965. Trends in Labor Force Participation Apart from overall population trends, there have been significant changes in the extent to which men and women of different ages have participated in the labor force. Almost all ablebodied adult men between the ages of 25 and 55 normally work or seek work. Over the years there has, however, been a steady increase in the proportion of adult women working outside the home, while the proportion of workers among youth and among older men has been declining. This is illustrated in chart 5 which shows the proportions of different age and sex groups of the population in the labor force in April 1920, 1950, and 1956. 18 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK The movement of women into the labor force has resulted from a combination of factors. The shift of population to the cities and the increased importance of occupations such as clerical work, selling, and teaching, resulted in a great expan sion of employment opportunities for women. At the same time, the introduction of labor-saving household devices made it possible for growing numbers of women to accept jobs outside the home. W orld War I I accelerated this trend since many women who normally would not have worked took jobs and remained in the labor market. The trend toward increasing participation in the labor force is particularly strong among women 35 to 64 years old. Also one can see in chart 5, a high proportion of women in their early twenties work— about 45 percent. Though many of these leave the labor force due to mar riage and the necessity of caring for small chil- CHART 5 PERCENT O F M EN A N D W O M EN IN THE L A B O R FO R C E BY A G E GROUP APRIL 1920, 1950, AND 1956 PERCENT PERC EN T MALE FEMALE U NITED STATES DEPARTM ENT OF LABOR B U R EA U OF L A B O R S T A T I S T I C S Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. POPULATION AND LABOR FORCE TRENDS dren, large numbers of them return as the children get older. In April 1956, 40 percent of women 45 to 64 years o f age were employed or seeking employment. In contrast to the trend for adult women work ers, the proportion of youth in the labor force has been declining. There has been a steady lengthening in the period of schooling, partly be cause of compulsory school-attendance laws, but mainly because the skills needed by workers in our complex society have required a greater period o f formal training. Also, veterans educa tion provisions enabled many ex-servicemen to obtain higher education during the past decade. Though most of them are now out of school, the influx into the labor market of these trained vet erans has further emphasized the importance of advanced education as a means of entry into the better paid occupational fields. Although young people stay in school longer, the availability of job opportunities in recent years has caused many more students to take parttime jobs. Such part-time workers are counted in the statistics as “ in the labor force.” I f they were excluded, the proportion of young people in the labor force would show an even greater decline. Older men, particularly those 65 and over, are showing an increasing tendency to retire from the labor force at earlier ages. Improved public and private programs for old-age pensions and assistance have the effect of encouraging the earlier retirement of older workers. Further more, better economic conditions in the past 15 years have increased savings for retirement, despite the rising cost of living. The coming of W orld W ar I I caused a greater proportion of older persons to take jobs or post pone retirement. However, with a resumption of long-term influences and trends we find, for ex ample, that the proportion of men 65 years of age and over in the labor force decreased from 45 percent in April 1950 to 40 percent in April 1956. Despite this percentage decrease, the growth of the older population has been so substantial as to provide an increase in the absolute number of workers 65 and over in the labor force. The more than 55 percent increase in the population 65 years of age and over between 1940 and 1955 was accompanied by a 45-percent increase in the number of persons of this age in the labor force 19 during this same period. Since the labor force of all ages only increased 23 percent between these same years, the older workers have thus assumed a more important role in our Nation’s work force. They are presenting a growing challenge to in dustry and to personnel workers to find places for them in a complex industrial economy. Movements Into and Out of the Labor Force The labor force of the United States is not a static or rigidly limited group of people. On the contrary, it is a rapidly changing group. Many people have a great deal of freedom in their decisions to go to work or to quit work, and the size of the labor force is quite flexible in response to changing economic and social condi tions and to the needs and desires of individuals. Thus far we have discussed the labor force in terms of its size and composition at a particular time, or in terms of net changes from year to year. Estimates of this type do not reveal how many different persons actually enter or with draw from the labor force each year. For ex ample, since 1950, Avhile the annual net increases in the size of the labor force have averaged close to one million, each year about 1% million young persons entered on a work career after leaving school and many married women returned to work as their children reached school age. At the same time, a substantial number of young women left the labor force because of marriage and the birth of children and many older workers withdrew from the labor force because of death or retirement. In addition to these entries into or withdrawals from the labor force, there is a much larger volume of temporary shifting in and out, depend ing on the season and on changes in personal cir cumstances. During 1955, for example, an aver age of about 6 million persons moved into or out of the labor force from one month to the next. Most of these shifts are temporary in character and are largely accounted for by the intermittent work activity of groups sucli as students and housewives. These temporary movements tend to follow a seasonal pattern. The beginning of sum mer vacations brings large numbers of young people into the labor force; in the fall, there are heavy withdrawals as students return to school. In farm areas, many people enter and leave the 20 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK labor force each year in response to the changing needs for labor in agriculture and related activi ties. In the city, the Christmas shopping season, with its expansion of employment in retail trade, brings many housewives and young people into the labor market for a few weeks in November and December. In addition, throughout the year, there is a considerable amount of temporary labor force entry and withdrawal arising from changes in local employment conditions and in the per sonal situation of individuals. There are, therefore, many more persons in the population with some work experience than are likely to be in the labor force at any one time in the year. In 1955, for example, about 75% mil lion different persons worked during all or part o f the year while the maximum number employed in any one month was 65^ million. Although many of the persons who worked only part of the year are not available for w7ork through the en tire year under normal conditions, they are im portant as a reserve group who may be attracted into full-time jobs during periods of national emergency, or when employment opportunities are particularly favorable. Rising Educational Levels of the Labor Force The labor force has not only been growing rapidly in size but its quality has been improv ing in terms o f basic educational preparation. Nowadays more young people are going to school for longer periods than formerly. For example, at the time of the 1950 Census nearly half of the persons 25 to 34 years of age had completed high school while less than a fifth of the persons 55 years of age and over had this much schooling. Furthermore, in comparison with the older group almost twice as large a proportion of the younger group had completed 4 years of college. In 1955, the number of college degrees granted amounted to 13.6 percent of the population 22 years of age as compared with only 1.8 percent in 1900. The number o f high school graduates equaled 62.0 percent of the population 18 years of age in 1955, almost 10 times greater than the comparable 6.3 percent in 1900. Many factors have contributed to this rising educational level. Most States have raised the minimum age at which children may legally leave school. They have established laws which pro hibit the employment of youngsters under a mini mum age and which limit the kinds of work young people may perform. Moreover, greater concentration of population in cities and metropolitan areas has made schools more accessible to a much larger number of people. Improved economic conditions have also enabled more students to remain in school longer than was previously possible. Another factor is the increasing number and complexity of skills demanded in modern indus try. To meet these needs, employers have raised educational qualifications for many jobs, espe cially the more desirable ones. These higher standards must be met not only by job applicants but also by job holders seeking promotions. Regional Differences National trends in population and labor force may not, of course, be indicative of changes in a particular region or locality. In a Nation as large and diversified as the United States, there are bound to be geographic variations in the rates of population and labor force growth; in part, these variations reflect regional differences in birthrates and death rates. A more important factor, however, has been the magnitude and pattern of migration between States in response to economic opportunity. For example, in the early 1950’s about 5 million per sons moved from one State to another each year. Allowing for the fact that some of these inter state movers return to the States where they pre viously lived, the numbers involved indicate the magnitude of the recent geographic movement of population. The most rapid population growth between 1940 and 1955 occurred on the Pacific Coast and in ad jacent Mountain States, primarily because of a very heavy net in-migration. The population in the West increased by two-thirds between 1940 and 1955, while the national population increased only by one-fourth. In contrast, most of the Southern region (ex cluding the South Atlantic States) lagged behind INDUSTRIAL AND OCCUPATIONAL TRENDS the national rate of population increase. In fact, a few of the southern States showed net losses in population. Here, too, migration was the dom inant factor. On the basis of birthrates, the South would have had the fastest growing population. However, this growth was largely offset by migra tion of southerners to other areas. Consequently, the population of the South increased by only onefifth from 1940 to 1955. The population of the North Central region during this period also increased by about onefifth. This change resulted from a rise of about 25 percent in the Great Lakes States, and an in crease of only 10 percent in the Great Plains States. Although the natural rates of population growth were about equal in these two geographic divisions, the Great Lakes States gained migrants while the Great Plains States lost them. In the Northeastern region, both the New Eng land and Middle Atlantic States had similar patterns of population growth. With very little change as a result of migration and with the lowest natural rate of increase in the country, this region had only a 16-percent population rise. In the main, the recent shifts of population have continued the long-run trends in population movement in the United States. During World 21 War II, however, these movements were greatly accelerated, as workers and their families poured into the coastal shipbuilding and aircraft centers and into the war production areas of Michigan, Ohio, and other industrial States. Most of the migrants stayed on after the war ended. In fact, the flow of population into many of these areas has continued at a high rate in the postwar period. Closely related to the geographic patterns in population growth are the regional variations in labor force growth. Between 1940 and 1955, the civilian labor force of the Nation as a whole in creased by 18 percent. In the West, the civilian work force grew by 55 percent, reflecting mainly the large influx o f migrants. On the other hand, in the South, where considerable net-outmigration occurred, the labor force increased by only 10 per cent. There was a 18-percent increase in the Northeastern region and a 20-percent increase in the North Central region. These data indicate that a significant proportion of young people growing up and going to school in a given area move to other areas some time after they reach working age. In helping young people make vocational plans, it is necessary to be aware of occupational trends throughout the Nation as well as in their own localities. Industrial and Occupational Trends Recent Employment Trends The 1930's Young people in high schools and colleges today have lived most of their lives through 15 years in which employment opportunities have generally been good. Things have not always been this way, and a brief review^ of recent economic history will help young people to gain proper perspective. Trends in employment are shown in chart 6, which extends from 1929 through the depression of the thirties, World War II, and the postwar period. In the top line is seen the gradual growth of the labor force and rapid increase during the war as students, women, and older workers re sponded to the manpower needs of the Armed Forces and civilian industry. The severe drop in employment in nonfarm in dustries that marked the onset of the depression— from 37 million in 1929 to a little less than 29 million in 1933— is also shown. As a result of the drop in employment and the growth of the labor force, the number of unemployed increased from about 1y2 million in 1929 to nearly 13 million in 1933. Those in school today do not remember the de pression years; their attitudes are influenced more by the conditions of relative prosperity since 1940. Yet the thinking of their parents, of their teach ers, of the employers for whom they may work, of the unions they may join, and of the leaders in 22 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK public life, is still strongly affected by the ex periences of the thirties. It will help in under standing much of the information on occupations contained in the Handbook if one has a realization of the difficulties of those years. Among the general effects of the depression dec ade upon occupations and employment were these: 1. Young people particularly found it difficult to get jobs. The rate of unemployment was high among them, despite the fact that many continued in school and were not classified as unemployed. Older workers also found it difficult to get jobs. 2. Employers, faced with many job applicants and the necessity to save money by having only the most efficient workers, raised their hiring standards. The best trained or experienced workers got the jobs. This hastened a long-term trend toward a preference for applicants with more education. 3. People got jobs where they could, and so there was a great deal of occupational shifting down the scale of skills. Many a professionally trained and experienced worker took a clerical, sales, or semiskilled job. Many a craftsman worked in semiskilled or laborer jobs. Their skills grew rusty from disuse. 4. To preserve the employment security of their members, and to prevent poorly trained people from entering their fields, some unions and pro fessional societies took action to tighten up en trance requirements. Often this went hand in hand with the improvement of training. In the professional fields, particularly, such action rep resented the continuation of a long-term trend toward raising the standards of education and training. 5. Earnings, of course, dropped in nearly every field of work. 6. In an effort to spread the available work among as many people as possible, the workweek was shortened in many industries. A slow recovery began in 1936, temporarily set back by a recession toward the end of 1937. By 1939, the year the war began in Europe, nonfarm employment had increased by 7y2 million from the low in 1933, but was still a million below its average in 1929. However, unemployment had been reduced by only 3y3 million from the peak of nearly 13 million, since the labor force had continued to grow. Changes During and Since World War I I The recovery was accelerated by the expanded production for World War II. In a 5-year period, 20 million additional people were taken into military service and war-supporting indus try. Nonfarm employment rose rapidly from 36 million in 1939 to 45 million in 1944. The Armed Forces, which had averaged about 300,000 throughout the decade of the thirties, added 11 million more men and women within 4 years. As a result, the number of unemployed dropped from 914 million in 1939 to about two-thirds of a million in 1944— most of these being workers temporarily between jobs— and millions of addi tional people entered the labor force. Hiring standards which had been stiffened dur ing the depression were relaxed. Skilled jobs which had required a long period of training were broken down so that the work could be done by a number of quickly trained workers, often under the supervision of a skilled worker. Young peo ple found it easy to get jobs. Older workers postponed their retirement because their skills were needed in industry and they could earn good pay. Women whose children could do without their care came into the labor market. The period since the war has been one of gen erally good business conditions and high employ ment levels interrupted by only two temporary recessions—in 1949 and 1954. Immediately after the war, workers who were no longer needed for munitions production were hired by other industries. A heavy demand for the products that had not been available during the war, such as new houses, automobiles, and washing machines, stimulated industry to invest over $20 billion a year in plants and equipment, and to hire more and more workers. At the end of 1948, with the Armed Forces reduced from over 11 million to less than 2 million, nearly 60 million people were employed, only 2 million unemployed. By 1949, some of the backlog of consumer de mand had been worked through. Employment decreased by about 700,000. Since the total labor INDUSTRIAL AND OCCUPATIONAL TRENDS 23 CHART 6 L A B O R F O R C E , EM P LO Y M EN T, A N D U N EM P LO Y M EN T ANNUAL A V ER A G ES, 1929-56 U NITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR bureau of labor st a tis tics force was rising because of population growth, the number of unemployed persons increased to an average of 3.4 million in 1949—the highest for any year since 1941. A new upturn in business activity and employ ment began in early 1950, however. Gains were accelerated in the middle of the year, owing to the outbreak of hostilities in Korea and plans for expanded defense production. Employment con Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, U.S. Bureau of Labor S ta tis tie s tinued to increase and unemployment to decrease until the latter part of 1953. A t the close of the Korean conflict, as business activity fell off from these record levels, average employment dropped by 1 million between 1953 and 1954. Unemploy ment doubled in this period averaging 3.2 million for 1954. In 1955, the economy recovered rapidly from the 1954 downturn. A substantial job expansion 24 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK took place in the latter half of the year and in 1956, when average employment reached 65 mil lion and unemployment was down to 2*4 million. Thus, in the 11 postwar years, the economy ad vanced rapidly and the number of jobs rose to new highs. In the two economic setbacks we did have, employment dropped by only a million or less, in contrast to the 9 million drop in the 1930’s. CHART 7 RAPID GROW TH OF NONFARM OCCUPATIONS 1870-1950 M IL LIO N S OF W O RKERS 7 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Industrial Trends The growth of the Nation’s work force in recent years has been accompanied by marked changes in the industrial distribution of employment. Many powerful forces have contributed to these changes. In the past three decades our country has experienced periods of depression and pros perity and war and peace. Technological de velopments have been revolutionary. Products and industries which were once of outstanding importance are now in decline, and other products and industries have moved into leading positions. For example, the television, aircraft, and atomic energy industries, to mention only a few, now play a part in our economy which it would have been impossible to foresee only a few years ago. It is thus o f obvious importance to persons planning careers to be aware of the trends in various indus tries, as well as of the substantial past and antici pated growth o f the labor force as a whole. Shift From Farm to Non farm Employment One of the most impressive long-term trends in our national economy is the increasing pre dominance of nonagricultural as compared with agricultural employment. In 1870, more than half the people who worked for a living were employed in agriculture. The United States was mainly a country of farmers; its wTays of living and habits o f thinking were influenced by this fact. Indeed, today, in any group of students in a city school, there will very likely be some wdiose grandparents or parents lived and worked on farms. The significant change that occurred since 1870—the rapid growth of industry, commerce, and other nonfarming employment—is shown in chart 7. The number of nonfarm workers grew from 6 million in 1870 to 52 million in 1950, while 1870 1880 1890 U N IT E D S T A T E S D E P A R T M E N T bureau or l abor s t at i s t i cs 1900 OF 1910 LABOR 1920 1930 1940 1950 Gainful W orkers, 1870-1930-, Labor Force, 1940 and 1950 Source: U.S. Bureou of the Census the number of farmers and farm workers in creased from about 7 million in 1870 to a peak of l i y 2 million around 1910, and since then actually declined to about 7 million in 1950, the same level as 1870. Farm employment continued to decrease between 1950 and 1955— although the decline appears to be slowing down. On any farm today, one can see some of the rea sons why this happened. The farmer has ma chinery which makes it possible for him to cultivate many more acres than could the farmer years ago. With tractor and trucks both on the farm and in the city, much less feed is needed for horses and mules. Millions of acres that once grew feed for work stock are now devoted to food crops or to feed for cattle, hogs, and poul try. Moreover, farmers get more production out of their farms as a result of improved scientific methods, including the use of more fertilizer, better seed, and improved breeds of livestock. By 1950, the average farmer produced nearly twice as much as did the average farmer just before World War I. INDUSTRIAL AND OCCUPATIONAL TRENDS With these improvements in farming and with improvements in storage and transportation of food—canning, refrigeration, freezing and ware housing, for example—the American farmer is able to provide food and other farm products for more and more people. This makes it possible for some of the young people who grow up on farms to take advantage of opportunities in industry. 25 CHART 8 Shift From Manufacturing to Service Industries Mainly because of the decline in the number of people engaged in farming, employment in the goods-producing sectors has not increased as much as employment in the service-producing sectors of the American economy. In this comparison, the goods-producing segment of the economy includes all wage and salary employees in the extractive industries (coal, oil, gas, lead, zinc, etc.), construc tion (the building of homes, highways, factories, and offices), manufacturing industries (steel, clothing, machinery, autos, chemicals, etc.), and all persons working in agriculture (feed, food, and fibers). These industries turn out all of the goods we produce. The service-producing seg ment here includes all wage and salary Avorkers in activities which involve buying, selling, finan cing, transporting, communicating, servicing, teaching, etc. Chart 8 illustrates the growing importance of the service industries. In 1919, annual average employment was 14 million in the service indus tries and 26 million in the goods industries. By 1955, there Avere nearly 30 million persons em ployed in the service sector, 2 million more than the 28 million employed in the goods sector. The fact the more Avorkers are noAv engaged in the production of services than of goods is an important milestone in the evolution of the stand ard of living in the United States. In the first 50 years of the 20th century, the gross national product per capita (adjusted for price change) has doubled. This has been achieved with a labor force which, as a percentage of the population, has remained practically unchanged between 1900 and 1950 and with a labor force Avorking far fewer hours now than at the turn of the century. A t the same time, young people have been afforded more time for education, older people more time for retirement, and the population as a whole more time for recreation and leisure. This tremendous gain in output (much of wdiich is reflected in our standard o f living) has been attained mostly through major advances in technology Avhich have been particularly dramatic in agriculture and manufacturing. These adArances have made pos sible the enormous increase in the production of goods with comparatively modest employment in creases and the employment of significantly in creasing numbers of Avorkers in the service industries. W h ile employment in the nonfarm sector has about doubled in the past four decades, its indus trial composition during this period of rapid growth has remained fairly stable. In most years, manufacturing has accounted for about one-third of all nonfarm Avorkers and trade for about onefifth. The relative importance o f employment in finance has also shown little change. been decreases There have in the proportions of Avorkers en gaged in mining and transportation and increases in the proportions working in goArernment and 26 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK CHART 9 M A JO R O C C U P A T IO N A L G R O U P S O F E M P L O Y E D PERSO N S IN SELECTED N O N A G R IC U L T U R A L IN D U S T R IE S , 1950 O l— 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 PERCENT 90 100 ”i------ 1- ------ 1- ----- r- — i- ----- 1- ------ 1- ------ 1- ------ r M ining C o n str u c tio n M a n u f a c tu r in g S e r v ic e , T h an O ther P ro fe ssio n a l!/ T ra n s p o rta tio n Public and U tilities T rad e P r o f e s s io n a l S ervices ! / F in a n c e , an d In s u r a n c e , Real Estate BLUE COLLAR W H IT E COLLAR Blue Collar Occupations: Operatives Craftsmen and Foremen White Collar Occupations: Laborers fvS<xl Clerical r------ 1 Service I-------J Workers f2Z3Sales Managers, Officials, and Proprietors Professional and Technical Includes personal, business and repair, etc.; excludes domestic. 2 / Includes educational, m edical, le g a l, w elfare and religious, etc. jj Note: Excludes groups with less than 2 percen t of in d u s try to ta l. U N ITE D STATES D E P A R TM E N T OF LABOR bureau of labor st a tistics Source: U.S. B u rea u of th e Census INDUSTRIAL AND OCCUPATIONAL TRENDS service industries. The proportion of construc tion workers has fluctuated from year to year depending on business conditions. Goods-Producing Industries Manufacturing. Manufacturing industries em ploy the largest number of people and offer jobs to many different kinds of workers: the unskilled laborer, the machinist, the engineer, the stenog rapher, the production manager, and—more than any other type of worker—the operative, or semi skilled worker (chart 9). Nearly half of all em ployees of manufacturing industries in 1950 were operatives. The number o f jobs in manufacturing rises sharply when general business conditions are good and falls more than in most other industries during depressions. Manufacturing employment fell from about 10y 2 million in 1929 to 6% mil lion in 1932, but recovered gradually to 10 mil lion by 1939. This was followed by a very sharp increase to 17Vs million by the peak war year of 1943. Manufacturing employment accounted for as much as 41 percent of all nonfarm jobs during World War I I and as little as 29 percent in 1932. Aside from these abnormal periods, however, manufacturing has usually accounted for about 1 out of every 3 nonfarm jobs. Although manufacturing employment in 1955 was still somewhat below the wartime peak, it appears that underlying its fluctuations there has been a slowly rising trend since World War II. Industrial production has expanded greatly in these years, but this has been achieved with a rela tively small increase in employment because of the tremendous rise in output per man-hour. The likelihood is that this situation will persist during the next few decades—that there will be a moder ate continued growth in manufacturing employ ment but even greater gains in production, made possible by further technological advances and a consequent rise in productivity. However, as in the past, there will be varying trends in employ ment and productivity in different manufacturing industries. There has been a major employment shift in manufacturing from nondurables (food, to bacco, textiles, etc.) to the durable-goods in dustries (automobiles, machinery, etc.). Em ployment in the hard-goods industries more than doubled between 1939 and 1955, whereas employ ment in the soft goods industries rose by only 30 27 percent. In 1939, about 55 percent of all manu facturing employees were in nondurable goods in dustries; by 1955, only 42 percent were in these industries— 7 million as compared to 9% million in durables. Increased productivity also made possible the employment of proportionately fewer factory workers in the production of such necessities as food and clothing. Thus, textiles, apparel, and food in the nondurable goods group employed less than 1 out of every 4 factory workers in 1955 as against 1 out of 3 in 1939. In the textile indus try, which in 1939 was numerically the most im portant employer in manufacturing, employment declined in absolute numbers as well as relative to all manufacturing employment. Among the nondurable goods industries only chemicals— which is closely related to durable-goods produc tion—grew as fast as the average for all durablegoods industries. Most of the employment increase in the hardgoods industries was concentrated in machinery, electrical machinery, and transportation equip ment (mainly motor vehicles and aircraft). These industries employed more than 1 out of every 4 factory workers in 1955 as compared with 1 out of 6 in 1939. The major manufacturing industries and their relative importance as a source of employment are shown in chart 10. Mining. This industry division is the only major one showing a decrease in employment since 1919 (chart 11). While nonfarm employment increased almost 85 percent since 1919, employ ment in mining declined by one-third. This de cline, persistent over the past 35 years, reduced mining employment as a proportion of nonagricultural employment from a little over 4 percent to 1.5 percent. The overall decrease in mining employment masked a series of divergent trends in employ ment among the individual mining industries. Between 1939 and 1955, employment declined 62 percent in anthracite mining, 44 percent in bi tuminous coal mining and 2 percent in metal mining. Over the same period, there were in creases of 65 percent in petroleum and natural gas production and 41 percent in nonmetallie mining and quarrying. Construction. When general business conditions are good people buy new homes and industry in' 28 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK CHART 10 are students and housewives during the rest of the year. Service-Producing Industries Trade. The number of employees in retail and wholesale trade is exceeded only by the number in manufacturing. In 1955, employment aver aged 10.8 million. In addition, there were about 2!/2 million proprietors. Salesmen and sales women constitute the largest groups of employees in trade, but there are also large numbers of clerical workers, truck drivers, delivery men, and building service workers, such as elevator opera tors and porters (chart 9 ). Employment in trade more than doubled be tween 1919 and 1955. Though employment in trade fell sharply at the beginning of the depres sion, it recovered quickly. By 1939, it was actually above where it was in 1929. The number of employees in trade decreased slightly during the Avar but has since increased sharply. Service. vests in new plants; in bad times, families and business firms put off spending that can be post poned. For this reason, employment in the con struction industry has fluctuated greatly over the years. It dropped by almost 50 percent between 1929 and 1933, expanded sharply in the early years of W orld War II as defense plants and army camps were built, then dropped because of wartime shortages of materials and labor. After the war, employment in this industry showed a relatively steady growth until 1951 and then re mained high at 2.6 million between 1951 and 1954. In 1955, it reached 2.8 million, at which time there were about 2% times as many construction em ployees as in 1919. Agriculture. Farming is still one of the largest fields of employment although it has declined for several decades (chart 7). There are sharp sea sonal fluctuations in the number of farm workers. The number of persons whose major activity is farm work varies from 5 million in the winter to about 8 million during the summer and early fall when large numbers of additional family members and hired help work on the farms. Many of those who work during the peak season Service industries in 1955 employed al most 6 million people in such di\7erse fields as automobile and other repair shops, laundries, cleaning and dyeing establishments, hotels, bar ber shops, theaters, motion-picture production, advertising, and many other categories not com monly thought of as in the ser\dce field. Be tween 1919 and 1955, employment in these in dustries almost tripled— the greatest percentage increase of any industry group in this period. Though the long-term upward trend was in terrupted for a time during the depression, serArice industries had more employees in 1939 than in 1929. Service employment growth slowed down again during the Avar. HoAvever, it has climbed strongly and steadily since then. Government. Government employment— local, State, and Federal— was 6.9 million in 1955. More than tAvo-thirds of the Avorkers Avere in local and State governments, employed in such occupations as teacher, nurse, engineer, typist, and policeman. In shipyards, arsenals, and printing plants, the Federal Government employs many Avorkers in industrial occupations. A l though people often think of the clerical worker as the typical government Avorker, only a fifth of government Avorkers Avere in this category in 1955. One of the largest Federal occupations is that of mail carrier. INDUSTRIAL AND OCCUPATIONAL TRENDS 29 CHART 11 E M P LO Y E E S IN N O N A G R IC U L T U R A L ESTA B LISH M EN T S BY INDUSTRY DIVISIO N , 1919-55 M ILLION S U N IT E D BUREAU Of M ILLIO N S STATES LABOR D EPARTM ENT ST A T IST IC S OF LABOR 30 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Government employment, following the pat tern o f service industries, was 2^2 times greater in 1955 than in 1919. It dropped back only slightly from 1931 to 1933, increased during the balance of the depression, and rose very sharply during the war. Following a decline immediately after W orld War II, it has increased every year since 1947, mainly in State and local governments. Much of the rise in government employment is ac counted for by the government’s providing in creased services through the schools, public health and sanitation, welfare work, and similar fields. A larger defense establishment, services to veterans, and a growing amount of research lias increased the number of Government employees. In addition to the civilians employed by the Federal Government, there were 3 million men in the armed services in 1955. The Armed Forces use men and women in hundreds of different oc cupations, such as machinist, airplane mechanic, and electrician, and give courses of training in these and many other fields. Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate. The most common occupations in this field are clerical. There are also a large number of sales personnel. A high proportion—nearly half—of the persons employed in this industry are women. A great number of these have clerical jobs in insurance companies and banks. Many of the men are em ployed as insurance and real estate agents. Employment in this industry more than doubled from 1919 to 1955. This long-term up ward trend was interrupted twice—once by the depression and once by W orld W ar II. From 1945 to 1955, employment in finance increased by more than half with greater activity in building and real estate, increasing purchases of insurance and stocks and bonds, and expanded use of bank ing facilities. Transportation, Communications, and Public Utilities. In the transportation, communication, and public utility industries, major sources of employment are the railroads, trucking com panies, bus and transit lines, telephone and elec tric power companies, and the merchant marine. Airlines and radio and television broadcasting are smaller fields, but seem to be of considerable interest to young people. The whole group of industries employed 4 million workers in 1955, of whom two-thirds were in transportation. Many different occupations are included, such as loco motive engineer, truck driver, telephone operator, musician, engineer, seaman, ticket agent, and Pullman porter. The great majority of the work ers are men. Most of the women employed in these industries are clerical workers. Employment in these industries was nearly 4 million during most of the 1920’s—was about a million less during the depression years— and has since remained in the vicinity of 4 million. In fact, there is practically no difference between the employment figures of 1920 and 1955. Since total nonagricultural employment increased consider ably during this period, the proportion employed in transportation, communication, and public utilities declined by nearly one half. While employment in this division has re mained fairly constant, there have been very large increases in freight carried, telephones in use, and output of electricity as a result of greater productivity. There have also been shifts in the importance of the different industries within the group. Thus, employment on interstate railroads, still the biggest component of the transportation field, fell almost 25 percent from 1947 to 1955; employment in buslines and local railways dropped 35 percent. The increases, as expected, came in the newer modes of transportation— al most 40 percent each in trucking and warehousing and in air transportation. Geographic Changes in Industry Nonagricultural employment in the United States rose from 30 million in 1939 to 50 million in 1955— a rise of about 65 percent compared with a rise of 25 percent in the population. Employ ment in each of the States also increased during this period but there was a very great variation among them in rate of growth. The States in the West, Southwest, Gulf, and South Atlantic regions led the Nation in the rate of growth (chart 12). Many of these States experienced huge expansions in the number of nonagricul tural jobs. California and Texas together, more than doubled their employment— from 2.9 million in 1939 to 6.3 million in 1955. The New England and Middle Atlantic regions showed the lowest rates of increase from 1939 to 1955. States in these regions experienced em ployment gains substantially below the national average, except Connecticut where the employ- INDUSTRIAL AND OCCUPATIONAL TRENDS 31 CHART 12 PERCENT INCREASE IN NONAGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT BY STATE, 1939-55 Percent Increase in|Nonagricultural Employment: \ //X Under 64.0% 64.0% and under 75.0% 75.0% and Over UNITEO STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR B UR EA U OF LA BO R S T A T IS T IC S ment rise almost equalled the national rate. Con necticut expanded its employment considerably in the fields of finance and insurance, trade, and service, and maintained its concentration of metalworking. Five of the six States with the smallest increases are in the New England region. The interior regions—the East North Central (Great Lakes States) and the West North Central (Great Plains States)—made employment gains at approximately the national average rate. In these two regions, the States which exceeded the national average included Kansas with major new production capacity for aircraft manufacturing and such States as Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, with metalworking facilities. One of the most interesting and significant de velopments during this period has been the pass ing of the Middle Atlantic region (New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) from its long time preeminence. In 1939, this region accounted for the largest portion of employment in each of the eight major industry divisions. By 1955, however, the region had already lost its leader ship in three of the divisions (mining, construc tion, and manufacturing) and had almost lost the lead in trade. The growing importance of petro leum and gas put the West South Central States (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas) ahead in the field of mining. The East North Central region had taken over the lead in con struction and manufacturing and had nearly as much employment in trade as the Middle Atlantic States. The Great Lakes States were, in 1955, less than 1 percentage point behind the Middle Atlantic region in the proportion of nonagricultural jobs, and may soon take the lead. The major factor in this development seems to be the shift in manu facturing jobs. During the war, the Great Lakes States overtook the Middle Atlantic in percentage 32 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK o f all manufacturing jobs. This lead has been extended since then. In 1955, the Great Lakes States had 29 percent of all manufacturing jobs compared to 25 percent for the Middle Atlantic States. Geographical shifts in nonagricultural employ ment can be explained in large part by different rates of industry growth, particularly in manu facturing. Sharp gains in manufacturing in the West and South since 1939—especially in Cali fornia and Texas—were the main cause of the increased proportion of nonagricultural employ ment in these areas. The emergence of the Great Lakes States as the country’s leading manufac turing area was the major cause for this region being the only one outside of the South and West to maintain its share of the Nation’s nonagricul tural workers. The construction industry, where employment had decreased very sharply during the depression, showxed the greatest relative employment increase, about twice the percentage for manufacturing. Construction accounted for a larger share of non agricultural workers in 1955 than in 1939 in 15 o f the 48 States. The greatest percentage in creases in construction were in the Pacific, Moun tain, and Great Lakes States. In 1939, California had only half as many employees in this industry as did New York, but in 1955, California out ranked New York in construction employment. Although employment in mining declined be tween 1939 and 1955 for the Nation as a whole, there were large increases in the petroleum-and gas-producing areas of Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. These were not large enough to offset very sharp drops in important coal-mining States, such as Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Alabama, and West Virginia, and in metal-mining States, such as Ne'vada. The greatest gains in trade, service, finance, and government were consistently in the South and West, and accounted for much of the increased proportion of nonagricultural jobs in these areas. Florida’s great popularity as a resort center, the expansion of trade around large military bases in many of the southern and western States, and the emergence of Dallas and Los Angeles as major style centers, illustrate some of the factors which generated the employment in trade in these re gions. In finance, insurance, and real estate, Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco were among the cities showing the largest increases. Employment in the service industries had the sharpest gains throughout most of the South and West, particularly in Texas, and all of the Moun tain and Pacific States. Government employment almost doubled in the South Atlantic, West South Central, and Mountain States and increased nearly 2y2 times in the Pacific States. Between 1939 and 1955, transportation (includ ing communication and public utilities) showed the smallest employment increase of any major in dustry, except mining. In fact, in 44 of 48 States the proportion of the nonagricultural workers in transportation declined. Even in most of the South and West, where transportation had greater employment increments than elsewhere, it grew more slowly than other industries. Despite these significant shifts in the location of industry— generally to the South and West— it is important to note that the basic geographic structure of American industry is still very much like it was some 15 years ago. The concentration of industry and commerce, job opportunities, manpower requirements, and labor supply re mains to a significant extent in the regions and States where it had been more than a decade ago. The geographical distribution of manufactur ing employment provides an illustration of this point. As already indicated, the geographical differentials in rates of growth of manufacturing have been significant. Manufacturing jobs in California increased almost 185 percent between 1939 and 1955, in contrast to only a 20-percent rise in Massachusetts. Nevertheless, 1 out of every 3 factory jobs in the Nation is still found in the 9 States comprising the New England and Middle Atlantic regions. Despite some very im portant geographic shifts, the first 15 States in size of manufacturing employment in 1939 were exactly the same 15 States in 1955. In other industries, similar concentrations re main. The geographic area comprising the New England, Middle Atlantic, Great Lakes, and Great Plains States still employs about 6 out of 10 of the Nation’s workers in trade, finance, service, and transportation, and over half of those in con struction and government. Only in the case of mining does the combined South and West lead— with 7 out of 10 workers. 33 INDUSTRIAL AND OCCUPATIONAL TRENDS Occupational Trends The occupational picture in chart 13 shows the broad areas o f work in which people are engaged. It can be seen that more workers are employed in the semiskilled group, including occupations such as factory machine operators and truckdrivers, than in any other major occupation group. Cleri cal workers make up the second largest group, and the skilled craftsmen and foremen group is the third largest. The clerical and service groups are the only major groups which employ more women than men. The white-collar group of occupations, includ ing the administrative, professional and semipro fessional, clerical, and sales workers groups, ac counted for about 39 percent of the workers employed in the Nation in July 1956. Among the white-collar occupation groups, the clerical group is the largest employment field for women and the administrative field provides the largest number of jobs for men. The principal occupations within each major group shown in chart 14 will be covered in later sections of this Handbook, together with the trends in the major groups. This section will summarize data on long-term trends in the dis tribution of workers among the various socio economic occupational groups. During the 40-year period from 1910 to 1950, broadly significant changes were taking place in the occupational composition of the labor force (chart 14). One of the most notable changes was the sharp decline in the proportion of farm work ers. Farm owners and tenants decreased from 16.5 percent of the work force in 1910 to 7.3 per- CHART 13 M A J O R O C C U P A T IO N A L G R O U P S Employment, July 1956 O OCCUPATION O p e r a f iv e s , I 2 i 3 i 4 i 5 i 6 r 7 i 8 i M ILLIO N S OF WORKERS 9 10 11 12 13 n i n i i s e m is k ille d C r a f t s m e n an d Labo rers, 1 Fo re m e n e x c e p t f a rm C le r ic a l A d m in is t r a t iv e P r o f e s s io n a l a n d S e m ip r o f e s s io n a S a le s S e r v ic e , e x c e p t d o m e s tic D o m estic S e r v ic e P 0 0 Men EW 1 Women F arm and Labo rers Fo rem en F a r m e r s and F arm M a n a g e r s U NITED STATES D EPARTM ENT OF LABOR bureau of labor st a tistics 4 2 7 6 7 5 ° — 57 - -4 Source: U. S. Bureau of the Census 34 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK CHART 14 OCCUPATIONAL TRENDS, 1910-50 Percent of Total Workers Engaged in Each Field FARM AND UNSKILLED LABOR OCCUPATIONS DECLINED...______________ 1910 ’20 ’30 ’40 1950 1910 20 FARMERS, O w n ers and Tenants ’30 '40 1950 1910 FARM LABORERS ’20 ’30 ’40 1950 LABORERS, Except Farm SKILLED WORKERS AND SERVICE WORKERS HELD THEIR OWN... 1910 ’20 ’30 ’40 1950 SKILLED W ORKERS AND FOREMEN 1910 ’20 ’30 ’40 1950 SERVICE W ORKERS, Household, R estaurant, Ja n ito ria l, etc. ALL OTHER FIELDS INCREASED 65 1910 ’20 ’30 ’40 1950 SEMISKILLED W ORKERS 1910 ’20 ’30 ’40 1950 CLERKS AND KINDRED W ORKERS, Including Salespeople £ 7.5 7 .6 ’20 ’30 ’40 6 1910 1950 PROPRIETORS, MANAGERS AND OFFICIALS PROFESSIONAL PERSONS UNI T ED S T A T E S D E P A R T M E N T OF L A B O R B U R EA U OF LABOR STATISTICS so u r c e; u. s . b u r ea u of t h e c e n s u s , 1950 E S T IM A T ED BY BUREAU OF LA B O R FROM C EN S U S DATA S T A T IS T IC S INDUSTRIAL AND OCCUPATIONAL TRENDS cent in 1950. The proportion of farm laborers de creased even more, from 14.5 percent in 1910 to 4.5 percent in 1950. These declines stemmed from the technological revolution in farming which made possible a steady increase in output of farm products with a declining number of farm work ers. Nonfarm laborers were the only other group which declined over the entire 40-year period— from 14.7 percent of the work force in 1910 to 7.6 percent in 1950. Increasing mechanization in many nonagricultural industries was undoubtedly the chief factor underlying this decline. Along with future technological progress, we may expect a continuing downward trend in the proportions o f farm workers and nonfarm laborers. The proportion of skilled workers decreased from 13.5 percent in 1920 to 11.7 percent in 1940, but then rose in 1950 to 13.6 percent— about the same as the previous high in 1920. The growth in the proportion of skilled workers between 1940 and 1950 was caused primarily by increases in three groups o f skilled occupations: skilled con struction trades, mechanics and repairmen, and foremen. Recent technological advances, popularly known as automation, are expected to require additional numbers of skilled workers for the design, produc tion, installation, and maintenance of new auto matic machinery. Additional skilled mechanics and repairmen will also undoubtedly be needed to repair the growing amount of complex mechani cal equipment, such as automobiles, television, and household appliances, being used by American consumers. Under the classification systems used in chart 14, the service workers group includes only such occupations as household workers, restaurant cooks and waiters, and j anitors. This group grew in proportion from 6.8 percent of total workers in 1910 to 8.0 percent in 1940 but decreased in rela tive importance by 1950 to 7.2 percent. The de cline in this socioeconomic group between 1940 and 1950 was caused by the decline in numbers of private household workers. Assuming that the country continues to have full or nearly full em ployment, it appears likely that the proportion of household workers will continue to decline. Workers in household jobs can move more easily 35 to other fields of work in periods of full employ ment. On the other hand, employment in restau rants and some other service occupations will probably rise. All the other occupational fields shown in chart 14 have gained steadily in relative importance since 1910. Semiskilled workers increased from 14.7 percent of total workers in 1910 to 22.8 per cent in 1950. This rise was effected partly by the trend toward increasing mechanization in many manufacturing industries and partly by the rapid growth of the service industries, which employ large numbers of workers in this group. The in troduction of automation may tend, in comingdecades, to reduce slowly the proportion of work ers in semiskilled occupations in the manufactur ing industries. However, the number of semi skilled workers in the expanding service indus tries is expected to continue to grow. Clerical and kindred workers, including sales people, are the group which grew most rapidly between 1910 and 1950— from 10.2 to 21 percent of all workers. In the future, the introduction of automatic office machines may tend to reduce the number of routine clerical jobs in industries such as insurance, which employ many clerical workers. However, changes are expected to be slow and moderate, and in the clerical and sales group as a whole, offsetting growth is expected. Professional persons as a group increased be tween 1910 and 1950 from 4.4 percent to 7.3 per cent of all workers. Over the 40-year period, this group grew in relative importance more than any other group except the clerical and sales occupa tions. Future technological progress will un doubtedly tend to create increased demand for en gineers and other technical workers. Our in creasing population— and especially the growing numbers of old and young people—is creating and will continue to create a growing need for doctors and other health service personnel, and for teach ers. Industry is using more and more accountants and other professionally trained persons in admin istrative positions. Growing numbers of people trained in the social sciences and human relations will also be needed. Thus, the relative impor tance of the professional group may be expected to continue to increase. Earnings From W o rk The purpose of this chapter is to throw some light on the complicated subject of wages, salaries, and other forms of labor income in the United States. It is partly designed to suggest the range o f earnings that young people entering the labor market can expect to receive in the immediate future. It is calculated also to point to certain long-run trends in earnings that may have a bear ing on job decisions. Earnings and Occupational Choice In the process of occupational choice, a crucial consideration clearly relates to the earnings or income that a job affords. In addition to money income, however, there are other factors that need to be taken into account in evaluating alternative types of employment. Jobs within the range of an individual’s abilities, interests, and training will frequently differ in a host of characteristics. Some yield more of what economists call “ psychic income” than others. In some fashion, a balance must often be struck between money and psychic income in making job choices. The term psychic income may not be familiar, but the concept is important and can be readily illustrated. For example, an individual may place a comparatively high value on leisure; partly for this reason, he may decide on a college teaching career, although other jobs within his field of choice may offer greater money income. Another individual may choose a routine job in the air-con ditioned comfort of a modern office rather than a manual job offering higher earnings. The desire to be one's own boss or to work at one’s own pace undoubtedly explains many of the small enter prises that exist precariously in our towns and cities; the proprietors, in many instances, could make higher incomes if they were willing to be come the employees of others. In substance, jobs may differ with respect to such factors as the physical conditions under which they are performed, the extent and type of supervision required, the opportunity afforded for initiative and individual recognition, the public esteem in which they are held, the personal associa tions they foster, and the amount of leisure they 36 provide. Where choice between two or more jobs is possible, these “noneconomic” factors should be carefully considered. A job is more than a means to a living; it helps materially to shape an indi vidual’s pattern of life. It is appropriate, however, that prospective money earnings should be given great weight in occupational choice. The income that a job yields will largely determine the level of well-being that an individual and his family can enjoy. It is plainly important that levels of living be suffi ciently high to sustain health and efficiency and to provide for the education and training of children. Beyond this, there are many satisfactions, both material and cultural, that require income for their realization. Wage Rates, Earnings, and Supplementary Benefits Earnings arise out of the production of goods (clothing, radios) or services (haircuts, legal ad vice). They are payments to individuals for physical or mental effort directed toward the satis faction of human wants. They measure, at least in a rough way, the contributions that individuals make to production. It follows generally that earnings, on the average, will tend to be high when output (in the sense of production per man) is high. Rates of Pay. The productive services (work) that individuals perform carry prices. These prices are expressed in various ways, but they can all be reduced to payments for a unit of time or a unit of output. For example, a machinist in a metalworking plant in Chicago may be paid $2.35 an hour. An experienced accounting clerk in a Chicago office may be paid a salary of $85 a week. These are examples of time rates of wages or salaries. Time rates for manual workers are typically set by the hour; for office, supervisory, and professional workers by the week, month, or year. The other basic type of rate is expressed in terms of a unit of output. For instance, a worker may receive 5 cents per piece for machining a small metal part. An employee of an automobile EARNINGS FROM W ORK service station may be paid 85 cents for washing a car. A television or furniture salesman may be paid a commission (perhaps 5 percent) based on the value of the goods he sells. These are all forms of incentive rates. Earnings, in these cases, depend directly on output. It is useful for many purposes to compute an “ earned rate”—that is, a rate related to time—for workers paid on an in centive basis. The earned rate is obtained by di viding earnings (excluding premium pay, if any) by hours worked during a pay period. Thus, if our service station employee washed 55 cars at 85 cents per car during a 40-hour period, thereby earning $46.75, his earned rate per hour would be $1.17 ($46.75 divided by 40). Aside from the question of the duration of em ployment, the wage rate is the most important ele ment in earnings. A young person considering an occupational choice will want first to find out as definitely as possible what the basic rate of pay is. Xo particular difficulties are presented in the case of time rates. For jobs paid by the piece, it will be necessary to determine as closely as possible the expected “ earned rate” for the occupation in the firm. This information will generally be fur nished by a prospective employer. Time-rated occupations in particular may carry an entrance rate, with progression to the full job rate depend ing on length of service, performance on the job, or both. Piece or other types of incentive rates may be combined with some sort of minimum earn ings guaranty. Wage Rates and Earnings. The earnings that a given wage or salary rate will yield depend largely on the amount o f employment that can be obtained at the rate. A comparatively high rate per hour or per week does not necessarily mean correspondingly high earnings over a year. The relatively high hourly or daily rates for manual work found in some types of employment, such as building construction or longshoring, are due in part to the fact that annual earnings are pulled down by part-time work. Some industries, such as clothing manufacturing, offer much more em ployment at some periods of the year than at others. The earnings of independent profes sional workers, such as doctors, dentists, and law yers, whose fees are essentially piece rates, clearly are affected by the volume of work they secure. The wide range of earnings among lawyers, for example, reflects not only differences in rates 37 (fees) but perhaps more importantly differences in quantity of work (number and type of cases). In evaluating the earnings potential of different jobs, therefore, great attention should be paid to stability of employment. Some people tempera mentally prefer a high rate of pay with intermit tent employment, but the choice should be deliber ate. On the whole, office, administrative, and pro fessional employees tend to have greater job se curity than employees paid on an hourly basis. They are, by and large, more difficult to replace, and the need for their services is not so closely geared to changes in the outputs of the firms for which they work. However, the job security of many hourly rated workers is also quite high, es pecially in establishments and industries in which production schedules are reasonably steady. The seniority provisions of union agreements, which govern the order in which employees are laid off if staff reduction becomes necessary, provide a measure of security to those workers with some years of service with a firm. It is difficult to look very far ahead. In some situations, however, it is almost essential to think in terms of lifetime earnings. The working life of a professional athlete, for example, is compara tively short. An occupational decision might in volve a choice between professional baseball, with the chance, but not the certainty, of high earnings for a few years, and a career in electrical engineer ing, with reasonable assurance of steady earnings over the long pull. Another example is the choice for a young lawyer between salaried employment with a government agency and independent prac tice with a chance at the glittering prizes that ac crue to a few at the top of the legal profession. An instance on another level is the choice between an occupation which offers a comparatively high wage rate but requires more than average physical stamina, and a physically less exacting job with a lower wage rate. Over a lifetime, earnings may well be greater in the second occupation. Earnings and the Job Ladder. Consideration of occupational earnings prospects over the span of a working life obviously involves consideration of the prospects for advancement from lower to higher paying jobs. Almost any job can lead to another; the absolutely dead-end job is a rarity. Even the most routine work, if done well, can pro vide the way to a more responsible and better pay- 38 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK ing job. There may be an opportunity for on-thejob training for a more responsible position, or the employee may have to exercise sufficient .initia tive to secure additional formal training, often o f a specialized character, at local educational institutions. Some entrance positions obviously offer better prospects than others for salary progression or job advancement, or both. The young college in structor, if he is reasonably competent, can look forward to attaining full professorial rank; his inclinations may lead him into a deanship or some other academic administrative post. In public school teaching, there is typically a steady pro gression from entrance salary to the top of the sal ary range, and again there are opportunities for administrative positions within the school system. In general, professional occupations over most of an individual’s working life tend to offer higher remuneration with advancing age, experience, and attainment. The high school or college graduate entering upon a business career has many possible avenues open to him in production, marketing, finance, and other aspects of business organization. In many large business firms, promotion tends to be from within, and opportunities will exist for alert young people to move up the job ladder. In many types o f service establishments, which tend to be small, the acquisition of experience may provide the basis for the opening of an independent busi ness. One of the limiting factors here is the need for some capital from savings or a loan. But many a service station, garage, television repair shop, or small hotel has been opened by individ uals who began as employees in these types of en terprises. As suggested earlier, the psychic in come derived by many people from business pro prietorship must often compensate for money earnings that are lower than the same individuals could command as employees. The fact must be emphasized, o f course, that millions of individuals will remain within their initial general white-collar or manual job cate gory throughout their working lives. Young peo ple who enter coal mining will tend to remain miners; business-machine operators will tend to remain in this general field; most factory opera tives will tend to form a permanent attachment to some particular type of work. In these cases, only limited increases in earnings from job shifts can be anticipated; higher earnings and living standards will result primarily from the general rise in productivity in the economic system. Premium Pay and Supplementary Benefits. The discussion thus far has dealt with earnings as a function o f the basic wage or salary rate and the amount of employment available at that rate. Under certain conditions, premium payments may result in direct additions to money income. The payment of a premium for work beyond the daily or weekly standard of hours is now widely embodied in legislation, collective bargaining agreements, and employer practice. A special premium for work on late shifts is frequently paid. There are other types of premiums, but those for overtime and late-shift work are the most common. In addition to money earnings, most jobs typi cally yield a variety of benefits that represent sources of leisure and security for employees and items of expenditures for employers. There is no uniformity in these benefits from industry to in dustry or even, very often, among firms in the same industry. For this reason, attention should be given to supplementary benefits in appraising job opportunities in different companies or industries. One important type of benefit involves payment for time not worked, the most important items relating to provisions for paid vacations, paid holidays, and paid sick leave. Such benefits used to apply largely to white-collar and professional employees. In recent years, they have been widely extended to manual workers. Another important group of benefits includes pension plans and health and insurance plans financed wholly or in part by employers. The growth of such plans during the past decade has been remarkable. Private pension plans are de signed to supplement the retirement benefits to which most workers are entitled under the Federal Old-Age and Survivors and Disability Insurance system. Health and insurance plans are frequent ly comprehensive in scope, including life, acci dental death and dismemberment, and sickness insurance, hospitalization, surgical, and medical care benefits. These benefit plans, if carefully drawn and administered, contribute substantially to the income security of employees, and should be taken into account in weighing alternative job opportunities. A new type of plan—supplemen tary unemployment benefits—has recently ap peared in the automobile, steel, and some other industries, and is designed to increase employee EARNINGS FROM W O RK protection against loss of income through layoff; workers laid off are paid extra weekly amounts by their employers in addition to the unemployment compensation benefits they receive from the State. The Dimensions of Income From Work In 1955, as table 1 shows, the national income of the United States reached the staggering total o f 324 billion dollars. O f this amount, 223 billion, or 69 percent of the total, represented wages, salaries, and other labor compensation. Actually, income from work was greater than these figures indicate. A portion of the 39 billion dol lars representing the income of unincorporated enterprises— including farm, independent profes sional, and business enterprises—unquestionably represented payment for personal services in pro duction. The income of a doctor, for example, or o f a farm operator, clearly represents in part, pay ment for work. T able 1 . — National income by distributive shares, Distributive shares National income Compensation of employees Income of unincorporated enterprises C Rental income Corporate profits 1 Net interest Billions of dollars $324 223 39 10 41 11 1955 Percent 100. 0 69. 12. 3. 12. 3. 0 0 1 6 3 1 Includes inventory valuation adjustments. S o u r c e : U . S. Department of Commerce. Most of our national income, therefore, is paid out in return for the productive services of indi viduals. The mighty stream of labor income in cludes the wages of the unskilled laborer, the sal aries of the corporation president and of the vil lage school teacher, the compensation of the popu lar entertainer, and the earnings of the automobile salesman. These occupations, which are simply illustrative of the thousands of jobs by which men make their living, offer different rewards in the form of earnings. We now have to look a little more closely at the earnings that occupations yield. Variations in Rates of Pay It is necessary to return to the question of rates of pay and to begin to think in terms of a structure 39 of rates. A structure of wage or salary rates is simply an array of rates in a company, an indus try, or, in a broad sense, in the economy as a whole. It can be thought of as a series of rates designed to compensate workers for the varying skills and abilities required in the production process. Job Groupings. Some jobs are “ worth” more than others. The “ worth” of one job relative to another clearly depends largely upon the require ments of the two jobs and upon the number of people available to fill them. The requirements for some jobs are comparatively simple and in volve little training or skill or capacity to make decisions. Next, there are very large numbers of j obs that are essentially routine in nature, but that may involve, for example, the operation of par ticular types of machines or other equipment, the performance of various recordkeeping functions, the exercise of judgment in limited areas, and so on. A t the next level are jobs that may involve all-round skill in a particular craft, responsibility for the operation of highly complex equipment, and capacity for decisionmaking within a defined area of responsibility. These three categories of jobs are by no means clear cut; one category tends to shade into another. Taken together, they en compass the bulk of the jobs at which people work. Tending to stand above this structure, but over lapping in terms of pay with the upper end, is the broad range of managerial, professional, and technical jobs. Since the jobs actually found in industry are so numerous and diverse, it is helpful to think in terms o f these few broad classes. Each class should be thought of as containing numerous jobs differing greatly in specific content but roughly similar in their general requirements. The first three classes, taken together, can be viewed as con taining the manual and office jobs (literally thou sands of occupations) below the supervisory level. Can anything very definitely be said about the range of wage and salary rates within which these jobs fall? Nonsupervisory Manual and Office Jobs As of late 1956, the effective range of rates for the great bulk of nonsupervisory manual and o f fice workers in nonfarm jobs was between $1 and $3 an hour. The legal minimum w^age for work ers covered by the Federal Fair Labor Standards 40 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Act became $1 an hour on March 1, 1956. Under certain conditions, learners and handicapped workers can be paid less than $1, but the legal minimum establishes an effective floor to wage rates for the approximately 24 million workers covered by the act. In industries and employ ments not subject to the Federal minimum wage law, such as retail trade and most service indus tries, an appreciable number of workers are paid less than $1. Hence, $1 should be viewed as the bottom of the structure of wage rates only in an approximate sense; some workers will be found at various rates below this level. It should be clear, of course, that the actual minimum rate in many firms and industries is above the legal mini mum, in many cases by a substantial amount. At the upper end of the wage structure, a com paratively small proportion of the nonsupervisory manual and clerical workers earn $3 an hour or more. This group typically includes some of the highly skilled long-service workers in industry; a similar group, usually male, in office employ ment; some salesmen; and others. The median hourly rate— that is, the rate below and above which half the workers fall—is undoubtedly some what below $2 an hour. This discussion of the range of wage rates for the kinds of jobs at which most of us work may be made clearer and given a touch of realism by table 2. This table shows the actual distribution of plant workers in two industries and of non supervisory clerical employees in another by wage rates (or straight-time average hourly earnings). The data in two cases relate to late 1955 and in the third to April 1956. Industrial chemicals is a relatively high-wage industry; plant employment is confined largely to men, many of whom are highly skilled. The table shows that less than onehalf of 1 percent of these workers had rates below $1 an hour in August 1955. Since the $1 legal minimum wage did not become effective unti] March 1, 1956, it is clear that entrance rates in this industry, for the most part, measurably exceed $1 an hour. At the upper end of the wage structure in industrial chemicals, 14.6 percent of the work ers earned $2.50 an hour or more; in fact, a few of these workers earned more than $3 an hour. The middle half of the workers had hourly earnings in the range of roughly $1.85 to $2.30 an hour. The seamless hosiery industry differs in many ways from industrial chemicals. Although the chemical industry is located in all parts of the United States, the manufacture of seamless ho siery is found predominantly in the South. About three-fourths of the workers are women. The pro portion of skilled workers is comparatively small. For these and other reasons, the wage structure for plant workers in seamless hosiery differs markedly from that in industrial chemicals. The most striking fact about the seamless hosiery wage distribution is that in April 1956 (shortly after the $1 minimum wage became effective) about one-fourtli of the workers earned exactly $1 an hour and more than two-fifths of the plant workers earned between $1 and $1.10 an hour. The median wage was less than $1.20 an hour. But even in this relatively low-wage industry, a few workers were earning $2.50 an hour or more. The third distribution relates to nonsupervisory clerical employees of the Bell Telephone com panies. In October 1955, there were fairly large groups of employees at each wage level between T able 2 .— Percentage distribution of workers in selected industries, by selected dates straight-time average hourly earnings,1 Percentage distribution of— Average hourly earnings 1 Under $1.00 $1.00 and under $1.10 and under $1.20 and under $1.30 and under $1.40 and under $1.50 and under $1.60 and under $1.70 and under $1.80 and under $1.90 and under $2.00 and under $2.10 and under $2.20 and under $2.30 and under $2.40 and under $2.50 and over $1.10 $1.20 $1.30$1.40 $ 1 .5 0 _______ $1.60 $1.70 $1.80 $1.90 $2.00 $2.10 $2.20 $2.30 $2.40 $2.50 Plant workers, industrial chemicals, August 1955 0. 3 . 2 . 6 . 6 1. 5 3. 2 4. 2 4. 2 7. 0 9. 9 11. 7 10. 2 11. 0 8. 9 7. 2 4. 8 14. 6 Average hourly earnings____ $2. 07 Number of workers 153, 647 Nonsupervisory Plant workers, clerical employees, seamless hosiery Bell System mills, telephone April 1956 carriers, October 1955 1. 43. 15. 10. 8. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. . . . . . . . 9 6 1 9 0 9 4 | 6 2 1 5 8 7 } 4 | 3 1 | 1 6 $1. 22 53, 065 0. 3. 7. 12. 10. 11. 4 6 3 1 0 0 19. 1 17. 0 9' 7 3. 2 2. 9 3. 8 $1. 61 120, 045 1 Excludes premium pay for overtime and for work on weekends, holidays, and late shifts. 41 EARNINGS FROM WORK T a b l e 3 .— Distribution of workers1 by hourly wage rates,2 selected plant occupations, Philadelphia, Pa., November 1955 Janitors, por ters, and cleaners Hourly wage rates 2 Under $1.00______________________________________________________ $1.00 and under $1.10 $1.10 and under $1.2(| $1.20 and under $1.30 $1.30 and under $1.40 $1.40 and under $1.50 $1.50 and under $1.60 $1.60 and under $1.70 $1.70 and under $1.80 $1.80 and under $1.90 $1.90 and under $2.00 $2.00 and under $2.10 $2.10 and under $2.20 _ _ $2.20 and under $2.30 $2.30 and under $2.40 $2.40 and under $2.50 $2.50 and under $2.60 $2.60 and under $2.70 $2.70 and under $2.80 $2.80 and under $2.90 $2.90 and under $3.00 $3.00 and over 483 468 489 518 892 676 945 1, 055 382 588 60 27 8 Average hourly rates Number of workers $1. 43 6, 591 . - 1 Data relate only to men. Laborers, material handling 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 428 295 502 481 362 918 054 337 805 932 538 298 159 20 402 12 $1. 65 11, 543 Truckers, power (forklift) Electricians, maintenance Machinists, maintenance 1 6 34 106 144 260 187 297 489 213 71 8 52 6 4 15 2 5 12 98 110 379 138 208 207 79 62 148 43 21 62 24 54 3 61 92 126 202 157 54 113 160 148 14 1 44 $1. 83 1, 868 $2. 35 1, 599 $2. 37 1, 253 2 Excludes premium pay for overtime and for work on weekends, holidays, and late shifts. T a b l e 4 .— Distribution of workers by weekly salary rates, selected office occupations, Philadelphia, Pa., November 1955 Weekly salary rates $30.00 and under $35.00 $35.00 and under $40.00 $40.00 and under $45.00 $45.00 and under $50.00 $50.00 and under $55.00 $55.00 and under $60.00 $60.00 and under $65.00 $65.00 and under $70.00 $70.00 and under $75.00 $75.00 and under $80.00 $80.00 and under $85.00 $85.00 and under $90.00 $90.00 and under $95.00 $95.00 and under $100.00 $100.00 and under $105.00 $105.00 and under $110.00 $110.00 and under $115.00 $115.00 and under $120.00 $120.00 and over Average weekly salaries Number of workers Office boys 93 214 266 88 99 26 7 1 7 .. _ Bookkeepingmachine operators, class B (women ) 125 453 523 381 187 122 44 19 22 5 5 14 Typists, class B (women) 75 641 1, 338 936 645 284 134 46 39 2 5 Stenogra phers, general (women) 101 405 685 897 807 670 536 250 104 63 13 10 _ _ _ __ _ $42. 00 801 $49. 00 1, 886 $46. 00 4, 145 $56. 50 4, 556 Accounting clerks, class A (men) 2 4 20 70 64 61 86 66 69 64 42 38 27 12 7 14 $82. 50 646 42 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK $1.10 and $2 an hour. Less than one-half of 1 percent of the clerical staff earned less than $1 an hour; at the upper end, 3.8 percent earned $2.50 or more. Additional light is thrown on the question o f earnings in nonsupervisory manual and whitecollar jobs by tables 3 and 4. Table 3 shows the distribution o f workers by wage rates for 3 rela tively unskilled and for 2 skilled plant jobs in the Philadelphia, Pa., labor market in November 1955. The average hourly rates for these jobs ranged from $1.43 for janitors and porters to $2.37 for maintenance machinists. It will be observed that there was a considerable range o f rates for each o f these jobs. For the great bulk of the workers, rates fell between the limits we have been discuss ing—$1 to $3— with comparatively small propor tions o f the unskilled workers receiving less than $1 and o f the skilled workers receiving more than $3. The higher wage rates for unskilled jobs over lap the lower wage rates for skilled occupations. Thus, although the average for laborers was 70 cents less than the average for electricians, the highest paid groups of laborers received more than the lowest paid groups of electricians. Table 4 shows the same type of information (in the form of weekly salary rates) for selected office jobs in the Philadelphia area. Again a consider able range of rates for each job is indicated. Again the salaries for different jobs overlap. General stenographers, on the average, earned about $10.50 more a week than routine typists, but some typists earned as much or more than some stenog raphers. The weekly salary rates of skilled ac counting clerks in a few cases exceeded $120 a week; i. e., $3 an hour on a 40-hour week basis. The salaries of most office boys ranged between $35 and $45 a week. The fact that there is typically a range of rates for the same job in the same labor market, rather than a single rate, need occasion no sur prise. One reason is that individuals doing the same type of work differ in their productive capac ity, so that differences in rates reflect, to some extent, variations among individuals. Rough recognition is given to this factor in many firms by the establishment o f a range of rates for each job, with progression within the range depending on merit, length-of-service, or both. Another factor is that the duties or conditions attached to a job may not be exactly the same among firms or even within a firm. For example, rates paid to laborers engaged in loading and unloading mate rials may vary somewhat depending on the type and weight of the materials being handled, whether the job is performed indoors or outdoors, and on other job conditions. It must be recog nized, finally, that wage rates at any one time may differ among firms or industries, even in the same geographic area. As previously noted, the average rate for janitors and porters in the Philadelphia area in November 1955 was $1.43 an hour; their average rate varied from $1.08 in service indus tries to $1.65 in public utilities. This spread may be accounted for in part by variations in job duties or conditions of work, but it may also reflect a difference in wage level between these two types of industry. A Note on Wage Differentials. The wage rate structure for nonsupervisory manual and office jobs tends to be confined, as we have seen, to the area between $1 and $3 an hour. A plant or an office will have a hierarchy o f jobs with rates ranging broadly within these limits. Jobs re quiring comparatively little skill or respon sibility or training will carry the bottom rates in the wage or salary structure; the higher steps in the pay ladder will be attached to jobs requiring greater responsibility and skill. What is the extent of the monetary reward— there may well be other rewards and satisfactions as well— for moving up the job ladder? Studies by the Bureau of Labor Statistics have revealed a long-run tendency for pay differentials for plant jobs to decline. In 1907, the skilled plant worker, on the average, earned slightly more than double the unskilled worker’s rate. By 1947, this differ ential had declined to approximately 50 percent, and there was apparently some further narrowung up to about 1953. During the past several years, the tendency for skill differentials to narrow has been arrested, if not reversed, and it seems prob able that increasing attention will be given to the question of appropriate pay differences among jobs. An analysis by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of pay differentials in major labor markets, based on 1955-56 data, indicates that tool and die mak ers, a highly skilled plant occupation, had an average (median) rate of 56 percent above that for janitors. The fact must be emphasized that this is an average; indeed, the wage rate differen tial in favor of tool and die makers ranged from EARNINGS FROM W ORK 47 to 70 percent among the middle half of the plants included in the study. Median wage d if ferentials for other skilled plant maintenance workers ranged from 36 percent above the janitor rate for painters and millwrights to 48 percent for plumbers. Several factors relating to labor supply appear to account for the long-run tendency for wage dif ferentials to decline. One is the restriction of im migration after W orld War I, which had the effect of reducing the supply of unskilled labor. An other factor is found in the rising educational level of the working population; relatively fewer people are available for unskilled jobs and a greater proportion for more skilled occupations. Moreover, technological change has altered the nature of many “ unskilled” jobs. The janitor, for example, may now operate scrubbing machines, polishers, and the like, which enhance his output and provide a basis for higher wages. Another factor has been the tendency in collective bargain ing for relatively greater wage increases to be negotiated for the lower paid and less skilled workers. One consequence of this complex of forces has been some apparent alteration in the position of office employees as compared with manual work ers. Even in the more routine jobs, office workers at one time received not only higher pay, on the average, than unskilled plant workers, but tended also to receive more in the way of “ fringe” bene fits, such as paid vacations and holidays. In re cent years, this latter advantage has been sharply reduced. In terms of pay, the study referred to indicated that skilled male accounting clerks oc cupied about the same pay position as mainte nance painters, automotive mechanics, and pipe fitters. Men payroll clerks and tabulating-machine operators generally ranked with truckdrivers. Stenographers and material handling laborers shared approximately the same pay position. Other Types of Differentials. The American wage structure for nonsupervisory manual and office jobs, and for many other types of jobs as well, is characterized by a variety of differentials that ap pear broadly to be related to such factors as in dustry, size of firm, and location. This is an extraordinarily complex subject and cannot be explored here. Available wage statistics do sug gest, however, that some industries offer higher wages than others for comparable jobs; that wages 43 tend to be higher in large firms than in small; that rates of pay tend to vary directly with size of community; and that wages, especially for plant jobs requiring little skill, tend to be lower in the South than in the rest of the country. Many qualifications need to be attached to these generalizations, but they are descriptive of broad conditions reflected in the wage structure. Supervisory and Professional Occupations It has been established that the wage or salary rates for most nonsupervisory manual and office jobs ranged between $1 and $3 an hour as of late 1956. Assuming full-time employment (say 2,080 hours annually), these rates yield from $2,080 to $6,240 a year. How do salaries for supervisory, technical, and professional occupations compare with this range of annual earnings? It is clear, in the first place, that there is con siderable overlap between the upper end of the wage structure for manual and clerical jobs and the lower end of the structure for supervisory, technical, and professional occupations. This is particularly true with respect to a number of pro fessional occupations in which large numbers of workers are employed on a salaried basis. For example, a survey by the American Federation of Teachers indicates that in the academic year 1955-56, the average minimum (or entrance) sal ary for public school teachers with A. B. degrees in cities of 10,000 population and over was $3,263. The average maximum salary, reached over a pe riod of years, was $4,915. The lowest minimum reported was $2,000 (in a small number of com munities) and the highest maximum, $7,050 (New York City). Salary rates for holders of M. A. degrees were generally somewhat higher. Libra rians, dietitians, and registered nurses are exam ples of other professional groups with average earnings falling within the upper half of the manual-worker office-employee range. The aver age salary rate for senior draftsmen, a technical occupation, approximates the average rate for tool and die makers, a top skilled manual job. In many instances, professional and supervisory functions may be combined, and rate progressions tend to reflect this fact. In the Federal Civil Service, for example, professional employees are largely distributed among 11 grades, each with a salary range. The range for the entrance grade, as of 1956, w^as $3,670-$4,480 annually, and for the 44 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK top grade, $11,610-$12,690. Professional em ployees in the higher grades almost invariably perform a variety of administrative and super visory functions related to their professional duties. The same situation undoubtedly exists, although perhaps to a lesser extent, among profes sional employees in industry. Rates of remuneration for salaried professional personnel tend to be fixed within limits that can usually be roughly defined. The annual salaries of most professional workers appear broadly to fall between about $4,000 and $12,000, depending on the occupation, age, education, and abilities of the individual, and on a variety of other factors, such as geographic location, that affect salary rates. Some salaried professional employees earn substantially more than the upper limit of this indicated range, and the earnings of some are less than the lower limit would suggest. The range o f earnings among self-employed professional workers— doctors, dentists, lawyers, architects, and the like, engaged in independent practice— is clearly much greater than among salaried professional employees. The upper end of the range is higher. The independent practice of a profession contains an element of risk; Adam Smith, more than 150 years ago, compared the pro fessions to a lottery in which many fail and a few gain great prizes. This comparison may have been something of an exaggeration in Adam Smith’s time; it is certainly so today. The great prizes remain; they provide one of the incentives for those who undergo the training required for a professional career. There are failures. The odds against success are greater in some fields than in others—professional entertainers, for example, as compared with medical doctors— and the top prizes seem correspondingly greater. This is only another way o f saying that opportunity and chance play greater roles in some fields than in others. In some professions—medicine is an ex ample— an individual in independent practice, if he has reasonable competence and capacity for work, has a very high chance of achieving success in terms o f income. In 1949, according to the Bureau of the Census, 41 percent of the male phy sicians and surgeons, predominantly self-em ployed, earned $10,000 or more as compared with only 5.1 percent of college presidents, professors, and instructors. Rates for supervisory jobs in industry vary enormously, largely because of the great differ ences in the duties and responsibilities associated with such positions. A foreman (the first level o f supervision in a plant) may be responsible for the work of half a dozen men, and his pay may be closely related (say 10 percent higher) to the wages of the men he supervises. The responsible head of the enterprise may be paid 10 or 20 times as much, perhaps even more. A man reaches a higher level supervisory and administrative job typically only over a considerable period of time in which his capacity can be tested. As in most areas of human activity, chance sometimes plays a part. Wage or Salary Income, 1955 General Distribution of Workers by Wage In come. Having tried, in a very rough way, to indi cate the range of wage or salary rates paid for hu man effort in production, we can now look at some general statistics of income from wages and sal aries as developed by the Bureau of the Census. These data relate to 1955. Table 5 shows the disT able 5.— Percentage distribution o f year-round, full-tim e workers 1 4 years o f age and over by wage or salary income 1 and by sex, 1955 W a g e or salary incom e M e n and w om en M en $1 to $499____________________ $500 to $999__________________ $1,000 to $1,499_____________ $1,500 to $1 ,999____ _________ $2,000 to $2 ,499_____________ $2,500 to $2 ,999_____________ $3,000 to $3 ,499______________ $3,500 to $3 ,999_____________ $4,000 to $ 4 ,499_____________ $4,500 to $ 4 ,999_____________ $5,000 to $ 5 ,999_____________ $6,000 to $ 6 ,999_____________ $7,000 to $9 ,999_____________ $10,000 to $14,999___________ $15,000 to $24,999___________ $25,000 and over 3. 2. 3. 5. 7. 8. 12. 11. 11. 8. 12. 5. 5. 1. . . 3. 2. 2. 3. 4. 5. 10. 11. 13. 10. 15. 7. 7. 1. . . Total Qi (First qnartile'' Median Q3 (Third quartile) 1 8 5 4 9 2 3 3 5 6 4 9 4 2 3 1 j 3 0 4 3 8 9 2 4 3 9 7 6 0 6 4 2 W om en 2. 5. 6. 11. 17. 15. 18. 10. 6. 1. 2. . . . 5 0 8 8 1 5 8 9 1 8 3 8 6 1 100. 0 100. 0 100. 0 $2, 640 3, 801 5, 032 $3, 162 4, 252 5, 478 $1, 953 2, 719 3, 434 1 Wage or salary income includes wages, salaries, Armed Forces pay, com missions, tips, piece-rate payments, and cash bonuses earned before deduc tions were made for taxes, bonds, pensions, union dues, etc. S o u r c e : U . S. Bureau of the Census. 45 EARNINGS FROM W O RK tribution of full-time workers by wage or salary income for the country as a whole. The table re lates only to persons who worked as employees for wages or salaries; it excludes self-employed pro fessional and other workers. Chart 15 is derived from the first column of the table. CHART 15 The lower end of the distribution (3.1 percent of the workers are shown as receiving less than $500 in wage and salary income) is heavily affected by the inclusion of “ year-round, full-time workers,” such as farmers who received some income from wages but the bulk of whose income was derived from other sources (for example, the net proceeds from the sale of farm produce). Average Wage Income by Industry. Table 6 shows median (average) income from wages or salaries in selected major industry groups in 1955. Median income for men ranged from $3,801 in pro fessional and related services to $4,875 .in finance, insurance, and real estate— a spread of almost $1,100. The comparatively low average for pro fessional and related services may seem surpris ing, but it must be remembered that the earnings of self-employed workers are not included in the table. Thus, a legal office might consist of a law yer, a clerk, and two stenographers; the net earn ings of the lawyer would not be considered part of wage and salary income. T a b l e 6.— M edian wage or salary income 1 o f year-round, full-tim e workers 1 4 years of age and over by selected major industry group and by sex, 1 955 Median income Major industry group M en There are several observations to be made with respect to table 5. The median income from wages and salaries in 1955, taking men and women to gether, was $3,801. This .is clearly well within the range of rates of $l-$3 per hour indicated earlier as applicable to most nonsupervisory plant and office workers jobs and to many salaried profes sional workers. The median for men was $4,252 and for women $2,719. This difference between the average level of income from wages and salaries for men and women was, in considerable measure, a reflection of differences in the occupa tions in which they were employed. It will be noticed that the lower 25 percent of the workers (this is what the “ first quartile” means), both sexes combined, earned less than $2,640 and the upper 25 percent (the “ third quartile” ) earned more than $5,032. Only about 1.6 percent of the wage and salaried workers earned $10,000 or more. Construction Manufacturing Transportation, communication, and other public utilities Wholesale trade Retail trade Finance, insurance, and real estate___ Business and repair services Professional and related services Public administration $4, 257 4, 508 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 4, 398 352 031 875 985 801 452 Women $2, 876 2, 127 3, 038 2, 955 3, 437 1 See footnote 1, table 5. S o u r c e : U . S. Bureau of the Census. Median salaries for women among the 5 indus try groups for which information is shown in table 6, ranged from $2,127 in retail trade to $3,437 in public administration. Average Wage Income by Major Occupational Group. Table 7 shows median income in 1955 from wages and salaries for men and women in eight broad occupational groups. It also shows the first quartile—the income below which the lowest one- 46 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK T a b l e 7.— W age or salary income 1fo r year-round, full-tim e workers, by selected major occupation group and by sex, 1 955 M en Women Selected occupation group First quar tile Managers, officials, and proprietors, except farm Professional, technical, and kindred workers Sales workers _____ __ _ Craftsmen, foremen, and kindred workers Clerical and kindred workers Operatives and kindred workers Service workers, except private household Laborers, except farm and mine $4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 163 063 782 821 486 097 605 143 Median $5, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 584 382 937 712 162 046 565 105 Third quartile $7, 6, 6, 5, 4, 4, 4, 3, First quar tile Median $2, 828 $3, 500 $4, 347 2, 451 2, 024 1, 240 3, 065 2, 489 1, 759 3, 568 3, 220 2, 332 910 792 636 707 901 870 292 947 Third quartile 1 See footnote 1, table 5. S o u r c e : S. U . Bureau of the Census. quarter of the workers fell, and the third quartile, the income above which the highest one-quarter of the workers fell. The middle half of the workers in each occupational group had incomes between the two quartiles (the interquartile range). The data are set forth in graphic form in chart 16. For male workers, the highest averages, as might be expected, were for the managerial group ($5,584) and for professional and related workers ($5,382) ; the lowest median wage ($3,105) was for laborers. It will be noticed that the middle range for managers and officials ($4,163-$7,910) was markedly wider than the interquartile range for laborers ($2,143-$3,947). This reflects in part the much greater range o f specific occupations found in this group, as well as the greater tendency for salaries to advance with age and experience. The median wage for salesmen was not much higher than for craftsmen, foremen, and kindred workers, but their interquartile range was much wider. In the 4 occupational groups for which data for women are shown, median salaries ranged from $1,759 for service (except private household) workers to $3,500 for professional, technical, and kindred workers. An important point brought out by chart 16 and table 7 is the wide range of wage and salary income within each group of occupations and the overlapping among the groups. For example, al though the median earnings of craftsmen were nearly $700 more than the median for operatives, the highest paid one-quarter of the operatives earned more than the lowest paid half of the craftsmen. Income Related to A ge and Education. Table 8 is designed to show in a general way the relation ship of income to age and educational attainment. T a b l e 8 .— M edian income of men and women by selected age groups and educational attainment, 1949 Educational attainment 25-29 years 30-34 years 35-44 years 45-54 years 55-64 years Men 8 years of schooling High school graduates College graduates $2, 255 2, 892 2, 928 $2, 557 3, 308 4, 227 $2, 803 3, 523 5, 142 $2, 912 3, 687 5, 549 $2, 601 3, 436 5, 142 $1, 171 1, 799 2, 668 $942 1, 472 2, 591 Women 8 years of schooling High school graduates College graduates S o u r c e : U . S. Bureau of the Census. $959 1, 626 2, 098 $1, 067 1, 587 2, 207 $1, 193 1, 719 2, 470 47 EARNINGS FROM W ORK CHART 16 WAGE OR SALARY INCOME FOR THE MIDDLE HALF OF YEAR-ROUND, FULL-TIME WORKERS By Selected Major Occupational Group and Sex, 1955^ DOLLARS MEN 0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 Managers, Officials and Proprietors, Except Farm Professional, Technical and Kindred Workers Sales Workers Craftsmen, Foremen and Kindred Workers Clerical and Kindred Workers Operatives and Kindred Workers Service Workers, Except Private Household Laborers, Except Farm and Mine WOMEN ----------- ,------------------- 1------------------- 1-------------------- r Professional, Technical and Kindred Workers i Clerical and Kindred Workers i Operatives and Kindred Workers — ^ # Service Workers, Except Private Household ----------------------- ____________________________ _______________________ _■ i/W age or salary income includes wages, salary, armed forces pay, commissions, tips, p ie c e -ra te payments, and cash bonuses earned, before deductions were made for taxes, bonds, pensions, union dues, etc. J_________________ I_______________ __ L 0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 DOLLARS NOTE*. The lower end of eoch bar morks the "lower quartile". One-quarter of the workers in the major occupational group earned less than this amount. The mark between the upper and lower end of eoch bar shows the median. Half of the workers in the major occupational group earned more than this amount and half earned less. The upper end of each bar marks the "upper quartile". O ne-quarter of the workers in the major occupa tional group earned more than this amount. UNITED STA TES B UR EA U OF L AB O R D E P A R TM E N T OF LABOR STATI STICS Source: U. S. Bureau of the Census 48 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK The data relate to 1949. It will be observed that, for men, there is no sharp difference in average income at ages 25-29 as between high school and college graduates; average income for those with only 8 years of schooling, however, is consider ably below the level of those with greater educa tion. Thereafter, income tends to increase with age up to the 45-54 year age bracket— and in creases faster for those with the most education. Men with 8 years of schooling had average in come in the 45-54 year age group of 29 percent above those in the 25-29 year age bracket; the cor responding percentage for high school graduates was 27. For college graduates, however, the in crease was 90 percent. Another way of putting it is that among the 45-54 year age group, male col lege graduates in 1949 had average incomes 91 percent above those with 8 years of schooling and 51 percent above high school graduates. Among women, there is a very decided difference in average income at the 25-29 year age level for those with only 8 years of schooling and either high school or college graduates. Thereafter, in come increases moderately among women high school and college graduates up to the 45-54 year age bracket and up to the 35-44 year group for those with 8 years of schooling. These moderate increases, as compared with those for men, sug gest that women as a group have more limited op portunities for job choice and advancement. Money, Real Income, and Economic Progress This brief discussion o f income from work has been couched mainly in terms o f money income. It is in this form that wage and salary rates are quoted and that income is received. Money in come is useful, however, largely for the command it affords over goods and services— for the pur chasing power it represents. The goods and services that people buy with their money incomes represent real income, and it is real income that determines the standard of living that a people can enjoy. Real income and living standards tend to rise when production per head increases. Increased productivity can be reflected in higher money in comes or lower prices or both. Rising productiv ity is evidence of economic progress. It results from technological improvements as embodied in new machinery and other forms of capital equip ment, from scientific research that yields new products or better products, and from the more effective application of labor in production. The rising educational level of the American labor force is a key factor in economic progress. Professional, Administrative, and Related Occupations Professional and administrative occupations have many attractions for young people consider ing the choice of a career. These occupations offer opportunities for interesting and responsible work, lead to relatively high earnings, and are at the top of the ladder in prestige. However, they can, as a rule, be entered only after long periods of education and training, since a broad knowl edge of one’s field and judgment of a high order are outstanding requirements for success in these types of work. Professional and Related Occupations Professional occupations are of two main types. The largest group of professions—including those of engineer, architect, physician, lawyer, and teacher—are concerned with developing or apply ing well-organized fields of knowledge. The others, such as editor and actor, do not require as much specialized, theoretical knowledge, but de mand a great deal of broad background knowl edge or creative talent, and skill acquired chiefly through experience. Generally, the professions re quire either college graduation— often with an ad vanced degree—or experience of such kind and amount as to provide a comparable background. Licenses are required for practice in many pro fessions—medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy, for example; in these professions, the licensing au thorities determine the minimum qualifications which members must have. Professional societies also set up standards for membership, which tend to define their respective fields. In many areas of work, however, there is no clear-cut line between professional and other classes o f workers. When high school students are asked what kind o f work they want to go into, a large proportion o f them list professional occupations. This is partly because the professions have prestige and partly because many young people do not know enough about the opportunities for interesting jobs as technicians or craftsmen or in other nonpro fessional occupations. It is not easy to prepare for and enter profes sional work. For most professions, one must com plete a long period of training and hard study in competition with the very brightest students. In many cases, one must pass difficult examinations in the colleges and professional schools and be fore State licensing boards. Often, applicants are not accepted for professional training unless their school grades are high, and employers generally give preference in hiring to graduates whose grades in professional school put them high in their class. Besides the professions, there are a variety of technical occupations which also require consid erable training, although less than is needed for professional positions. People in these occupa tions work with engineers, scientists, physicians, and other professional personnel. Their job titles include, for example, those of draftsman, engi neering aid, and electronic, laboratory, or X-ray technician. Employment as a technician requires a combination of basic scientific knowledge and manual skill, which can be obtained through about 2 years o f post high school education, such as is offered in many technical institutes and junior col leges, or through equivalent on-the-job training. Many of the duties of technicians may be per formed also by beginning professional workers. However, because of their more limited educa tional background, technicians generally find it much more difficult to advance to high-level posi tions than do professional workers. The major professional, technical, and related occupations are shown in chart 17. Teaching, en gineering, nursing, and accounting—each employ ing more than 375,000 persons—were, by far, the largest professional occupations in 1950. Among technicians, draftsmen were the largest group. Employment Trends The professions and closely related occupations are one of the fastest growing groups of occupa tions in the country. From less than half a mil lion in 1870, the number of professional, technical, and related workers rose to over 6 million in early 1956. This was a 17-fold increase— a rate of growth 3 times as fast as that of the whole labor force. Professional employment rose during each of the eight decades since 1870 (chart 18). It 49 4 2 7 6 7 5 ° — 5 7 -------- 5 50 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK CHART 17 MAJOR PROFESSIONAL, TECHNICAL, AND KINDRED OCCUPATIONS EM PLO YM EN T IN 1950 O Teachers, 100 200 300 400 500 Thousands of Workers 600 700 800 Elementary School Engin eers Nurses Teach ers, Secondary School A cco u n tan ts P hysicians L a w y e rs C le rg y m e n M usicians Teachers, College D raftsm en Jo u rn a lists P harm acists Artists Technicians, Medical ft Dental So cial W o rk e rs Technicians, Testing Chem ists D entists L ib ra ria n s Perso n n el W o rk e rs Photog rap h e rs Sp orts Instructors R elig io u s W o rk e rs D esig n ers M orticians N a tu ral Scientists (except engineers a chemists'! S o cial Scientists Technicians (n.e.c.) Foresters & Conservationists S u rv e y o rs A rchitects Therapists & H ealers (n.e.c.! # Number of women too few to show on ch a rt U N ITE D STATES D E P A R TM EN T OF LABOR bu reau of labor st a tis tics Source: U»S. Bureau of the Census and B ureau of Labor S ta tis tic s PROFESSIONAL, ADMINISTRATIVE, AND CHART 18 grew especially fast during the prosperous 1920’s and more slowly during the depression years of the 1930’s and the war years of the early 1940’s. Since W orld War II, employment in the profes sions has again risen rapidly (chart 19). A major reason for the increase in the total number of workers in professional and related occupations has been the development of new pro fessional fields. In 1870, the leading professions were the traditional ones of medicine, the min istry, law, and teaching. Nearly 75 out of every 100 professional workers were in these occupa tions, compared with only about 40 out o f 100 today. The “ big four” professions o f 1870 have all grown considerably since that time. By 1950, the medical profession employed 3 times as many people as 80 years before, the ministry and the legal profession each employed about 4 times as many, and teaching about 10 times as many. How ever, the number of people in scientific, engineer RELATED OCCUPATIONS 51 ing, and closely related professions was nearly 100 times greater in 1950 than in 1870—a growth which has both contributed to and resulted from the rapid development of science and engineering during the past century. Other major professions, not recognized as separate occupational fields in 1870, have also developed— for example, social work, accounting, and personnel work. The growth of these professions is related to the initia tion of extensive private and public programs in the field of social welfare and also to the need for specialists to deal with problems arising out of the increasing complexity of economic life and the growing size of business and Government or ganizations. The basic reasons for the develop ment of new professions are, thus, the extension of scientific knowledge and the more complex organization of society and of work. The trend toward subdivision of professional fields into more and more specialties is a continuing one, and many professions are still in the early stages of development. Along with the expansion in scientific and engi neering professions, there has been rapid growth also in technical occupations. In the single decade 1940 to 1950, for example, employment of indus trial technicians increased by 150 percent. As scientific and technical work has become more highly organized, particularly in the laboratories and engineering departments of large firms and in Government agencies, more technical assistance has been provided for the professional workers. During World War II, when severe shortages of engineers and scientists developed, it was discov ered that part of the work formerly done by these CHART 19 52 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK professional workers could be handled by men with less training, thus freeing the professional person nel for the more difficult tasks. In the postwar period, with continuing shortages of engineers and scientists, industries have hired more technical assistants and probably would have taken on a still greater number had it not been for the shortages o f personnel which existed also in these technician occupations. The growth o f the professions has brought with it a great increase in the number of women as well as of men professional workers. In 1956, 36 per cent of all professional and related workers were women, compared with 27 percent in 1870. Women professional workers are still concentrated in a few fields— above all, teaching and nursing. How ever, in fields such as engineering and the sciences, where there have been personnel shortages in re cent years, women have been finding increasingly favorable employment opportunities. Since the reasons for the growth of the profes sions are deeply rooted in our dynamic economy and technology, there is every reason to look for ward to continued expansion in professional em ployment in future years. However, there will naturally continue to be differences in the rate of growth among professions, as is indicated in the statements on most of the major professions in following chapters. Educational Trends The growth of the professions has been ac companied by a great increase in the numbers of young men and women graduating from college— who are, of course, the chief source of professional ly trained workers. In 1890, only about 1 out of every 100 young people of college age completed a college course, and this proportion increased only slightly during the following 30 years. After 1920, however the proportion of young people completing college began to rise rapidly; by 1940, it was 8 percent and by 1956, more than 13 per cent, as shown in the inset in chart 20. (The high level reached in 1950 is artificial, reflecting the large number of veterans who went to college un der the veterans education program and who, in many cases, would have completed college earlier if it had not been for the war.) The recent rapid increase in the proportion of young people graduating from college reflects a number o f basic social trends. Family incomes CHART 20 BACH ELO R’S DEGREES GRANTED 1890-1955 Thousands of Degrees UN ITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR bureau of labo r sta tis tic s Source: U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Education are higher, and more people can afford to put off going to work and to pay the costs of education. More families want a college education for their children. Scholarships and loans are available for more students; part-time work opportunities are also available, particularly in times of labor shortages. Finally, a college education is becom ing necessary for an increasing proportion of jobs. In the professions, which are continuing to grow in size and importance, a college education has largely supplanted on-the-job training as a way of preparing for professional employment. Moreover, employers are giving preference to col lege-educated workers for more and more ad ministrative, sales, and other nonprofessional posi tions. Since these factors will probably continue to be influential in the future, the proportion of young people who graduate from college is ex pected to go on increasing for many years. The population of college age is also growing. The number of people aged 18 to 21 dropped to a low point of 8.5 million in 1953, as a result of low depression-year birthrates. Thereafter, the 1821-year-old population began to increase. By 1960, it will be 9.6 million, 13 percent higher than in 1953; by 1965, 12.1 million, 43 percent higher; PROFESSIONAL, ADMINISTRATIVE, AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS 53 and by 1970, 14.5 million, or 71 percent higher. A ll this adds up to a great expansion in college graduations, assuming that the Nation’s colleges and universities can build the classrooms, labora tories, dormitories, and other facilities and hire the faculty members needed to provide for the greatly increased numbers of students. I f past trends continue, it is likely that the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded annually will be more than double the current figure by the late 1960’s. The rise, which is expected to be gradual during the remainder of the 1950’s, will be accelerated in the early 1960’s, and may be spectacular in the last years of the 1960 decade. Projections prepared by the U. S. Office of Education in March 1956 in dicate an increase from 311,000 bachelor’s degrees granted in 1956 to 437,000 in 1960, to 567,000 in 1965, and to 766,000 in 1970. The number of students taking graduate train ing has also risen very rapidly during past dec ades, and will probably continue to mount in the years ahead. Graduate education means, of course, continuing study in a university after one has received the bachelor’s degree, which is usually earned at the end of 4 years of college. The major graduate degrees are the master’s degree (M. A., M. S., etc.)—usually earned through 1 or 2 years of study beyond the bachelor’s degree— and the doctorate (Ph. D., D. Sc., Ed. D., etc.), usually requiring 3 or more years beyond the bachelor’s degree. Graduate study is usually concentrated in the major subject field of the student’s interest, whereas undergraduate study is usually broader in content. Charts 21 and 22 show the tremendous increase in graduate degrees awarded since 1920 in all fields taken together. The numbers of master’s and doc tor’s degrees granted reached unprecedented heights in the early 1950’s, following the record number of bachelor’s degrees granted a few years before. After a slight decline in the mid-1950’s, master’s degrees are expected to rise from about 58.000 in 1955 to more than 100,000 in 1965, if past trends continue. The number of doctorates awarded (8,800 in 1955) may also nearly double in the same 10-year period. According to pro jections made by the U. S. Office o f Education, the number of master’s degrees conferred may exceed 160.000 and doctorates may approximate 20,000 in 1970. These projections obviously imply a great in crease in the supply of personnel available for professional employment. Since the demand for personnel is also expected to show continued CHART 21 CHART 22 54 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK growth, there is promise of expanding employ ment opportunities for the increasing numbers of college graduates. The anticipated increases in college-trained personnel raise the possibility, however, of increasing competition during the 1960’s for the better professional positions in at least some fields of work, as indicated in the state ments on the various fields in following chapters. Young people interested in entering a profession should consider the trend toward requiring more and more educational preparation for profes sional positions, which is likely to be reinforced as more college-trained workers become available. The extension of educational requirements for professional work has been due basically to the growing complexity of the various fields of science and other professions, which has lengthened the period of education and on-the-job training re quired for mastering the field. However, the in crease in college graduations has also contributed to the trend; as more workers with graduate de grees become available, such degrees become in creasingly important in competing for employ ment in the fields. It is believed that these trends will continue—that employers will require col lege education as a minimum qualification for more and more different occupations or, at least, will give preference to people with such educa tion; also that an increasing amount of graduate education will be required by employers or State boards of licensure in some occupations for which college training is already a prerequisite. Administrative and Related Occupations Men and women in administrative and mana gerial work hold many different types and grades o f positions. Their positions range from that of proprietor o f a small business, such as a lunch counter or corner grocery store, to that of presi dent of a giant corporation. Altogether, about 6.5 million people—including about 1 million women— were working as proprie tors, managers, and officials in 1956. Proprietors of business firms—most often retail stores—repre sented about half of all persons in this field of em ployment. Salaried officials of business firms made up the second largest group. However, there are also several hundred thousand administrative workers in Federal, State, and local government agencies and in nonprofit organizations of many kinds. Types of Administrative and M an agerial Jobs Jobs in business management can be grouped in several broad classes. At the top are the general administrators o f large companies—the persons who set broad policies and who have overall re sponsibility for the operation of the company or a major segment of its activities. Included in this group are such top officials as presidents, vice presidents, general managers, division superin tendents, and men with similar titles. These top executives make plans, set policies, and supervise company operations in a general way. Below the top officials are the administrative personnel—such as plant managers, comptrollers, sales managers, purchasing agents, credit mana gers, and buyers in stores—who direct individual departments or special phases of a firm’s opera tions. In very large corporations, officials in charge of these functions have great responsi bility and are often considered part of the top management. The duties and responsibilities of the managers o f small firms are obviously quite different from those of officials o f large corporations. In the smallest businesses, the proprietor acts as his own general manager, sales manager, buyer, and book keeper. He may supervise his workers directly and deal directly with customers. In some types o f owner-operated businesses—for example, neigh borhood bakeries, shoe repair shops, and small printing shops—knowledge of the particular trade or technical process counts as much towards suc cess as does managerial ability. Nevertheless, the pressure of competition is making a knowledge o f business administration methods increasingly nec essary for proprietors and managers o f small businesses. Training for Administrative Jobs Business administration has been known tra ditionally as a field in which men of outstanding ability and energy could rise without the aid o f a college education. This is still true to a consider able extent, especially in small business. Each year, thousands of persons without college train ing find opportunities to establish and manage PROFESSIONAL, ADMINISTRATIVE, AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS their own business enterprises. Furthermore, in large firms some outstanding employees who are not college graduates continue to move upward into executive jobs. However, advancement to ad ministrative positions is becoming much more difficult for such individuals. To a steadily in creasing extent, companies are hiring business ad ministration majors or other college graduates as executive trainees and filling administrative posi tions by promotion of these trainees or of profes sional personnel such as engineers or accountants. Even for college-trained employees promotion to administrative jobs normally requires many years o f experience, and only a few outstanding indi viduals can hope to achieve top level positions. To prepare students for managerial jobs in in dustry, colleges and universities have set up spe cial courses of study in business subjects. Such training programs are a relatively recent develop ment, with only a few in existence before 1900. After 1920, as shown by chart 23, the number of students graduating from business administration courses increased very rapidly— from 1,500 in 1920 to 19,000 in 1940. A temporary drop in busi ness enrollments and graduations during World W ar II was followed by a remarkable upsurge after V -J Day. The tremendous flow o f veterans CHART 23 55 and other students into business courses was re flected in the record number of business and com merce graduates in 1950 (72,000). In 1955, after the veterans education program tapered off, there were 42,000 graduates of such courses, many more than before the war. Business education is now second only to teacher training as a field of col lege education; graduates with majors in business administration outnumber those in such large fields as engineering, law, and medicine. In all probability, the number of business ad ministration graduates will continue to rise, as the total number of college graduates increases. It is also likely that the emphasis on college training in selecting personnel for executive positions in in dustry will increase further. However, there wall continue to be many opportunities for persons without college training to establish and manage their own small businesses. Employment Trends Administrative and managerial work is a grow ing field of employment in the United States. The proportion of workers employed as proprie tors, managers, and officials showed a steady rise in each decade from 1910 to 1950, increasing from 6.5 percent to 8.7 percent of the total labor force during the 40-year period. The numbers of proprietors and managers rose very sharply after the end of World War II, as many veterans opened their own businesses and companies filled administrative positions which had to be left vacant during the war, because of the manpower shortage. A peak was reached in 1949 (as shown in chart 24) ; for the next few years, the numbers of proprietors and managers either declined slightly or remained approxi mately the same. However, in 1955 and 1956, employment in this broad occupational group rose again; in the latter year, it exceeded 6.5 million, a new peak. A marked expansion in business activity and total nonagricultural employment is expected in the United States over the long run. Some in crease in the number of executive jobs will no doubt accompany this general increase in employ ment. However, the gains in employment of pro prietors and managers as a group will probably be slow. In salaried administrative positions, the main source of new job opportunities will be the need to OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK 56 CHART 24 EMPLOYMENT IN ADMINISTRATIVE OCCUPATIONS, 1946-56 P ro p rie to rs, M a n a g e rs an d O ffic ia ls, E x c e p t Farm M ill ions of Workers 8 1946 ’4 7 ’48 ’49 UNITED ST A TE S D E P A R T M E N T OF LA B O R BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS ’50 '51 ’52 ’53 ’54 ’55 1956 Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census replace executives who retire from business or die. In general, the top jobs will, of course, be filled by promotion of workers already employed in intermediate executive positions. However, these promotions will open opportunities farther down the ladder and will make room at the bottom for new graduates to enter as trainees. In view o f the large proportion of executives in highranking administrative and technical jobs in in dustry who are in the upper-age brackets, a sub stantial percentage o f these executives will have to be replaced during the next decade. Because of this situation, there are likely to be favorable opportunities for well qualified young men to enter administrative work in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. A number o f managerial jobs are discussed in separate occupational reports in this Handbook. Among these jobs are those of hotel manager, res taurant manager, department store buyer, and bank officer. Accountants and personnel workers are examples of occupational groups, important in the management o f many types of business en terprises, which have opportunities for advance ment to high-level administrative jobs. Many members of other professions, such as engineers, chemists, and lawyers, also advance to administra tive positions in industry and government. (See index for page references.) TEACHING Teaching is the largest of all the professions. Approximately l 1/? million men and women in the United States are full-time teachers, and thou sands of others teach on a part-time basis. Many scientists, physicians, accountants, and members of other professions teach one or more classes in colleges and universities; similarly, large numbers of carpenters, mechanics, and other craftsmen teach part time in vocational schools. No other profession offers so many employment opportunities to women as teaching; even the large field of nursing employs fewer than half the number of women engaged in teaching. For men, teaching is second only to engineering as a field of professional employment. Women teachers far outnumber men in kindergarten and elementary schools. However, the numbers of men and women are about equal in secondary (that is, jun ior and senior high) schools, and men hold about three-fourths of all college and university teach ing positions. The number of teachers needed by the Nation’s schools depends chiefly, of course, on the number of pupils enrolled. Enrollment, in turn, depends to a large extent on the size of the school-age pop ulation. The high birthrates of the 1940 decade (chart 3) have, in the past 10 years, brought un precedented increases in elementary school enroll ments. By 1956, the increased numbers of chil dren were beginning to enter the high schools, and before the end of the decade the colleges will be feeling the impact of the high birthrates. Enroll ments above the elementary school level are ex pected to increase even more than the school- and college-age population, however, because of the persistent increase in the proportion of young peo ple attending high school and college. For many years, nearly all the children 6 through 13 years of age have been enrolled in school, but in the last 25 years there has been a spectacular rise in the proportion of youths of high school age (14 through 17 years) and college age (18 through 21 years) attending educational institutions. In 1930, only about half the group 14-17 years of age attended school; by 1955, more than 80 percent were enrolled. Similarly, the proportion of the college-age population in edu- CHART 25 cational institutions increased from about 12 per cent in 1930 to 33 percent in 1955. It is likely that these trends will continue, particularly at the col lege level. On the basis of population trends and a con servative allowance for further growth in the pro portion of high school graduates entering college, a remarkable rise is anticipated in college and university enrollment during the 15-year period ending 1970, as shown in chart 25. The sizable increases expected also in enrollments in elemen tary and secondary schools are shown, for the period 1955 to 1965, in chart 26. In order to staff the new classrooms that must be provided for the rising numbers of students, tens of thousands of additional teachers will be needed annually. Moreover, still greater numbers will be required, particularly in elementary and high schools, to replace those who leave the pro fession. Although precise information is not available on the number leaving the field each year, it is conservatively estimated that at least 57 58 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK 8 percent o f the elementary and 5 percent of the high school teachers leave teaching annually. Using these replacement rates and assuming 1 teacher for each 30 new pupils in the lower grades and 1 for each 25 pupils in high schools, an esti mate has been made of the annual demand for new teachers for elementary and secondary grades. The total number of new teachers needed yearly, through grade 12, is expected to range from about 150,000 in the late 1950’s to more than 165,000 in the early 1960’s. (See chart 27.) Estimates of the demand for teachers at each educational level—in elementary and in secondary schools, and also in colleges and universities—are discussed in the following statements on these three broad areas of teaching. CHART 26 CHART 27 Kindergarten and Elementary School Teachers (D. O. T. 0 -3 0 .0 2 and .11) Nature of W ork Elementary school teaching is the largest field o f professional employment for women and is also a growing field for men. In 1955-56, more than 700,000 classroom teachers (87 percent women) and several thousand principals and supervisors were employed in public elementary schools. In addition, more than 100,000 teachers were em ployed in parochial and other private schools. Kindergarten and elementary school teachers usually work with one group of pupils during the entire school day, teaching a wide range of sub jects and supervising various activities. How ever, in some school systems, teachers in the upper elementary grades may instruct several groups o f pupils in 1 or 2 subjects. Many school systems also employ special teachers of art, music, and physical education. Teachers in schools with only a few students, especially in rural areas, may have to teach all subjects in more than one grade. Although the time spent in the classroom is usually less than the average working day in many other occupations, the elementary school teacher must spend additional time each day on such activities as planning work, preparing in structional materials, developing tests, checking papers, making out reports, and keeping records. TEACHING Thousands of new teachers are needed each year in elementary schools. Conferences with parents, meetings with school supervisors, and other professional activities also frequently occur after classroom hours. Where Employed Elementary school teachers are employed in all cities, towns, villages, and in many rural areas. About half the teachers in grades 1 through 8 and nearly all the kindergarten teachers are in towns and cities with more than 2,500 population. A l though the number of 1-room schools is decreas ing as a result of reorganization o f school dis tricts, about 40,000 teachers are still employed in these schools, which are located chiefly in the North Central States. Training and Other Qualifications A ll States require every teacher in the public schools to hold a certificate. The amount of edu cation required for certification differs consider ably from State to State, but there is a steady trend toward uniform educational standards. In 1956, 81 States and the District of Columbia is sued regular teaching certificates only to persons with at least 4 years of approved college prepara tion, and 12 other States required at least 2 years. Only 5 States gave regular certificates for teach ing in the public elementary schools to persons with 1 year or less of preparation. Few States (in 1956, only Alabama, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, and South Dakota) require teachers in parochial and other private schools to hold certificates. However, most States refuse to accredit schools unless the teachers are properly 59 certificated; therefore, administrators of all types of schools generally prefer to hire teachers meeting State certification requirements. In nearly all States, certificates are issued by State departments of education on the basis of transcripts of credits and recommendations from approved colleges and universities. Certificates may be issued to teachers from other States if the necessary programs have been completed at accredited colleges. Every State and many individual school sys tems have certain additional requirements for pub1ic school teaching. For example, 25 States require a health certificate, 29 require United States citi zenship or at least filing of the first papers, and 80 require an oath of allegiance. The prospective teacher should find out about the exact require ments of the area in which he plans to work by writing to the State department of education or to the superintendents of local systems. Most institutions of higher education offer teacher preparation: however, the majority of ele mentary school teachers attend teachers’ colleges or liberal arts colleges. In a 4-year teacher-train ing curriculum, the prospective elementary school teacher spends roughly one-fourth of the time in learning about children, the place of the school in the community, and materials and methods of in struction—including practice teaching in an actual school situation; the balance of the time is de voted to studying cultural and related subjects common in the usual liberal arts program. Kin dergarten and elementary school teachers seldom have a subject-matter m ajor; most of them receive degrees in education. Inexperienced teachers often start in rural schools or small town systems. Opportunities for advancement may come through annual salary in creases in the same school system, shifting to an other system with a higher salary schedule which recognizes experience gained in another school system, by appointment to a supervisory, adminis trative or specialized position, or by obtaining ad ditional preparation. Employment Outlook The shortage of elementary school teachers which existed in 1956 is likely to continue into the 1960’s. The number of students preparing for ele mentary school positions falls far short of the de mand for new teachers. Fewer than 50,000 stu dents qualified for such teaching positions in 1956, 60 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK whereas twice that number were needed. The defi cit has been met by issuing short-term emergency certificates to teachers not meeting regular require ments and by increasing the size of classes. Short ages have tended to be most acute in areas where teachers’ salaries are lowest or where there are many better paying employment opportunities in other fields. It has been especially difficult to fill positions in rural areas and small towns. Enrollments in kindergarten and grades 1 through 8, which expanded from about 22 million in 1950 to 29 million in 1956 owing to the high birthrates following W orld War II, will continue to rise during the rest of the decade. The U. S. Office of Education points out that every 5 min utes, day and night, a new classroom of children reaches school age. It is estimated that more than a million students will be added to the elementary school rolls each year until 1960, and more than 35,000 new teachers will be needed annually to take care of the increase in enrollment. Many more teachers will be required as replace ments than for new jobs, even in this period of rapid growth of school population. Each year, a large number of young women enter the teach ing profession and then withdraw because of mar riage or for other reasons. In addition, many teachers will reach retirement age. The replace ment rate varies among States, but is conservative ly estimated at about 8 percent for the country as a whole. At this rate, more than 60,000 elementary school teachers will be needed annually to replace those who will leave in the late 1950’s. The demand for teachers to staff new kinder garten and elementary school classrooms is expected to level off in the 1960 decade. Neverthe less, more than 100,000 new teachers will be re quired annually through 1965, unless replacement rates are reduced considerably. This figure does not provide for additional teachers needed to bring about improvements such as lower pupil-teacher ratios in overcrowded classrooms, replacement of persons not meeting regular requirements, and ex tension of kindergarten facilities to all areas. Barriers to the employment of certain groups, particularly married women and older men and women, are being continually reduced largely be cause of shortages of teachers. Members of these groups tend to find opportunities especially good in their own small communities, where lower sal aries or isolated living conditions may not attract nonresidents. Earnings and W orking Conditions Beginning salaries for kindergarten and ele mentary school teachers in 1955-56 were generally between $3,000 and $3,500. A survey representing 65.000 women who graduated from college in June 1955 showed that nearly 45 percent were engaged in teaching in elementary schools in 1956, at an average annual salary of $3,242; this compares with an average salary of $3,141 for all employed women included in the survey. The estimated average salary for all classroom teachers in elementary schools (including those with various amounts of experience) was $3,800 in 1955-56— an increase of about $1,000 over the past 5 years. Teachers in 15 States had salaries averag ing more than $4,000; in 12 States, salaries aver aged between $2,000 and $3,000. Teachers’ salaries are usually lowest in rural schools and highest in large city systems, where educational and experience requirements are likely to be high. According to a survey by the National Education Association, median salaries for ele mentary school teachers and principals in public urban schools in 1954-55 were as follow s: Classroom teachers Population of city 2,5 0 0 -4 ,9 9 9 _________ 5 .0 0 0 - 9,999_______ 10 .000 - 29,999_____ 3 0 .0 0 0 - 99,999_____ 100.00 0- 499,999__ 500.000 and over___ Kindergarten Elementary _______ _______ _______ $4 ,041 4, 107 4 ,8 5 0 $3, 465 1 3, 591 1 3, 857 4 ,0 2 8 4 ,0 5 5 5 ,1 1 0 Principals Teaching Supervising $3, 919 3 ,9 9 6 4, 357 4, 677 4, 278 2 7, 475 $4, 773 5 ,1 7 5 5, 479 5, 897 6, 321 7 ,9 5 6 1 Includes kindergarten teachers. 2 A ssistant principals. Most schools are in session about 9 months a year. Teachers, therefore, have a long vacation period, during which they often take summer courses to help them obtain advancement and sal ary increases. W here To Go for More Information Information on schools and requirements in a particular State is available from the State de partment of education at the State capital. General information on teaching may be ob~ tained from : U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Education, Washington 25, D. C. National Education Association, 1201 16th St. N W ., Washington 6, D. C. TEACHING 61 Secondary School Teachers (D. O. T. 0 -3 1 .0 1 and .10) Nature of Work Secondary school teachers—those employed in junior and senior high schools—usually specialize in a subject-matter field such as English, history, mathematics, or science. They teach several classes every day either in their main field only or in that field and 1 or 2 related subjects. The most frequent combinations are English and history or other social-science subjects; mathematics and general science; and chemistry and biology or gen eral science. Teachers in fields such as home eco nomics, agriculture, commercial subjects, music, art, and industrial arts are less likely to have classes in other subjects. Besides giving classroom instruction for from 20 to 30 hours each week, secondary school teachers also develop and plan teaching materials, develop and correct tests, keep records, make out reports, consult with parents, and perform other duties. Many of them supervise students’ extra-class ac tivities— sometimes after regular school hours. Maintenance of good relations with parents, the community, and fellow teachers is an important aspect of their jobs. Approximately 500,000 teachers, principals, and supervisors were employed in the Nation’s public and private secondary schools in 1955-56, to teach about 8 million pupils. Nearly half the classroom teachers in public secondary schools were men; the proportion of women was somewhat higher in private schools. Men outnumber women in super- Teachers of mathematics are in great demand. visory and administrative positions in both public and private schools. Where Employed Secondary school teachers are employed in 4year high schools (grades 9-12), 3-year junior high schools (grades 7-9), 3-year senior high schools (grades 10-12), and 6-year combined junior-senior high schools (grades 7-12). About 40 percent of the public secondary schools, which enroll about 25 percent of the pupils, are of the 4-year type; the majority of these are located in towns with a population of less than 2,500. Most of the separately organized junior high schools are in large cities. Although nearly half of all secondary school teachers teach in cities of 10,000 or more popula tion, about one-third are employed in communi ties with less than 2,500 population. Training and Other Qualifications A certificate is required by each State for sec ondary school teaching. The usual educational requirement for a certificate is a bachelor’s degree, with the equivalent of at least one-half year of education courses, including student teaching, and specialization in one or more subjects commonly taught in secondary schools. A few States will grant secondary certificates only to people with a year of graduate work. Many school systems, es pecially in large cities, have requirements beyond those needed for State certification. Some sys tems require additional educational preparation, successful teaching experience, or special personal qualifications. College students preparing for secondary school teaching usually devote from one-fourth to onethird of the 4-year course to their major, which may be a single subject or a group of related sub jects. About one-fifth of the time is spent in edu cation courses—learning about children, com munity life, and materials and methods of instruc tion. The remaining time is devoted to general or liberal education. Satisfactory teacher-training curriculums are offered by universities with schools of education (which prepare about 40 percent of all high school teachers), by colleges with strong 62 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK education departments and adequate practice teaching facilities, and by teachers’ colleges. Although certification requirements vary among the States, the person who is well prepared for secondary school teaching in one State usually has little trouble meeting requirements in another State. A well-qualified teacher can ordinarily ob tain temporary certification in a State while he prepares to meet any unusual requirements. Qualified secondary school teachers may ad vance to positions as supervisors, assistant prin cipals, principals, superintendents, or other ad ministrative officers. At least 1 year of profes sional education beyond the first college degree and several years of successful classroom teaching experience are usually required for most super visory and administrative positions. A few ex perienced teachers are assigned to positions as part- or full-time guidance counselors, visiting teachers, or instructors of handicapped or other special groups. Employment Outlook The shortage of secondary school teachers in certain subject fields, which existed in 1956, is likely to persist throughout the rest of the 1950’s. As enrollments continue to increase during the 1960 decade, employment opportunities for sec ondary school teachers will expand greatly. In 1956, demand exceeded the supply of quali fied personnel available for teaching mathematics, science, and home economics, in nearly all parts of the country. Many schools were also having diffi culty hiring teachers of girls’ health and physical education, music, agriculture, industrial arts, and commercial subjects. In some other subject fields, the supply of teachers was greater than the de mand in a few localities. In general, those areas where industries employed many persons having college training in the sciences and where school system salaries were low, were having the most difficulty recruiting teachers. The demand for high school teachers will con tinue to rise during the late 1950’s. Enrollments in grades 9 to 12, which increased by about a mil lion during the first half of the 1950 decade, are expected to expand by nearly 2 million over the last half of the decade. The number of new teach ers needed each year to 1960 to take care of newly formed classes will average more than 15,000. In addition, at least double that number will be re quired to replace teachers who retire or otherwise leave the teaching profession. The supply of persons available to fill teaching positions each year is difficult to estimate. In 1955, approximately 50,000 college graduates met certification requirements for secondary school teaching. However, by the fall of that year, more than a third of the graduates were employed in positions other than teaching, were in the military service, had become homemakers, or were other wise lost to the teaching field. Similarly, a large proportion of the 57,000 potential teachers grad uated in 1956 were not available for teaching posi tions. I f this situation persists throughout the rest of the decade, well-qualified candidates seek ing to enter secondary school teaching will find employment opportunities in most areas. A growing number of teachers will be needed during the 1960’s, when enrollments will expand rapidly as a result of the high birthrates following World War II. The great increase in population reaching high school age, combined with the trend for a growing proportion of young people to enter and graduate from high school, will result in a demand for more than 20,000 teachers each year, on the average, to handle new classes during the early 1960’s. The number of teachers needed in the last half of the decade will be only slightly lower. Throughout the 10-year period, vacancies created by turnover will exceed the number of new positions. Employment opportunities for teach ers are expected to continue to be best in science, mathematics, and other subject fields where the demand in private industry is also great, unless there is a considerable decline in economic activity with resulting unemployment. Under conditions of economic decline, teaching will, as has been demonstrated historically, become a highly com petitive field and certification requirements will probably be raised. Earnings and W orking Conditions Classroom teachers in secondary schools had an average annual salary of about $4,350 in 1955-56. In a few, predominantly rural, southern States, their average salary was less than $3,000. In New York, California, and New Jersey, it was more than $5,000. Junior high school teachers frequently receive 63 TEACHING somewhat lower salaries than high school teachers in the same school system; however, the trend is toward equalizing salaries of teachers with the same educational preparation regardless of grade taught. Teachers of vocational education, physi cal education, and other special subjects often re ceive higher salaries for their work than do other teachers in the same school. Under the salary schedules in effect in most school systems, teachers receive regular salary in creases as they gain experience and additional education. Salaries of teachers are usually lower in towns and small cities than in larger cities, but educa tional and experience requirements in large city school systems are likely to be higher. On the average, salaries of principals in the largest cities, where administrative responsibilities are great, are much higher than in towns and small cities. According to a survey by the National Education Association, median salaries for classroom teach ers and principals in public urban secondary schools in 1954-55 were as follow s: Classroom teachers Population o f city 2,5 0 0 -4 ,9 9 9 _________ 5 .0 0 0 - 9,999_______ 1 0 .000 - 29,999____ 3 0 .0 0 0 - 99,999____ 10 0.000- 499,999_ 500,000 and over_ Junior high High school $3, 579 3, 751 4, 103 4 ,3 8 2 4 ,3 1 1 4, 931 $ 3 ,8 4 8 4 ,0 2 1 4, 385 4 ,6 8 6 4 ,6 5 0 5, 864 Principals Junior high H igh school $4, 650 5 ,2 6 2 5 ,8 2 4 6 ,5 0 0 6 ,8 7 0 8, 600 $5, 171 5, 607 6 ,3 6 6 7, 225 7 ,3 7 3 9, 692 W h ere To Go for M ore Information Information on schools and requirements in a particular State is available from the State de partment of education at the State capital. General information on teaching may be ob tained from : U. S. Department of Health, Education, and W elfare, Office of Education, Washington 25, D. C. National Education Association, 1201 16th St. N W , Washington 6, D. C. College and University Teachers (D. O. T. 0 -1 1 .5 0 ) Nature of Work More than 160,000 teachers were employed full time in the Nation’s 1,855 colleges and universities in 1956. In addition, thousands of teachers were employed part time, especially in such fields as medicine, law, and business administration. Men predominated in most college teaching fields and held about 95 percent of the positions in engineer ing, the physical sciences, agriculture, law, and philosophy. About one-fourth of all full-time teachers were women; only in nursing, home eco nomics, and library science were they in the majority. The chief function of college and university teachers is instructing students in a specific sub ject field. More than half teach courses in social science, fine arts, English, physical science, edu cation, or engineering. In addition to teaching classes from 6 to 15 hours a week during the academic year, the college teacher spends a con siderable amount of time preparing tests and other materials for classroom use, checking and grading student work, enlarging his own understanding o f his subject, keeping up to date with develop ments in his field, taking part in academic admin istration, writing for publication, and lecturing to civic and professional groups. Faculty mem bers also frequently engage in research; some act as consultants to business, industrial, scientific, or government organizations; a substantial number become full-time administrators. W here Employed More than half of all faculty members are em ployed by universities; about 20 percent by liberal arts colleges; from 5 to 10 percent each by teach ers’ colleges, by community (junior) colleges, and by technical schools; and fewer than 5 percent by theological and other professional schools. The distribution of colleges and universities among the States is extremely uneven, primarily because of differences in population. Some western States have but 1 or 2 colleges with only a few hundred faculty members altogether. On the other hand, a few States with the largest popu lations each have more than 100 institutions and more than 10,000 faculty members. About half of all college and university teachers are em ployed in the following eight States, each having college enrollments, which exceeded 100,000 in 1956: New York, California, Pennsylvania, Illi nois, Massachusetts, Texas, Ohio, and Michigan. 64 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Training and Other Qualifications Graduate training, often including completion of all preliminary work for the doctorate except the dissertation, is a common requirement for col lege teaching. The doctor’s degree is frequently, but not uniformly, required for promotion or ap pointment beyond the rank of instructor. How ever, outstanding students often assist in teaching undergraduates while still taking graduate work. A t some institutions, possession of a master’s de gree qualifies the holder for an instructorship, at least when further graduate study is contemplated. The doctor’s degree is required for the better teaching positions, but requirements vary consid erably by type of appointment and institution and by subject field. A survey of more than 600 degree-granting institutions in 1953-54 showed that 84 percent required the doctorate for appoint ment to a full professorship, 44 percent, for ap pointment to an associate professorship, 15 percent, for an assistant professorship, and 3 per cent, even for an instructorship. The doctorate is most likely to be required for teaching psychology, biological sciences, physical sciences, social sci ences, and philosophy; it is least likely to be a requirement in fields such as health and physical education, fine arts, engineering, business and commerce, and home economics. Advancement depends to a considerable extent on length of experience and educational at tainment of the teacher. Few" institutions grant tenure (full status as a member of the staff on a continuing basis) or give advancement to instruc tors with less than 3 years of service. Assistant and associate professorships are attained only after considerable graduate training or experience. To advance to the rank of full professor usually requires a number of years of successful college teaching experience, as well as the Ph. D. degree. Outstanding achievement, generally through re search or publications, often hastens advancement. Employment Outlook Openings for new entrants to college teaching will be numerous in the late 1950’s and will in crease greatly during the 1960’s. Opportunities will be best for those wTith doctoral degrees and those who have completed all requirements for the doctorate except the dissertation. The demand for teachers is, of course, closely re lated to the number of students attending college. In 1955-56, enrollment in institutions of higher education was about 3 million. This was the high est enrollment ever recorded, despite the fact that the college-age population (18 to 21 years) was lower than at any time during the 1930’s and 1940’s. The proportion of young people attending college more than doubled during these two dec ades and, by 1956, had risen to about one-third of the 18 to 21 age group. A great increase in the population 18 to 21 years of age is in prospect. The number of young people in that age group will rise by about 1 million be tween 1955 and 1960, by 2^2 million in the fol lowing 5-year period, and by 21/2 million between 1965 and 1970. At the same time, it is likely that the extension of college education to a higher pro portion of young people will continue— owning to such factors as rising family income, greater de mand for college-trained personnel, the increas ing number and proportion of the population who finish high school and are, therefore, eligible to enroll in college, and the accessibility of college education to more of the population (through community colleges and evening sessions and through the greater availability of scholarships and other financial aids). Assuming a moderate increase in the proportion of the age group at tending college (less than 1-percent increase each year) and assuming that training facilities will be available, the number of students in 1970 will be double the 1955 enrollment. To handle this in crease in enrollments, an average of about 10,000 additional teachers vTill be needed annually to 1960, about 15,000 annually in the early 1960’s, and more than 20,000 each year during the late 1960’s. Besides the new teachers needed to take care of expanding enrollments, about 10,000 may be re quired annually in the late 1950’s to replace per sons who retire or otherwise leave the profession. The death and retirement rate will probably con tinue high for many years since, in 1955, approxi mately 8 percent of all full-time college teachers were more than 60 years old and another 10 per cent were between 55 and 60. In addition, some will leave teaching each year to enter other types of employment ; the number leaving will depend primarily on the level of business activity and on conditions in the academic profession itself. 65 TEACHING The supply of new college teachers comes largely from students receiving graduate degrees. The U. S. Office of Education estimates that the number of doctorates conferred in the last half of the 1950 decade will average about 8,800 a year and will rise gradually during the early 1960’s to approximately 15,000 in 1965. Similarly, the number of master’s degrees will average close to 70,000 annually in the late 1950’s and may rise to more than 100,000 in 1965. It is impossible, how ever, to predict the proportion of graduates who will enter teaching. In 1955, when the demand was probably for fewer than 20,000 new teachers, more than 65,000 persons received graduate de grees ; nevertheless, shortages of teaching person nel were reported in several fields, particularly in the physical sciences, engineering, and mathemat ics. In all likelihood, the supply of well-qualified persons available for teaching positions will con tinue to be insufficient to meet the demand in many subject fields throughout the 1960’s. (See index for page numbers of separate statements on each profession.) Earnings and W orking Conditions Salaries of instructors averaged about $4,000 in 1956. In most institutions, the average salary of assistant professors was at least $1,000 more than that of instructors. Salaries of associate profes sors averaged between $5,500 and $6,500 in the better paying small colleges and between $7,000 and $8,000 in large institutions. Salaries of pro fessors generally averaged between $8,000 and $11,000 in the most adequately financed institu tions. Salaries of teachers tend to be lowest in com munity colleges, small liberal arts colleges, and women’s colleges; they are highest in State uni versities, technological institutes, and large pri vately controlled universities. Average salaries in 1955-56 for teaching personnel in selected pri vately controlled institutions in New England and the Middle Atlantic States were as follow s: 4 2 7 6 7 5 ° — 57 --------6 3 6 5 5 women’s colleges__________________________________ $5, 630 small institutions_________________________________ 6, 370 medium-size institutions__________________________ 6, 780 large institutions_________________________________ 7,170 Average salaries of teachers in a group of wellfinanced institutions increased by about a third from 1948 to 1956. Further increases seem likely, partly as a result of large contributions by private foundations and business corporations. Many faculty members have some professional income in addition to their regular salaries. The chief source of supplementary income is other teaching (often in summer sessions) not a part o f the teacher’s regular duties. Consulting work is a major source of extra income, particularly for teachers of engineering and physical sciences. A few teachers have considerable income from lectur ing and from royalties on publications. Those who have achieved professional recognition are the most likely to be offered opportunities to sup plement their regular salaries. Retirement plans differ considerably by institu tion, but an increasing number of colleges and universities are participating in the Government social security program, often as an accompani ment to plans of their own. The greatest number of institutions have set 65 years as the retirement age, though nearly as many stipulate 70 years. In any case, most institutions permit exceptions to the age limit. W here To Go for More Information U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Education, Washington 25, D. C. American Association of University Professors, 1785 Massachusetts Ave. N W ., Washington 6, D. C. National Education Association, 1201 1.6th St. N W ., Washington 6, D. C. Professional societies in the various subject fields will generally provide information on teach ing requirements and employment opportunities in their particular professional fields. For names and addresses of societies, see statements on specific professions. HEALTH SERVICE OCCUPATIONS Medical and other health service occupations not only are vital to the welfare of the country but also are a major source of employment for both men and women. In 1950, more than I 14 million per sons were employed in the health field, and since then the number has undoubtedly increased. Foremost among the health occupations are the professions of nurse, physician, pharmacist, and dentist, in which large numbers are employed. Included also are a number of smaller professions and several small groups of technicians and other specially trained workers, such as dental hygien ists and X-ray technicians. In addition, many workers are employed as hospital attendants and practical nurses, occupations in which a lesser amount of training is generally required. Workers in the health field are employed in a wide variety o f places including hospitals, sani tariums, clinics, laboratories, pharmacies, nursing homes, industrial plants, offices of private practi tioners, and patients’ homes. Although employ ment tends to be concentrated in the heavily popu lated and wealthy sections of the country and in big cities, some health wmrkers are found in every village and toAvn. More than three-quarters of a million women workers were employed in the health occupations in 1950. O f these, well over half a million were engaged in professional and technical wmrk. Nursing, the largest of the major health service occupations, is second only to teaching as a source o f professional employment for women. Other health related occupations in which women pre dominate are practical nurse and hospital attend ant, medical X-ray technician, laboratory techni cian, dietitian, dental hygienist, physical therapist, occupational therapist, and medical record librarian. About half a million men were in the health field, chiefly in professional occupations. Medi cine ranks with engineering, accounting, teaching, and law as a major profession for men. The health professions in which men predominate offer many opportunities for independent practice. For ex ample, in 1950, almost 90 percent of all dentists and 65 percent of all physicians were selfemployed. Employment in the health fields has been in creasing and is expected to continue to grow. The country’s expanding population and the rising health consciousness of the general public will be reflected in a growing demand for medical, dental, nursing, and other health services. In addition, such factors as the extension of hospitalization and other medical insurance plans, the rapid ex pansion of expenditures for medical research, and continued provision of health care for veterans and members of the Armed Forces point toward the need for additional health personnel. More over, many new workers will be needed each year to replace those who die, retire, or—particularly in the case of women—leave the field for other rea sons. Thus, there wfill be many opportunities for employment in the health occupations over the next decade. Registered1 Professional Nurses* (D. O. T. 0-33) Nature of Work Registered professional nurses play an impor tant role in our Nation’s medical and health serv ices. They have the primary responsibility for carrying out physicians’ instructions and supple menting their services by performing independ ent nursing functions. Most members of the *Prepared by the Women’s Bureau of the U. S. Department of Labor. 66 profession are general duty nurses, primarily con cerned with the care and welfare of patients. The tasks performed by such nurses include ad ministering medicines, ointments, and drugs; ob serving and reporting temperature, pulse, and respiration; and evaluating symptoms and reac tions. Nurses also perform such therapeutic tasks as changing dressings; bathing, massaging, and feeding patients; and assisting in the education H EALTH SERVICE The student nurse trains under the constant supervision of a professional nurse. o f patients regarding their condition and rehabil itation. A nurse who performs these duties may be employed as a general staff nurse in a hospital, health institution, or health agency; or as a private duty nurse working for an individual pa tient. Regardless of the employer, the nurse works under the direction of the attending physician. Professional nurses may also specialize in some aspects of patient care and treatment. A nurse specializing in obstetrics, for example, may assist the physician in the delivery room; an instru ment nurse may work exclusively in the operating room, handling complex technical equipment in connection with surgery; a nurse in a health agency may provide patient care in a specific area o f medical specialization, such as heart disease, cancer, or infantile paralysis. A growing field of specialization for nurses, which includes duties outside of direct patient care, is in public health education and improve ment. Here the emphasis is on prevention of dis ease and promotion of health and rehabilitation in the community. As an employee of a public or private agency concerned with health programs, the nurse may perform such diverse functions as demonstrating diet plans to groups of patients, helping to prepare charts and booklets on home health and sanitation, or providing information OCCUPATIONS 67 about disease prevention to families of migrant workers. Nurses in industrial establishments are con cerned with the health needs of employees. They may work in health service departments which provide employees with emergency care, health examinations, and health counseling. These nurses may also assist in developing programs for the prevention and control of accidents and occu pational diseases, and in maintaining sanitation and safety standards in the plant. Nurses in doc tors’ and dentists’ offices work in a team relation ship with the physician, caring for patients and performing laboratory and other services for the physician. Nurses who have college degrees in nursing edu cation or nursing administration may specialize in these areas. Typical duties include teaching such courses as nursing techniques or nursing ethics, serving as executive secretaries on State boards o f nurse examiners, or directing the activities o f nursing personnel in hospitals. Where Employed In 1956, the number of employed professional nurses was about 430,000, according to estimates of organizations in the field of nursing. About 65 percent of the nurses worked for hospitals, schools of nursing, and other institutions; 17 per cent for private individuals, 8 percent for physi cians and dentists in private practice; and the re mainder for public health agencies (6 percent) or industrial establishments (4 percent). A ll branches of the military service employ commis sioned nurse officers, and there are some jobs over seas with public or private social, religious, and welfare agencies or with the Federal Government. This occupation is second only to teaching in the employment of professional women. Only 2 per cent of all nurses are men. Since the vast ma jority of communities maintain some health facili ties and services, nurses may be employed almost anywhere in the country, provided they can meet the State licensing requirements. Training and Other Qualifications Two types of schools, hospital-controlled and college-controlled schools, offer the preparation re quired for professional nursing. Hospital schools offer 3 years of training, leading to a diploma in 68 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK nursing. Collegiate schools offer from 4 to 5 years of training leading to a bachelor’s degree; some offer a program (open only to college graduates) leading to a master’s degree. O f the 1,125 Stateapproved schools of nursing in the United States in 1956, 83 percent were hospital schools which had an enrollment of 93,530 diploma students, or 85 percent of all student nurses. The 194 col legiate schools had 16,374 students. Newer associ ate degree programs in the junior and community colleges, usually 2 years in length, currently en roll approximately 1,000 students. A high school diploma, usually from a college preparatory course, is a minimum requirement for admission to either a hospital or collegiate school. Demonstrated competence in science and mathe matics may also be required. Some schools accept only those students wdio have graduated in the upper third or half of their class. A few schools accept only students who have completed 2 years of college work. The usual age limits for admis sion are a minimum of 18 and a maximum of 35 years. Tuition and other expenses of an education in nursing vary widely among schools of nursing. In most schools, some of the cost of the training is compensated for by services which the student nurse performs for the hospital. Training in hos pital schools is usually less expensive than in col legiate schools because the latter include a full college curriculum. Scholarships and loans for training in nursing are available from nursing schools, and various civic and professional organi zations, women’s clubs, and business groups. The Public Health Service, the Children’s Bureau, and the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation of the U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare also make some training stipends available for graduate nurse education or for a specific field of nursing. Professional nurses must be licensed to practice nursing within a particular State. To obtain a license, the nurse must have graduated from a school approved by the State board of examiners and must pass a State board examination. All State boards use a uniform examination prepared by the National League for Nursing, but each State establishes its own passing grade. A nurse may be registered in more than one State either by examination or by endorsement of a license issued by another State. Examination and endorsement fees range from $5 to $30, depending on the State. Hospital nursing usually begins with general duty work from which nurses may advance to progressively more responsible supervisory posi tions such as head nurse, supervisor, assistant direc tor, and director of nursing services. Advance ment is possible for both diploma nurses and de gree nurses; but degree nurses who are specifically trained in nursing administration usually progress much more rapidly to the higher administrative and executive positions. Advancement may also come with the acquisition of a clinical specializa tion in nursing. A degree in nursing is usually required for entry into the fields of public health nursing and nursing education. Advancement in these fields is to pro gressively more responsible program planning and consultant work. Employment Outlook A shortage of professional nurses, which has existed since the 1940’s, was still very much in evi dence in 1956, when it was estimated that 70,000 additional nurses were needed. In consequence, practically no age limitations were being placed upon qualified professional nurses seeking to re enter the labor market. Furthermore, a number of hospitals, which were faced with serious short ages of nurses, established child-care centers, or ganized special transportation facilities, and cre ated part-time jobs to facilitate the reemployment of inactive nurses. The shortage of nurses was not due to a drop in the number of active nurses, which has greatly in creased in proportion to the population from 55 nurses per 100,000 population in 1910 to 259 in 1956, but rather to a rising demand. Factors which have helped to create this increasing de mand include: The expansion of medical services brought about by discoveries of new medical tech niques and drugs; the improved economic status o f the population; the increasing participation o f people in hospitalization and health plans; the growth of preventive medical services; and the changing composition of our growing population with its increasing proportions of very young and older persons who frequently require greater than average medical care. The demand for nurses is expected to continue to be strong for the remainder o f the 1950’s and H EALTH SERVICE during the early 1960’s. In addition to the nurses who will be needed annually to fill new positions, many will be needed to replace those who leave the field. Leaders in the nursing field have esti mated that about 5 percent of all professional nurses leave active nursing each year. Further more, since 1948 only about two-thirds of the nurs ing students enrolled each year have remained to graduate. In 1955, it was estimated that nursing schools must admit 58,000 students annually to meet immediate needs and the needs of the next few years. This figure exceeds by some 15,000 the annual student nurse enrollment in each year since 1948. Some of this demand will be met by reentry— at least on a part-time basis—of inactive nurses, estimated in 1951 to be approximately 40 percent of the total of all registered nurses. (About two-thirds of these inactive nurses were under 40 years of age in 1951.) Demand for nurses with advanced preparation in such specialties as psychiatric nursing, nursing education, supervision and administration, and public health work, is expected to rise even faster than for less highly trained personnel through the early 1960’s. Factors underlying this demand are the increasing complexity of nursing functions associated with new discoveries in medical knowl edge and techniques; the anticipated extension of high quality nursing care to more people; and the growing emphasis on preventive medicine through improved and extended health education of the population. College-trained personnel will un doubtedly continue to have excellent opportunities in these specialties during this period. Over the long run, the nursing profession is ex pected to expand because of the continuing effect of those factors which have produced the present demand, but also because of the anticipated popu lation growth. However, the nature of the expan sion in the profession is not clear. Some modi fications have already been made in the functions o f professional nurses, and further studies are be ing directed toward the most effective utilization o f nurses and the best patterns of training for the occupation. A number of junior colleges and some hospitals are experimenting with a 2-year pro gram o f training bedside nurses. Graduates of these programs are eligible for the State board examination in nursing. However, the growing demand for highly trained degree nurses for ad ministrative, supervisory, and teaching jobs is expected to continue. OCCUPATIONS 69 Earnings and W orking Conditions Average salaries of nurses employed in hospitals in 16 metropolitan areas in 1956-57 ranged from $58.50 to $75.50 a week for general duty nurses and from $100.50 to $124.50 for directors of nurs ing. General duty nurses earned somewhat less than medical record librarians, physical thera pists, and dietitians whose salaries were closer to those of head nurses. The following tabulation from a Bureau of Labor Statistics survey shows average straight-time weekly salaries for general duty nurses in these areas: Atlanta_________________________________________________$59, 50 Baltimore_________________________________________ 66.00 Boston__________________________________________________ 64.50 Buffalo_________________________________________________ 66.00 Chicago________________________________________________ 73.00 Cincinnati______________________________________________ 68.00 Cleveland______________________________________________ 70.00 Dallas__________________________________ 68. 50 Los Angeles-Long Beach______________________ 75.00 Memphis______________________________________________ 69. 00 Minneapolis-St. Paul________________________________ 71.50 New York_____________________________________________ 69.50 58. 50 Philadelphia_________________________________________ Portland (O reg .)__________________________________ _ 70.50 San Francisco-Oakland_______________________________ 75.50 St. Louis------------------------------------------------------------------------ 66.00 Professional nurses employed by industrial or business establishments averaged from $61.50 to $84.00 per week in 18 metropolitan areas during late 1955 and early 1956. Some of the highest salaries in the nursing field are paid to commis sioned nurses in the Public Health Service, where annual earnings ranged from $4,063 to $11,745 in 1955. Private duty nurses earned from $12 to $14 for a basic 8-hour day in most States in 1955. Although information on starting salaries for all nurses is not available, starting salaries of pro fessional nurses with college degrees compare favorably with those of women in other profes sional occupations, according to a survey of June 1955 women college graduates conducted by the National Vocational Guidance Association and the Women’s Bureau of the U. S. Department of Labor. Professional nurses averaged $3,438 an nually, according to this survey; and these earn ings were exceeded only by those of mathemati cians and statisticians, who averaged $3,848, and of chemists, who averaged $3,900, annually. The 1956-57 survey of hospital nurses in 14 metropolitan areas indicated that a majority of nurses worked a weekly schedule of 40 hours and OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK 70 received equal time off or straight-time pay for overtime work. Almost all nurses received extra pay for evening or night shifts. Almost all nurses received at least 2 weeks of paid vacation after a year of service. vised, 1953. Superintendent of Documents, W ash ington 25, D. C. Price 30 cents. Information on career opportunities, schools,, and preparation for the profession may be ob tained from : Committee on Careers, National League for Nursing, 2 Park Ave., New York 16, N. Y. W h ere To Go for More Information Further information on opportunities in pro fessional nursing is available in the following publication : Information on salaries, working conditions, and employment opportunities may be obtained from : American Nurses’ Association, 2 Park Ave., New York 16, N. Y. The Outlook for Women in Professional Nursing Occupations. Wom en’s Bureau Bull. 203-3, Re Physicians (D. O. T. 0 -2 6 .1 0 ) Nature of W ork Physicians diagnose diseases and treat people who are ill or in poor health. In addition, they are concerned with the prevention of disease and the rehabilitation of the injured or ill. They gen erally examine and treat patients in their own offices and in hospitals, but also visit patients at home when necessary. Some physicians combine the practice of medicine with research or college teaching. Others hold full-time research or teach ing positions, or perform administrative work in hospitals, professional associations, and other or ganizations. A few are primarily engaged in writing and editing medical books and magazines. About half the physicians engaged in private practice are general practitioners—often referred to as “ family doctors” ; the others specialize in the treatment of particular types of ailments. In recent years, there has been a marked trend toward specialization; 32 specialties are recognized by the medical profession. Among the largest fields of specialization are surgery, internal medicine, pedi atrics (medical care of children), obstetrics (childbirth), gynecology (women’s diseases), psy chiatry (diseases and disorders of the mind), radiology (use of X-ray, radium, and other radio active sources), ophthalmology (the eye and its diseases), and otolaryngology (diseases of the ear, nose, and throat). W h ere Employed About 210,000 physicians were professionally active in the United States in 1955. The great ma jority—about 150,000—were engaged in private practice. Approximately 25,000 were interns or residents in hospitals, and another 15,000 held regular positions on hospital staffs. About 10,000 physicians were serving as commissioned officers in the Armed Forces, and more than 5,000 were employed in Federal Government agencies, chiefly in the hospitals and clinics of the Veterans Admin istration and the Public Health Service. The re mainder were employed in private industry, State and local health departments, medical schools,, research foundations, and professional organi zations. In 1956, more than 40 percent of all physicians were in the 5 States with the largest population: New York, California, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Ohio. At the other extreme were 20 States which altogether had fewer than 10 percent of the pro fession. The Middle Atlantic States and Xew England had the highest ratio of physicians to population; the South had the lowest. As a rule, general practitioners are much more evenly dis tributed geographically than specialists, though both are concentrated in big cities and in certain regions of the country. Training and Other Requirements A license to practice medicine is required in all States and the District of Columbia. To qualify for a license, a candidate must graduate from an approved medical school, pass a licensing examina tion, and—in half the States—serve a 1-year hos pital internship. (Although 24 States still permit a physician to be licensed immediately upon grad- H EALTH 71 SERVICE OCCUPATIONS P h o t o g r a p h by U. S. D e p a r t m e n t o f La b o r Surgeon and assistants form a team in performing an operation. uation from medical school, it is universally recog nized that an internship is necessary for accept ance by the profession, regardless of specific State requirements.) Nineteen States and the District o f Columbia specify that applicants for medical licenses must first pass an examination in the basic sciences to become eligible for the medical licensing examination. Licensing examinations are given by State boards. The National Board of Medical Exam iners also gives an examination which is accepted as a substitute for State examinations by most States. Although physicians licensed in one State can usually obtain a license to practice in another without further examination, some States limit this reciprocity. A t least 8 years of training beyond high school is needed to become a physician—3 years of pre medical college study, 4 years of professional edu cation in a medical school, and 1 year as a hospital intern. Some medical schools require applicants to have completed 4 years of college education. Premedical study must be in an approved college and must include courses in English, physics, biol ogy, and inorganic and organic chemistry. In addition, students are encouraged to acquire a broad general education by taking courses in the humanities and the social sciences. 72 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK In 1956, there were 76 approved medical schools in the United States which awarded the degree of doctor of medicine (M. D.) to students completing the 4-year course of study. In addition, 6 ap proved schools offered 2-year courses in the basic sciences; students completing these courses could then transfer to a regular medical school for the last 2 years of study. The first 2 years of medical training are devoted to laboratory and classroom work in basic medical sciences such as anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, microanatomy, and pathology. During the last 2 years, the student spends most of his time working in hospitals and clinics under the supervision of an experienced physician and learns to take case his tories, perform examinations, and recognize dis eases. Following completion of the 4-year medi cal course, all students serve at least a 1-year internship in a hospital. To an increasing extent, young physicians are taking further training beyond the 1-year intern ship. Those who plan to enter general practice often serve an additional year as interns or resi dents in a hospital. A physician desiring to be come a specialist must spend from 2 to 4 years— depending on the specialty—in advanced hospi tal training as a resident followed by 2 or more years of practice in the specialty in order to qual ify for specialty board examinations. Doctors interested in teaching and research may take grad uate work leading to the master’s or Ph. D. degree in fields such as biochemistry and microbiology. Every year, more young people apply to medi cal schools than can be admitted. Despite the ex pansion of training facilities, twice as many stu dents applied for admission in 1955 as could be ac cepted. However, the number of applicants has decreased from the high point reached immedi ately after World War II when there were more than three applicants for each medical school opening. In selecting students, each medical school estab lishes its own standards. As a rule, considerable importance is attached to a good scholastic record, the amount of premedical education (threefourths of the freshman medical class in 1955 had completed 4 years of college), the premedical col lege attended, and the score earned on the Medical College Admission Test which is taken by almost all applicants. Consideration is also given to character, personality, leadership qualities, and other factors as evidenced in personal interviews and by extracurricular activities in college. Place of residence is important since many State-sup ported medical schools give preference to residents of the States in which the schools are located. The majority of newly qualified physicians open their own offices. New graduates entering the Armed Forces are usually commissioned as first lieutenants or lieutenants (j. g.) and, if they make military service a career, can rise to the rank of colonel or the equivalent, and even higher. Graduates of approved medical schools are eligible for Federal Civil Service positions and for com missions in the U. S. Public Health Service. Employment Outlook Opportunities for physicians were excellent in 1956. Additional general practitioners were needed in many parts of the country, particularly in rural areas. Physicians were being sought for the growing fields of public health, rehabilitation, industrial medicine, and mental health. The con tinuing high birthrate was creating great demand for obstetricians and pediatricians. Medical schools reported unfilled faculty positions; there was a shortage of qualified physicians for medical research; and Federal, State, and local agencies found it difficult to recruit doctors for salaried po sitions. Many vacancies existed on hospital staffs and, despite the employment of 6,000 foreign in terns and residents, there were more than 7,000 un filled internships and residencies. The Armed Forces absorbed many new graduates as replace ments for doctors completing military service. During the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, the sup ply of new physicians is expected to increase stead ily. Many medical schools are planning to ex pand, several new schools will be in operation, and three of the six 2-year basic science schools will be come 4-year medical schools. As a result, the number of graduates is expected to rise from about 6,850 in 1955 to more than 7,300 by 1960 and to a greater number by 1965. Moreover, graduates of foreign medical schools may continue to add to the supply. About 1,500 United States citizens were studyirg medicine abroad in 1955, and the number of foreign-trained physicians licensed annually rose from about 300 in 1950 to 900 in 1955, H EALTH SERVICE Despite this expansion in supply, the outlook for physicians is expected to continue to be ex cellent throughout the early 1960’s. The majority of new doctors will be needed to replace the more than 4,500 physicians who die or retire each year. The rest will be needed to keep pace with rising demands for medical services. In the long run, the country’s expanding popu lation, the rising health consciousness of the gen eral public, and the trend toward higher standards of medical care point toward a steady increase in the demand for physicians. Extension of prepay ment plans for medical care and hospitalization, continued Government provision of medical care for veterans and members of the Armed Forces, and the growing use of preventive health meas ures such as periodic physical examinations in industry will bring about a need for more doctors. Expanded medical research activities will require more trained investigators; public health pro grams will need qualified administrators; and medical schools will have openings for additional faculty members. The rising demand for physicians’ services will be offset to some extent by advances in medical science and more efficient use of medical personnel. The introduction of new drugs and medical tech niques, the more extensive use of assistants trained in other health occupations, and the increasing proportion of patients treated in hospitals rather than at home will probably enable individual physicians to care for more patients. Improved roads and transportation facilities as well as the movement of people from farms to urban areas will continue to decrease the time needed to visit patients. In addition, the growing tendency of doctors to work together in groups is expected to result in a more effective use of the physician’s time. Nevertheless, population expansion and the general rise in use of medical services are expected to outweigh any lessening in demand arising from other developments. For all these reasons, the outlook over the long run is very bright for young people who have proper qualifications and are able te gain admittance to medical school. Women physicians, who constitute about 5 per cent of the profession, will continue to find good opportunities as general practitioners and as specialists in pediatrics, psychiatry, obstetrics, gynecology, internal medicine, and anesthesiology. OCCUPATIONS 73 In 1956, almost 6 percent of all medical school students were women. Only 3 schools had no women in the freshman class; 1 school accepted only women students. Earnings and W orking Conditions New graduates serving as interns in 1955 earned,, on the average, $120 a month in hospitals affiliated with medical schools and $170 a month in other hospitals. In many cases, interns also received room, board, and other maintenance. During the first year or two of independent practice, physi cians may earn little more than the minimum needed to pay expenses but, as a rule, their earn ings rise rapidly as the practice develops. In 1951, the average income above expenses o f all physicians—excluding hospital interns and residents—was $12,500 a year. Earnings of indi vidual physicians depend on such factors as size of community and region of the country in which the practice is located, the income level of the peo ple cared for, and the physician’s skill and per sonality as well as length of experience. As a rule, physicians engaged in private practice earn more than those in salaried positions, and special ists usually earn considerably more than general practitioners. Many physicians work long and irregular hours; half the physicians in private practice worked 60 or more hours a week, according to a 1949 survey. Most specialists work fewer hours each week than general practitioners. As doctors grow older, they tend to work shorter hours. Many continue in practice well beyond 70 years of age. Where To Go for More Information Persons wishing to practice in a given State should find out about the requirements for licensure directly from the board of medical ex aminers of that State. Lists of approved pre medical and medical schools, as well as general information on medicine as a career, may be ob tained from : Council on Medical Education and Hospitals, Ameri can Medical Association, 535 North Dearborn St., Chicago 10, 111. Association of American Medical Colleges, 2530 Ridge Ave., Evanston, 111. 74 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Pharmacists (D. O. T. 0 -2 5 .1 0 ) Nature of W ork Pharmacists must understand the composition, manufacture, and uses of drugs and be able to test them for purity and strength. Their duties in clude filling prescriptions ordered by physicians, storing and distributing medicines and narcotics, and advising doctors on the uses and availability of drugs. Compounding—the actual mixing of .ingredients—is only a small part of the presentday pharmacist’s work, since many drugs are now produced by manufacturers in the final form used by the patient. Many pharmacists working in drugstores per form a variety of sales and managerial duties be sides dispensing drugs. They may hire and super vise salesclerks, arrange window displays, and purchase and sell magazines, candy, and other merchandise in addition to medicines. Some re tail pharmacists, however, operate prescription pharmacies which handle only drugs and medical supplies. Pharmacists in hospitals fill prescrip tions and advise the medical staff on the selection and effects of drugs; they may also manufacture sterile solutions, purchase medical supplies, teach in schools of nursing, and perform administrative duties. Some pharmacists employed as “ detail men” by drug manufacturers and wholesalers in troduce new drugs to doctors and sell pharmaceu ticals to other pharmacists. Others teach in col leges, perform research, supervise the manufac ture of pharmaceuticals, develop new drugs, write for pharmaceutical journals, or do administrative work. W h ere Employed About 99,000 of the 111,000 registered pharma cists in the United States in early 1956 worked in drugstores. H alf the 99,000 owned their own drugstores or were partners in a pharmacy; the re mainder were salaried employees with no financial interest in the pharmacies in which they worked. O f the other 12,000 pharmacists, the greatest num ber were employed by drug manufacturers and wholesalers and the next largest number worked for hospitals. Approximately 600 were civilian employees of the Federal Government, working chiefly in hospitals and clinics of the Veterans A d ministration and the United States Public Health Service. In addition, some served as pharmacists in the Armed Forces, taught in colleges of phar macy, or worked for State and local government agencies and other employers. Although most small towns have at least one drugstore with a pharmacist in attendance, mem bers of the profession are concentrated in or near big cities. About 40 percent of the pharmacists are in New York, Pennsylvania, California, Illi nois, and Ohio. Training and Other Qualifications A license to practice pharmacy is required in all States and the District of Columbia. An appli cant must be a graduate from an accredited school, pass a State Board examination and, in most States, must also have 1 year of practical experi ence under the supervision of a registered pharma cist. In about 10 States, part or all of this experi ence must be acquired after graduation. All States, except Yew York, California, and Florida will usually grant a license without an examina tion to properly qualified pharmacists already licensed by another State. Four years of study beyond high school is the usual requirement for graduation from pharmacy college, although a longer period of training is required by several schools. Some pharmacy col leges admit students directly from high school and provide all the education necessary for graduation. Other pharmacy schools provide only 3 years of professional instruction and require all entrants to have completed 1 or 2 years of prepharmacy train ing in an approved college. Emphasis in pre pharmacy training is usually on mathematics and basic sciences such as chemistry and biology. Be ginning in April 1965, each accredited pharmacy college will issue degrees only to those with 5 years of college education, including at least 3 years in pharmacy school. The first students affected will be those who start their college training in 1960. The bachelor’s degree awarded upon gradua tion from pharmacy college is sufficient educa tional qualification for most positions in the pro fession. However, the master’s or Ph. D. degree in pharmacy or related fields such as pharma- H EALTH SERVICE OCCUPATIONS ceutical chemistry, pharmacology, pharmacog nosy, or pharmacy administration are usually re quired for research work and college teaching. Graduate training is also considered desirable for pharmacists planning to work in hospitals. Those interested in becoming hospital pharmacists can sometimes secure 1- or 2-year hospital internships which, in some cases, provide for graduate study leading to an advanced degree. Prospective pharmacy students should have a good high school background in mathematics and science. In addition, orderliness and a liking for detail are desirable qualities for young people en tering the profession. For those planning to be come retail pharmacists, the ability to deal with people and manage a business are of special im portance. In 1956, many of the 75 pharmacy col leges were not filled and qualified applicants could usually expect to be accepted. Most pharmacists begin as employees in retail drugstores. After securing some experience, those with sufficient funds sometimes open their own pharmacies or buy established drugstores. A pharmacist who gains experience in a chain drug store may advance to store manager or to a higher executive position within the company. Employm ent Outlook The supply of pharmasicts in 1956 was generally sufficient to meet the demand for their services in most parts o f the country. As a rule, new grad uates could find work readily and, at the same time, employers were usually able to hire all the pharmacists they needed. Despite this overall balance of supply and demand, not enough phar macists with graduate training were available for college teaching and laboratory research. Most beginning pharmacists will probably con tinue to find employment easily throughout the 1950’s. From 3,000 to 4,000 openings are expected to occur each year as pharmacists leave the pro fession owing to death, retirement, or other rea sons. Furthermore, the anticipated gradual in crease in positions for pharmacists is expected to create enough additional jobs to absorb the rest o f each year’s graduates. In the long run, a moderate but steady increase is expected in the employment of pharmacists. The country’s expanding population—especially the growing number of old people and children— and the rising standard of medical care point to an 75 ever-increasing demand for pharmacists’ services. The trend toward bigger drugstores is expected to continue, and some new stores will be added, par ticularly in new residential areas or suburban shop ping centers. Also, in view of the trend toward shorter working hours, many drug stores will hire additional pharmacists. Continued expansion in pharmaceutical manufacturing and research is ex pected to provide more opportunities for pharma cists not only in production and research but also in distribution and sales positions. Employment in hospitals will probably rise significantly with the construction of additional facilities and the more extensive use of pharmacists for hospital work. In both the drug industry and hospitals, the demand will be greatest for pharmacists with graduate training. Although many factors point toward continuous growth in this profession, it should be borne in mind that employment of phar macists is closely related to the prosperity of the retail drug industry which, in turn, depends on the general level of economic activity. Women, who represent about 6 percent of all pharmacists, will continue to find their best op portunities in laboratory work and hospital phar macy, although some are employed in all branches of the profession. Women students are accepted by all colleges of pharmacy and, in 1955, consti tuted 10 percent of both undergraduate and grad uate enrollments. Earnings and W orking Conditions Beginning pharmacists employed in drugstores generally earned between $80 and $110 a week in 1956; those operating their own drugstores had a much wider range of earnings. It is difficult to generalize on pharmacists’ earnings because they are greatly affected by length of workweek, size and geographic location of store, and many other factors. Young pharmacists working in hospitals and drug manufacturing firms generally earned from $4,000 to $5,000 a year. The usual entrance salary for pharmacists in the Federal Civil Serv ice was $4,525. Retail pharmacists generally work more than the standard 40-hour week. Drugstores are often open in the evenings and on weekends and most States require a registered pharmacist to be in at tendance at all times. Despite the trend toward shorter hours, 45 or 48 hours is still often the basic week for salaried retail pharmacists and many 76 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK work 50 or more hours a week. Self-employed pharmacists often work longer hours. Those who teach or work for industry, Government agencies, or hospitals have shorter working hours. Where To Go for More Information Current requirements for licensure in a par ticular State may be obtained from the Board of Pharmacy at the State capital. Information on pharmac}^ as a career may be obtained from : American Pharmaceutical Association, 2215 Constitution Ave., Washington 7, D. C. Information on entrance requirements, curriculums, and scholarships is available from the dean of any college of pharmacy. A list of colleges may be obtained from : American Council on Pharmaceutical Education, 77 W est Washington St., Chicago 2, 111. Dentists (D. O. T. 0 -1 3 .1 0 ) Nature of Work Dentists are concerned with preventing and curing tooth and gum disorders. They locate and fill cavities, straighten crooked teeth, take X-rays o f the mouth, and treat gum diseases. Dentists also extract teeth and provide artificial ones to meet the requirements of each patient. In addi tion, they examine the mouth for diseases which may affect a patient’s general health. Dentists spend most of their time taking care of patients, but they also may devote some time each day to laboratory work. The bulk of the laboratory work, however, is generally sent to commercial firms which make the dentures, inlays, or other ap pliances ordered by the dentist. Most dentists provide all types of dental care and are regarded as general practitioners; only about 3 percent are recognized as specialists. A p proximately half the specialists are orthodontists concerned with straightening crooked teeth. The next largest number, oral surgeons, perform op erations on the mouth and jaws. The remainder specialize in periodontology (treating the tissues supporting the teeth), prosthodontics (making artificial teeth or dentures), pedodontics (chil dren’s dentistry), oral pathology (diseases of the mouth), and public health dentistry. Only 3 out of every 100 dentists are primarily employed in teaching, research, or other work that does not involve “ chairside” practice. However, many dentists in private practice teach or engage in research on a part-time basis. Where Employed Xinety percent of the 89,000 dentists profession ally active in mid-1956 were in private practice. Some dentists specialize in care of children’s teeth. O f the remainder, about 6,000 served as commis sioned officers in the Armed Forces; 1,200 worked for the Federal Government—chiefly in the hos pitals and clinics of the Veterans Administration and the Public Health Service; and about 1,700 held full-time positions in schools, hospitals, or State and local health agencies. Women dentists constituted only 2 or 3 percent of the profession. Dentists are concentrated in big cities and in certain regions of the country. In 1955, 4 States (New York, California, Pennsylvania, and Illi nois) had almost 40 percent of the dentists H EALTH SERVICE whereas 21 States had only 10 percent. The Mid dle Atlantic States (Delaware, District of Colum bia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsyl vania, and West Virginia) have the highest ratio o f dentists to population, with 1 dentist for every 1,402 persons. New England has the second high est ratio and the Far West, the third. At the other extreme, is the Southeast with only 1 dentist for every 3,076 residents. Training and Other Qualifications A license to practice dentistry is required in all States and the District of Columbia. To qualify for a license, a candidate must be a graduate of an approved dental school and pass a State Board examination. One State, Delaware, also requires new graduates to serve 1 year of hospital intern ship. Most State licenses permit dentists to en gage in both general and specialized practice. In nine States, however, a dentist cannot call himself a “ specialist” unless he has been licensed as such after passing a special State examination. In planning a career in dentistry, the student should obtain information on requirements for licensure in the State in which he hopes to prac tice. Educational and other requirements differ somewhat among the States. Few States issue a license without further examination even though a dentist holds a license in another State. Two years of predental college work followed by 4 years of professional training in a dental school are the minimum educational qualifications for dentistry; 7 of the 46 dental schools in opera tion in 1956 required 3 years of predental study. Predental education must include at least one halfyear course in organic chemistry and a full-year course in each of the follow ing: English, biology, physics, and inorganic chemistry. In dental college, the first 2 years are usually devoted to classroom instruction and laboratory work in such basic sciences as anatomy, bacteriol ogy, and pharmacology. The last 2 years are spent chiefly in gaining experience with patients in the school’s dental clinic. The degree of Doctor o f Dental Surgery (D. D. S.), awarded by most dental colleges, or the Doctor of Dental Medicine (D. D. M.) degree, conferred by a few schools, is sufficient for entering general practice. Those interested in research or teaching often take graduate work in a basic science. Dentists desiring to become certified specialists need 2 or 3 OCCUPATIONS 77 years of graduate education and several years of specialized experience in order to qualify for spe cialty board examinations. Graduate training may be obtained at graduate schools of dentistry and also by serving an internship or residency at 1 of the 175 approved hospitals which offer these programs. Considerable competition exists for admittance to dental schools. Despite the opening of several new dental colleges, more than twice as many stu dents applied as could be admitted to the fresh man class in 1956. In selecting students, dental schools give considerable weight to college grades and amount of college education; over 75 percent of the students enrolled in 1955 had at least 3 years of college education and more than 40 percent had a bachelor’s degree. In addition, all dental schools participate in a nationwide dental aptitude test ing program, and scores earned on these tests are taken into consideration along with other infor mation gathered about the applicant through rec ommendations or interviews. Place of residence is also important as about one-third of the dental schools are State-supported institutions which usually give preference to residents of the State in which the school is located. The profession of dentistry requires a combina tion of manual skills and a high level of intelli gence. The dentist should have a good visual memory, excellent judgment of space and shape, delicacy of touch, and a high degree of manual dexterity as well as the ability to master scien tific subjects. A liking for people and a good busi ness sense are helpful in achieving success as a practitioner. The majority of newly qualified dentists open their own offices or purchase established practices. Some start as assistants to other dentists in order to gain experience and to save the money required to equip an office. Dentists entering the Armed Forces are commissioned as first lieutenants or lieutenants (j. g.) and may progress to the rank of colonel or higher. Graduates of recognized dental schools are eligible for Federal Civil Serv ice positions and for commissions in the U. S. Public Health Service. Employment Outlook Opportunities for dentists were excellent in 1956. There was a shortage of practitioners except in some very large cities; Federal agencies and 78 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK State and local public health organizations found it difficult to recruit sufficient dentists; and many dental schools reported unfilled teaching and re search positions. In addition, the Armed Forces absorbed about three-fourths o f the new graduates as replacements for dentists completing military service. Opportunities for beginning practice were best in the West and South where the demand for additional dentists was the greatest. During the late 1950’s and the early 1960’s the demand for dental services is likely to grow faster than the supply of new dentists. Although the number of dentists graduated each year is expected to increase from about 3,000 in 1956 to an esti mated 3,700 graduates annually by 1965, most of these new graduates will be needed to replace those who die or retire. To keep pace with anticipated population expansion, many more graduates will be needed each year. These additional dentists cannot be trained unless there is a greater increase in dental school facilities than was contemplated in 1956. A steady increase is expected in the demand for dental services over the long run. In addition to the country’s expanding population, growing rec ognition of the importance of obtaining regular dental care and the trend toward budget payment and dental prepayment health plans will cause a continuing rise in the demand for practitioners. Expanded dental research activities will require more trained investigators; dental public health programs will need qualified administrators; and dental colleges will have openings for additional faculty members. A number of dentists will con tinue to serve in the Armed Forces. Although better dental hygiene and fluoridation of com munity water supplies may prevent some tooth and gum disorders, such measures—by preserving teeth that might otherwise be extracted—may tend to increase rather than decrease the demand for dental care over the long run. Continued high levels of national income will make more people visit dentists regularly; on the other hand, a major economic depression would undoubtedly cause a drop in the use of dental services. The introduction of new techniques, equipment, and drugs as well as more extensive and effective use of dental hygienists, assistants, and laboratory technicians will probably enable individual den tists to care for more patients. Nevertheless, population expansion and the huge backlog of unmet dental needs coupled with the general rise in use of dental services are expected to far out weigh any lessening in demand arising from other developments. Despite the overall shortage of dentists, there is considerable variation in the success of indi vidual practitioners. One o f the major factors in determining success is location. In general, people who are well educated and those employed in relatively well-paying jobs are most likely to visit dentists regularly. Also, a practice can be developed most quickly in small towns where the new dentist can easily become known and where there is less competition with established practi tioners. The dentist planning to open an office should, therefore, choose his location carefully and consider the number of other dentists in the area, as well as the size, income, and educational level of the population. Earnings and W orking Conditions During the first year or two of practice, dentists often earn little more than the minimum needed to pay expenses, but earnings rise rapidly as the practice develops. In 1955, the average income above expenses for all self-employed dentists was about $12,500 a year, compared to $9,300 for all salaried dentists, according to an American Dental Association survey. Approximately 60 percent o f all dentists earned between $7,000 and $17,000 annually; 20 percent earned less than $7,000; and 20 percent earned more than $17,000. Two per cent of all dentists reported incomes of $30,000 or more. Specialists generally earned considerably more than general practitioners, with ortho dontists reporting the highest average incomes. Dentists in the Far West and South had higher average incomes than those in other regions o f the country. Dentists’ incomes tended to be low est in New England and the Middle Atlantic States. Practitioners in medium-size cities (50,000 to 500,000 population) earned more, on the aver age, than those in either larger or smaller cities. Most dental offices are open 5 days a week and some dentists have evening hours. Although den tists averaged about 43 hours of work a week, al most one-fourth of those surveyed in 1955 reported they spent 50 hours or more a week in the office. The hours of work, however, are usually deter mined by the dentist himself, and many dentists work fewer hours as they grow older. For this H EALTH SERVICE reason, a considerable number continue in parttime practice beyond 65 years of age. W h ere To Go for More Information Persons wishing to practice in a given State should find out about the requirements for licen OCCUPATIONS 79 sure directly from the board of examiners of that State. A list of State boards, as well as informa tion on dentistry as a career, may be obtained from : American Dental Association, 222 East Superior St., Chicago 11, 111. Medical X-Ray Technicians* (D. O. T. 0-50.041 Nature of W ork Medical X-ray technicians operate several types o f X-ray equipment which photograph, or make visible on a screen, internal parts of the body which the physician wishes to examine for the purpose o f diagnosing disease or injury. X-ray machines are used to detect the presence of foreign matter or injury and to discover any malformation or malfunctioning of various parts of the human body. In addition, they may be used for the treat ment of various diseases or injuries, particularly cancer and diseases of the skin. The detection of disease or injury by means of X-ray is usually called “ diagnostic” X-ray, and treatment by X ray is usually called “ therapeutic” X-ray. Medical X-ray technicians generally work under the direction of a physician. Sometimes this physician is a specialist in the use of X-rays who is called a “ radiologist.” In taking photographs, technicians position the patient under the X-ray machine and regulate the controls to expose the film. Because they are partly responsible for the care and safety of patients undergoing treatment, they must adjust and manipulate the equipment in such a way as to minimize hazards of electric shock, burns, and extraneous radiation. For special types of X-ray work (for example, fluoroscopy), the technician may prepare the patient by administering an X-ray “ opaque,” such as barium salts. This opaque is a harmless chemical sub stance which the patient swallows in order to shade various parts of the anatomy to give proper visibility for X-ray purposes. In therapeutic work with X-rays or radium (treating diseased and affected areas of the body by exposure to X ray or radium), the technician works under the di rect supervision of a radiologist. Some X-ray technicians working in hospitals or medical laboratories that provide services to phy♦Prepared by the Women’s Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor. sicians learn to operate other kind of apparatus, in addition to those related to radiological work. Equipment for diagnosing heart disease or brain damage and for determining basal metabolism are among those most commonly found in combina tion with the operation of X-ray and fluoroscopic apparatus. Thus, an X-ray technician may learn, on the job, how to operate the electrocardiograph, the electroencephalograph, or the basal metabo lism apparatus. Additional duties o f technicians consist of de veloping and drying X-ray film and keeping rec ords of services performed for each patient. W here Employed In 1956, some 50,000 to 60,000 persons were em ployed as medical X-ray technicians, of whom al most 18,000 were registered with the American Registry of X -Ray Technicians. These registered technicians are permitted to use the letters R. T. (A R X T ) after their names, indicating that they have secured at least the minimum required ex perience and passed the prescribed examination. Women comprised about 70 percent of these regis tered technicians in 1956 and, probably, were a majority of all medical X-ray technicians. About a fourth of all medical X-ray technicians were employed in hospitals in 1956. The remain der worked in medical laboratories, physicians’ and dentists’ offices, public health facilities, and military establishments. Most technicians work in large cities where there is concentration of medical facilities and services; however, some are found in smaller areas where a hospital or other medical facility operates. In addition, the wide spread use of the X-ray for routine medical exam inations in various health, welfare, and industrial programs of preventive medicine has brought about the establishment of small mobile X-ray teams. 80 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Training and Other Qualifications The most widely known and accepted training course for X-ray technicians is that offered by hospital schools approved by the Council of Med ical Education and Hospitals of the American Medical Association. In 1956, there were some 450 o f these schools in operation throughout the United States. Generally, they required a high school education as a prerequisite for a 12- to 24month course o f training. Some, however, re quired additional education— in a few cases, as much as 2 years of college. Preferred applicants included graduate nurses and persons with some nurse training or college science courses. In gen eral, some knowledge of physics, chemistry, alge bra, geometry, and biology is considered helpful background for the technical courses included in X-ray technology. The cost of training in ap proved hospital schools, aside from maintenance expenses, is relatively low. Almost two-thirds of these schools charged no tuition in 1953, and most o f the remainder charged modest fees ranging up to $100. A few were more expensive, but many of the schools paid their students some sort of stipend. Besides the approved hospital courses, one can learn to operate X-ray equipment through train ing offered on the job, or through private schools o f medical and X-ray technology. Those who re ceive only partial training, however, may have difficulty in qualifying for X-ray jobs with a wide range of assignments or responsibility. To meet minimum requirements for registra tion with the American Registry of X-Ray Tech nicians, technicians must have had a high school education or the equivalent thereof and 1 year of training or experience under the direction of a recognized radiologist, plus either (a) 1 additional year of experience in an acceptable X-ray depart ment under the direct supervision of a physician specializing in radiology, or (b) 2 additional years under the direction of a physician who is not a radiologist. Technicians must also pass an exami nation given by the Registry. Employment Outlook A shortage of qualified X-ray technicians was evident in 1956, especially in communities with small hospitals. The shortage was due, in large part, to the rising demand for technicians to staff rapidly expanding hospital and medical programs. Also, the expansion of public health programs and services and the growing interest in preventive medicine have increased the number of oppor tunities in government employment. During the past 20 years, there has been con siderable activity in the health field. Hospital facilities have been continually expanding; sig nificant technological advances have occurred in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and in juries; and the expanded use of X-ray equipment has been a part of this advance. Originally con fined to bone diagnosis and locating foreign bodies, X-ray equipment is now widely used in such fields as tuberculosis detection, examination of teeth, and treatment of cancer, sinusitis, and certain skin diseases. Industrial establishments, health de partments, tuberculosis hospital, and health asso ciations in many parts of the country are or ganized for the routine X-raying of large groups of people as part of a program for disease pre vention and control. Many insurance companies now include a chest X-ray as part of the physical examination required for an insurance policy. All of these developments contribute to a growing need for medical X-ray technicians. The demand for X-ray technicians is expected to continue well into the 1960’s. It is estimated that approximately 15,000 technicians will be needed through 1961 to fill new positions. In ad dition, annual replacement needs will be relatively high because of the large number of women in the field, many of whom can be expected to leave for marriage and family reasons. The supply of welltrained personnel will probably be insufficient. As a result, many technicians will be trained on the job in a limited number of skills, and technicians with all-round skills and experience will have very good employment opportunities. In order to sup plement full-time workers, employers will con tinue to offer opportunities for part-time work, and mature persons with recognized training or experience will have good chances for employment. On the whole, opportunities for advancement for X-ray technicians are fairly limited. Those employed in large X-ray departments usually have the chance to qualify for the job of chief X-ray technician or, perhaps, assistant to the chief. They also may be able to advance in their positions by qualifying to teach X-ray techniques to students in training. Authorities in the field believe that, in general, technicians with a variety H EALTH SERVICE of skills and experience have the best opportuni ties for promotion. Earnings and W orking Conditions Starting salaries for registered X-ray techni cians were reported in 1956 at about $250 a month. Xonregistered technicians reportedly started at $200 a month or less. Experienced X-ray tech nicians were receiving about $300 to $400 a month in 1956, while chief X-ray technicians earned $400 or more. A majority of medical X-ray techni cians in the Federal Civil Service in 1954 were classified in positions that were paying between $3,415 and $4,480 in 1956. Versatility and the ability to supervise or instruct others are impor tant for the better paying positions. Most full-time technicians work 8 hours a day and 40 to 44 hours a week, and most are covered by the vacation and sick leave provisions of the organizations which employ them. Good health and vigor are important require ments for this occupation. Those who work with OCCUPATIONS 81 X-rays may be subject to the effects of radiation and may become anemic unless precautions estab lished by radiologists are rigidly observed. Be cause of the hazards involved, great care is usually exercised to protect the technician. Safety de vices, regular blood checks, and attention to diet, fresh air, and sunshine are important to persons engaged in this work. W here To Go for M ore Information Additional information about medical X-ray technicians is given in the following publication: The Outlook for Women as X -R ay Technicians. Wom en’s Bureau Bull. 203-8, 1954. Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D. C. Price 25 cents. Information, particularly on registration and approved hospital schools, may be obtained from : The American Registry of X -R ay Technicians, Metropolitan Building, Minneapolis 1, Minn. The American Society of X-R ay Technicians, 16 14th Street, Fon du Lac, W is. Medical Laboratory Technicians* (D. O. T. 0 -5 0 .0 1 ) Nature of Work Medical laboratory technicians assist physicians in the diagnosis and treatment of disease by per forming a variety of laboratory tests. They work under the direction of a physician or other labora tory supervisor, such as a medical scientist (bac teriologist, biochemist, hematologist, or serologist) or a highly trained laboratory technician (medical technologist). Whereas some technicians conduct only standard medical tests ranging from rela tively routine tests which can be learned on the job to more difficult tests requiring some post high school training in science and laboratory tech niques, other technicians (medical technologists) nay perform a wide variety of difficult clinical :ests which generally require college-level trainng as well as practical experience. A technician nay take blood counts, make urinalyses, prepare vaccines and serums, give biological skin tests, neasure basal metabolism, analyze water or food products for bacteria, prepare tissue specimen for ^Prepared by the Women’s Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor. 4 2 7 6 7 5 ° — 5 7 --------- 7 microscopic examination, or analyze stomach content. In general, medical technologists make difficult examinations with a minimum of supervision, whereas technicians perform more limited tests under relatively close supervision. Customarily, technologists and technicians are responsible to a pathologist (a physician who specializes in the nature and causes of disease) ; however, techni cians often work under the direct supervision of a technologist. Most medical technologists are qualified to work in all fields of medical science, but some prefer to specialize in a particular field, such as bacteriology, biochemistry, serology, or hematology. In a small laboratory, a technician may work on a variety of tests. In a large establishment, how ever, each technician is usually assigned to a spe cialist who conducts only certain types of tests. Most medical laboratory technicians, regardless o f skill and training, perform tests or studies in con nection with examinations of patients; some do research on new drugs or treatments or on the im provement of laboratory techniques; and somei teach. 82 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK A medical laboratory technician using microscope. Where Employed In 1956, some 40,000 to 50,000 persons were em ployed as medical laboratory technicians, of whom about 18,000 were medical technologists registered with the American Society of Clinical Patholo gists. Women comprised almost 90 percent of the registered medical technologists and, probably, more than half of the technicians. An increasing number of men have been entering both fields in recent years, however. About two-thirds of all medical laboratory technicians (and technologists) work in hospital laboratories. The remainder work in laboratories o f private physicians, public health departments, clinics, or research institutions. Some are em ployed as instructors in hospital or private schools of medical technology. Most work in large met ropolitan areas since this is where the largest medical facilities are located, but some will be found wherever a hospital or medical laboratory exists. Training and Other Qualifications Training for medical laboratory technicians ranges from on-the-job instruction for the rou tine technician or laboratory assistant to a 4-year college program leading to a bachelor of science degree for the highly trained medical technologist. High school graduates who have taken courses in biology or chemistry may secure beginning jobs as laboratory assistants or helpers and learn some of the routine tests on the job. Or, they may take a 1- or 2-year course in a private school of medical technology, qualifying them for work as a medical laboratory technician. In general, however, the increasing complexity of medical laboratory sci ence requires more theory and information than most high school or short-term courses provide. Therefore, some college or university training fol lowed by, or combined with, a recognized course in medical technology is recommended. The most widely recognized medical technolo gists are those designated as MT (A S C P )—Medi cal Technologists (American Society of Clinical Pathologists). This official title may be used only by those persons who satisfy the specific educa tion and training requirements established by the American Medical Association and pass the ex amination for registration given by the Board of Registry of Medical Technologists of the Ameri can Society of Clinical Pathologists. The minimum training necessary for a person desiring to become a Medical Technologist (A SC P ) includes 2 years of accredited college work and 12 to 24 months of training in a hospi tal school approved by the Council on Medical Education and Hospitals of the American Medi cal Association. In 1955, more than 600 hospital schools offering instruction in medical laboratory work had been approved by the Council. About three-fourths of the approved schools accepted ap plicants with 2 years of college; the remainder re quired more education for entrance. Length of training time in approved hospital schools ranged from 12 to 24 months, with 12-month courses most common. The cost of training, aside from main tenance expenses, was relatively low. About twothirds of the approved schools charged no tuition, according to a survey made in 1953. One-sixth charged from $20 to $100 for the complete course, and fewer than one-tenth reported fees ranging from $105 to $425. A small number of schools, which combined hospital training with a collegedegree program, required the regular tuition fee of the affiliated university. Graduates of these approved programs are eligible to take a qualify ing examination for registration with the Regis- H EALTH SERVICE try of Medical Technologists of the American So ciety of Clinical Pathologists. Many employers prefer, or require, that prospec tive employees be registered, or eligible for regis tration, with the American Society of Clinical Pathologists. Although graduates of some pri vate schools are eligible for registration as medi cal technologists with the American Medical Technologists (a different organization from the one previously mentioned), they do not carry the MT (A SC P ) title, and, therefore, are not ac cepted as fully trained technologists by certain hospitals and clinics. Furthermore, the present trend is toward a 4-year college program which combines an approved hospital-school course with academic education, leading to a bachelor of sci ence degree in medical technology. Such train ing is most likely to be required for the better po sitions. O f course, in the few States where licens ing is necessary for medical laboratory techni cians, the legal requirements specified by the State must be met by any technician or technologist working in that State. Some of the important personal traits needed for medical laboratory work are accuracy, de pendability, manual dexterity, and ability to fol low directions. Good eyesight is a basic physical requirement. Advancement opportunities depend principally upon the level of training and experience of the individual and the size of the organization where employed. Persons without college training are likely to have limited opportunities for advance ment. In a large organization, a competent tech nologist or technician may become a supervisor of a group of other technicians and assistants, or per haps, technical head of the laboratory. After ap propriate experience, one may become a specialist in bacteriology, biochemistry, serology, or hema tology. Those interested in teaching may take ad vantage of new opportunities developing in the training of new workers. Even for thoroughly trained technologists, however, advancement is largely limited to supervision or specialization, since most positions above these levels are filled by medical scientists with advanced degrees and physicians who qualify as pathologists. Employment Outlook A substantial shortage of medical laboratory technicians (especially those qualified for more OCCUPATIONS 83 difficult work than routine clinical tests) was evi dent in 1956. Because shortages before this time had been reported— for example, a survey of hospi tals in 1952 showed 15 percent of their laboratory technician jobs vacant—a nationwide campaign to recruit young people into the field was undertaken in 1954. Despite this effort, the shortage is ex pected to continue because of the rising demand for technicians and technologists to staff rapidly expanding hospital and medical programs. Tn the Federal Government, expanding medical facilities and health services and increased emphasis on health research have created a need for additional technicians. The demand for all levels of medical laboratory technicians is expected to increase for the re mainder of the decade and into the 1960’s. Since many of the workers in this field are young women, who may be leaving their jobs for marriage and family responsibilities, many job openings will be created. In addition, it has been estimated that twice as many technicians with some college training will be needed in the early 1960’s as there were employed in 1956 because of the increasing complexity of laboratory services and experimen tation with new drugs and techniques. The sup ply of college-trained personnel will undoubtedly be insufficient to meet these needs owing in part to the limited possibilities of expanding training facilities. In view of this situation, technicians without college training will continue to have good opportunities for employment, particularly in jobs requiring only limited theoretical knowl edge and skill. Also, opportunities for part-time employment will continue to exist for persons needed to supplement full-time staffs. Mature persons who are adequately trained or experienced will continue to have good employ ment opportunities, since the current shortage of well-qualified personnel is expected to increase. Although some of the approved training schools do not accept applicants over 30 years of age, several have no age restrictions on admissions. Over the long run, employment for medical laboratory technicians is expected to continue to expand. Increased medical research and advances in medical knowledge and practice depend upon laboratory work and will require a growing num ber of laboratory technicians. The continuing interest in preventive medicine and health and hospitalization insurance, coupled with the rising standard of living, will further increase the need 84 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK for hospitals, clinics, and public health services, thereby expanding the demand for medical labo ratory technicians. Earnings and W orking Conditions A salary survey conducted by the Registry of Medical Technologists of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists in 1953 showed that the median (average) salary reported by 6,700 regis tered medical technologists was between $3,300 and $3,600 a year. About one-fifth earned less than $3,000, and about one-sixth, $4,200 or more. Adequate data are not available for 1956, but one report from the field indicates that the majority of technologists were earning more than $3,500 a year in 1956. A majority of medical technicians in the Federal service in 1954 were classified in positions that were paying between $3,670 and $4,480 in 1956. Starting salaries for medical technologists with some college training were reported in 1956 to range between $275 and $300 a month but were somewhat lower for technicians with limited training and skill. Salaries vary from laboratory to laboratory, of course, but they are likely to be determined largely by the level of skill and responsibility of the posi tions. Thus, the worker with all-round skills is likely to command higher pay than one who has experience with only a limited number of tests. Most full-time laboratory technicians work 8 hours a day and either 40 or 44 hours a week, and most are covered by the vacation and sick-leave provisions of the organizations which employ them. Where night or emergency work is re quired, there are usually provisions for extra pay or matching time off. Few hazards exist in laboratory work because of the high degree of care exercised in the han dling of specimens, materials, and equipment. However, technicians must be willing to work in surroundings where unpleasant odors, diseased tissue, and blood are often present. Proper meth ods of sterilization and of handling bacteria and tissue must be observed in order to prevent the spread of disease. W here To Go for M ore Information Additional details about medical technologists and technicians, as well as some related medical laboratory jobs are given in the following publi cation : Employment Opportunities for Women as Medical Technologists and Laboratory Technicians. Wom en’s Bureau Bull. 203-4, 1954. Superintendent of Docu ments, Washington 25, D. C. Price 25 cents. Information, particularly on the MT (A S C P ) and approved hospital schools, may be obtained from : Registry of Medical Technologists of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists, 700 South Council St., Muncie, Ind. Chiropractors (D. O. T. 0 -3 9 .9 0 ) Nature of W ork W here Employed Chiropractic is a system of treatment based on the belief that the nerve system largely determines the state of health of the human body and that any interference with this system impairs normal functions and lowers the body’s resistance to dis ease. Chiropractors treat their patients primarily by specific adjustment of parts of the body, espe cially the spinal column. Many also use such sup plementary measures as diet, exercise, rest, water, light, and heat. Because of the emphasis on the spine and its position, most chiropractors use X ray extensively in their practice. Chiropractic as a system of healing does not include the use of drugs or surgery. More than 25,000 chiropractors were employed in the United States in 1956, according to an esti mate by The National Chiropractic Association. The greatest numbers were engaged in independ ent private practice. Some were employed by athletic organizations and industrial firms; others taught or did research work at chiropractic schools. A few worked on the staffs of chiro practic clinics or as salaried assistants to estab lished practitioners. About 40 percent of all chiro practors were located in California, New York, Texas, and Ohio. H EALTH SERVICE Training and Other Qualifications Most States and the District of Columbia regu late the practice of chiropractic and grant licenses to chiropractors who meet certain educational re quirements and pass a State board examination. As of 1956, four States—Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, and New York—did not regulate the practice of chiropractic nor issue licenses to chiro practors. The type of practice permitted and the educa tional requirements for licensure vary consider ably from one State to another. Most States re quire 4 years of training in a chiropractic school following high school graduation. Some also require 1 or 2 years of preparatory college work before chiropractic training. In a few States, con siderably less than 4 years of chiropractic educa tion is sufficient to qualify for a license. Qualified chiropractors licensed in one State may generally obtain a license to practice in another State with out further examination. Approximately two-thirds of the 16 chiropractic schools in the United States restrict their teaching to manipulation and spinal adjustments. The others offer a broader curriculum including train ing in such subjects as chiropractic physiotherapy and clinical nutrition. In the 7 chiropractic schools approved by the National Chiropractic Association, the first 2 years of the 4-year curricu lum are devoted chiefly to classroom and labora tory work in subjects such as anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry. The last 2 years are spent in obtaining practical experience in the schools’ clinics. The degree of doctor of chiropractic (D. C.) is awarded by all schools to students com pleting chiropractic training. Most newly licensed chiropractors open their own offices or purchase an established practice. Some start as assistants to other chiropractors in order to acquire experience and funds. A consid erable financial investment is usually necessary to open an office and equip it properly. Among the personal qualities considered desirable for a prac titioner is the ability to deal with people sympa thetically. The work does not call for unusual strength or endurance but does require consider able dexterity with the hands. Employment Outlook The success of the new practitioner will depend in large part on proper selection of a location for OCCUPATIONS 85 practice. Opportunities for beginning chiroprac tors will continue to be best in those parts of the country where chiropractic is most fully accepted as a method of treatment. Moreover, small towns or suburban areas, where the young practi tioner can become known more quickly than in a big city, offer the best prospects for developing a practice. The wide variation in community acceptance and in State laws is reflected in the concentration of chiropractors in certain areas. The highest pro portion of chiropractors in relation to population is in the Western States. In 1952, there were 30 or more chiropractors for each 100,000 persons in California, Oregon, Kansas, and Colorado com pared with 15 chiropractors for each 100,000 per sons in the country as a whole. Employment opportunities are expected to be greatest for new entrants who are able to meet the highest State licensing requirements, including graduation from a 4-year course of 4,000 or more hours. In view of the trend in many States to ward raising the educational requirements for practicing chiropractic, thorough training will be come increasingly important. Women are expected to continue to find good opportunities in this field as some women and children prefer to go to women chiropractors for treatment. About 15 percent of the chiropractors in practice are women, and all chiropractic schools accept women as students. Earnings and W orking Conditions In chiropractic, as in other types of independent practice, earnings are relatively low at the begin ning but rise after the first few years. Incomes of individual chiropractors vary greatly with ability, experience, the income level of the community, office location, and other factors. It is estimated that the average income above expenses was over $8,000 a year in 1956. W here To Go for More Information Information on State licensing requirements may be obtained by writing to the State board of licensing in the capital of the State in which the individual plans to practice. General information on chiropractic as a career may be obtained from : National Chiropractic Association, National Building, Webster City, Iowa 86 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Optometrists (D. O. T. 0 -3 9 .9 2 } Nature of Work Where Employed Optometrists are concerned with examining eyes and with safeguarding and improving vision. They use special instruments and tests to detect vision problems and, when needed, prescribe eye glasses, eye exercises, or other treatment that does not require drugs or surgery. Some optometrists fill their patients’ prescriptions for eyeglasses and do repair work in their own laboratories. A grow ing number include visual training, the use of cor rective eye exercises, in their practice. Some do other specialized work such as fitting persons who are nearly blind with telescopic spectacles, fitting contact lenses, studying the relationship of vision to highway safety, and analyzing lighting and other conditions that affect the efficiency of workers in industry. A few optometrists are en gaged primarily in teaching or research. Optometrists should not be confused with ophthalmologists, oculists, or opticians. Ophthal mologists and oculists are licensed medical doctors who specialize in the medical and surgical care of the eyes and may prescribe drugs or other treat ment, as well as lenses. Opticians (see index) fill prescriptions for eyeglasses written by physicians who are eye specialists or by optometrists; they do not examine eyes or prescribe treatment. Most of the 17,000 optometrists professionally active in early 1956 were private practitioners with their own offices. However, some were salaried employees working as assistants to established practitioners or for health clinics, hospitals, op tical instrument manufacturers, government agen cies, and department stores. A few taught in col leges of optometry or served as optometrists in the Armed Forces. Optometrists are located chiefly in large cities and industrial areas where many people are en gaged in office work or other occupations which place a strain on the eyes. Nearly 40 percent are in the 4 States with the greatest population—Illi nois, California, New York, and Pennsylvania. Many small towns and rural areas, especially in the South, have no optometrists. Training and Other Qualifications A license is required in all States and the Dis trict of Columbia for the practice of optometry. To obtain a license, one must be a graduate of an accredited school of optometry and pass a State Board examination. In some States, only gradu ates of certain accredited schools of optometry are admitted to these examinations. A student planning to become an optometrist should, there fore, choose a school approved by the Board of Optometry in the State where he expects to practice. Five years of study beyond high school is the minimum education needed to become an optome trist. Usually this consists of 2 years of pre optometry education in an approved college fol lowed by 3 years of training in an optometry school. Some schools require a total of 6 years— 2 of preoptometry study and 4 in a school of op tometry. Preoptometry courses include mathe matics and the basic sciences of physics, biology, and chemistry, as well as general education courses. The curriculum in the school of optome try emphasizes not only the visual sciences but also practical training in the school’s clinic. Most schools give their graduates the degree of Doctor of Optometry (O. D.) but some confer the degree H EALTH SERVICE OCCUPATIONS of Bachelor of Science in Optometry or Master of Optometry. Optometrists who wish to spe cialize often take additional training. The mas ter’s or Ph. D. degree in physiological optics or a related field is usually required for teaching and research work. Qualifications considered important for a pro spective optometrist are a liking for mathemati cal and scientific work, the ability to use delicate precision instruments, mechanical aptitude, and good vision. In addition, successful practice re quires the ability to deal with people tactfully. In 1956, qualified applicants had an excellent chance of admittance to 1 of the 10 schools of optometry. The majority of optometrists start either by setting up a new practice or purchasing an estab lished one. Some begin as assistants to established practitioners, and young graduates are frequently advised to do this in order to acquire experience and funds. Although costly equipment is needed to open an office, some equipment manufacturers offer liberal time payment plans. Office location is of major importance for a successful practice. The optometrist should consider the number of op tometrists and medical eye specialists in the vicin ity compared with the number, occupation, age, and income level o f the population requiring eye care. Employment Outlook In 1956, the number of optometrists was suffi cient to meet the demand for optometric services in many parts of the country. Opportunities for beginning practice were generally considered best in small towns and in residential areas of cities where the new optometrist could easily become known and where competition with established optometrists and medical eye specialists was not as keen as in the business centers of large cities. Areas, especially in the South, that had no opto metric services available also offered some oppor tunities for new graduates. Young people begin ning optometric training in the late 1950’s are ex pected to encounter less competition for desirable locations and, in general, to find more favorable opportunities upon graduation. Enrollments in optometry schools rose sharply immediately after World War II. The number of graduates increased from a prewar level of ap 87 proximately 400 in 1941 to about 1,500 in the late 1940’s, as veterans completed their training. The consequent rapid expansion in the supply of pro fessionally trained personnel limited prospects for a successful new practice in some localities in the mid-1950’s. However, optometry school enroll ments have dropped considerably in recent years. As a result, the supply of new optometrists in the late 1950’s is expected to be less than the number needed for replacements alone; it is estimated that about 500 optometrists are needed each year to re place those lost to the profession through death, retirement, or other causes. The demand for eye-care services will continue to grow over the long run. The importance of good vision to efficiency at work and in school is becoming more widely recognized; eye strain has been increased by many aspects of modern living; and the use of eyeglasses has come to be generally accepted. The volume of eye-care services needed will also be increased by the anticipated growth in population, especially by the expected sharp rise in the number of older people—the group most likely to need glasses. Although the expanded demand will be met in part by medical doctors who are eye specialists, optometrists will continue to supply a substantial proportion of all eye-care services. Women optometrists, who constitute about 5 percent of the profession, have many opportuni ties to work as salaried assistants, especially in the field of visual training. Those in private practice have been particularly successful in work with children. Earnings and W orking Conditions In optometry, as in some of the other health fields, a low income must be expected for the first 2 or 3 years of practice. However, as a practice becomes established, earnings usually rise signifi cantly. In 1951, the average income above ex penses was about $5,500 for self-employed optom etrists under 30 years of age, according to a sur vey made by the American Optometric Associa tion, and almost $11,000 for those between 50 and 59 years—the age group with the highest earn ings. For all self-employed optometrists, the sur vey reported a mean net income of $7,750. Some successful optometrists earned over $20,000 a year. Optometrists practicing in towns and small cities have higher net earnings, on the average, 88 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK than optometrists in large cities. However, there are some successful practitioners in big cities who have very high incomes. Although optometrists in salaried positions may at first earn more than the self-employed, earnings of those in practice for themselves usually outstrip incomes of sal aried optometrists after a few years of experience. Working hours in this profession are usually regular, though often lengthy. Many offices are open 6 days and at least 1 night each week. How ever, some practitioners keep only scheduled ap pointments. The nonstrenuous nature of the work permits professional activity to continue among those in the older age groups. Where To Go for More Information Additional information on optometry as a ca reer is available from : American Optometric Association, Inc., 4030 Chouteau Ave., St. Louis 10, Mo. Information on required preoptometry courses may be obtained by writing to the optometry school in which the prospective student wishes to enroll. The Board of Optometry in the capital of the State in which the student plans to practice will provide a list of optometry schools approved by that State. Veterinarians (D. O. T. 0 -3 4 .1 0 ) Nature of Work Veterinarians (doctors of veterinary medicine) are mainly responsible for the health and care of animals. They are also concerned with the qual ity of meat and other animal products used as food and with the control of about 80 animal dis eases that can be transmitted to man. Most veterinarians are general practitioners who diagnose and treat the injuries and diseases of both large and small animals. They advise on the care and breeding of animals and, by regular physical examinations, tests, and vaccinations, seek to prevent the outbreak and spread of dis eases. O f veterinarians who are specialists, the C o u r t e s y o f U. S. D e p a r t m e n t o f A g r ic u l t u r e Veterinarian taking a sample of blood from a cow for a brucel losis test. greatest number work with pets, often operating hospitals with boarding facilities; a few are poul try specialists; others confine their practice to “ prize” livestock and thoroughbred horses. Some veterinarians are engaged in inspecting meat, poultry, and other foods—a public health service of Federal and certain State governments. A small number teach in colleges or do research on animal diseases, drugs, and foods. Where Employed About 17,000 veterinarians— 5 percent of whom were women— were professionally active in the United States in 1956. O f these, over two-thirds were in private practice. The second largest num ber worked for the Federal Government, chiefly in the U. S. Department of Agriculture which employed about 1,600 veterinarians full time and over 5,000 on a part-time basis. Nearly 800 were commissioned officers in the Veterinary Corps of the Army and the Air Force. In addition, a sub stantial number worked for State and local gov ernment agencies. Some were also employed by schools of veterinary medicine, State agricultural colleges, animal food companies, and pharma ceutical companies that manufacture drugs for animals. Veterinarians practice in all parts of the coun try, although they are located chiefly in States where a large percentage of the Nation’s livestock is raised. States with the largest number of veterinarians in 1956 were California, with about 1,500, and New York, Illinois, Iowa, and Ohio, H EALTH SERVICE with over 1,000 each. Veterinarians in rural areas deal chiefly with large animals, those in small towns usually engage in general practice, while those in cities frequently limit their practice to pet animals. Training and Other Qualifications A license is required in all States and the Dis trict of Columbia for the practice of veterinary medicine. To obtain a license, applicants must usually be graduates of approved veterinary schools and must pass a State Board examination. A few States also require some practical experi ence under the supervision of a licensed veterina rian. A limited number issue licenses without examination to veterinarians who have passed an examination in another State. Two years of preveterinary college work fol lowed by 4 years of professional study in a school of veterinary medicine are the minimum require ments for the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D. V. M .). However, it may take 3 years to complete the preveterinary curriculum, which concentrates on chemistry and other science courses. The veterinary school training includes considerable practical experience with animals as well as laboratory work in anatomy, biochemistry, and other scientific and medical fields. Veteri narians engaged in research or college teaching are sometimes required to have the master’s or Ph. D. degree in fields such as pathology, public health, or bacteriology, in addition to the D. V. M. There are 17 colleges of veterinary medicine in the United States. Each year many more young people apply for admission than can be accepted. Some of the qualifications considered in selecting students are : Good scholastic records, amount and character of preveterinary training (in 1954, about one-fourth of the students selected had a bache lor’s degree), a farm background, good health, and a liking for animals. Opportunities for women students are limited as most veterinary colleges are reluctant to enroll them. Since veterinary colleges are largely State supported, residents of the State in which the school is located are almost always given preference. In the South and West, regional educational plans have been developed that permit cooperating States without veterinary schools to send a few students to designated re gional schools. The regional school is paid a stip ulated sum by the home State of each out-of-State OCCUPATIONS 89 student. In other areas, schools may informally decide to accept a certain number of students from other States, often giving priority to applicants from nearby States without veterinary schools. Some veterinarians begin as assistants to, or partners of, established practitioners. Many establish their own practice and start with a modest financial investment in such essentials as drugs, instruments, and a car. Those operating animal hospitals or purchasing an established practice have to make a substantial investment. Newly qualified veterinarians entering the Army or Air Force are commissioned as first lieutenants. Be ginning veterinarians who are graduates of ac credited veterinary schools qualify for Federal civil-service positions, such as meat and poultry in spectors, disease-control workers, and research as sistants. In addition, a program conducted by the U. S. Department of Agriculture offers junior students of veterinary medicine opportunities to serve as trainees during the summer months. Employment Outlook The shortage of veterinarians which has existed since 1940 is expected to continue—though to a lessening extent—throughout the 1950's. In 1956, private practitioners were in great demand; the U. S. Department of Agriculture had over 150 salaried vacancies; colleges needed teachers and research workers; and many State and municipal health departments had unfilled vacancies. On the other hand, some big cities were believed to have sufficient pet practitioners. The 7 schools established after W orld War I I increased the supply of new veterinarians; an aver age of about 900 were graduated annually between 1950 and 1956. More than 400 of these were needed each year to replace men lost to the profession through death or retirement. Because many veterinarians are in the older age groups, it is anticipated that replacement needs will continue to absorb a large number of the new graduates throughout the early 1960’s. A gradual expansion in the employment of vet erinarians can be expected in the long run. More veterinarians will be needed to care for the in creased number of animals required to feed the country’s expanding population. The trend to ward suburban living is expected to bring about a large growth in the pet population and thus create a greater demand for pet animal specialists. 90 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Emphasis on scientific methods of raising and breeding livestock and poultry will continue to in crease, and public health inspection and sanita tion programs are expected to grow. More teach ers will be needed to meet the anticipated rise in agricultural college enrollment, and veterinary research will expand further. In addition, de veloping programs in international public health and atomic energy research will offer a few oppor tunities. The need for replacements and the anticipated growth in demand for veterinary services, when related to the limited number of veterinarians that can be trained each year by existing schools, point toward continued favorable opportunities for vet erinarians in the long run. However, the demand for veterinary service is closely related to economic conditions, as the market value of an animal usu ally determines the professional care that can be afforded. Any major economic recession Avould greatly affect incomes and employment opportun ities in large animal practice. Practice with pet animals and government employment are less likely to be influenced by economic changes. Veterinarians beginning practice can generally cover their expenses the first year and may often add to their earnings by working part time for government agencies. The average income above expenses in 1950-51 was about $7,400 for veter inarians in private practice, according to an Amer ican Veterinary Medical Association survey. In come from private practice varies according to length of time in practice, location, and type of practice. Veterinarians specializing in practice with pets in large cities or with thoroughbred horses and other purebred animals generally earn the highest incomes. Very successful practitioners sometimes earn $20,000 or more a year. Many private practitioners treat their animal patients on the farm, in open fields, or in unheated buildings. They are sometimes exposed to danger of physical injury, disease, and infection. Work ing hours for those in private practice are likely to be irregular, and veterinarians in rural areas may have to spend much time in traveling long distances. Veterinarians can continue working well beyond the normal retirement age because of the many opportunities for part-time employment or practice. Earnings and W orking Conditions Beginning veterinarians employed full time by the Federal Government in 1956 received $5,200 a year; after 6 months, they could usually qual ify for positions paying $5,440 annually. Summer trainees in the U. S. Department of Agriculture were paid at the rate of $3,670 a year. Veter inarians commissioned as first lieutenants in the Army and Air Force received a base pay of over $3,000 a year plus allowances for quarters and subsistence. In 1954, veterinarians employed by local public health agencies were paid median sal aries of over $5,200. W here To Go for More Information Additional information on veterinary medicine as a career as well as a list of schools providing such training may be obtained from : American Veterinary Medical Association, 600 South Michigan Ave., Chicago 5, 111. Information on opportunities for veterinarians in the U. S. Department of Agriculture is avail able from: Agricultural Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington 25, D. C. Osteopathic Physicians (D. O. T. 0 -3 9 .9 6 ) Nature of W ork Osteopathic physicians are members of a school of medicine which emphasizes manual manipula tion but also uses surgery, drugs, and all other accepted methods of medical care. Most are “ family doctors” who engage in general practice. These physicians usually have office hours, make house calls, and also treat patients in osteopathic hospitals. A few doctors of osteopathy are en gaged primarily in research, teaching, or writing and editing scientific books and journals. A small but growing number specialize in 1 of the follow ing 11 fields recognized by approved specialty examining boards: Internal medicine, neurology and psychiatry, ophthalmology and otorhinolar yngology, pediatrics, physical medicine and re habilitation, dermatology and syphilology, ob- H EALTH SERVICE stetrics and gynecology, pathology, proctology, radiology, and surgery. W here Employed Nearly all of the 12,500 osteopathic physicians professionally active in the United States in 1956 were in private practice. Less than 5 percent held full-time salaried positions, mainly in osteopathic hospitals and colleges. A few were employed by private industry or Government agencies. Osteopathic physicians are located chiefly in those States which place little or no limitation on practice and also have osteopathic hospital facili ties. In 1956, slightly over half of all osteopathic physicians were in the following 5 States: Cali fornia, with more than 2,000; Michigan, Pennsyl vania, and Missouri each with more than 1,000; and Ohio, with more than 700. In each of 26 States, however, there were fewer than 100 osteo pathic physicians. Training and Other Qualifications A license to practice as an osteopathic physician is required in all States. However, the scope of practice allowed differs among the States. Many States and the District of Columbia issue licenses permitting osteopathic physicians to engage in all types of medical and surgical practice. Some States limit osteopathic practice, principally by imposing restrictions on the use of drugs or sur gery by osteopathic physicians. To obtain a license, a candidate must be a gradu ate of an approved school of osteopathy and pass a State board examination. In 19 States and the District of Columbia, passing an examination in the basic sciences is a prerequisite for admission to the professional examination. Some States also require a period of internship after gradua tion from osteopathic school. A ll States except Florida and Rhode Island will usually grant li censes without further examination to properly qualified osteopathic physicians already licensed by another State. Three years of preosteopathic college work fol lowed by 4 years of professional study in an osteo pathic college are the minimum requirements for the degree of doctor of osteopathy (D. O ). Pre osteopathic education must include a specified number of credits in chemistry, physics, biology, and English. During the first 2 years of profes sional training, emphasis is on basic sciences such OCCUPATIONS 91 as anatomy, physiology, and pathology and on the principles of osteopathy; the last 2 years are largely devoted to work with patients in hospitals and clinics. After graduation, almost all doctors of oste opathy serve a 12-month internship at 1 of the 87 osteopathic hospitals which the American Osteo pathic Association has approved for intern train ing. Those who wish to become specialists must have at least 3 years of additional training fol lowed by 2 years of supervised practice in the specialty. Every year, more young people apply for ad mission to the 6 approved schools of osteopathy than can be accepted. In selecting students, con sideration is given to grades in preprofessional education, desire to serve as an osteopathic physi cian rather than as a doctor trained in other schools of medicine, scores on medical aptitude tests, and the amount of preosteopathic college work completed (in 1955, 3 out of every 4 students accepted had bachelor’s degrees). Considerable weight is also given to a favorable recommenda tion by an osteopathic physician familiar with the applicant’s background. Newly qualified doctors of osteopathy usually establish their own practice. A few work as as sistants to experienced physicians or become asso ciated with osteopathic hospitals. In view of the variation in State laws regulating the practice of osteopathy, careful study should be given to the professional and legal requirements of the State in which the osteopathic physician plans to prac tice. Also, the availability of osteopathic hospital and clinical facilities should be taken into account when choosing a location. Employment Outlook Opportunities for osteopathic physicians were excellent in 1956 in those parts of the country where osteopathy is a commonly accepted form of medical care. A strong demand existed for addi tional doctors of osteopathy in California, Penn sylvania, and a number of midwestern States. Also, there were growing opportunities in the Southwest and Northwest. Prospects for begin ning a successful practice were generally consid ered to be best in rural areas, small towns, and city suburbs, where the young doctor of osteopathy could become known more easily than in the centers of large cities. OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK 92 The profession of osteopathy will probably con tinue to expand during the late 1950’s and through out the 1960’s. In recent years, growth has been slow but steady, the total number of professionally active osteopathic physicians rising from about 11,000 in 1950 to about 12,500 in 1956. Although approximately 450 doctors of osteopathy are graduated each year, many of these are needed to replace those lost to the profession through death or retirement. Growth is expected to continue at about the same rate as in the early fifties unless training facilities expand beyond the slight addi tions presently contemplated. In the long run, opportunities for osteopathic physicians will probably continue to be good owing to the likelihood of increased public accep tance o f osteopathy, liberalization of certain State licensing laws, and the establishment of additional osteopathic hospitals. In addition, the demand for all kinds of medical care—including the serv ices of osteopathic physicians—will continue to grow owing to the increase in population, Gov ernment provisions of medical services for vet erans and members of the Armed Forces, the de velopment of prepayment plans for medical care and hospitalization, and the underlying trend to ward higher standards of health care. Women osteopathic physicians will continue to find good opportunities not only in private prac tice but also on faculties of osteopathic colleges and on the staffs of hospitals and clinics. A p proximately 8 percent of all osteopathic physi cians are women. Although men and women are equally eligible for admission to osteopathic col leges, the proportion of applications from women has been declining. In 1956, women students rep resented less than 3 percent of the total enroll ment. Earnings and W orking Conditions As in many of the other health professions, in comes usually rise markedly after the first years of practice. Earnings of individual doctors of oste opathy vary greatly with ability, experience, the income level of the community served, geographic location, and other factors. Surgeons and other specialists usually earn more than those in general practice. Many osteopathic physicians work more than 50 and 60 hours a week. Those in general practice work longer and more irregular hours than surgeons and specialists. W here To Go for More Information Persons wishing to practice in a given State should find out about the requirements for licen sure directly from the board of examiners of that State. A list of State boards, as well as general information on osteopathy as a career, may be obtained from : American Osteopathic Association, 212 E. Ohio St., Chicago 11, 111. Dental Hygienists* (D. O. T. 0 -5 0 .0 7 ) Nature of W ork Dental hygienists, working under the direction o f licensed dentists, clean and polish patients’ teeth and give advice on proper diet and care of the teeth. Dental hygienists who work for private dentists may also take and develop X-ray pictures of the teeth, mix filling compounds, and do miscellaneous clinical work, in addition to cleaning teeth and as sisting the dentist in his work on the patient. Dental hygienists who are employed by school systems usually go from school to school to ex*Prepared by the Women’s Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor. amine the children’s teeth periodically and to refer individuals to dentists. They may also give class room instruction, sometimes with visual aids, on correct toothbrush technique and proper diet. Some school systems require dental hygienists to make home visits to explain to parents the im portance of good dental care. Dental hygienists employed in hospitals or pub lic health clinics may be called upon to work with bed-patients, as well as with those who are able to move about. They may also assist in research projects and give lectures to dental students on various aspects of preventive dental health educa tion. H EALTH C o u r t e s y o f U . S. P u b l ic H e a l t h SERVICE se r v ic e A dental hygienist cleans a child’s teeth prior to thorough examination by the dentist. Where Employed An estimated 6,000 dental hygienists were em ployed in 1956, most of them in the eastern States. The majority of dental hygienists are women. Most dental hygienists work in private dental offices; some work in hospital clinics and other health institutions; and some, in dental hygiene schools. A few work in industrial plants. An in creasing number are being employed by public school systems. Training and Other Qualifications Training for work as a dental hygienist may be secured in 34 schools of dental hygiene located in 24 States. The Council on Dental Education of the American Dental Association had, by October 1956, accredited 31 of these schools; the remaining 3 were under consideration. O f these schools, 22 are associated with the dental programs of uni versities ; the remaining 9 are parts of institutes, colleges, or universities that do not have dental schools. A bachelor’s degree with a major in dental hy giene may be earned by completing a 4-year course OCCUPATIONS 93 which includes 2 years of regular college training in addition to a 2-year dental hygiene course. By completing only this 2-year course, however, a student may obtain a certiticate or diploma in den tal hygiene. The 2 years of training in dental hygiene include instruction in the manual skills involved in the work, methods of teaching, and courses in anatomy, bacteriology, chemistry, nu trition, and X-ray. Special emphasis is placed upon the dental aspects of these subjects, and the student spends a substantial amount of time gain ing clinical experience. Sufficient additional courses to meet the requirements for the bachelor’s degree are provided in the 4-year course. To be admitted to an approved school of dental hygiene, the student must have finished high school. However, more and more schools are giv ing admission preference to students with some college training. In 1956, three of the approved schools would accept only students who had com pleted 2 years or more of college. Almost onethird of the 1,100 freshmen admitted to approved schools in 1955-56 had 1 or more years of college training. For those who plan to work in the field of public health, the 4-year program is desirable. The minimum age requirement for entrance varies among approved schools; some schools ac cept students 17 years of age and over; others accept only those who are 18 or over; still others set a minimum age of 21 years. Maximum age limits also vary, but most schools do not accept students over 35 years of age. According to a recent survey, costs including tuition, supplies, and equipment fees in approved schools averaged $977 for the 2-year dental hygiene course. Approximately $644 of this amount was for tuition. The cost of the 4-year degree pro gram would, of course, include tuition and fees for an additional 2 years. In order to practice, dental hygienists must be licensed by the State Board of Dental Examiners in the State in which they wish to practice. Upon passing the licensing examination, the hygienist becomes a Registered Dental Hygienist (R. D. H .). Each State has its own statutory requirements, and only a few States offer reciprocity. There fore, in order to relocate in another State, the den tal hygienist usually must take the State examina tion in that State. Opportunities for advancement are relatively limited for dental hygienists. Dentists in private practice usually do not employ more than one 94 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK dental hygienist, which limits opportunities for supervisory work. A few health departments and school systems employ supervisors in dental hy giene, but the top positions as directors of dental programs are usually held by dentists. With additional training, however, the dental hygienist may become a teacher in a school of dental hygiene. Employment Outlook Employment opportunities for dental hygienists were excellent in 1956. Although the number of graduates (902) from approved schools in 1956 was almost double the number in 1950, reports indicate that about twice as many could have been employed. Shortages were especially acute in Southern and Western States. The demand for dental hygienists, which has been increasing steadily over the past several years, is expected to continue and expand over the remainder of the decade and well into the 1960's. Many openings are created each year by relatively high turnover among young women in the field who leave their jobs for marriage and family re sponsibilities. A recent survey showed that most of the students in dental hygiene schools graduate in their early twenties and that more than 5 per cent of them are married before graduation. Growing emphasis on preventive health measures, including early and regular dental care and ex panding dental programs in schools and in public health services, will create additional openings for the services of dental hygienists. As a result of the expanding demand, mature persons who wush to return to the profession or who can secure adequate training can expect to find good opportunities for employment. Earnings and W orking Conditions Salaries for dental hygienists depend upon the location of the job, the type of employer, and the education and experience of the hygienist. Yearly salaries for hygienists working full time during 1953 averaged $3,615. The averages varied from $3,230 for those working in the Northeast to $4,908 for those working in the West. Highest average earnings were reported by those working on a com mission basis for private dentists. Beginning an nual salaries in the Federal service in 1956 were $3,175, $3,415, and $3,679, depending upon the applicant’s qualifications. A 40-hour workweek is usual for hygienists, and working conditions are generally pleasant. Paid vacations of 2 weeks are customary, but longer vacations are given on some jobs. W here To Go for More Information Information on approved schools, training re quirements, and job opportunities may be secured from the following organization : American Dental Hygienists Association, 1735 Eye St., N W , Washington 6, D. G. Information concerning licensing requirements can be obtained from the State Board of Dental Examiners in the State in which the dental hy gienist wishes to practice. Physical Therapists* (D. O. T. 0 -5 2 .8 0 ) Nature of Work Physical therapists, under the general direction o f physicians, assist patients with muscle, nerve, joint, or bone injuries or diseases in trying to re cover use of the disabled parts of their bodies. The principal disorders treated are fractures, poliomyelitis, cerebral palsy, arthritis, and physi cal injuries or deformities. Patients are prima rily those disabled in work, home, or highway ac cidents ; children crippled by poliomyelitis or cerebral palsy; and war veterans. *Prepared by the Women’s Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor. Physical therapists treat patients by means of physical exercises; applications of massage, heat, light, water, or electricity; or by use of mechani cal apparatus. The recording and charting of each patient’s progress is an important part of the therapists’ duties. They also give diagnostic muscle and nerve tests to obtain data useful in planning a treatment program as well as in mak ing the changes needed as a result of progress and prognosis. They usually are the ones who teach patients needing braces and crutches how to use and care for them. They also show patients and their parents or other relatives how to continue treatments at home. H EALTH SERVICE 95 OCCUPATIONS C o u r t e s y o f u . S. D e p a r t m e n t o f t h e A r m y Army physical therapist giving electrical stimulation to the paralyzed muscles of a soldier patient’s leg. In addition, physical therapists may be respon sible for clinical instruction of physical therapy students, students of related professions, or non professional personnel (such as ward aides, order lies, and clerks, concerned with the care of pa tients. Since the therapists’ work is integrated with that of other members of the rehabilitation team responsible for a patient’s total care, they must attend conferences at which the progress of patients is considered. A rehabilitation team is directed by a physician and may include a teacher, nurse, medical and psychiatric social worker, oc cupational therapist, psychologist, speech ther apist, recreational worker, and vocational coun selor. Although qualified therapists handle all types of patients, some specialize in working only with children, veterans, amputees, or victims of polio myelitis, cerebral palsy, or arthritis. Where Employed An estimated 7,800 qualified physical thera pists, of whom about 85 percent were women, were employed in 1956. They were working princi pally in metropolitan areas throughout the coun try, but the northeastern and western States had considerably more physical therapists in propor tion to population than did the southern or cen tral States. About half of the qualified physical therapists work in hospitals, where they treat mainly patients recovering from surgery, fractures, or other in juries and disabilities. About half of these ther apists are employed by private, nonprofit hos pitals, and about one-fourth by hospitals of State or local governments. Almost all of the re mainder work in hospitals operated by agencies of the Federal Government, principally the Veterans Administration, as well as the Armed Forces and the U. S. Public Health Service. Most hospitals with physical therapists are large general hospitals but some specialize in services for children or the chronically ill. More than one-fourth of the physical therapists are employed by rehabilitation or treatment cen ters, schools or societies for handicapped children, and public-health agencies. Most of these organ- 96 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK izations provide regular treatment for chronic cases. The remainder work mainly in doctors’ offices or clinics, teach physical therapy, or are engaged in clinical or laboratory research in treatment pro cedures or in any of the basic sciences such as anat omy or physiology. A few physical therapists serve as administrators or coordinators of depart mental programs in large facilities or as consul tants in governmental or private agencies. Training and Other Qualifications In 1956, 37 approved schools, including the Army Medical Service program, offered training in physical therapy. The majority of approved schools were affiliated with large universities, often through their medical schools. The others were operated by hospitals, most of which had univer sity affiliations. All of the approved schools o f fered training to college graduates and 31 granted a certificate in physical therapy to graduate stu dents completing 12- to 16-month courses. En trance requirements for admission to these courses varied somewhat among schools but generally in cluded prior study of specific biological, physical, and social sciences. About three-fourths of the approved physical therapy schools also offer un dergraduate programs leading to a college degree. The degree program generally is a 4-year course open to high school graduates of good standing. Some colleges, however, accept undergraduate col lege students who have completed 2 years of gen eral college work, including a certain number of prerequisite science courses. Annual tuition in physical therapy schools var ies from a minimum of $75 in a State university (for State residents) to a maximum of $1,000 in a private university. In 1956, numerous scholar ships were being offered to students in an effort to attract more trained personnel into the field. The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, principal source of scholarship funds, requires that its recipients work under a qualified physical therapist for a year following completion of training. Graduation from an AMA-approved school of physical therapy is requisite for membership in the American Physical Therapy Association, for State licensure, and for voluntary registration with the American Registry of Physical Thera pists. Many employers, particularly large hos pitals and organizations, hire only those persons who meet the requirements of these organizations. Legal registration, for which therapists must sat isfy certain educational and employment stand ards, is now required for practicing in 24 States, while licensure laws are being considered in many others. With the increase of schools in this field, nu merous teaching positions have become available for physical therapists. These positions are gen erally open to those who have secured a college degree and who have had general clinical experi ence, preferably for at least 3 years. Other ad vancement opportunities for physical therapists lie in supervisory and administrative positions, but these exist mainly in large hospitals and organi zations and are very limited in small centers or offices. Important characteristics needed by physical therapists are emotional stability, a moderate amount of manual dexterity, and a strong interest in humanitarian service. Since physical thera pists must help patients and members of their fam ily understand the treatments given and prepare them emotionally for changes that occur, a thera pist must have patience, resourcefulness, and a sympathetic attitude toward patients. Good ver bal expression in giving instructions to patients and relatives; ability to plan and organize time, material, and work output; and physical stamina are also needed. Employment Outlook The rising demand for physical therapists, which began during W orld War II, continued to be acute in 1956, when 5,800 job vacancies were reported. This need existed despite the fact that the number of graduates from approved schools had almost tripled, rising from 238 in 1941 to 650 in 1955. The greater number of hospital beds and the growing public interest in the rehabilitation of all physically handicapped persons, including the large number of World War II veterans, have H EALTH SERVICE been responsible for increased staff requirements. This need is expected to continue during the remainder of the decade and well into the 1960’s, as a result of the expanding use of physical ther apy in caring for the injured, diseased, and aged. Vocational rehabilitation and crippled-children programs, in which States are aided by Federal funds, will further bolster the demand. More physicians are also expected to recommend physi cal therapy for their patients, as techniques and equipment for treating many other diseases im prove. In addition to these new positions, many hundreds of job openings will result from turn over in the field, since the vast majority of workers are young women who may be leaving their jobs for marriage or family responsibilities. It has been estimated that at least 3,000 new graduates will be needed each year, through the middle 1960’s, for new positions and replacements. Since the supply of graduates from approved physical therapy schools is expected to be insuffi cient to meet these needs, employment opportuni ties should continue to be excellent through the mid-1960’s. Opportunities will be good not only for staff jobs but also for teachers in physical ther apy schools and for those engaged in research programs. Over the long run, employment for physical therapists is expected to continue to expand, as advances in medical knowledge increase the life span of all the population, including the physically handicapped. 97 OCCUPATIONS cant. At the same time, a starting rate of $4,063 including rental and subsistence payments was paid to therapists (second lieutenants) in the Women’s Army Medical Specialist Corps and also to junior assistants in the commissioned corps of the U. S. Public Health Service. A salary survey of hospital personnel made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 15 metropolitan areas indicated that weekly salaries of physical therapists ranged from $65.00 to $87.00 in 1956 and early 1957. Average straight-time weekly earnings and average weekly hours of physical therapists in each of the survey areas are shown below: Weekly average City Hours Baltimore Boston 40 .5 40 .0 40 .0 Buffalo Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland Dallas Los Angeles-Long Beach . ... Memphis Minneapolis-St. Paul 4 0 .0 40. 0 40 .0 40. 0 4 0 .0 4 3 .5 4 0 .0 Earnmgs $77. 00 6 5 .0 0 71. 50 78. 50 81. 50 74. 50 76. 50 82. 00 8 6 .0 0 87. 00 New York 39. 5 78. 00 Philadelphia 3 9 .0 6 9 .0 0 Portland ( Oreg.) San Francisco-Oakland 4 0 .0 4 0 .0 80 .00 83. 50 St. Louis 4 1 .0 77. 50 Salaries of supervisors were reported by the A P T A in 1955 to range from $5,000 to $6,000 a year. Administrators’ salaries ranged upward from about $8,000 a year. Earnings W here To Go for More Information Starting salaries of new graduates in physical therapy averaged $3,600 in 1956, according to a survey of the American Physical Therapy Associa tion. A median salary of $4,400 a year was re ported for 3,300 physical therapists, about twothirds of the Association membership. Some salaries were supplemented by maintenance and/or meals and by the laundering of uniforms. En trance salaries for physical therapists in the Fed eral Civil Service (as set during the latter part of 1955) ranged from $3,670 to $5,440 a year, de pending on the previous experience of the appli 4 2 7 6 7 5 ° — 57 - -8 Additional information concerning women as physical therapists is available in a U. S. Depart ment o f Labor’s Women’s Bureau publication The Outlook for Women as Physical Therapists. Bulletin No. 203-1, Bevised, 51 pp. Washington, D. C. 1952. Price 20 cents. Information may also be obtained from : American Physical Therapy Association, 1790 Broadway, New York 19, N. Y. American Registry of Physical Therapists, 30 North Michigan Ave., Chicago 2, 111. OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK 98 Medical Record Librarians* (D. O. T. 0—23.25) Nature of W ork W here Employed Medical record librarians are responsible for keeping complete and accurate records of patients’ illnesses and treatments. Primary use of the patients’ records is made by physicians in studying patients’ medical histories, diagnosing their ail ments, and prescribing patient care. Medical rec ords are useful to administrators in analyzing the health services offered by their organizations and in determining agency policies and procedures. The records are also used in training medical per sonnel and in developing and evaluating new treatments and medications. The duties of medical record librarians include collecting and cataloging medical and surgical in formation such as reports on X-rays and opera tions, laboratory findings, doctors’ orders, and progress notations; checking and organizing these data for completeness and accuracy; performing or supervising the coding and indexing of reports on various diseases and treatments; abstracting and transcribing case histories to permanent rec ords; answering inquiries and preparing reports on individual cases; aiding in the development or improvement of procedures, forms, and methods; and preparing analyses for the use of physicians in their research work. (Medical record librarians should not be confused with medical librarians, who have charge of the library in a hospital or medical institution and who work with books and other publications. Medical librarians do not work with patients’ records.) In some hospitals, clinics, or other health organi zations, two or more medical record librarians may be in charge of patients’ records, but often one qualified medical record librarian, with the help of clerical assistants, has full responsibility for all the medical records of an organization. The head medical record librarian may repre sent the department in hospital staff meetings and may have to vouch for the accuracy of records if they are subpenaed by the court. Because of the importance of the medical record department in many hospitals, the medical record librarian may participate in major decisions affecting the operat ing efficiency of the hospital. Over 6,900 persons were employed as medical record librarians in 1956. Almost all w^ere work ing in hospitals. A few medical record librarians were employed in clinics, medical research centers, or medical departments of insurance companies and large industrial concerns. According to a sur vey made by the American Hospital Association in September 1955, almost two-thirds of their mem ber hospitals were utilizing the services of med ical record librarians. Almost nine-tenths of the persons in the occupation worked full time. Since most hospitals are located in or near metropolitan areas, most medical record librarians work in the major population centers of the coun try. More than one-fourth are employed in the northeastern States. Almost all medical record librarians are women, although men are beginning to enter the occupa tion. In 1956, 99 percent of the members of the American Association of Medical Record Librar ians were women. ♦Prepared by the Women’s Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor. Training and Other Qualifications Those seeking entry into this occupation today find formal training essential, even though less than 15 percent of the active medical record librar ians in 1953 were graduates of the 30 schools af filiated with hospitals or universities and ap proved by the Council on Medical Education and Hospitals of the American Medical Association. In the past, training w^as conducted by hospitals themselves on an apprenticeship basis, but now most hospitals prefer to hire graduates of ap proved schools. Seventeen of the approved schools offer a 12month hospital course leading to a certificate in medical record library science. Prerequisite for enrollment in a certified course is 2 years of college or graduation from a recognized school of nursing. Six approved schools offer a 4-vear degree course for high school graduates. Several have designed a 12-month certificate course for college graduates and 1 school has a 12-month degree course for those with 3 years of college. Courses in the approved H EALTH SERVICE OCCUPATIONS schools include at least 160 hours of anatomy, physiology, medical terminology, and funda mentals of medical science. In addition, all stu dents are encouraged to become proficient in typing. Tuition fees for certificate courses range from no fee in the one federally sponsored school to $425 in private schools. Tuition in degree-grant ing schools varies from $150 to $600 a year. Text book expenses approximate $40. In July 1956, there were 3,473 persons listed in a registry maintained by the American Associa tion of Medical Record Librarians. About 35 per cent of the medical record librarians employed on a full-time basis in hospitals were registered. Registration is considered to be a measure of pro fessional attainment in this field, and many hos pitals prefer to have at least one registered medi cal record librarian on their staff. Requirements for registration are: Membership in the Association; either graduation from an ap proved school or the combination of sufficient edu cation to qualify for admission to an approved school plus pertinent work experience during 5 of the 6 previous years; and passing a written examination. Certain personal characteristics are required for successful and satisfying work in this occupation. Important among these are an interest in detail and a willingness to be thoroughly accurate. Since the medical information secured must be kept strictly confidential, medical record librar ians must also be trustworthy. And in dealing with worried members o f the patients’ families, as well as with busy doctors, persons in this work must be tactful and courteous. Assignments to supervisory work, primarily in large facilities, afford advancement opportunities for medical record librarians. In a large medical record department, the head medical record li brarian may be responsible for the work of other medical record librarians and for a staff of typists, surgical secretaries, file clerks, and clerical workers. Employment Outlook The need for medical record librarians has been growing steadily since the start of World War II. As the number of hospitals and health facilities 99 has increased and new methods o f medical treat ment have been developed, the recordkeeping function has become increasingly important. The training o f qualified medical record librarians, however, has not kept pace with the demand. During the 1953-54 school year, student capacity of the approved schools was about 220, but enroll ment was only about half that number. The American Association of Medical Record Librar ians estimated that about 6,000 additional medi cal record librarians could have been advanta geously used in hospitals in 1956. A t the present level of school enrollment, the supply of qualified new workers will not be sufficient to meet the cur rent demand or that anticipated well into the 1960’s. Over the long run, employment opportunities are expected to be good for graduates of approved schools. With the expansion of health facilities and services, additional new jobs for medical rec ord librarians will be created. In addition, re placements will be needed for the young women in these jobs who will leave for marriage or family responsibilities. Earnings Starting salaries of registered medical record librarians averaged about $4,600 in 1956. In addi tion, many hospitals provided free medical care for their employees and some offered complete or partial maintenance. The basic salaries were re lated not only to the nature and responsibility of the position involved but also to the geographic location and size of the institution where the medi cal record librarians were employed. A medical record librarian in a small hospital, an assistant medical record librarian in a large hospital, or an inexperienced beginner often received less than $3,600. Salaries of medical record librarians en tering the Federal Civil Service were set during the latter part of 1955 to range from $3,670 to $7,570 a year, depending upon the amount o f previous experience. Medical record librarians employed in hospitals located in 16 metropolitan areas were reported to receive average weekly salaries ranging from $68 to $86.50, according to a survey made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1956 and early 1957. Average straight-time hours and earnings of medi- 100 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK cal record librarians in each of the surveyed areas follow : Weekly average City Hours Earnings Atlanta________________________________________ Baltimore_____________________________________ Boston_________________________________________ Buffalo________________________________________ Chicago________________________________________ Cincinnati_____________________________________ Cleveland______________________________________ 42 40 40 40 40 40 40 $75.00 76.00 68.00 76.50 79.50 83.50 84.00 Dallas_________________________________________ Los Angeles-Long Beach____________________ 40 40 80.00 86.50 Memphis_______________________________________ 41 75.00 Minneapolis-St. Paul_________________________ 40 81.50 New York_____________________________________ 40 Philadelphia___________________________________ 40 81.50 70.00 Portland (O reg .)____________________________ 40 79.50 Weekly average City Hours Earnings San Francisco-Oakland_____________________ 40 St. Louis______________________________________ 40 $84. 50 76. 00 Where To Go for Mere Information Additional information on employment condi tions and opportunities for medical record li brarians is given in the following publication: U. S. Department of Health, Education, and W elfare, Public Health Service. Health Manpower Source Book, Sec. 6, Medical Record Librarians, 41 pp. Washington 25, D. C. 1954. Price 30 cents. Information may also be obtained from : American Association of Medical Record Librarians, 510 North Dearborn St., Chicago 10, 111. Occupational Therapists* (D. O. T. 0 -3 2 .0 4 ) Nature of Work Occupational therapists organize educational, recreational, and prevocational programs which involve a variety of activities, to assist in the physical, psychological, and economic rehabilita tion o f injured and disabled persons. After a physician makes his diagnosis and out lines treatment objectives for a patient, occupa tional therapists select and carry out a program o f activities which will best meet the patient’s needs. These activities may include typesetting, weaving, painting, clay modeling, leather craft, or photography. They may also involve training in adjustment to daily living through group plan ning and participation in dances, concerts, plays, and other activities. Occupational therapists may supervise occupa tional therapy aides who teach a particular skill, volunteer workers, and student therapists. Some occupational therapists have administrative duties as directors and assistant directors of an occupa tional therapy program; some specialize in work ing with various disabled groups; others may serve as directors or teachers in approved schools o f occupational therapy. Association in January 1957. Most occupational therapists are women, but an increasing number of men are being trained for the occupation. A p proximately 4 out of 5 occupational therapists work in hospitals and other health institutions, Where Employed About 5,500 occupational therapists were regis tered with the American Occupational Therapy ♦Prepared by the Women’s Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor. C o u r t e s y o f u . S. P u b l ic H e a l t h S e r v ic e Occupational therapist helping a patient to recover use of injured hand and arm. H EALTH SERVICE such as school clinics, sanatoriums, and some homes for the aged. Most of the remainder work in special workshops or rehabilitation centers to which patients come for treatment. These centers are sponsored by hospitals, religious organizations, or community agencies, such as associations for the blind, the deaf, or cerebral palsied. A few oc cupational therapists are employed in home visit ing programs for patients unable to go to clinics or workshops. Training and Other Qualifications Graduation from an approved school of occupa tional therapy is a general requirement for occu pational therapists. Graduates of schools ac credited by the American Medical Association are eligible to take the national registration examin ation conducted by the American Occupational Therapy Association. Upon successful comple tion of the examination, they may use the initials O.T.R. (Occupational Therapist Registered) after their names. Hospitals of the Federal Govern ment hire only registered occupational therapists. In 1956, 30 colleges or universities offered courses in occupational therapy approved by the American Medical Association. For high school graduates, this training included 4 years of college work plus 9 months of supervised practice in hos pitals and health agencies leading to a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in occupational therapy. The majority of these schools also ac cept college graduates who may earn a certificate in occupational therapy following 18 months of specialized training. Occupational therapists without experience be gin as staff therapists and may qualify as senior therapists after 2 years of experience on the job. Experienced therapists may become directors of therapy programs in large hospitals, clinics, or workshops, or teachers in occupational therapy schools. There are also some key positions as consultants with large institutions and agencies. Personal characteristics needed in this occupa tion are emotional stability, a sincere interest in medical work, and a sympathetic but objective ap proach to illness and disability. OCCUPATIONS 101 Since World War II, the demand for occupa tional therapists has been increasing. The grow ing public interest in the rehabilitation of all physically handicapped persons, including the large number of war veterans; the demonstrated success of occupational therapy programs in re storing persons to health; the help people receive from the occupational therapist in adjusting to their illness or disability and in increasing their usefulness to themselves, their families, and their communities—all these factors have been respon sible for the rising demand for occupational ther apists. Furthermore, increasing use is expected to be made of occupational therapists in treating ill nesses and disabilities arising from industrial ac cidents, as well as in treating victims of cerebral palsy, poliomyelitis, and heart disease. Antici pated expanded use of occupational therapy in treating persons suffering from mental illnesses and in rehabilitating the growing number of aged persons will also increase the demand for therapists. In addition to the new positions created by these developments, many job openings will result from turnover. In 1956, the number of jobs exceeded the number of trained workers. It is estimated by the American Occupational Therapy Association that 8,000 additional workers will be needed by 1958. In order to meet the expanding demand, more students will have to enter training, and training facilities will have to be expanded. The present capacity of the approved occupational therapy schools is 3,500 students, although in the 1955-56 academic year only 2,600 were enrolled. Grad uates in 1956 numbered 500. Even if schools were filled to capacity, the supply of graduates would be insufficient to meet the rising demand. Oppor tunities for men are especially good because of the demand for their services in mental hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and veterans’ facilities. In the long run, employment for occupational therapists is expected to continue to expand as public understanding increases with regard to the role which such therapy can play in facilitating the adjustments of disabled persons and patients with chronic illnesses. Employment Outlook Earnings and W orking Conditions Opportunities for registered occupational ther apists seeking employment are expected to be ex cellent well into the midsixties. Salaries of occupational therapists ranged from $3,500 to $9,000 in 1956 according to the American 102 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Occupational Therapy Association. The begin ning salary in the Federal Government in 1956 for occupational therapists without experience was $3,670 a year; and those with at least 1 year o f experience started at $4,525. Many State in stitutions were offering $4,000 a year in 1956 for beginning therapists. The 8-hour day, 40-hour week is customary, with only a few institutions working a 44- to 45hour week. Vacation leave for therapists ranges from 2 to 4 weeks annually. Many positions now offer health and retirement benefits. W h ere To Go for More Information Additional information on occupational ther apy is available in a U. S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau publication The Outlook for Women as Occupational Therapists. Bulletin 203-2 Bevised. Washington, D. C. 1952. Price 20 cents. Detailed information on the field, on colleges offering approved programs, and on scholarships can be obtained from : American Occupational Therapy Association, 250 W est 57th St., New York 19, N. Y. ENGINEERING Introduction Engineering is one of the largest professional occupations, exceeded in size only by teaching and nursing; for men, it is the largest profession. The approximately 700,000 engineers in the United States in 1956 contributed greatly to planning the work of, and designing the machines, equipment, roads, and buildings used by a majority of the Nation’s 66 million employed workers. Engineers give technical and, frequently, managerial leader ship in industry. They develop new products and processes, design many types of structures, devise the most efficient ways of obtaining minerals from the earth, and contribute in countless other ways to the technological progress of our civilization and to the national defense. Nature o f W ork Engineers are concerned with transforming natural resources into forms useful to mankind and with doing this in the most efficient manner possible. This emphasis on efficiency, which is related to cost, is one of the main factors distin guishing the work of most engineers from that of most scientists. A chemist may create a new com pound or a geologist may discover an oilfield. It is the job of the engineer to figure out how the com pound can be manufactured or the oil extracted at a cost low enough to be sold on the market. In constructing a large building, it might be pos sible to insure safety by making the walls of solid masonry 20 feet thick, but it is much more efficient and less expensive to have an engineer calculate just how much weight the walls will have to bear, what other forces will affect them, and what safety factors must be allowed. The engineer has to decide which building materials would be the best to use, considering the relative strengths and dura bility of the various materials, their cost, the quantities needed, and the cost of the labor re quired in construction. These same types of fac tors have to be considered by engineers developing and designing such diverse products as elec tronic equipment, home appliances, and diesel locomotives. Besides developing and designing new and im proved products, engineers perform various other types of work. Their “ know-how” is used in ad ministration and management, particularly in the industries in which engineering methods are most important. Many supervise construction or the operation of plants and mines. Others are en gaged in research, aimed at providing the informa tion needed in developing new products or meth ods of manufacture. Some, particularly trainees or beginning engineers, do drafting, analysis or testing, much of which is routine work. A sizable number work for consulting firms or as indepen dent consultants, who advise their clients on en gineering matters. Many companies employ en gineers in selling their products, particularly when the salesman must be able to discuss the tech nical aspects of the product and assist in planning its installation and use. A relatively small but exceedingly important group of engineers teach in colleges, universities, or other engineering schools. Most engineers specialize in some one branch of the profession, although there is a trend away from specialization in the early phases of training and career development. At least 20 specialties are recognized in practice and in engineering school courses. Several of these, which are dis cussed separately later in this chapter, are aero nautical, ceramic, chemical, civil, electrical, indus trial, mechanical, metallurgical, and mining en gineering. (Agricultural engineering is discussed separately under the chapter on Agricultural Oc cupations; see index for page number.) Work in each of these areas involves specialized knowledge, but there is a considerable body of basic knowledge and methodology which is common to most areas of engineering. Thus, engineers are often able to shift from one branch to another, particularly in the early stages of their careers. Engineers frequently become specialists also in a particular technology or in the engineering prob lems of an industry. In many instances, these specialties cut across the traditional branches. Nuclear engineering is an example of a growing field of work associated with a new technology. 103 104 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK The engineer working in this field frequently has considerable academic training in physics and mathematics and often graduate training in nu clear engineering, but his bachelor’s degree is usu ally in chemical, mechanical, or one of the other traditional branches of engineering. W h ere Employed The majority of engineers— about two-thirds of the total number in 1956— are employed in private industry. Virtually all manufacturing industries employ some engineers. The branches of manu facturing employing the largest numbers are the machinery, electrical equipment, and aircraft and parts industries. Other industries which employ sizable numbers of engineers include transporta tion and other public utilities, telecommunications, construction, and industries producing motor ve hicles, chemicals and allied products, petroleum, fabricated metal products and ordnance, primary metals, and professional and scientific instruments. Another large group of engineers— almost 20 percent in 1956— are employed by Federal, State, and local government agencies. Estimates of the proportions of engineers in still other types of em ployment are military ( active duty), about 5 per cent; self-employed (consulting firms), about the same proportion or slightly less; and educational institutions, about 2 percent. The remaining small group are in a variety of other fields, in cluding commercial laboratories and nonprofit organizations. Engineers are employed in every State, in small cities as well as large. The profession also offers opportunities for employment overseas. How ever, some branches of engineering are concen trated in particular industries or geographic loca tions (as indicated in the statements on the various branches later in this chapter). Training and Other Qualifications Four years of college work leading to a bache lor’s degree in engineering is usually the minimum educational requirement for engineering work. Some engineers have, however, entered the pro fession with training in physics, one of the other natural sciences, or mathematics. Others have been able to enter the field without degrees but only after long experience in semiprofessional work and some college-level training. The pro portion of engineers with advanced degrees is still small in most branches of the profession, but graduate training is being emphasized in the se lection of personnel for an ever increasing num ber of jobs. Furthermore, training in some engi neering specialties, such as nuclear engineering, is available chiefly at the graduate level. It is important for prospective engineering stu dents to select an accredited school of engineering, since persons trained at such schools generally have the best employment opportunities. O f the 215 universities and engineering schools which o f fered training in engineering leading to a bache lor’s or a higher degree in 1956, 151 had curriculums which were accredited by the Engineers’ Council for Professional Development. In the typical 4-year engineering curriculum, the first year and part of the second are devoted to basic preengineering subjects such as mathematics, chemistry, and physics, and to courses in the liberal arts—the humanities, social sciences, and English. The last 2 years are devoted mostly to engineering and advanced mathematics and science subjects, with some differences in courses depending on the branch of engineering in which the student is specializing. Some institutions have 5-year pro grams, leading to the bachelor’s degree and a num ber of engineering schools have arrangements with liberal arts colleges whereby a student spends 3 years in the liberal arts college and 2 years in the engineering school and receives bachelor’s degrees from both. Thirty-five institutions have coop erative plans under which students spend alternate periods in attendance at college and in employment in industry or government. Under such plans, the normal 4-year curriculum is spread over 5 and sometimes 6 years, but the graduate has the advan tage of about 2 years of industrial experience in addition to his engineering degree. With the rapid developments in science and engineering, many employers in recent years have stressed the need for engineers with a strong back ground in mathematics and the basic sciences. Therefore, persons contemplating an engineering career should rate well above average in mathe matics and science courses in high school and should continue to obtain extensive training in these subjects in college. There is also a demand for engineering graduates with broad training in other subjects, including the social sciences and the humanities. Furthermore, many employers ENGINEERING emphasize the extracurricular college record of prospective employees. Beginning engineers may enter as trainees or in the more routine jobs. Many industrial em ployers have special training programs for their beginning engineers, designed to supplement col lege work with training in specific industrial tech niques and to aid in determining the type of work for which the individual is best suited. With experience, engineers can move up to positions of greater responsibility. Those with ability and interest can advance to high-level technical, super visory, and administrative jobs and even to top executive positions. Laws providing for licensing or registration of professional engineers are in effect in all 48 States, the District of Columbia, and 5 Territories. In general, the purpose of the laws is to ensure that engineering work which may affect life, health, or property is done by registered engineers. The various laws have different provisions as to the types of work for which registration is required. For example, in one State only civil engineers have to register, although almost all other States provide registration for those in all major branches of engineering. In 1956, about 207,000 of the approximately 700,000 engineers in the country were registered. Registration laws are subject to frequent change and improvement. Generally, requirements for registration as a professional engineer are: Grad uation from an approved engineering college, plus 4 years of experience and passing of a State exam ination. Examining boards may accept a longer period o f experience as a substitute for a college degree. Employment Outlook Employment opportunities for engineers were excellent in 1956. Demand for engineers in creased rapidly after World War I I —particularly after the outbreak of hostilities in Korea in 1950, when the needs of the expanded defense program were added to those of the growing civilian econ omy. The supply of new engineering graduates available during the early and middle 1950’s was not enough to meet the rising demand. In 1956, about 26,000 bachelor’s degrees in engineering were conferred, somewhat more than were granted in 1954 or 1955 (about 22,000 each year) but far less than the peak number of about 53,000 granted 105 in 1950, when the largest number of veterans graduated. It should be noted, however, that in each year from 1954 to 1956 the number of degrees awarded was considerably greater than the largest number awarded in any year during, or prior to, World War II (about 16,000 in 1942). Employment opportunities for women engi neers, who still represent only a small proportion of the profession, were very favorable in 1956. Furthermore, there has been a recent trend for employers to eliminate salary and other employ ment differences between men and women engi neers of comparable education and experience who are doing similar work. The outlook is for continued expansion of the profession both in the next few years and over the long run. Engineering has been one of the most rapidly growing professional occupations in the United States in the past 50 years, and there is every indication that it will go on growing rap idly. Some of the major factors expected to raise the demand for engineering personnel are con tinued growth of population and expansion o f industry, increasing complexity of industrial tech nology as, for example, the trend toward auto mation of industrial procedures, and further growth in expenditures for research and develop ment. The large sums spent for research and de velopment in recent years, by both industry and Government, have broadened existing areas of employment for engineers and opened up new ones, such as computer technology and nuclear energy. As scientific frontiers are further extended, addi tional areas of work for engineers will be provided. In addition, a rise in engineering enrollments is anticipated in colleges and universities, and this will result in many openings in teaching. (See statement on employment outlook in college and university teaching; refer to index for page num ber.) The demand for engineering teachers was already great in 1956, and most engineering col leges were having difficulty in recruiting faculty. Besides engineers needed to fill new positions* thousands will have to be trained annually to re place those who die, retire, or transfer to other oc cupations. Losses to the profession from deaths and retirements alone were estimated to be about 10,000 a year in 1956 and were expected to rise slowly in the future. Along with the expected growth in demand for engineers, an increase in the supply of graduates is anticipated. I f the proportion of college grad- 106 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK uates majoring in engineering remains the same as in recent years, the number of bachelor’s degrees conferred in engineering will rise slowly in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s and more rapidly thereafter. In 1965, the number may be as high as 56,000, more than double the number conferred in 1956, according to estimates by the U. S. Office of Education. Nevertheless, it is expected that employment prospects for engineering graduates will continue to be favorable through the early 1960’s, at least. This conclusion is based on the assumption that the Nation’s economy will continue to expand. It also assumes that Government spending for de fense, including research and development— a ma jor factor affecting demand for engineers—will re main high. I f Government spending for these purposes should drop, the demand for engineers would become less pressing. On the other hand, a substantial increase in defense expenditures or an acceleration in other Government programs such as public works would intensify the demand for engineering personnel. For the student, the anticipated rapid growth in engineering enrollments may mean increasing d if ficulty in entering the engineering school of his choice. A number of land-grant colleges were al ready reporting crowded facilities in 1956. Un less facilities and teaching staffs are greately ex panded, colleges and universities may not be able to accommodate all students wishing to enter engi neering schools, and some institutions may raise entrance standards. In any case, the necessity for adequate preparation and realistic appraisal of aptitude for engineering work should be empha sized. In recent years, industry officials have con tinually stressed the need for high-quality men as a more pressing problem than inadequate numbers o f graduates. Even under favorable employment conditions, the marginal student may not advance far up the professional ladder. On the other hand, there is every reason to believe that the demand for engineering graduates with ability and thorough training will remain high for many years to come. The foregoing analysis relates to the outlook for the engineering profession as a whole. The dif ferences among the various branches of engineer ing with respect to the current employment situ ation and expected future employment trends are discussed in the statements on these branches later in this chapter. It will be noted that no evaluation of the future supply of personnel in each branch is included in these statements. Such evaluation is difficult for a number of reasons. In the first place, the num bers of students majoring in the various branches of engineering depend not only on the numbers of young people of college age and the degree of in terest in the engineering profession but also on many special factors, such as the availability of training facilities and the relative employment situation in the various branches at the time the student decides to enter. Moreover, graduates with a degree in one field of engineering often find employment in another. This mobility of per sonnel is one of the reasons why differences in the employment situation among the various fields of engineering are likely to be moderate, at least among the younger members of the profession. Earnings Monthly starting salaries of new engineering graduates with bachelor’s degrees and no experi ence are shown in the following tabulation, based on a survey made by Engineers Joint Council in the spring and summer of 1956. Industry Median Highest Lowest (average) starting starting salary starting salary salary reported reported $410 Chemicals and allied products _ Petroleum products and extraction-_ 435 Primary metals, fabricated metal products and ordnance, and 405 metal mining 425 Electrical equipment 425 Transportation equipment Professional and scientific instru 410 ments Other manufacturing and mining 415 industries and construction 410 Railroads 390 Telecommunications 400 Utilities and sanitary services- _ Miscellaneous services: 425 Consulting 425 Research and development------375 Government (other than Federal)-- $450 450 $375 390 490 500 500 375 375 350 465 390 465 425 425 435 350 365 300 325 500 500 435 300 360 250 For engineering graduates with master’s de grees, starting salaries were approximately $50 to $100 a month higher than for those with only bachelor’s degrees. For graduates with doctors degrees, monthly starting salaries typically ranged from $600 to $750. In early 1957, engi- 107 ENGINEERING neering salaries were generally higher than in the spring and summer of 1956, when the data shown above were collected. In the Federal Government, the beginning salary for engineers with the bachelor’s degree and no experience was $4,480 a year in 1956. Those with the master’s degree and no experience could begin at $5,335 a year, and those with the Ph. D. and no experience at $7,035. Most engineers can look forward to a marked increase in earnings as they gain experience. Thus, the median (average) yearly salary of engineers with 10 years of experience was about $8,000 in 1956, and that of engineers with 25 years o f experience was about $10,200 (chart 28). Ninety percent of the men in the latter group had earnings of at least $7,100 a year and 10 percent earned $15,000 or more. A few in top-level execu tive positions had much higher earnings than this. In general, earnings of engineers are higher in private industry than in other types of employ ment. Though engineers in government employ ment generally make less than those in private industry, particularly in top-level jobs, their salaries tend to be higher than those of engineering educators. On the other hand, engineers in edu cational institutions can frequently supplement their salaries with income from special research projects, consulting work, publications, or employ ment during their vacations. CHART 28 EA R N IN G S O F EN G IN EER S IN INDUSTRY, 1956 BY NUM BER O F YEA R S ELAPSED SINCE R EC EIV IN G BACHELOR'S DEGREE Annual Salary UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS Source: Engineers Joint Council 1956, Salary Survey 108 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK W h ere To Go for More Information General information on engineering careers— including student selection and guidance, profes sional training and ethics, salaries and other eco nomic aspects of engineering—may be obtained from : Engineers Council for Professional Development, 29 West 39th St., New York 18, N. Y. Engineers Joint Council, 29 W est 39th St., New York 18, N. Y. National Society for Professional Engineers, 2029 K St. N W , Washington, D. C, Information on engineering schools and curriculums and on training and other qualifications needed for entrance into the profession may also be obtained from the Engineers Council for Pro fessional Development, and information on reg istration of engineers, from the National Society of Professional Engineers. Organizations which can furnish information on the respective branches of engineering are listed below: American Ceramic Society, 4055 North High St., Columbus 14, Ohio American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical Petroleum Engineers, 29 West 39th St., New York 18, N. Y. and American Society of Civil Engineers, 33 West 39th St., New York 18, N. Y. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 29 W est 39th St., New York 18, N. Y. Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences, Inc., 2 East 64th St., New York, N. Y. The above list includes only some of the many engineering organizations. Other engineering organizations are listed in two publications avail able in most libraries: Engineering Societies D i rectory, 1956, published by Engineers Joint Coun cil, and Scientific and Technical Societies of the United States and Canada, published by the Na tional Academy of Sciences, National Research Council. Some engineers are members of unions. In formation on engineering unions may be obtained from : The American Federation of Technical Engineers. 900 F St. N W ., Washington 4, D. C. Engineers and Scientists of America (In d .), Munsey Building, Washington 4, D. C. See also statement on agricultural engineers (refer to index for page number). The U. S. Civil Service Commission, Washing ton 25, D. C., will furnish information on positions available in Federal Government agencies. For further information, see chapter on Government Occupations. American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 25 W est 45th St., New York 36, N. Y. American Institute of Electrical Engineers, 33 West 39th St., New York 18, N. Y. American Institute of Industrial Engineers, 145 North High St., Columbus 15, Ohio Engineers (D. O. T. 0 -19.03) Nature of W ork W here Employed Aeronautical engineering is a relatively new and rapidly growing branch of the profession. En gineers in this branch work mainly on the design of the structure of aircraft. However, they are also concerned with all other phases of the plan ning, development, design, manufacture, and test ing of aircraft and their parts and equipment. Aeronautical engineers usually specialize in some area of work, such as structural design, aero dynamics, armament, electronics, propulsion sys tems, or production methods. Frequently, their specialization also extends to particular types of aircraft, such as commercial or military planes, rockets, or guided missiles. Most aeronautical engineers are employed by aircraft and related industries. The largest num bers of these engineers are in the airframe indus try but many are employed by propulsion unit (engine) and parts manufacturers. Some aero nautical engineers work for Federal Government agencies, principally the Department of Defense, the National Advisory Committee of Aeronautics, and the Civil Aeronautics Administration of the Department of Commerce. Small numbers work for commercial airlines, colleges and universities, and other types of employers. Employment in this branch of the engineering profession is concentrated in the States where most ENGINEERING aircraft plants are located—chiefly California, Ohio, New York, Connecticut, Washington, Kan sas, Texas, Maryland, Indiana, and New Jersey. (The geographic location of the airframe and en gine and parts industries is discussed in more de tail in the chapter on Aircraft Industry Occupa tions; see index for page number.) Employment Outlook Employment prospects for aeronautical engi neers were excellent in 1956. In recent years, the demand for these engineers has been greater than the supply, largely as a result of the growing emphasis on airpoAver for national defense since 109 the Korean emergency and the consequent enor mous expansion of the aircraft industry. The long-run outlook is for continued expan sion of employment in this rapidly growing branch of engineering. Assuming that Govern ment expenditures for aircraft, missiles, and re lated items continue to increase as expected, the aircraft industry will probably continue to groAv. Moreover, the need for intensive research and de velopment aimed at replacing obsolescent aircraft with improved types and the increasingly com plex designs of airplanes and guided missiles, re quiring more and more engineering time to de sign and build, are expected to increase further the demand for aeronautical engineers in future years. Ceramic Engineers (D. O. T. 0 -1 5 .1 1 ) Nature of Work Ceramic engineers are concerned Avith the proc essing of clay, silicates, and other nonmetallic minerals and Avith the manufacture o f products from these raw materials; also with the construc tion and design o f plant equipment and structures. Some are engaged in research and development Avork or administration and management. Others are employed in sales or teaching. A small num ber do consulting Avork. Ceramic engineers usually specialize in one or more products— for example, refractories (fireand heat-resistant materials, such as firebrick) ; AvhiteAvare (such as porcelain and china dinnerAvare or high voltage electrical insulators) ; struc tural materials (such as brick, tile, and terra cotta) ; glass; enameled m etals; abrasives; ce ments, limes, and plasters; and many others. W h ere Employed Most men in this branch of engineering are em ployed in private industry. The largest numbers are in the stone, clay, and glass industries, but others work in the iron and steel, electrical ma chinery, chemical, and other industries which produce or use ceramic products. A small num ber work for government agencies, chiefly those of the Federal Government. Some are employed by educational institutions and by other organiza tions. A large proportion of all ceramic engineers are employed in the States of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and California. Employment Outlook Ceramic engineering is one of the smaller branches of the profession, and opportunities for new entrants in any 1 year are relatively few. Nevertheless, the demand for ceramic engineers has in recent years exceeded the supply, and em ployment opportunities have been excellent both for neAv graduates and for experienced men. The long-run outlook is for continued growth of employment in ceramic engineering. Increas ing use of glass, enameled metals, whitewares, abrasives, and other ceramic products will require research and design work to adapt these products to various needs. The increasing use of cement and structural clay products in construction will also add to the opportunities for ceramic engi neers. NeAver areas of work in nuclear energy, electronics, and jet and rocket propulsion will, likewise, provide additional opportunities for these engineers. For example, the development of ceramic coatings which are corrosion-resistant and capable of withstanding extremely high tempera tures has played an important role in the develop ment of jet engines. Problems posed by the de velopment of aircraft capable of still higher speeds and greater altitudes will further increase the de mand for ceramic engineers as well as for other engineers and scientists. 110 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Chemical Engineers (D. O. T. 0 -1 5 .0 1 ) Nature of W ork Chemical engineers are concerned with the ap plication of chemistry and other sciences such as physics and mathematics, and of engineering prin ciples to manufacturing operations which involve chemical processes. They are responsible for the design, construction, and operation o f equipment and plants and for other engineering work re quired in utilizing chemical processes on an indus trial scale. Many of these processes have been separated into a series of “ unit operations,” such as mixing, crushing, grinding, crystallization, heat transfer, distillation, and drying. A large part o f the chemical engineer’s work involves the ap plication of one or more of these “ unit operations” to the manufacture of a product. The chemical engineer may specialize in a par ticular type of operation ( for example, heat trans fer, distillation, or drying) or in the products of one industry (for example, petroleum, plastics, rubber, food, or industrial chemicals). The ac tivities in which they are chiefly engaged are re search and development, plant operation, design, and management. W here Employed A great many industries use chemical engineers. However, most are employed by manufacturing firms—chiefly in the chemical and petroleum in dustries. Some are employed in government agencies, in consulting firms, or as independent consulting engineers, and in college teaching. Chemical engineers are employed to some extent in all States, mainly in or around large industrial areas. The largest numbers are in the States o f New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Cali fornia, Illinois, and Texas. Employment Outlook Employment opportunities for chemical engi neers were excellent in 1956. In recent years, de mand for these engineers has exceeded the sup ply—largely as a result of the rapid expansion of the industries in which most chemical engineers are employed (chiefly chemicals and petroleum) and of the tremendous growth of research and de velopment in these industries. The long-run outlook is for continued growth in this branch of engineering. Chemical engineering is one of the youngest of the major fields of engi neering, and has grown rapidly in the past few decades. The major factors underlying this growth in past years will in all probability con tinue to be important in the future. In particular, the chemical and petroleum industries are expected to expand at a rate considerably faster than indus try in general. In these and other industries em ploying chemical engineers, including atomic energy, continued expansion of research and develop ment activity (in which about one-third of all chemical engineers are employed) is expected to accompany and contribute to industrial growth. Civil Engineers (D. O. T. 0 -1 6 .0 1 ) Nature of W ork Civil enginering is the oldest branch of engi neering. Historically, the profession had only two main branches, “ military” and “ civil.” However, as technical knowledge expanded and industry became more complex, other fields of engineering developed. Today, civil engineers form 1 of the 2 largest o f the many branches of the profession. They are concerned with the design and construc tion of roads, harbors, airfields, dams, tunnels, water-supply and sewerage systems, transporta tion facilities, buildings, and many other types o f structures. The field is so broad that many spe cialties have developed within it—the major ones being structural, highway, hydraulic, railroad, sanitary, and public health engineering. A sizable proportion of all civil engineers are in supervisory or administrative positions, rang ing from that of site supervisor of a construction gang or head of a drafting department to toplevel executive posts. Large groups are employed in design and related activities. ENGINEERING 111 Civil engineers work in all parts of the country, in every State and city. The largest numbers are located in or near the larger industrial and com mercial centers. However, since civil engineers are frequently called upon to work at construc tion sites, they are sometimes stationed in remote areas of the United States or foreign countries. Furthermore, they are often required to move from one place to another to work on different jobs, although many civil engineering positions in volve little or no travel. Employment Outlook C o u r t e s y o f b u r e a u m e n t o f In t e r i o r o f r e c l a m a t io n , u . S. D e p a r t Civil engineers are concerned with the design and construction of many types of structures. Where Employed About half of all civil engineers are employed by Federal, State, and local government agencies. The second largest group are in the construction industry. In addition, many are employed by consulting engineering firms or as independent consulting engineers. Others work for public utilities; for railroads; for banking, finance, in surance, and real estate firms (in such work as ap praisal of properties) ; and in educational institu tions. Still others are employed in the iron and steel industries and other branches of manufac turing. Employment opportunities for civil engineers were very good in 1956. In recent years, civil engineers have not been in as short supply as mem bers of some other branches of the profession, but many civil engineering positions have remained unfilled, particularly in State and local govern ments where salaries have been lower than in other areas of work. The outlook is for continued growth of civil en gineering. Construction activity, including not only housing and industrial building, but also water and sewerage systems, is expected to have an upward trend for many years as a result of pop ulation growth and the expansion of the Nation’s economy. The enormous highway construction program voted by Congress in 1956 will create many new jobs for civil engineers during the com ing decade. In addition, large numbers of civil engineers will be needed each year to replace those leaving the field. Civil engineers have a higher average age than members of any other branch of the profession, and consequently a higher rate of retirements and deaths. The number of civil engineers needed to replace men thus lost to the profession was estimated at approximately 2,800 a year in 1956 and will probably rise slowly in the future. Electrical Engineers (D. O. T. 0-1 7.01 and .02) Nature of Work Electrical engineers are concerned with the generation of electricity and its transmission and use. They design, develop, and supervise the manufacture of electrical and electronic equip ment—including electric motors and generators; radio, television, radar, computers, and other elec tronic apparatus; and electrical appliances of all kinds. They also participate in the design and operation of facilities for generating and distrib uting electric power. The major areas of work in this branch of engi neering include electronics, electrical machinery 112 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK and equipment manufacturing, telephone and telegraph, power, illumination, and transporta tion. Electrical engineers usually specialize in 1 o f these broad areas of work or even in a subdi vision of some 1 area. Radio engineering, for ex ample, is an electronics specialty although it has become recognized as a distinct branch of the pro fession. A sizable proportion of all electrical engineers are engaged in design, development, and research. Another large group are employed in technical ad ministration. Others are employed in manufac turing operations or in technical sales. Where Employed Electrical engineers are chiefly employed by electrical and electronic equipment manufacturers, by electric light and power companies, and by telephone and telegraph and radio and television broadcasting companies. However, many mem bers of this profession are employed in other in dustries, and some are employed in government agencies, in consulting firms or as independent consulting engineers, and in college teaching. Employment in this branch of the profession is concentrated to a considerable extent in the in dustrial centers where electrical and electronic equipment is manufactured. However, jobs with electric light and power companies, telephone com panies, and radio and television stations are lo cated in every State—in small towns as well as large cities. Employment Outlook Employment opportunities for electrical engi neers were excellent in 1956. In recent years, the number of job openings has exceeded the number of electrical engineers available, and many em ployers have reported vacant positions which they have not been able to fill. Demand has been es- pecially great for electrical engineers with Ph.D. degrees. In the last few decades, electrical engineering has been among the most rapidly growing branches of the profession. Today, it is 1 of the 3 largest branches of engineering. Since the initia tion of the defense program in mid-1950, the enor mous military needs for new and improved types of electronic and electrical equipment have been a major factor in the expanding demand for elec trical engineers. These defense needs, added to those of the expanding civilian economy, have re sulted in marked growth in the electrical equip ment industry. Defense requirements have con tributed especially to the tremendous increase in spending for research and development in this in dustry and hence to the demand for electrical engi neers in research activities. There has also been rapid growth in the electric utility and the tele phone and telegraph industries—other large fields of employment for electrical engineers. The long-run outlook is for further growth in this branch of the engineering profession. The growth of the electrical equipment, electric light and power, and telephone and telegraph industries has been very rapid in the last half century, and this growth is expected to continue at a rapid rate with the greater use of electrical and electronic equipment by the Armed Forces, by industry, and in homes. Moreover, newer areas of work such as atomic power generation, aviation electronics, guided missiles, computers, and automation will probably continue to require large numbers of elec trical engineers as well as other engineers and sci entists. Besides those needed to fill new positions, a sizable number of electrical engineers will be re quired to replace personnel lost to the profession by retirement or death. The number needed to fill such vacancies was estimated to be approximately 1,900 a year in 1956 and will probably rise slowly in the future. Industrial Engineers (D. O. T. 0- 18.0 1 ) Nature of Work Industrial engineers are concerned primarily with the efficient use of machines, materials, and personnel in manufacturing and other industries. They often specialize in such types of work as the planning of plant layout so that the work will flow efficiently from one step in the production process to the next, or the selection and design of machines and equipment to be used in manufac turing operations. Among their numerous other specialties are time, motion, and incentive studies; ENGINEERING production methods and standards; cost control and records; quality control; safety engineering; and industrial relations. W h ere Employed A large proportion of all industrial engineers are e m p l o y e d in manufacturing industries. Others work in the construction and extractive in dustries, for utilities, and for the Federal Gov ernment. A number are employed by banks, mail order houses, life insurance companies, and other large business organizations to improve the ef ficiency of clerical and other operations. Employment in this branch of the profession is concentrated in the highly industrialized areas of the East North Central States (particularly Illi nois, Ohio, and Michigan), and the Middle A t lantic States (New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey). Opportunities also exist in the growing industrial centers of the southern and West Coast States. 113 Employment Outlook Although employment opportunities for indus trial engineers were good in 1956, in recent years, industrial engineers have not been in as short sup ply as members of some other branches of the profession. However, the demand for these engi neers has exceeded the number available, largely as a result of the rapid growth of the Nation’s industries during the postwar period and of the increasing complexity of industrial operations. Growing recognition of the importance of scien tific management and safety engineering and the role of industrial engineers in reducing costs and increasing productivity have also stimulated de mand for personnel trained in this branch of engi neering. These same factors will probably con tinue to operate in the future—leading to a further rise in employment of industrial engineers in the late 1950’s and over the long run. Mechanical Engineers (D. O. T. 0-1 9.01 r .0 5, .8 1 , .91) Nature of Work Mechanical engineering is 1 of the 2 largest branches of the profession. I f aeronautical and industrial engineering, which are offshoots of this branch, were included with it, mechanical engi neering would represent by far the largest branch of the profession. Mechanical engineers deal primarly with ma chines, power, and heat. They develop and design machines such as internal combustion engines, steam turbines, jet engines, and nuclear reactors, which produce power from fuels and other sources. They also develop a great variety of machines and devices which use power—refrigerating and airconditioning equipment, elevators, machine tools, printing presses, steel-rolling mills, and many others. Mechanical engineers often supervise the installation, operation, and maintenance of indus trial machinery. Since virtually all industries use machines and require power, the work of the me chanical engineer underlies all kinds of industrial operations. Because the field of mechanical engineering is so broad, many specialized areas of work have de veloped within it. Among them are automotive engineering, marine engineering, railroad equip4 2 7 6 7 5 ° — 5 7 --------9 ment, steam power and heating, ventilating and air conditioning, hydraulics or fluid mechanics, instrumentation, and machines for specialized in dustries, such as petroleum, rubber and plastics, and woodworking. W here Employed Mechanical engineers are employed in every major branch of manufacturing and in many non manufacturing industries. The largest numbers are, however, in the machinery, fabricated metal products, transportation equipment, iron and steel, and other metalworking industries. A number are employed in government agencies, educational in stitutions, and consulting engineering firms, or as independent consulting engineers. Though mechanical engineers are to be found in all parts of the country, the large majority are in nine States: New York, California, Ohio, Michi gan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massa chusetts, and Texas. Employment Outlook Employment prospects for mechanical engi neers were excellent in 1956. In recent years, the 1 14 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK demand for personnel in this branch, of engineer ing has been greater than the supply, and many employers have been unable to fill vacant positions. Mechanical engineering has been among the most rapidly growing branches of engineering in recent decades, particularly since W orld War II. The tremendous growth of the metalworking in dustries, stimulated by the mobilization program undertaken in mid-1950 and the defense program o f more recent years, has resulted in a constantly increasing demand for mechanical engineers. The rapid expansion of research and development ac tivities in these industries has also added to the demand for mechanical engineers’ services. The long-run outlook is for further growth in this branch of the profession. The metalworking industries are expected to continue to expand. Moreover, newer areas of work, such as atomic energy, weapons development, and automatic as sembly will probably provide additional openings for large numbers of mechanical engineers as well as for other engineers and scientists. Besides those needed to fill new positions, siz able numbers of mechanical engineers are required each year to replace those who retire or die. Re cent estimates placed this number at approxi mately 2,100 in 1956, and it will rise slowly in the future. Metallurgical Engineers (D. O. T. 0 -1 4 .0 1 Nature of W ork Metallurgical engineers are concerned with the processing o f metals and their conversion into needed products. These engineers usually work in 1 o f 2 main branches of metallurgy. The first of these extractive metallurgy, deals with the ex traction o f metals from their ores—with refining and related processes. The other branch, physical metallurgy, is concerned with the content and structure o f metals and their alloys and with methods o f converting refined metals into final products having a specified strength and hardness or other desired properties. Persons working in the field o f metallurgy are sometimes referred to interchangeably as metal lurgists or metallurgical engineers. However, those known as metallurgists are likely to be en gaged in activities such as research and develop ment or analysis and testing, whereas those with the title o f metallurgical engineers are engaged mainly in directing the processing of ores. W h ere Employed Metallurgical engineers are employed chiefly in metalworking industries—above all in the iron and steel and nonferrous metals industries. The metal mining industry also employs substantial numbers. Small numbers hold positions in other industries, government agencies, consulting firms, research organizations, and educational institutions. and .20) Most metallurgical engineers are in the large metal-fabricating centers of the country, mainly in the Middle Atlantic States (Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey) and in East North Central States (Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana). Those employed in the mining industry are naturally located chiefly in metal mining regions. Employment Outlook Metallurgical engineering is one of the smaller branches of the profession. However, the demand for metallurgists and metallurgical engineers has in recent years greatly exceeded the supply, and employment opportunities have been excellent for both new graduates and experienced men. The long-run outlook is for further growth in this branch o f the profession. The metalworking industries are expected to continue to expand, and increasing numbers of metallurgical engineers will be needed to work on problems involved in the adaptation of metals and alloys to specific needs. The development of such items as super sonic aircraft, jet engines, and guided missiles, for example, has created numerous new problems for the metallurgical engineer. Also, the atomic energy program has opened the door to a whole new field in the study o f metals and their uses. As the supply of high grade ores is depleted, problems involved in processing low-grade ores will further increase the need for metallurgical engineers. ENGINEERING 115 Mining Engineers (D. O. T. 0 -2 0 .0 1 Nature of W ork Mining engineers are responsible for extracting minerals from the earth and for the preliminary processing of ore to remove rock or other un wanted materials. They plan and supervise the construction and operation of mines. This work involves the construction of mine shafts and tun nels, devising the means of extracting the minerals, and planning the methods to be used in transport ing them to the surface. It may also involve the design and installation of water supplies, electric light and power facilities, and ventilation equip ment. Mining engineers are responsible for mine safety. They often have to appraise the value of mines or mineral deposits. Frequently, they also direct any processing of minerals which is carried out at the mine site in order to remove rock, earth, or other substances with which the minerals are mixed. Another important function of mining engineers is exploration for ore-bearing rock or for deposits of petroleum, coal, or other minerals; in this work, they use a knowledge of geology, as well as engineering and other scientific techniques. Mining engineers frequently specialize in a par ticular type of mineral—metals, petroleum and natural gas, coal, or nonmetallic minerals. They may also specialize in a particular type of work, such as mine safety, mine appraisal, or explora tion. W h ere Employed Mining engineers are usually employed at the location of mineral deposits. For this reason, they often work in out-of-the-way places— in mountains or deserts. Those engaged in research, teaching, management, or consulting may, how and .11) ever, be located in large metropolitan areas. The majority are employed in Texas, California, Penn sylvania, Oklahoma, Louisiana, West Virginia, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, and Colorado. Employment Outlook Since mining engineering is one of the smaller branches of the profession, opportunities for new entrants in any 1 year are relatively few. Fur thermore, employment prospects for new gradu ates with a degree in mining engineering were less favorable in 1956 than for those in most other branches of engineering. The best opportunities were in the exploration field—for graduates with considerable training in geology, geophysics, and other aspects of exploration technology. Mining engineering is expected to grow over the long run, although more slowly than most other branches of the profession. As needs for metal in crease with the expansion of industry, and easily mined deposits are exhausted, mining engineers will be needed to devise ways of mining poorer de posits or those which are more difficult to work at a competitive cost. Additional areas of employ ment for mining engineers will arise as the de velopment of new alloys and the discovery of new uses for metals increase the demand for the less widely used ores. The expanding field of atomic energy, for example, has led to growing activity in the search for and development of uraniumbearing ores. In the petroleum industry, which has so far drawn chiefly upon the richer and more accessible oilfields, exploration crews including mining engineers with training in exploration technology will be needed to locate and exploit new oilfields, both in the United States and in other areas of the world. P H Y S IC A L A N D EARTH SC IEN C ES Introduction Natural science—the sum of man’s knowledge o f the physical world and of the animals and plants in it—had its beginnings many centuries ago. A t first, scientific knowledge was so limited that men o f science did not need to specialize. Aristotle, for example, was familiar with all the science known in his day and was the author of books on both physics and animal life. Gradually, however, the body of scientific knowledge became too great for one individual to grasp in its entirety, and scientists became specialists in different fields. Today, the natural sciences are customarily grouped into several broad categories: physical sciences—chemistry, physics, astronomy, mathe matics; earth sciences—geology, geophysics, geo chemistry, meteorology; and life sciences— includ ing agricultural, animal, and plant sciences and microbiology. Furthermore, most scientists now specialize in subdivisions of these broad fields. Physicists, for example, are usually specialists in such areas as nuclear physics or optics; chemists, in such branches as organic or inorganic chemistry. The trend toward finer subdivision of the sciences has, in recent years, gone hand in hand with a blurring of the lines between the different specialties. Information and techniques developed by scientists working in one field have often, with some new discovery, become the basis for the solu tion o f problems in a different field. New special ties, such as geophysics and biochemistry, have come into being through a combination of the knowledge o f two or more sciences. Thus, the total body of scientific knowledge is interrelated in many ways. No one branch of the natural sciences is entirely independent of all others. This chapter is, however, concerned chiefly with the physical and earth sciences. The life sciences are discussed in the next chapter. It would be hard to exaggerate the importance o f the natural sciences to the country’s economic welfare and to the national defense. Neverthe less, they are relatively small fields of employ ment. The total number of scientists, including life scientists, at all levels of professional training was roughly 250,000 in 1956, or less than 0.5 per cent o f the total labor force. Total employment 116 in 1956 in the largest o f the sciences—chemistry— was about 100,000. Employment in the natural sciences has been in creasing steadily. From 1930 to 1956, when the population as a whole increased by more than 30 percent, the number of scientists increased by more than 400 percent. A substantial part of this growth has occurred since the end of World War II. The rapid growth in the demand for natural scientists is a reflection of scientific discoveries which have led to new and improved products and processes in a wide variety of industrial fields. De velopments in recent years in aircraft, in television and radar, in atomic energy and associated tech nologies, and in a multitude of chemical products are among the best known examples, but they are only samples of a large number of uses of science in the production of necessities and conveniences for modern life. The sciences which have con tributed most conspicuously to these developments are chemistry, physics, and mathematics. A num ber of life science specialties have also played im portant roles (as described in the chapter on A g ricultural and Biological Sciences). Some scientific specialties, such as astronomy and certain branches of mathematics, are still chiefly in the academic realm, with colleges and universities providing most of the employment op portunities. For many of the natural science pro fessions, however, large fields of employment have opened up in the laboratories of business and gov ernment during the past four decades. After W orld War I, developments in the science of chemistry formed the basis of a rapid growth of the chemical industry, and a consequent great ex pansion in the chemical profession. Physics be came industrially important during the 1920’s and 1930’s and has grown very rapidly since World War II. Mathematics has always been of funda mental importance to industry but its period of very rapid growth, the seeds of which were sown during W orld War II, began in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. Although chemistry fathered a new industry, the impact of physics and mathematics PHYSICAL AND EARTH SCIENCES has not been predominant in any one industry but rather in a number of different manufacturing in dustries, notably electronics, professional and scientific instruments, and aircraft. Generally speaking, scientific specialties which do not have large-scale industrial applications are very small fields of employment— affording oppor tunities chiefly in teaching for persons with ad vanced training. In order to offer sizable em ployment opportunities for persons with only 4 years o f college training, a science must have de veloped a field of application— for example, in production or testing activities—where profes sional work can consist in applying established principles or already existing knowledge to the solution o f practical problems, rather than in con ducting research. A long-run trend toward higher training re quirements is apparent in all the natural sciences. There is a tendency to require more advanced de grees for many positions, especially in research, and there is also a growing need for more trainingin related sciences. The trend toward greater spe cialization and the blurring of the lines of de marcation between the traditional fields, men tioned earlier, have made it necessary for a scien tist to know not only his own field but also those parts of other fields that are related to his work. Future trends of employment in the sciences will be influenced by two main factors—the de mand for college and university teachers, and the amount of expenditure for research and product development. College and university teaching is an important source of employment for scientists 117 with graduate training, particularly those with Ph. D.’s. The expected expansion in college en rollments during the 1960’s and beyond will un doubtedly result in an increased demand for quali fied scientists as teachers. (See statement on col lege and university teachers, page 63.) Expenditures for research and development are an even more important factor influencing the trend of employment in many fields of science. Funds for these purposes expended by the Federal Government, and by private industry and other sources, have growm greatly since W orld War II. The Federal Government, which has been the source of about half of these funds, increased its research and development spending about 500 percent between 1941 and 1953, primarily in con nection with national defense. Total expenditures for research and development in 1953 were esti mated at more than $5 billion, and have undoubt edly risen substantially since then. Expenditures for research and development by industry and government are expected to continue their expan sion over the long run, and so should continue to support the upward trend in employment of scien tists. However, materially reduced defense ex penditures would slow down or halt, temporarily, the growth of scientific employment, as would any major decline in the general level of economic activity. The employment outlook in the major branches of the physical and earth sciences—chemistry, geology, geophysics, mathematics, meteorology, and physics—is discussed in more detail .in the fol lowing statements on each of these fields. Chemists (D. O. T. 0 -0 7 .0 2 through .85) Nature of W ork Chemistry is by far the largest field of employ ment in the natural sciences. There were about 100,000 chemists in the country in 1956, about 6 to 8 percent of whom were women. Chemists are concerned with the composition of substances, the physical and chemical changes they undergo; the way they react to ea,ch other; the chemical processes required to obtain them from nature or produce them synthetically; and the ways in which they can be put to practical use. In their jobs, chemists must often use mathematical and chemical formulas, make precise measure ments, and w^ork with complex laboratory ap paratus. Because of chemistry’s vast scope, chemists usually specialize in 1 of the 5 main branches— organic, inorganic, physical, analytical chemistry, or biochemistry. Often, they may even special ize in a subdivision of one of these branches. Or ganic chemists, the largest group, usually deal with carbon compounds— substances chiefly derived from animal and vegetable matter. Inorganic chemists are chiefly concerned with compounds of other elements, including most of the minerals 118 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK uses for existing ones. The others are engaged in basic research, designed to extend scientific knowl edge rather than to solve any immediate practical problem. In addition, sizable numbers of chemists are engaged in technical administration, analysis and testing, and teaching. Smaller numbers are engaged in technical sales, production, technical service, consulting, and other activities such as patent work, technical writing, purchasing raw materials, and marketing research. Where Employed C O U R T E S Y O F N A T IO N A L IN S T IT U T E S O F H E A L T H Chemists must often make precise measurements and work with complex laboratory apparatus. and metals, but may also work with a few sub stances containing carbon such as carbonates and carbides, which are usually classified as inorganic. Physical chemists study the quantitative relation ships between chemical and physical properties of both organic and inorganic substances— for ex ample, how these substances are affected by elec tricity, pressure, heat, and light. Biochemists are concerned chiefly with chemical reactions occur ring in plants and animals, such as the effects of food or chemicals on plant and animal tissues and with the influence of chemicals on life processes. Analytical chemists determine the exact chemical composition of substances and thereby provide controls for all types of chemical operations. Some chemists specialize in a particular indus try or product such as petroleum or plastics. In many instances, such work requires a knowledge of more than one branch of chemistry. The specialist in plastics, for example, may have to use physical as well as organic chemistry. The largest number of chemists are engaged in research and development work. Most of these work on applied research projects aimed at creat ing new products or improving and finding new Most chemists—about two-thirds according to a 1955 survey by the American Chemical Society— are in private industry, primarily in manufactur ing. The chemical industry employs the largest number, but manufacturers of such diverse prod ucts as petroleum, food, primary metals, electrical equipment, and rubber also use many chemists. The proportions of chemists in other fields of em ployment in 1955 were: 15 percent in teaching. 9 percent in government (mostly Federal), 5 percent in research institutes and consulting services, and the remaining small group in a variety o f other fields of employment. Some chemists are employed in every State. However, the greatest numbers are concentrated in the major metropolitan areas of New York. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois, Ohio, and California. Training and Other Qualifications A bachelor’s degree with a major in chemistry is usually considered the minimum entrance require ment for beginning chemists, but graduate train ing is becoming a prerequisite for an ever-increas ing number of jobs. More than 40 percent of the chemists answering the American Chemical So ciety’s 1955 survey of its membership had Ph. D. degrees. Chemists with the bachelor’s or master’s degree are most likely to find employment in manufac turing industries—particularly in industrial chem icals. Sizable numbers also find opportunities as research workers in government agencies, and many of those with master’s degrees are employed as graduate assistants or instructors in colleges and universities while taking further graduate work. PHYSICAL AND EARTH In private industry, chemists with the bachelor’s or master’s degree usually begin as trainees in laboratory research or development work, in analy sis, testing, quality control, technical service, or sales. With additional experience they may ad vance to positions of greater responsibility and eventually to management positions. Many indus trial employers have special training programs for chemistry graduates. These programs are de signed to supplement college training with specific industry techniques and to aid in determining the type of work best suited to the individual. The doctorate is an extremely valuable asset in obtaining most types of employment in the chemi cal profession. It is considered to be particularly important for obtaining jobs in basic research and is essential for a career in college teaching. Dur ing the 7-year period from 1949 through 1955, more doctoral degrees were conferred in chemistry than in any other subject field. Those receiving the Ph.D. are most likely to enter research and development work or teaching. In fields such as biochemistry and physical chemistry, in which teaching and research positions are predominant, the doctorate is necessary for a high proportion of the jobs. Employment Outlook Employment opportunities for chemistry grad uates were very good in 1956. The demand for chemists has increased rapidly since World War II, principally as a result of the rapid expansion o f the chemical, petroleum, and other industries employing chemists and the enormous growth of research in these industries. Furthermore, the supply of new chemistry graduates was not suffi cient during the early 1950’s to meet the growing demand. About 6,800 bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and biochemistry w^ere conferred in 1956, slightly more than in 1954 and 1955, but far below the peak number of 10,794 granted in 1950, when many W orld War I I veterans graduated. Moreover, not all graduates with a bachelor’s de gree in chemistry are available for work in the field. Many continue with graduate work before entering employment in chemistry. Others go on to studies in related fields such as medicine or leave chemistry for other reasons. The long-run outlook is for continued expansion of employment in the profession. It is anticipated SCIENCES 119 that the industries employing most chemists will grow at a rapid rate. In particular, the chemical and petroleum industries, which together em ployed about one-third of all chemists in 1954, are expected to expand considerably faster than in dustry in general. In these industries and many others, continued expansion of research and de velopment activities (in which almost half of all chemists are employed) is expected to accompany and contribute to industrial growth. Not only is further expansion anticipated in the research or ganizations of large companies, but more and more small and medium-size companies are instituting or expanding research programs which will re quire the services of chemists. Furthermore, the enormous rise in enrollments anticipated in col leges and universities will result in many openings in teaching. (See statement on college and university teachers.) In addition to those needed for expansion in employment, many chemists will have to be trained each year to replace those who die, retire, or trans fer to other occupations. Losses to the profession from death and retirements were estimated to be approximately 1,200 in 1955 and will rise slowly in the future. Along with the expected growth in demand for chemists, a steady increase in the number of chemistry graduates is expected. Assuming that the proportion of college graduates majoring in chemistry and biochemistry remains the same as in recent years, the number of bachelor’s degrees conferred in these fields may be as high as 12,000 in 1965—approximately double the number con ferred in 1955. The numbers of masters and Ph. D. degrees conferred each year are likely to rise correspondingly a few years later. Even after allowance is made for the fact that not all chemistry graduates seek work in the field of chemistry, it appears that the number of new graduates at all degree levels available for w^ork in the field could be about twice as great in 1965 as in 1955. Thus, there may be increased compe tition for the better paying professional entry positions in chemistry. However, the rising de mand for chemistry graduates with ability and thorough training will continue to provide favor able opportunities for employment and advance ment for such graduates for many years to come. Employment opportunities for women chemists were favorable in 1956. Furthermore, there has 120 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK been a recent trend for employers to eliminate salary and other employment differences between men and women chemists of comparable educa tion and experience who are doing similar work. Earnings and W orking Conditions Chemistry graduates with a bachelor’s degree and no experience had a median (average) start ing salary of $400 per month, according to a 1956 survey conducted by the American Chemical So ciety. For graduates with a master’s degree but no experience, the median starting salary was $443 and for those with the Ph. D., $600. Women grad uates had a lower median salary than men—$375 compared with $407. Some graduates, of course, earned more and others less than these average figures. Ninety percent of those with bachelor degrees received more than $330 and 10 percent received more than $435. Starting salaries for 90 percent o f the Ph. D.’s were more than $420 per month, and 10 percent of them received more than $639. The American Chemical Society sur vey also showed the following median monthly starting salaries for chemists in different fields o f employment: Type of employer Bachelor’s degree Academic____________________________________ l 1) Government_________________________________ 373 Contractor for FederalGovernment_______ 400 Research institute_________________________ 345 Industrial____________________________________ 410 Biological and pharmaceutical______ 345 Chemical________________________________ 410 Machinery andequipment----------------------410 Petroleum______________________________ 427 Plastics_________________________________ 425 Rubber___________________________________ 410 Other___________________________________ 405 1Not Doctors degree 433 0) (x) (*) 610 O 615 0) W here To Go for M ore Information 600 610 O 590 Information on schools, scholarships, earnings and other subjects may be obtained from : available. Some idea of the earnings of chemists with many years of experience can be obtained from a 1955 survey of American Chemical Society mem bers. For example, the median monthly salary for male chemists with 24 years of experience was $779. Ninety percent of these experienced men reported earnings of at least $495 per month, and about 10 percent earned $1,434 per month or more. A few in top level executive positions had much higher earnings than this. The median monthly salary for women chemists with 24 years’ experi ence was $489—much lower than the comparable figure for men. The difference in salary levels between men and women was greater among chemists with long experience than among those in beginning positions. In general, a chemist’s salary depends on the type of employer for whom he works, the kind of work he does, the extent and quality of his edu cation, and the amount of his professional experi ence, as well as individual ability. Earnings of chemists are usually highest in private industry, as indicated by the information on starting sala ries and also by other surveys. Government agen cies generally pay less than private industry but more than educational institutions. A 1951 survey indicated that, in every age group over 30, the pri vate industry employees with only the bachelor’s degree had higher average incomes than Ph. D.’s in colleges and universities— suggesting that the type of employer for whom a chemist works is likely to have even more effect on his earnings than his degree. However, within a particular field of employment, Ph. D.’s usually earn considerably more than bachelors or masters with the same amount of experience. Furthermore, earnings levels are higher ,in some types of work than in others. For example, chemists in administration, technical sales, and industrial research tend to earn more than those in analysis and testing. American Chemical Society, 1155 16th St. N W , Washington 6, D. C. Additional information on opportunities in the field of chemistry may also be obtained from : Manufacturing Chemists Association, Inc., 1625 Eye St. N W ., Washington 6, D. C. For additional sources of information, see also chemical engineers, industrial chemical indus tries, and petroleum industries. PHYSICAL AND EARTH SCIENCES 121 Physicists (D. O. T. 0 -3 5 .7 3 ) Nature of Work Physics is the science that deals with the physi cal or material universe in which we live. It is the science of matter and energy and of the way energy changes from one form to another. It is a mathematical science in that its most basic char acteristic is the analysis and description of the physical universe in mathematical terms. Engi neering and much of our modern technology are based upon the theoretical descriptions and anal yses of physics. The great majority of physicists are engaged in research or college teaching, and many do both. Research may be basic, directed to increasing knowledge without regard to practical applica tion, or applied, directed to specific objectives. Some physicists contribute to the basic knowledge of their science primarily by making careful, sys tematic observations and performing experiments to identify and measure the elements of matter and energy and their interaction. Others contribute by seeking to connect such observations into a the- ory or system of equations describing the relations between them. O f course, experimental physicists are also concerned with theory, if only because they are testing it, and theoretical physicists help guide experiments. The difference is largely one of em phasis. Applied physics, which probably occupies the majority of physicists, is primarily concerned with applying the results of basic research to the solu tion of practical problems and with the develop ment of new devices for industry or for national defense. For example, physicists specializing in electronics, who study the emission, behavior, and effects of electrons, may be engaged in developing improved forms of such devices as vacuum tubes and electron-tube circuits for use in many types of equipment. Specialists in solid state physics are concerned, among other things, with the behavior of electrons, ions, and nuclei in solids. This work has led to the development of such items as tran sistors which have some of the characteristics of vacuum tubes and are being used in various types of communications equipment. Modern physics includes such a large area o f knowledge that most physicists specialize in one or more branches of the science—mechanics, heat, light, sound, electricity and magnetism, electronics, atomic and molecular phenomena, nuclear physics, classical theoretical physics, or quantum me chanics. This list of fields is neither final nor com plete, however, since modern physics is changing and expanding in too many ways to be neatly ar ranged in compartments. Where Employed C O U R T E S Y O F N A T IO N A L B U R EA U O F S T A N D A R D S Physicist observing the circular interference fringe from a mercury vapor lamp. Length measurements based on the interference pattern shown in the background can be made with an accuracy of 1 part in 100 million. The total number of physicists in 1955 was esti mated to be roughly 20,000. The largest number of physicists, probably about one-half, are em ployed by private industry. About one-third work for colleges and universities. The remainder are employed by the United States Government, and by foundations and other nonprofit organizations. The most important industrial employers o f physicists are the electrical equipment and air craft manufacturers. Other industrial employers are the professional and scientific instrument in dustry, the chemicals and allied products industry and the petroleum industry. Most physicists em- 122 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK ployed by private industry work chiefly on re search and development projects. Most o f the physicists employed by colleges and universities are engaged primarily in teaching, but many are engaged full time in contract research for Government or industry. A part of the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission’s research, for ex ample, is done by college laboratories under con tract with the Commission. Physicists working for the Federal Government are employed principally by the Department of Defense, the National Bureau of Standards and other parts of the Department o f Commerce, the Department of the Interior, and the Atomic Energy Commission. Training and Other Qualifications Persons seeking careers as physicists must have at least a bachelor’s degree with a major in physics to enter the field, and graduate training should be obtained if possible. Doctoral degrees are required for many positions, and are definitely preferred for many others. O f the approximately 10,000 physi cists who were surveyed in 1954-55 by the Ameri can Institute of Physics, in cooperation with the National Register of Scientific and Technical Personnel, about half held Ph.D. degrees and about one-fourth held master’s degrees. One of the primary personal qualifications for physicists is a keen interest in finding out how things work. A talent and liking for mathematics is also required to accomplish anything of value in physics. The importance of mathematics is il lustrated by Albert Einstein’s definition of physics as “ the sum total of our knowledge which is ca pable of being expressed in mathematical terms.” As much mathematics as possible should be in cluded in the studies of anyone interested in be coming a physicist; a serious deficiency in mathe matics is difficult to overcome. Graduate training is especially important for college teaching and research positions. Colleges and universities employ a majority of the holders of doctoral degrees and many of the holders of master’s degrees, but only a small number of people who have not gone beyond the bachelor’s degree. A majority of physicists with bachelor’s degrees are employed in industry, usually in applied re search and development rather than basic research. However, many companies prefer to hire person nel with Ph. D.’s, because their research problems are becoming so complex and advanced as to re quire the more complete training which the doc toral degree represents, and indications are that this situation will become more common. The training in physics at the bachelor’s degree level is not usually sufficient for the full develop ment of a professional physicist, and many physi cists with only a bachelor’s degree do not work as physicists but turn to nontechnical fields of em ployment or to work as engineers. Employment Outlook The employment situation for physicists was ex cellent in 1956 and is likely to remain very good in the foreseeable future. In recent years, physics has been one of the fastest growing fields of science. It would have grown still faster, had it not been for the shortage of qualified personnel. In all probability, the demand for physicists will con tinue to mount for a long time. The numbers of bachelor’s degrees awarded in physics are also expected to increase—slowly dur ing the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, and more rapidly thereafter, assuming that they follow the trends anticipated in college graduation as a whole. The numbers of students awarded graduate de grees may be expected to rise correspondingly a few years later. Altogether, very good employ ment opportunities for physics graduates are in prospect through the early 1960’s, at least, and probably longer. There are some differences in the outlook for holders of doctoral degrees on the one hand, and for holders of master’s or bachelor’s degrees on the other. Modern physics is becoming so broad and complex, and is expanding so rapidly, that the ad vanced training represented by the Ph. D. degree is becoming more and more important. As noted above, the training of a bachelor or master in physics is not usually sufficient to develop a full}7 professional physicist, and holders of these degrees are generally limited to applied research and de velopment in areas where basic research has al ready supplied the fundamental knowledge re quired. In these circumstances, the doctoral degree will become increasingly necessary for employ ment, and particularly for advancement as a pro fessional physicist, unless the bachelor’s degree comes to represent more training in physics than it now does. PHYSICAL AND EARTH Persons qualified to do basic research or fairly advanced applied research and development have been and will probably continue to be in particular demand. Research organizations, whether those o f government, universities, or industry, have had considerable difficulty in satisfying their require ments for physicists, and these requirements are expected to continue to increase. The employment situation for physicists in col lege teaching was excellent in 1956 for qualified persons, and the demand will become greater as college enrollments increase. A shortage of teach ers well qualified to teach at the graduate level will be one of the chief obstacles in any attempt to in crease the supply of physicists. The demand for physicists is largely dependent on expenditures for research and development. Total national expenditures for research and de velopment, wdiich have been increasing rapidly, particularly in the last 10 to 15 years, were esti mated at more than $5 billion in 1953 and they have continued to increase since then. The con tinued growth of these expenditures has been largely responsible for the expanding demand for physicists. In recent years, private industry and the Fed eral Government have been about equally impor tant as sources of funds for research and develop ment. I f funds devoted to these purposes by Gov ernment and industry continue to increase, as they are likely to do, the demand for physicists will con SCIENCES 123 tinue to expand. I f the growth in research and development expenditures should slacken or even level off, the demand for physicists would become less pressing. Greatly increased research expendi tures, such as would result from further mobiliza tion, could only intensify the need for personnel. Earnings and W orking Conditions The median (average) annual professional salary of physicists was about $7,275, according to a 1954-55 survey conducted by the American Institute of Physics. For physicists with Ph. D.’s, the median salary was about $7,850; for those with out Ph.D.’s, about $6,600. Salaries of physicists were materially higher in 1956 than in 1955. This upward trend in salaries is likely to continue. There are some potentially hazardous elements in the working environment of many physicists, notably in nuclear and radiation physics. The precautions and safeguards used routinely in such work, however, hold the actual accident rates very low. W here To Go for More Information Additional information on the physics profes sion may be obtained from : American Institute of Physics, 335 East 45th St., New York 17, N. Y. Geologists (D. O. T. 0 -3 5 .6 3 ) Nature of W ork Geology is the largest field of employment in the earth sciences. There were about 13,000 to 15,000 geologists in the United States in 1956, rep resenting approximately half of all earth scien tists in the country. Geologists are concerned with the study of rocks on and under the earth’s surface, and with earth history as disclosed by rock formations and fossils. They search for minerals and fuels and study the physical processes by which changes in the earth’s structure and surface features take place. Most geologists spend a large part of the.ir time in field work, usually in exploring areas to deter mine the underground structure of the earth and the kinds of minerals or rocks that may be discov ered there. Field work may involve studying rock cores and cuttings brought up by drills, examining fossil remains of animal and vegetable life, re cording data in notebooks or on working maps and aerial photographs, and collecting geological specimens. Geologists also spend considerable time in the laboratory, examining geological spec imens and doing research. A large number per form administrative functions and, to an increas ing extent, geologists are advancing to executive positions, especially in the petroleum and mining industries. In colleges and universities, geologists often combine teaching with research and admin istrative work. 124 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK cerned with the form of the earth’s surface and with the forces—such as erosion, glaciation, and sedimentation—which cause changes in the land scape. Structural geologists study the structure of rocks and the physical processes which produced their structure. Where Employed C o u r t e s y o f u . S. G e o l o g ic a l S u r v e y Geologist examining rocks of the Cretaceous period in Alaska- Geologists usually specialize in some branch of the science. Economic geologists are concerned with finding and developing mineral resources. Petroleum geologists, who locate and exploit petro leum and natural gas deposits, are also economic geologists but are generally regarded as a separate category of specialists because they constitute the large majority of all geologists. Engineering geologists are concerned with the application of geological knowledge to the solution of engineer ing problems as, for example, locating desirable sites for such structures as dam foundations. Ground-water geologists deal with the sources, quantity, and quality of ground water available for agricultural, industrial, and domestic use. Paleontologists are concerned with the identifica tion and classification of the fossils of animals and plants from past geological periods. Stratigrabbers study the arrangement and relationships o f rock layers and their chronological succession. Petrographers study rocks, their origin, and com position. Mineralogists are concerned with the physical and chemical properties of minerals and the ways o f classifying them and of distinguishing them from each other. Geomorphologists are con Most geologists in this country—probably about 3 out of every 4— work for private industry. The great majority of these are in the petroleum and natural gas industry, which utilizes personnel in this profession chiefly in Texas, Louisiana, Cali fornia, and Oklahoma, although it also employs some in nearly all other States and in foreign coun tries. In addition, some geologists are employed by mining and construction companies, railroads, public utilities, and manufacturing concerns— es pecially in the metal, stone, and clay products in dustries. A number of geologists work for con sulting firms or as independent consultants; their services are utilized mainly by private companies interested in exploration for, and extraction of, minerals and fuels. The remaining geologists in the country— roughly one-fourth of the total number— include a few on the staffs o f museums and nonprofit re search institutions, with the rest divided about equally between college and university positions and Government employment. Those in colleges and universities teach not only in departments of geology but also in mining, metallurgical, and civil engineering, and in other departments. The large majority of geologists in Federal Govern ment positions work for the Geological Survey of the Department of the Interior. Other Federal agencies employing geologists are the Bureau of Reclamation, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Bureau of Mines of the Department of the Interior; the Atomic Energy Commission; the Corps of Engineers of the Department of the Arm y; the Soil Conservation Service of the De partment of Agriculture; and the Federal Powder Commission. State Government agencies also em ploy a number of geologists, many of whom work on State surveys conducted in cooperation with the Geological Survey. Most Government posi tions are located in continental United States, though some Federal jobs are in the Territories and possessions and in foreign countries. PHYSICAL AND EARTH SCIENCES Training and Other Qualifications A bachelor’s degree with a major in geology is usually considered the minimum entrance re quirement for persons seeking careers as geolo gists, and graduate training is a prerequisite for an ever-increasing number of jobs. Some scien tists, however, have entered the profession with training in petroleum and geological engineering or in related sciences. Training in geology is offered by a sizable num ber of colleges, universities, and institutes of tech nology. In 1955, bachelor’s degrees in the science were awarded by about 190 institutions, master’s degrees by about 85, and Ph. D.’s by about 35. Educational institutions have varying course requirements for the bachelor’s degree, although certain basic subjects in geology must be taken by students majoring in the science. In general, the work in geology amounts to about one-fourth of the total semester hours during the 4 years of undergraduate study; usually about another fourth of the work is in related natural sciences and in mathematics; and the remaining half is in general studies, such as English composition, eco nomics, and foreign languages. Some colleges provide a special program of studies leading to a bachelor’s degree in geology that allows as much as half of the undergraduate course work to be taken in the major field. In some schools of engi neering that offer undergraduate programs in pe troleum engineering and petroleum geology, as much as 90 percent of the work may be taken in the major field and related subjects. For entry positions in private industry, the bachelor’s degree is often adequate preparation, especially when the applicant’s scientific training has been thorough and has included extensive lab oratory and summer field work. However, at least 1 year of experience in the field is commonly re garded as necessary before a beginning geologist with a bachelor’s degree is placed in a professional position; many of the larger oil companies have formal training programs to acquaint beginners with their operations. A number of new gradu ates with bachelor’s degrees in geology are em ployed by Government agencies. Some Federal agencies also appoint promising undergraduates to summer jobs; upon graduation, such students who meet qualifications may receive permanent positions with the agencies. 125 Postgraduate training is extremely helpful to geologists in competing for many professional positions. The Ph. D. degree is generally required for the more desirable college teaching positions and is also needed for many research posts. The student who plans a career in geology should have an aptitude for science and mathe matics. He should like outdoor activities and have considerable physical stamina, since geolog ical field work frequently necessitates camping out, often under primitive conditions. A desire to travel is important, in view of the frequency with which geologists are required to move from place to place in the course of their employment. Employment Outlook Employment opportunities for geologists with master’s and doctor’s degrees wTere very good in 1956. Well-trained geologists with bachelor’s de grees also had good job prospects, especially in exploration work for the oil industry. The outlook is for continued growth of the pro fession both in the near future and over the long run. It is anticipated that the petroleum indus try will expand in this country, and that a mod erate increase will occur in employment of geolo gists for exploration activities in the United States. It is also expected that major oil com panies will further extend their search for new oilfields in foreign lands, providing increased em ployment opportunities abroad for American geol ogists. The demand for geologists in exploration for minerals—including uranium and other ores used in atomic fission— and water will also in crease. As the world’s petroleum, mineral, and water resources diminish, it is becoming increas ingly difficult to locate new sources of supplies. Thus, additional geologists with advanced train ing will be needed by industry to devise new tech niques for exploring deeper within the earth’s crust and to search underseas areas, as well as to do more extensive research and analysis of geo logical data. It is also expected that Government agencies will require larger staffs of geologists. For example, the Geological Survey, which has geologically mapped only part of the total area of the United States, will need more geologists for the large amount of work of this type that remains to be done. Furthermore, the number of students majoring in geology is expected to increase in the years ahead, along with college enrollments in 126 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK general. There will, therefore, be a significant number of openings for teachers of the science. (See index for page number of statement on col lege teachers.) Besides geologists required to fill new positions, some will be needed to replace those who die or re tire. However, losses to the profession from deaths and retirements will not be numerous in the near future, since geologists are a relatively young group. Along with the expected growth in demand for geologists, an increase in the number of geology graduates is anticipated. In 1955, 2,456 degrees in geology were conferred— 1,795 bachelor’s, 507 master’s, and 154 doctor’s degrees. The total num ber was far smaller than the peak figure of 3,649 degrees awarded in 1950, the year when most W orld War I I veterans graduated. However, the figure for 1955 represented a significant increase above that for 1954, which was only 2,180 degrees. The number of degrees in geology will probably continue to rise moderately in the late 1950’s and increase more rapidly in the 1960’s, assuming that the proportion of college graduates majoring in geology remains the same as in recent years. Nevertheless, prospects for geology graduates with ability and thorough training are expected to re main favorable through the early 1960’s. On the other hand, new graduates with bachelor’s degrees who have only minimal training may find it diffi cult to enter the profession, especially in view of the increasing amount of scientific knowledge re quired for geological activities. Such persons may be able to obtain only semiprofessional jobs in ex ploration activities and may find their opportuni ties for advancement severely limited. Few women are currently employed as geolo gists. Their opportunities in field activities are and will continue to be limited, largely because of the rigorous nature of the work. However, some well-qualified women will be able to find positions as teachers in colleges and universities. Others, trained in certain specialties such as paleontology and petrography, will be able to obtain laboratory positions in industry and Government. Earnings and W orking Conditions Recent information on earnings of geologists in private industry is limited to entrance salaries paid by several major oil companies. In 1956, these companies reported that monthly starting salaries for geologists with bachelor’s degrees only were typically as follows: $425 for those without experience; $435 for those with some experience unrelated to geology; and $445 for those with some related experience. For geologists with master’s degrees, typical salaries were reported to be as follows: $475 for those without experience; $485 for those with some unrelated experience; and $495 for those with some related experience. Geologists with Ph. D. degrees were reported to be earning $7,200 or more a year. In the Federal Government service, the yearly starting salary for geologists with bachelor’s de grees was $3,670 in 1956. Those with master’s de grees could begin at $4,525; those with doctor’s degrees, at $5,440. Many experienced geologists were receiving higher salaries. Those in super visory and administrative positions were earning as much as $10,000 to $11,000 per year, and a few in high-level posts had even larger salaries. Earnings of geologists are usually higher in pri vate industry than in either Government agencies or educational institutions. Those in university positions, however, have the advantage of long summer vacations during which they can supple ment their salaries by doing research, consulting, or other work. Extra allowances are generally paid geologists for work outside o f continental United States. Many geologists spend a great deal o f time traveling, and may be away from home for ex tended periods of time. Their hours of work are uncertain, because their activities in the field are affected by weather conditions as w^ell as by travel. W here To Go for M ore Information Information on the profession and the employ ment opportunities it offers may be obtained from : American Geological Institute, 2101 Constitution Ave. N W ., Washington 25, D. C. The U. S. Civil Service Commission, Washing ton 25, D. C., will furnish general information on positions available in Federal Government agen cies. For further information on such positions and how to apply for them, see chapter on Govern ment Occupations. PHYSICAL AXD EARTH SCIENCES 127 Geophysicists (D. O. T. 0 -3 5 .6 5 ) Nature of Work Geophysics is an overall term covering a num ber o f sciences concerned with the physical aspects o f our planet. Geophysicists deal with the meas urement and utilization of the earth's forces— magnetic, electrical, gravitational, radioactive, seismic (the forces causing earthquakes), and geo thermal (the forces resulting from the earth’s in terior heat and solar radiation). Some geophysi cists study these forces from the standpoint of the physics of solid bodies (the solid earth) ; others from the standpoint of the physics of gases (the atmosphere) ; and still others from the standpoint of the physics of liquids (the oceans and other bodies of water). Exploration geophysicists (sometimes known as prospecting geophysicists) are the largest group of geophysical scientists. They use the techniques of various geophysical specialties to search for sites where oil and minerals may be located. Most of them conduct or participate in field parties, which may also include economic geologists, pe- CO U R TESY OF U. S . G E O L O G IC A L S U R V E Y A field party using electromagnetic equipment to locate uranium deposits in the Colorado Plateau. troleum engineers, and other workers. Those who act as party chiefs not only supervise the field work but are also responsible for the interpreta tion of the exploration data. In addition, some exploration geophysicists supervise petroleum and natural gas production operations, or conduct research on some phase of prospecting. The second largest group of geophysical scien tists are hydrologists who are concerned with the water supply of the land areas of the earth, both at the surface and underground. Some hydrolo gists work on such projects as water supply for particular cities, irrigation, flood control, and soil erosion. Others specialize in the control and re moval of sediment which collects in river beds and harbors. Still others are concerned with glaciers, snow surveys, and the use of permanently frozen land areas. The other smaller groups of geophysical scien tists covered by this statement are oceanographers, seismologists, geodesists, volcanologists, special ists in terrestrial magnetism and electricity, and tectonophysicists. Oceanographers study the ocean in all its aspects, including its effect on the atmosphere, the sea bottom, and the shores. Those concerned with physical oceanography work on such projects as searching for petroleum deposits in tidewater and underseas areas, planning ways to prevent fouling of water in areas where oil is being drilled, and providing information needed in amphibious landings or the use of aircraft in res cuing men adrift at sea. Marine biologists, who study the fish and other animal and vegetable or ganisms which live in the sea, are sometimes classi fied as oceanographers although they are not geo physicists. Seismologists study earthquakes and the transmission of vibrations through the earth’s interior. They provide information used in de signing bridges and other buildings in earthquake regions, as well as in exploration for oil and minerals. Geodesists measure the size and shape of the earth, determine heights of mountains and hills, survey and map large areas of the earth’s surface, and study the variations in the force o f gravity in different parts of the earth. Voleanologists are concerned with the origin, location, and activity of volcanos, hot springs, and similar phe nomena. Geomagneticians study magnetic and electrical processes in and about the earth, includ- 128 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK ing such phenomena as sunspots, the aurora, and the transmission of radio waves. Tectonophysicists are concerned with the structure of mountain ranges, continents, and ocean beds; the properties o f natural materials forming the crust of the earth; the underlying strata in the earth’s crust; and the physical forces that cause movements and changes in its crust. Meteorology is another specialty which is fre quently classified as a geophysical science. How ever, this specialty is discussed in a separate statement (immediately following this one), since it represents a separate field of training and em ployment. W h ere Employed It is difficult to estimate the number of geophysi cists in the country. Only individuals employed in exploration generally use the title of geophysi cist. In other geophysical activities, scientists usually have job titles which describe their spe cializations (for example, hydrologist, seismolo gist, geodesist) or their academic training (for example, physicist or engineer). The number of geophysicists in the country in 1956 has been vari ously estimated at from 7,000 to 10,000, depending largely on how many groups of scientists with titles other than that of geophysicist are included in the estimate. Over half of all geophysicists Avork for private industry— chiefly for the petroleum industry. In addition, some are employed by exploration firms or in consulting services, and small numbers work for mining companies and in still other industries. Geophysicists in private industry are employed mainly in the southwestern and western sections o f the United States, where most of the country’s large oil fields are located, although many work in foreign countries where American firms are carrying on prospecting activities. The second largest field of employment for geo physicists is the Federal Government. The Fed eral agencies employing most geophysical sci entists are the Coast and Geodetic Survey, the Navy Hydrographic Office, the Geophysical Re search Division of the Air Force’s Cambridge Re search Center, the Geological Survey, and the Atomic Energy Commission. In addition, a rela tively small number of geophysical scientists are employed in colleges and universities, and still smaller numbers work for State Governments and for private research institutions. Training and Other Qualifications Geophysics is relatively new as a subject of organized instruction leading to degrees. Many students planning to enter geophysics still obtain their training in geology, physics, mathematics, or engineering, as did many present members of the profession. There is a gradual trend, how ever, toward the establishment of separate de partments and curricula in geophysics. Training leading to a bachelor’s degree in geo physics may be obtained in only about 10 institu tions. These undergraduate programs provide training chiefly in exploration geophysics, though the curricula may have other titles— such as geo physical technology or geophysical engineering. Some students take undergraduate training in ex ploration geophysics at colleges offering degree programs in engineering geology and petroleum geology. Other students prepare for exploration Avork by combining geology and physics in an undergraduate program. To enter a geophysical specialty other than ex ploration geophysics, an applicant must, as a rule, have graduate training, although it is sometimes possible to qualify through extensive undergrad uate work in science and mathematics plus on-thejob training. Graduate degrees are becoming in creasingly important in competing for the more desirable positions. The doctor’s degree is usual ly essential for teaching careers and is frequently required for positions involving fundamental re search. A student interested in obtaining a graduate de gree in geophysics should locate a university or institute of technology which has an extensive pro gram in geology, mathematics, physics, and engi neering and offers opportunities to carry out re search projects in the particular geophysical sci ence in which he is interested. Such institutions are limited in number; in 1954, only 26 institutions aAvarded the master’s degree and 10 institutions granted the doctor’s degree in geophysics. New graduates with bachelor’s degrees Avho are hired for geophysical Avork in .industry or Govern ment are usually given on-the-job training in the application o f geophysical principles to the p roj ects of the particular employing agency. I f the new employee’s college Avork did not include PHYSICAL AND EARTH courses in geophysics, he is taught geophysical methods and techniques as part of his on-the-job training. Some promising undergraduates have an oppor tunity for summer employment with Federal agen cies. On these summer jobs, they receive practical training. Upon graduation from college, they may obtain permanent positions with the agencies. Similar opportunities are also provided by some exploration companies. The prospective geophysicist needs an aptitude and interest in mathematics and physical sciences. He should have considerable physical stamina and should like to travel, since geophysicists often lead a rigorous outdoor life and explore remote areas of the earth. Employment Outlook Employment opportunities for geophysicists were excellent in 1956. Graduates with master’s and doctor’s degrees were especially sought by em ployers, and graduates with bachelor’s degrees were also in demand. The outlook is for continued growth of the pro fession both in the next few years and over the long run. As natural resources located at or close to the surface of the earth become depleted, more geophysicists will be needed to find new sites of fuel and minerals at greater depths underground and underwater, or under the shallow cover of ex traneous material such as a heavy forest or sand and gravel deposits. The increasing complexity of exploration work and growing recognition of the importance of basic research in the geophysical sciences will add to the demand for geophysicists with advanced training to do research and to de velop new geophysical techniques and instruments. The demand for geophysicists for research work will probably be stimulated also by the Interna tional Geophysical Year (1957-58). Scientists participating in this project—sponsored by more than 50 nations, including the United States—will study many aspects of man’s physical environment. Their findings are expected to create increasing interest in geophysical research. In all probability, the oil industry will continue to offer the largest number of employment oppor tunities for geophysical scientists. An increas ing number of these scientists will most likely be assigned to exploration work in foreign countries, 427675°— 57------- 10 SCIENCES 129 particularly in the Middle East, South America, North Africa, and Canada. In addition, mining companies are expected to employ growing num bers of geophysicists to find new mineral deposits. In Federal Government agencies, mounting civil and military demands will necessitate larger staffs of geophysicists to do such work as the mapping of land and water areas, investigation of water re sources and flood control, research in radioactivity and cosmic and solar radiation, and exploration of the outer atmosphere for rocket flights. The anticipated rise in college enrollments, including students majoring in geophysics, will result in in creased openings for teachers of the geophysical sciences. (See index for page number of state ment on college teachers.) Furthermore, some geophysicist positions will become vacant as a re sult of deaths and retirements, although such openings will not be numerous in the near future since geophysicists are a relatively young group. Along with the anticipated growth in demand for geophysicists, a rise in the number of geo physics graduates is likely to occur. In 1954, the last year for which information is available, only 328 degrees in geophysics were granted—206 bachelor’s, 100 master’s, and 22 doctor’s degrees. Small as are these figures, the numbers of bache lor’s and doctor’s degrees were almost double, and the master’s degrees were more than twice, those conferred in 1953. It is expected that the number of degrees in geophysical sciences will continue to rise in the late 1950’s, and to increase more rapidly in the 1960’s. However, the number of geophysics degrees awarded is a wholly inadequate measure of the supply of new scientists who enter the pro fession. In the past, the great majority of persons entering geophysics earned their degrees in other sciences. It is anticipated that the total supply of new scientists who become available for the pro fession will continue to be much greater than the number who earn degrees in geophysics. Nevertheless, employment prospects are ex pected to be very good in this profession through the early 1960’s, at least, particularly for persons with degrees in geophysics. Good employment opportunities are anticipated also for those who qualify through degrees in allied sciences. Few women are employed at present as geo physicists. Their employment opportunities in field exploration are and will be limited because of the strenuous nature of the work. However, well-qualified women will be able to find positions 130 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK in offices and laboratories, or as teachers in colleges and universities. Earnings and W orking Conditions Detailed information on earnings of geophysi cists is available only for Federal Government em ployees. In 1956, annual starting salaries in some Federal Government agencies were $4,480 for in experienced geophysicists with bachelor’s degrees; $5,335 for those with master’s degrees; and $6,115 for those with Ph. D ’s. Many experienced geo physicists were receiving higher salaries. Those in supervisory and administrative positions were earning as much as $10,000 to $11,000 a year, and a few in high-level posts had even larger salaries. Geophysicists working for private industry gen erally have higher earnings than do those em ployed by Government agencies and educational institutions. Teachers in universities, however, have the advantage of long summer vacations in which to supplement basic salaries by doing con sulting, writing, and research work. Geophysical scientists working outside continental United States usually r e c e i v e extra bonuses and allowances. The duties of geophysicists, particularly in be ginning jobs, often require prolonged absences from home. Work schedules are usually irregular and hours are frequently determined by travel, weather conditions, and the requirements of field activities. W here To Go for More Information Additional information on careers in geophysics may be obtained from : American Geophysical Union, 1515 Massachusetts Ave. NW ., Washington 5, D. C. Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Box 1536, Tulsa 1, Okla. The U. S. Civil Service Commission, Washing ton 25, D. C., will furnish information on Federal Government positions in the geophysical sciences. For further information on such positions and how to apply for them, see chapter on Government Occupations. Meteorologists (D. O. T. 0 -3 5 .6 8 ) Nature of W ork Meteorology is the science of the atmosphere. Its aim is complete understanding of the physical processes which produce “ the weather.” Weather forecasting and the collection and dissemination of weather data are the best known applications o f meteorology. Meteorologists, however, are con cerned also with a wide variety of other topics, ranging from the study of photochemical proc esses in the outer atmosphere to the effect of dayto-day changes in temperature on sales by retail stores. Synoptic meteorologists make up the largest group in the profession. They interpret current weather data—air pressure, temperature, humid ity, wind direction—reported by observers in many different places and make short- and longrange forecasts for given localities and regions. Other meteorologists are in several smaller branches of the profession. Climatologists, for example, investigate past records on wind, rain fall, sunlight, temperature, and humidity for a given area, and make analyses of probable weather conditions in the areas for some future time. D y namic meteorologists study the physical laws of air movement. Physical meteorologists study the atmosphere’s chemical composition and electrical properties; solar radiation; the transmission through the atmosphere of light, sound, and radio waves; and all the factors affecting clouds and rainfall. Scientists specializing in applied me teorology (sometimes called industrial meteorol ogy) are concerned with the relationship be tween weather and human activities, biological processes, and industrial operations. For exam ple, they make special forecasts for individual companies, conduct climatological studies for large-scale agricultural producers, induce rain or snow in a given area after determining optimum conditions for cloud seeding, and work on such problems as smoke control or air pollution. Growing numbers of meterologists in both Gov ernment and private employment are engaged in research, ranging from daily practical problems to basic theory. The increasing use of the atmos phere as a medium of transportation and com munication has focused attention on the meteor- PHYSICAL AND EARTH 131 SCIENCES C o u r t e s y o f u . S. W e a t h e r b u r e a u Briefing airline pilots on weather conditions along flight route. ological aspects of rockets, guided missiles, earth satellites, radio propagation, cosmic rays, and auroral activity. In addition, research is being conducted on such subjects as long-range forecast ing, radioactive “ fallout,” severe weather phenom ena, weather control, aircraft icing, and solar heating. Meteorologists who teach in universities or col leges may also do research or act as consultants. In colleges without separate departments of meteorology, they may teach subjects such as geography, mathematics, physics, and geology as well as meteorology. Where Employed In 1956, there were more than 6,000 meteor ologists in the country. O f these, approximately 2,500 were on active duty as officers in the Air Force, and some were in the Army and Navy. In addition, the A ir Force employed approximately 175 civilian meteorologists, and the Army and Navy together employed about 100. Meteor ologists on active duty are usually engaged in weather forecasting for military operations, whereas most civilian meteorologists in the Armed Forces conduct research. Approximately 2,250 meteorologists were work ing for the United States Weather Bureau, at 315 stations located in all parts of the continental United States, Alaska, the Arctic, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Guam, and other places in the Pacific area. Other Government agencies, such as the Forest Service and the Soil Conservation Serv ice of the Department of Agriculture, and the Na tional Advisory Committee for Aeronautics of the Department of Defense, also employed some meteorologists. 132 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Aside from Government, the main fields of em ployment for meteorologists are airlines, educa tional institutions, and weather consulting serv ices. Approximately 250 meteorologists were working for commercial airlines in 1956— forecast ing the weather along their companies’ flight routes and briefing pilots on the weather condi tions they might encounter. Colleges and uni versities with departments of meteorology em ployed 150 meteorologists, and other colleges with out separate departments probably employed about an equal number. In 1956, 27 private weather services throughout the country employed 150 meteorologists to deal with their clients’ special weather problems. In addition, a number of large companies in the aircraft, insurance, utili ties, and other industries employ meteorologists on a full-time basis. Some meteorologists work for companies that design and manufacture meteorological instruments and balloons. Other meteorologists present weather programs for radio and television stations. A few are employed as editors and librarians. A small number of women meteorologists are employed mainly as teachers in colleges and uni versities. A few work as forecasters for the Weather Bureau. Some women are on active mili tary duty as meteorologists in the Air Force. Training and Other Qualifications Most meteorologists have at least a bachelor’s degree, and many also have a master’s degree or a doctorate. Though some have acquired their technical knowledge through many years of work experience, the attainment of professional status without completing college training is becoming more and more difficult, as the scope of meteorology widens through the increase in scientific knowl edge and the development of new techniques. In the Armed Forces, officers are sent to educa tional institutions for a year or more to train in meteorology and are then assigned to meteorologi cal work. Ex-servicemen, with training and ex perience of this type, are given preference for civilian positions with the Armed Forces and can also qualify for positions with other employers of weather personnel. For beginning positions with the Weather Bu reau, the usual requirement is a bachelor’s degree with a specified minimum number of hours’ train ing in meteorology and related subjects. Other employers have similar requirements. The young person who wishes to become a meteorologist should plan, therefore, to complete a 4-year college program including courses in mathematics, phys ics, and meteorology. Bachelor’s and graduate degrees in meteorology are granted by only about 17 universities, but many other universities offer courses in the subject. Meteorologists with only bachelor’s degrees qualify mainly for employment in synoptic mete orology. Graduate training is desirable for work in the other, more specialized branches of the profession, and for teaching and research. The Weather Bureau has an in-service training program for its workers. Each year, scholarships are granted to Weather Bureau meteorologists, to enable them to take more advanced and specialized training. A student-aid program is also conducted by the Weather Bureau. Eligible high school graduates and college students preparing for a career in meteorology may obtain summer jobs with the agency until they receive degrees. They may then be employed as meteorologists. Promotions in the Weather Bureau, as in other Federal Government agencies, are given according to Civil Service regulations. (See chapter on Government Occupations.) With the airlines, the chances for advancement are limited. However, some meteorologists in the largest companies may attain positions as supervisory meteorologists. Airline meteorologists are also able to qualify as dispatchers, after considerable work experience. Some well-trained meteorologists, with a back ground in science, engineering, and business ad ministration, may find their best opportunities for advancement in the profession through the estab lishment of their own weather consulting services. Among the personal characteristics needed by meteorologists are mathematical aptitude and an interest in physical science. Since most of the work is performed in an office, unusual physical stamina is not generally required. For some jobs, the ability to draw quickly and neatly is important. Employment Outlook In 1956, employment opportunities for meteor ologists were very good. The Weather Bureau was seeking meteorologists, both new graduates and experienced men. Private companies also re ported difficulty in recruiting these scientists, es pecially for research positions. PHYSICAL AND EARTH Additional meteorologists were needed by the Weather Bureau in 1956 not only to fill vacancies in weather forecasting positions but also to staff several new or expanded programs of hurricane research, air pollution research, storm warning, and flood forecasting which were authorized by Congress in 1955. The increase in demand for meteorologists resulting from these programs came at a time when the number of new graduates avail able for work in meteorology was declining. In 1955, only 60 bachelor’s degrees in meteorology were granted— fewer than half the all-time record number (143) awarded in 1950, when most of the veterans graduated. Furthermore, graduates with majors in other fields, such as physics and mathe matics, and some training in meteorology have been difficult to attract into weather forecasting or research, because of the many opportunities open to them in their major fields. Officers leaving the armed services have also gone, in most in stances, into other fields of work, instead of seeking civilian positions in meteorology. Employment of meteorologists in the Weather Bureau is expected to increase further until the end of the 1950’s, at least, as a result of the re search programs already authorized by Congress— although the exact size of the Bureau's staff, like that of all other Federal agencies, depends on the appropriations enacted each year. The Weather Bureau estimated in 1956 that it would need about 100 meteorologists yearly for the next 3 years, to fill new positions or replace workers who die, re tire, or leave for other reasons. The Bureau also looks forward to continued growth of its research programs beyond this period, in view of the wide public interest in these projects. Further increase in the Bureau’s forecasting staff is also anticipated over the long run because the continued expansion in civilian aviation will probably result in the building o f new airports and weather stations. Employment opportunities for meteorologists are also expected to increase in weather consulting services and on the staffs of private companies. More and more businessmen are utilizing weather and climatic data in planning their operations, and are turning to industrial meteorologists for assistance in solving their weather problems. As the value of this type of service receives further recognition, the demand for industrial meteorolo gists will continue to grow. Opportunities for meteorologists with the air lines, however, will be limited. In 1956, these SCIENCES 133 companies were seeking a few exceptionally quali fied meteorologists with advanced scientific knowl edge for research work on problems relating to the use of jet planes. In the normal airline posi tions connected with flight operations, occasional opportunities are expected as workers die, retire, or transfer to other positions. Future increases in the number of airline meteorologists are likely to be small. Although air traffic will no doubt continue to increase rapidly, the airline meteorolo gists who forecast weather conditions in given areas will generally be able to service the addi tional flights. In colleges and universities, opportunities for meteorologists are expected to rise over the next decade, with the increase in college enrollment. The Armed Forces will also have some openings for civilian meteorologists. Altogether, the outlook is favorable for future growth in meteorology. Since this is a small pro fession, the number of job openings arising in any one year will not be large. On the other hand, the numbers of graduates coming into the field will also be small in the near future (assuming that the proportion of college students majoring in meteorology remains about the same as in the past few years), and these graduates should have very good employment opportunities through the 1950’s, at least. Earnings and W orking Conditions Beginning meteorologists in Federal Govern ment agencies were paid $4,480 a year in 1956. For the majority of experienced workers in Gov ernment positions, salaries ranged from $5,335 to $7,035 a year. Meteorologists in supervisory and administrative positions were earning as much as $10,000 to $11,000 a year, and a few in top-level posts had still higher salaries. Workers stationed outside the continental United States were paid an additional cost-of-living allowance. For per sonnel in Hawaii, this allowance amounted to 20 percent of the worker’s basic salary; for those sta tioned elsewhere, it was 25 percent. The provi sions for salary increase, paid vacations, sick leave, pensions, life insurance, and other benefits are the same for meteorologists as for all other Federal Civil Service employees. (See chapter on Government Occupations.) Recent earnings data for meteorologists in pri vate industry are available only for the airlines. 134 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Most airlines divide their meteorologists into two classes with different salary scales. In 1956, class A meteorologists with airlines had a starting sal ary of $400 and a top salary of $695 a month— reached after 9 automatic yearly increases. In recent years, the airlines have had few, if any, class B meteorologists, who are inexperienced college graduates; after passing a company exam ination, such meteorologists are transferred to class A positions. The salary range for class B personnel was from $300 to $350 a month in 1956. Under the union contracts which cover most air line meteorologists, provision is made for raising salary scales when the cost of living rises. A few meteorologists in top supervisory positions with airlines earned between $10,000 and $12,000 a year in 1956. Jobs in weather stations—which are operated on a 24-hour basis, 7 days a week—often involve night work and rotating shifts. Most stations are located at airports or other places in or near cities. However, some are in isolated and remote spots. W h ere To Go for M ore Information General information on the profession may be obtained from : American Meteorological Society, 3 Joy St., Boston 8, Mass. ' The United States Weather Bureau, Washing ton 25, D. C., will answer inquiries on employment opportunities with that agency, and will provide information on its student-aid program. Mathematicians (D. O. T. 0 -3 5 .7 6 ) Nature of W ork There are three broad classes of mathematical work— pure or theoretical mathematics, applied mathematics, and mathematical computation. Theoretical mathematicians are concerned with the logical development of mathematical systems and the study of relations among various mathe matical forms. Their studies represent a form of logic dealing with methods of mathematical rea soning and analysis rather than with the uses or applications of these methods. Applied mathematicians are concerned chiefly with analyzing the relations among the parts of a problem, and describing these relations in terms of a mathematical system. A mathematician of this type needs not only competence and imagina tion in mathematics, but also knowledge of the field such as physics or engineering in which he is working. Pure and applied mathematics are not always sharply separated in practice. Many im portant developments in theoretical mathematics have arisen directly from practical considerations. For example, the infinitesimal calculus was de veloped by Isaac Newton to deal with physical problems involving the velocity and acceleration of moving objects— phenomena which could not be described satisfactorily in earlier systems of math ematics. The third broad type of mathematical work con sists of using known mathematical formulas to ob tain numerical answers to specific problems. Such work requires a high degree of skill in computa tion, but does not require the advanced training and inventiveness needed by the first two types of mathematicians. The great bulk of mathe matical work done in scientific research and de velopment, as well as in statistics and business, is of this type. W here Employed The total number of mathematicians in 1955 was roughly 20,000, of whom about 3,000 held Ph. D. degrees. Relatively few mathematicians are women—only about 9 percent, according to a 1954-55 survey of professional mathematical so ciety members. The largest number of mathematicians—more than two-fifths of the total in 1955— are employed by private industry. A somewhat smaller num ber work for educational institutions, chiefly col leges and universities. The rest are employed by Government agencies, chiefly the Department of Defense and the Department of Commerce, and by foundations and other nonprofit organizations. The principal industrial employers of mathe maticians are the aircraft and the electrical-equip ment manufacturers. The primary metals, chemi cals, and petroleum industries also employ PHYSICAL AND EARTH significant numbers of mathematicians. It is esti mated that these five industries account for about a third of all mathematicians employed in industry. Most o f the mathematicians employed by in dustry hold bachelor’s degrees only. A substan tial majority of those holding Ph. D. degrees are employed by colleges and universities. Training and Other Qualifications A bachelor’s degree with a major in mathematics is usually required for employment as a mathema tician. However, a degree in some other subject with a strong minor in mathematics may be ade quate for the less complicated beginning positions. The training requirements for mathematicians for teaching and nonroutine research positions are often substantially higher. It is occasionally pos sible to enter these fields with the training repre sented by a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, but a substantial number o f positions require graduate training. The Ph. D. degree is required for many college and university teaching positions and for the more advanced research work. It is important for advancement, especially to the most desirable positions. For teaching and for research in pure mathe matics, training in nonmathematical subjects is not specifically necessary; but for teaching and re search in applied mathematics, training in the field to which mathematics is to be applied is essen tial. For most applied mathematicians, the field o f application is physics and related branches of engineering. Other fields of application are busi ness and industrial management, economics, sta tistics, chemistry, and biology. The development in recent years of high-speed electronic computers has brought a growing need for mathematicians particularly qualified to work with these machines. Knowledge of the methods of numerical analysis is especially important. Setting up the sequence or program for the ma chine to follow also calls for special training. Employment Outlook The employment situation for mathematicians in 1956 was very good at all levels of training, and excellent for holders of Ph. D. degrees. The situa tion will remain very favorable for the next 4 to 6 years at least, especially for applied mathema ticians. SCIENCES 135 Employment of mathematicians as teachers in colleges and universities will increase substan tially, both to take care of the much larger en rollments expected in the 1960’s and to meet the growing need for more advanced mathematical training in many fields o f study. The increased demand for college mathematics teachers will largely be a demand for Ph. D.’s, but there will continue to be many positions for holders o f master’s degrees. Colleges and universities will also continue to provide most of the employment opportunities for specialists in the relatively small field of theoretical mathematics. Another factor which will tend to increase employment of mathematicians is the expected further growth in the demand for their services in scientific research and development. This demand is associated with the development of high-speed electronic computing machines which make pos sible more extensive use of mathematics than is practical with slower calculating equipment. It is chiefly a demand for applied mathematicians to work on physics and engineering problems. In all probability, private industry and the Federal Government wfill continue to increase their expenditures for physics and engineering research and development, and thus raise the demand for mathematicians. I f the growth in research ex penditures should slacken, however, or increase more rapidly than now anticipated, the demand for mathematicians would change accordingly. The new high-speed electronic computers are also opening up new fields of application for mathematics in business management. Large com puters not only provide accounting and other data more rapidly, but also make possible analyses o f business operations which were not practicable with less advanced equipment. The broad new opportunities for applied mathe matics which have been created by the great speed of the electronic computers insure a substantial and growing demand for mathematicians, but the amount of this demand, the lines along which it will develop, and the rapidity of the develop ment cannot now be foreseen with any exactness. The demand generated by these computers— in scientific research and development, in business management, and in other areas—is a demand for employees who can apply mathematics to specific problems, not simply for mathematicians as such. Undoubtedly, a part of this demand will be satis fied by including more advanced mathematical 136 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK training in the education of engineers, biologists, and specialists in other fields to which mathe matics is applied. Nevertheless, there will be a growing demand for applied mathematicians who combine a high degree of mathematical compe tence with a broad knowledge of the field of ap plication. There will also be an expanding de mand for people to do mathematical computation work. The long-run outlook is thus one of in creasing demand, although the exact size and na ture of the increase are not yet foreseeable. The numbers of new college graduates with bachelor’s degrees in mathematics will rise in the late 1950’s and continue to grow, at an accelerating rate, during the 1960’s, if graduations in this field follow the trends expected in college graduations as a whole. The numbers of mathematicians awarded graduate degrees tend to follow the trend in bachelor’s degrees with a time lag of several years. However, employment opportunities for mathematicians are expected to remain very good through the early 1960’s, at least, and probably longer. Earnings survey of those belonging to professional societies. For mathematicians with Pli. D.’s, median salary was about $6,700; for those without Ph. D.’s, about $5,900. Mathematicians in private industry tend to have higher incomes than those in other types of em ployment. In 1951, for example, the median an nual professional income of mathematicians with Ph. D.’s was about 20 percent greater in private industry than in Government employment, and about 54 percent greater than in colleges and uni versities. Mathematicians without Ph. D.’s had a median 1951 income in private industry that was about 12 percent greater than in Government, and about 34 percent greater than in colleges and universities. In the United States Government, the starting salary for mathematicians with Ph. D.’s but with no experience was $7,035 a year in 1956. The start ing salary for mathematicians with bachelor's de grees only was $4,480. W here To Go for More Information American Mathematical Society, 190 Hope St., Providence, R. I. The median (average) annual salary of mathe maticians was about $6,300 according to a 1954-55 Mathematical Association of America, University of Buffalo, Buffalo 14, N. Y. BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES Introduction The biological sciences are concerned with the structure of living organisms, and with such proc esses as birth, growth, death, and heredity. They cover the entire range of life, from the largest ani mals and plants to creatures too tiny to be seen without the aid of powerful microscopes and too dement ary to be called either plant or animal. Some biological scientists are concerned with basic research, aimed at increasing our knowledge if living things and of the relations existing among :hem, regardless of whether such knowledge is of immediate practical use. Others are concerned vvith the application of biological knowledge and research methods to practical problems in agriculure, forestry, medicine, and other fields. This chapter is concerned with the biological sciences is research and teaching fields. The large applied liological science fields are discussed elsewhere in lie Handbook. (For statements on agricultural •esearch workers, dentists, foresters, nutritionists, ihysicians, and veterinarians, see index.) Jature of Work The work o f biological scientists lends itself nore readily to detailed specialization than does hat of most other scientists. It is very difficult o classify and define clearly and without overapping each of the many areas of interest in which ndividuals are working, and there is disagreement s to the best general system of classification. Three of the ways in which the work of biological dentists can be classified are according to the lifferent kinds of living organisms studied, the afferent points of view from which they can be tudied, and the different methods of study which an be used. When the biological scientists are classified acording to the types of organisms studied, they fall tito 2 or 3 main groups. One group is concerned fith the study of animal life and another with the tudy of plant life. A third group—microbioloists, who study very small organisms— is often onsidered to represent another major division of be biological sciences. Each of these broad groups can be divided fur ther. Examples of the fields in which animal scientists specialize are: entomology, the study o f insects and similar forms of life ; parasitology, the study of animal parasites that live on or within man or other animal life ; ichthyology, the study of fish and fishlike form s; mammalogy, the study of mammals; and herpetology, the study of reptiles and amphibians. The plant sciences also have a number of sub divisions. Some of them are: mycology, the study of fungi; algology, the study of algae; silvicul ture, the study of trees; and horticulture, the study of the production and breeding of all types of food and ornamental plants except field crops. The field of microbiology is regarded as a dis tinct category by a number of authorities, al though others have classified it as a subfield o f plant science. It is concerned with the study o f micro-organisms, including bacteria, and their ef fects on plants, animals, other micro-organisms, and dead organic material. Biological scientists also specialize in studying living organisms from different points of view. For example, a type of organism can be studied from the point of view of evolution, the way or ganisms have developed to their present forms; or of systematics and taxonomy, concerned with the identification and classification of organisms; or of genetics, concerned with what characteristics are inherited and with the mechanism of heredity. Some other points of view are composition and or ganization,, concerned with the structure of whole organisms or systems of organs; function, con cerned with the processes by which organisms move, eat, and otherwise function as living sys tems ; and ecology, concerned with the relation be tween organisms and their environment. A third way to look at the work of biological scientists is according to the methods used in studying biological problems. Among the most important methods are those of mathematics, chemistry, physics, physiology (the study of bio logical mechanisms and processes), morphology (concerned with physical structure), and field ob137 138 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK servation. The use of these methods in the bio logical sciences has led to the development of spe cialties such as biochemistry, biophysics, and bio metrics which lie on the border between the bio logical sciences and other fields. Taken together, these three systems of classify ing the interests and activities of biological sci entists show the range and diversity of these sci ences, arising naturally from the amazing variety and complexity of living things. A description o f the work of a biological scientist requires all three systems of classification. One interested in heredity may, for example, employ the methods of chemistry and use mice as the particular organism studied. Another scientist with the same central interest and working on the same kind of animal may make considerable use of mathematical meth ods. A particular research project may be con cerned with several types of organisms which can be profitably studied from several points of view at the same time, employing more than one method o f study and analysis. This chapter is organized into separate sections on the animal, plant, and microbiological sciences. References are made within the sections to the larger and more important fields of specialization which often are not concerned with a specific class of organism but deal rather with broader problems. W h ere Employed The total number of biological scientists in 1956, including agricultural research workers of com parable training, was estimated to be more than 50,000. About 15,000 to 16,000 of these scientists held the doctor’s degree. Women represent a larger proportion of the per sonnel in some branches of the biological sciences than in other natural science fields. They consti tute more than 10 percent of all biological sci entists taken as a group and over 20 percent of the microbiologists. The largest group of biological scientists are those who teach in colleges and universities, where a majority combine research with their teaching duties. A 1954-55 survey of about 15,000 biologi cal scientists and agricultural research workers, all of whom had graduate degrees or bachelor’s de grees and 4 years of experience, found that the ma jority o f the scientists surveyed— 51 percent—were employed in colleges, universities, and other edu cational institutions. The second largest number, 28 percent, worked for governmental agencies, and the smallest, 21 percent, worked in private indus try. A majority of all biological scientists em ployed by governmental agencies worked for the Federal Government; others worked for State and local government agencies. The most important industrial employers were the chemical, food, and paper industries. The relative importance of educational institu tions, government agencies, and private industry as sources of employment for different groups of biological scientists is indicated in the sections that follow. The employment pattern described above refers to the biological sciences as a whole. Training and Other Qualifications A bachelor’s degree with a major in one of the biological sciences is the minimum requirement foi employment in these professions, and more ad vanced training is required for many positions Most of the biological sciences offer opportunities for persons with bachelor’s degrees to work a: technicians or junior research workers. The rang* o f positions for which the bachelor’s degree is ade quate preparation is wider in certain specialties ii the animal sciences (particularly entomology and in some aspects of microbiology than in othe biological sciences, but more advanced academi training is very advantageous for advancemen and for the more desirable beginning position even in these fields. In general, however, th bachelor’s degree is sufficient for jobs involvin production and operations work, inspection an testing, technical sales and service, and routin applied research. The master’s degree usually indicates more ir tensive training in a relatively narrower field o specialization than is required for the bachelor degree. This degree is regarded as sufficient qua! fication for entry into many professional positioi in the new graduate’s field of specialization, ii eluding those in college teaching and basic r< search, but without a doctor’s degree the ran£ of employment opportunities and possibilities fc advancement are both restricted. Holders of ma ter’s degrees are considered well qualified pr< fessionally for high school teaching posts, a though a teaching certificate is an addition requirement for such positions in public school The Ph. D. degree is generally considered e sential to full professional status in the biologic BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES sciences. It is practically a necessity for higher level teaching positions, and is extremely import ant for positions involving independent research, which usually require the full training and dem onstrated capability represented by a Ph. D. de gree. In some fields of specialization, notably genetics and most aspects o f experimental biology, an overwhelming majority of the personnel have Ph. D.’s. Some scientists with a medical degree teach or do basic research in the life sciences, particularly anatomy, physiology, or medical applications of microbiology. They frequently hold additional degrees in biological sciences, obtained in the course o f further training in their chosen specialty, and such training is usually equivalent to the Ph. D. In addition to training in biological science sub jects, persons planning to specialize in these sci ences need training in chemistry, in physics, and, to an increasing degree, in mathematics. Biome try, biostatistics, and other methods o f mathemati cal analysis are becoming important tools in the biological sciences. Extensive training and practice in laboratory techniques and the use of laboratory equipment is also very important. Most research and teaching in the biological sci ences require skill in laboratory work which can be developed only through practice. There has been a definite upward trend in the educational qualifications needed in these sciences. There are a few fields in which the Ph. D. degree is a virtual requirement, and it is becoming more important to employment and to the better posi tions in all fields. Employment Outlook The general employment situation was good in 1956 for biological scientists as a group. Qualified graduates at all levels of training were able to find employment related to their specialties, and cer tain highly trained specialists— for example, physiologists, pathologists, and biophysicists with Ph. D. degrees—were particularly in demand. The outlook for the near future, through the early 1960’s, is probably about the same. There will be good opportunities for well-trained per sons, especially those with Ph. D.’s. However, there is likely to be continued competition for the better positions in many fields of specialization, and some specialities will offer wider employment 139 opportunities than others. The demand for per sons with bachelor’s degrees to work as technicians will undoubtedly grow with the growth of the sciences as a whole. But continued rise in the edu cational qualifications required for biological science positions—which is to be expected— would mean further limitations on advancement oppor tunities for persons without graduate degrees. The biological sciences have been and are a growing field, and their growth has never been more rapid than in the past decade, but it has pro ceeded at a slower pace than that o f the physical sciences as a group. One of the main reasons for this difference is that the physical sciences have benefited from large expenditures for research and development in connection with national defense, iru which the biological sciences have had only a limited share. Nevertheless, growth in research expenditures may be the most important factor tending to in crease demand for biological scientists over the long run. In these as in other scientific fields, ex penditures for research and development have been rising since the end of World W ar II. (See p. 142.) Research in the biological sciences is being actively supported on an increasing scale by sev eral government agencies and by a number of pri vate foundations. In most cases, the public or private organization supporting research has a particular objective, such as a health problem, which it seeks to advance. However, the many different aspects to these complex problems lead to support of a wide variety of research projects calling for many types of biological scientists. Another important factor which will tend to in crease the demand for biological scientists is the substantially larger college and university enroll ments expected in the 1960’s and thereafter. The resulting increase in demand for teachers will be, to a large extent, for Ph. D.’s, for whom college teaching is a major field of employment. How ever, there will also be an increase in college open ings for qualified holders of master’s degrees. (For statement on college teaching opportunities, see index.) Thus, over the long run, the outlook for the biological sciences is one of substantial continued growth, although the rate of growth is uncertain and the specialties which will be most affected can be described in only the most general terms. The potentialities for research in the biological sciences are many. In the complex problems of 1 40 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK human health and disease, in applications of biology to industrial problems, and in other areas, completion of research projects serves only to highlight the need for new research and for specialists well qualified to conduct it. Earnings and W orking Conditions The 1954-55 survey of biologists sponsored by the National Science Foundation revealed a median annual salary of about $6,275 for the per sons covered by the survey. Those with a Pli. D. degree had a median annual salary of about $6,750, while for those without the Ph. D., all of whom had a bachelor’s degree plus 4 or more years of ex perience, the figure was about $5,850. The income of biological scientists, like that of almost everyone else, has risen in recent years. For example, a similar survey made in 1951 found the median annual income of Ph. D.’s to be about $6,200. indicating an increase of about $550 from 1951 to 1954-55. Incomes have increased further since 1955. W here To Go for More Information American Institute of Biological Sciences, 2000 P St. N W ., Washington 6, D. C. Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, 9650 Wisconsin Ave., Washington 14, D. C. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington 25, D. C. Animal Sciences Nature of W ork Animal scientists are concerned with the study o f the basic processes of human and animal biol ogy. Specialists in the various aspects of animal science are the largest group of biological scien tists. The majority of animal scientists teach or do research, and many do both. There are many occupational specialties in the animal sciences. Some of the larger broad divi sions are entomology, zoology, physiology, anato my, pathology, and the science of nutrition. Entomologists are concerned with the study of insects and the ways in which they affect human beings, animals, and plants. Some entomologists specialize in identifying and classifying insects— an enormously difficult undertaking, since there are more than 75,000 species of insects in the United States and Canada alone. This is an im portant field because proper identification of in sects is basic to controlling them and thus to preserving food supplies and controlling disease. Many entomologists are engaged in research on methods of insect control through the use of chemi cals, predatory birds, other insects, other biologi cal methods such as insect diseases, or mechanical means. Other entomolgists study ways of utilizing beneficial insects— for example, honeybees, which not only produce valuable quantities of honey and wax but are also essential in pollinating crops so that they will mature and yield good harvests. Zoologists include students of all phases of ani mal life—the origin, classification, life history, be havior, life processes, diseases, and parasites of animals, and the ways in which animals influence and are influenced by their environment. Some zoologists make field trips to study animals in their natural environment and collect specimens. Others work mainly in laboratories, dissecting and studying dead animals or conducting experimental studies with live ones. Zoologists who specialize in the study of certain classes of animals usually identify themselves with their specialties, which include, for example, the study of birds (ornithol ogy), snakes (herpetology), fish (ichthyology), and mammals (mammalogy). Teachers and others whose work cuts across several of the animal science fields usually use the title of zoologist. Physiologists study the functioning of organ isms during life and how life processes operate. They may specialize in the study of the heart, cir culatory system, glands, nerves, cell activities, or digestive, excretory, reproductive, or other sys tems. They conduct experiments to determine the effects of environmental factors on life processes. The knowledge gained in such studies provides the basis for the work of many other specialists, such as pathologists, pharmacologists, or nutri tionists. Anatomists study the form and structure of animal organisms. They may study structures visible to the naked eye, those of microscopic size, the development of organisms before birth (em bryology) or the structure and organization of any of the specialized organs of animals. Most anato mists specialize in human anatomy. 141 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES C o u r t e s y o f u . S. a t o m ic E n e r g y C o m m is s io n Physiologist removing blood from a rat’s tail vein in an experiment to determine whether cysteine—an amino acid—will prevent the oxidation of tissue and cell destruction that result from radiation. Pathologists study the causes and processes of disease, degeneration, and abnormal functioning in animal organisms. They may specialize in the study of the effects of diseases, parasites, and insect pests on organs and tissues; in histology, which is the microscopic study of animal and plant tissues; or in the structure or anatomy of diseased organs. The term pathologist is normally reserved for stu dents of human pathology (medical pathology) ; specialists in animal pathology are usually veteri narians ; and plant pathologists study plant diseases. Nutritionists study the processes through which human beings and other animals utilize fo o d ; the kinds and quantities of food elements—such as minerals, vitamins, fats, sugars, and proteins— which are essential to maintain the best state of health; and how these food elements are trans formed into bodily substances. Nutritionists also make analyses of foods to determine their composi tion in terms of the food elements essential to nutrition. Where Employed More than half of all animal scientists are em ployed by colleges and universities. About a third work for agencies of the Federal and State Gov ernments, usually the former. Fewer than 1 in 10 works for manufacturing industries, and a still smaller number are employed by research and con sulting services, foundations, and various non profit organizations. 142 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK The animal scientists employed by the Federal Government are chiefly entomologists, parasitolo gists, and animal physiologists on the staffs of the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, and Health, Education, and Welfare. In State governments, the main employers of animal scientists are the State agricultural experiment stations, which uti lize entomologists, nutritionists, and other types of specialists in research work. Entomologists are predominant among the ani mal scientists in private industry. Food com panies, particularly large milling and baking companies, employ them to develop methods of protecting stored foods from insect pests, and chemical firms use them to do research in develop ing and testing insecticides. In addition, ento mologists are employed to provide technical serv ices in connection with the sale and proper use of insecticides. Training and Other Qualifications The level of education needed for entrance into the animal sciences is determined largely by the field of specialization and the type of work per formed. The educational requirements of different types of employment are greatly influenced by these two factors. The bachelor’s degree is sufficient training for employment only in certain segments of the ani mal sciences—for example, entomology. In gen eral, the bachelor’s degree is sufficient preparation for certain positions connected with the adminis tration and enforcement of government regula tions designed to prevent the spread of diseases or to control pests, and for other jobs involving fairly routine functions. The master’s degree in one of the animal sciences .is sufficient qualifica tion for some teaching positions in colleges and universities, and for some research positions. The Ph. D. degree, however, is generally considered es sential for the attainment of full professional status in the animal sciences. It is practically a necessity for higher level teaching appointments, and for positions involving independent research into basic problems. Top-level positions in teach ing, basic research, and administration require the full training of the Ph. D. In summary, although there are positions in some of the animal sciences for persons holding' only the bachelor’s degree, graduate training is often needed to compete for the better jobs. Per sons interested in careers in the animal sciences should obtain graduate training, and preferably a Ph. D. degree, if at all possible. Employment Outlook Employment opportunities for animal scien tists were good in 1956 and were expected to re main good at least through the early 1960’s. Expenditures for scientific research in the ani mal sciences have been increasing since the end of World War II. In recent years, the Federal Gov ernment has given increased support to this re search—notably through the National Institutes o f Health and the National Science Foundation. The U. S. Department of Defense is also an im portant source of research funds for the animal sciences. Voluntary health agencies, such as the cancer, tuberculosis, and heart societies, also sup port basic biological research in the animal sci ences. The trend toward increased expenditures for research in the animal sciences is expected to continue. The substantially increased college and univer sity enrollments expected in the 1960’s and there after will bring an increased demand for teachers in this field as in all others. The increased de mand for teachers and for research personnel, is expected to lead to continued growth of employ ment in the animal sciences. For information on Earnings and Working Conditions and Where To Go For More In for mation and for further information on Employ ment Outlook, see the Introduction to this chapter. Plant Sciences Nature o f W ork Plant scientists are divided among three main fields of specialization—botany, plant pathology, and plant physiology—each of which includes a number of subspecialties. These scientists, a much smaller group than animal scientists, chiefly teach and do research. BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES Botanists are concerned with basic knowledge of plants in general, rather than with any one of the various specialized fields which have developed from the general field of plant study. Some bot anists are interested primarily in the identification and classification of plants (plant taxonomy). Others specialize in studies of the structure of plants and plant cells (plant morphology and his tology), or in studies of the influence on plants of such environmental factors as rainfall, temper ature, and soil (plant ecology). Another impor tant field of botany is the collection of basic in formation on the raw material resources which hu man beings obtain from plants (economic botany). Plant pathologists (also known as phytopathol ogists) are specialists in the causes and control of plant diseases produced by parasitic organisms, viruses, chemicals, and other agents. Some spe cialize in the pathology of a specific plant or group of plants, such as forest trees, vegetable crops, orn amental plants, and field crops. Others work only with certain organisms or groups of organisms af fecting plants, such as fungi, viruses, or bacteria. Plant physiologists study the life processes of plants—the ways in which they grow, develop, and reproduce. They are concerned with the ways in which plants are affected by nutrients and other chemicals and by environmental factors, such as soil, temperature, moisture, and light. They also study the effects of certain chemicals— such as growth regulators, fungicides, and insecticides— on the development of plants and the quality of plant products. W h ere Employed The majority of plant scientists are employed in colleges and universities. The second largest group work for government agencies, both Fed eral and State. The remainder, a relatively small proportion, are employed by private industry and by foundations and other nonprofit organizations. Training and Other Qualifications The Ph. D. degree is needed for full professional development in the plant sciences, as in most areas of biology. It is of first importance for college and university teaching, which is the chief source 143 of employment for plant scientists, and it is equal ly important for research. In both college teach ing and research, there are positions for persons with master’s degrees, but the opportunities for advancement open to them are likely to be limited. People with the bachelor’s degree can work as technicians in the plant sciences, but it is extreme ly difficult to rise to higher positions without a graduate degree, preferably the Ph. D. With few exceptions, undergraduate majors in plant science specialties are not offered by col leges. It is generally recommended that students obtain, during the first 4 years of college, the broadest possible training in all branches of bi ology and in related sciences. The competent bi ologist needs to have both an intensive knowledge of his own specialty and a broad background in the fundamentals of biology and related sciences in order to interpret better the results of his studies and experiments. Training in chemistry, physics, mathematics, and statistics is also needed by plant scientists. Employment Outlook The employment situation was good in 1956 in the relatively small field of the plant sciences, and it was expected to remain fairly good for the next few years. The most important factor tending to increase employment in this field of science is the higher college and university enrollments expected in the late 1950’s and thereafter. This will create a demand for plant scientists with Ph. D. degrees primarily, but there will be increased demand for plant scientists with master’s degrees as well, to teach the increasing number of students. Another important factor which will probably tend to increase employment of plant scientists over the long run is the increasing support of re search, by private firms as well as by government agencies. Much of this support is given in con nection with agricultural research, but there has been increased support for other aspects of plant science research as well. For information on Earnings and Working Con ditions and Where To Go for More Information, and for further information on Employment Out look, see the Introduction to this chapter. 144 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Microbiology Nature of W ork W h ere Employed Microbiologists specialize in the study of bac teria, viruses, molds, and other organisms of mi croscopic or smaller than microscopic size. The terms microbiology and bacteriology are some times used interchangeably, but microbiology is the broader term and is preferable when referring to the study of all microscopic organisms. Like other biological scientists, microbiologists usually specialize in some particular aspect of their field. Agricultural specialists study bacteria, molds, algae, and protozoa and other micro-organisms in soils, and the relation of such organisms to soil fertility; to the growth, processing, and storage o f crops; and to plant diseases. They also study micro-organisms which affect the health of animals. Industrial specialists include scientists who de velop methods o f using beneficial molds and bac teria in processing dairy products, beer, wine, vinegar, and other food products. Some industrial microbiologists study micro-organisms which at tack materials, such as textiles, leather, metal, and wood, to determine the cause of spoilage or de terioration. Many industrial microbiologists are engaged in research on antibiotics and other prod ucts produced through the aid of micro-organisms, in a search for new products or new methods of production. Testing and inspection of biological production is another important aspect of their work. Medical specialists study organisms which cause infectious diseases. They aid in the diagnosis of diseases by identifying disease-producing organ isms found in body fluids or excretions and provide information about the sensitivity of such organ isms to various remedies. Virology (the study of viruses causing diseases in animals or plants), im munology (the study of the mechanisms by which the body fights off infection), and serology (the study of animal fluids, including blood serum) are closely related fields. Public health specialists apply the findings of microbiology in maintaining health standards for water supplies, milk, and other foods, and in the control and prevention of contagious diseases. Colleges and universities are the largest em ployers of microbiologists with graduate degrees, with private industry second as a field of employ ment for this group, and government agencies third. For microbiologists with only bachelor's degrees, however, private industry is the largest field of employment. The most important industrial employers of mi crobiologists at all degree levels are drug and other chemical firms and food processing companies, which use these scientists both in research and in connection with the control of manufacturing processes. Other industrial employers are paper and leather manufacturers. Most of the microbiologists and bacteriologists working for the Federal Government are em ployed by the Public Health Service, the Veterans Administration, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of the Army. Those em ployed by State and local governments work in public health departments and as research workers at agricultural experiment stations. Training and Other Qualifications The minimum training requirement for posi tions in microbiology is a bachelor’s degree. This degree is adequate preparation for a variety of positions in private industry and in government agencies, which involve testing and inspection or routine research performed under the direction o f a senior research worker. For more independent research and for entry positions in teaching, the master’s degree is needed. In microbiology as in other biological sciences, this degree usually indicates that the individual has received considerable training in some field of specialization and is thus qualified for entry positions in this specialty. The Ph. D., however, is generally considered es sential for the attainment of full professional status in microbiology, like most other biological sciences. It is practically a necessity for higher level teaching appointments, and for positions in volving independent research into basic problems. BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES Persons interested in these types of work will find their opportunities restricted without the Ph. D. Training in physics and mathematics is valuable in microbiology, as in other biological sciences, and extensive training in chemistry is essential. Employment Outlook The employment situation for microbiologists with graduate training was good in 1956, but there was competition for jobs as technicians or junior research workers among those with only bachelor’s degrees. The situation was expected to remain very much the same for the next several years. The field of microbiology has experienced a steady growth in the past, which Avill probably continue for some time. The United States Government has given increased support to both basic and applied research in microbiological spe cialties, principally through the National Insti tutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, 4 2 7 6 7 5 ° — 57 11 145 and the Department of Defense. The research ex penditures of private industry and of various pri vate nonprofit agencies have also been increasing. The potentialities of microbiological research for both industrial and medical applications are very large, and the trend toward increased expenditures for research and for product development activi ties in microbiology is likely to persist, creating new employment opportunities at all levels of training but most especially for Ph. D.’s capable of undertaking independent research and direct ing the research activities of others. The greatly enlarged enrollments expected at the colleges and universities in the next decade will also increase opportunities in teaching for micro biologists with doctor’s or master’s degrees, espe cially the former. For information on Earnings and "Working Con ditions and Where To Go for More Information, and for further information on Employment Out look:, see the Introduction to this chapter. SOCIAL SCIENCES The Social Science Professions The social sciences are concerned with the whole range of human history and activities, from the origin of man to the latest election returns. Social scientists, however, generally specialize in one of several major branches of social science, each of which is a study of human behavior from a differ ent viewpoint. Those specializing in anthropology study primitive tribes, reconstruct lost cities and civilizations, and are concerned with the cultures and languages of all nations. Economists study the ways in which men make a living and analyze the factors which help or hinder them in satisfy ing their material needs. Historians describe and interpret the events of the past. Political scien tists are concerned with the problems of govern ment. Sociologists deal with the behavior and relationships of groups, including the family, the community, minorities, and others. Besides these basic social science fields, there are a number of closely related fields, some of which are covered in separate statements in this Hand book. (See statements on statisticians, psycholo gists, and social workers.) An estimated 35,000 people were professionally employed in the basic social sciences in 1956; fewer than 10 percent of the total were women. Because of overlapping—not only among the closely related basic social science fields but also with such fields as business administration, foreign service work, and high school teaching— it is extremely difficult to determine exactly the size of each social science profession. Economists are, however, the largest group of social scientists, followed by political scientists, historians, sociolo gists, and anthropologists. The majority of all social scientists are employed by colleges and universities. (See chart 29.) The Federal Government is the second largest em ployer, especially of political scientists and econo mists. Except for economists, private industry employs comparatively few persons in professional social science positions, but there is a trend toward hiring increasing numbers of college graduates who have majored in the social sciences as trainees for administrative and executive positions in a variety of industries. Eesearch councils and other 146 CHART 29 nonprofit organizations provide an important source of employment for anthropologists and sociologists. Training and Other Qualifications Graduate training is required for most profes sional work in the social sciences. Completion of all requirements for the Ph. D. degree, except the doctoral dissertation, is commonly required for appointment to the position of college instructor in large colleges and universities, and the doctor ate is a prerequisite for appointment to the rant of professor in many colleges and universities. Undergraduate training is sufficient for appoint ment to many beginning positions in the Federal Government, but persons with graduate degrees may enter at a higher grade. Even in private in dustry where a high proportion of currentlj 147 SOCIAL SCIENCES employed social scientists have only bachelor's degrees, there is growing emphasis on the im portance of graduate training for professional positions. The great majority of all social scientists have graduate degrees. However, the proportion hold ing a Ph. D. degree varies considerably by field of specialization. For example, nearly 70 percent of the historians included in a recent survey had the Ph. D. degree, but only about 40 percent of the political scientists had attained the doctorate. Employment Outlook Employment in the social sciences is expected to increase moderately during the remainder of the 1950 decade and more substantially during the 1960’s, largely because of the anticipated increase in need for teachers in colleges and universities. (See statement on college and university teachers, page 63.) Some increase in employment is also expected in both government and industry, as a result of the growing reliance on the use of social science methods in solving the economic and social problems of industry and the Nation. In addition to personnel required for new positions, more than 1.000 social scientists will be needed each year to replace those who die, retire, or leave for other employment. The supply of professional personnel .in the so cial sciences comes largely from students obtain ing graduate degrees. In the 5-year period end ing June 1955, about 20,000 master’s degrees and 5.000 Ph. D. degrees were awarded in the social science fields. (See table.) It is anticipated that during the next 10 years (1956-65), 3 times as many master’s and doctor’s degrees will be granted as in the earlier 5-year period. These estimates are based on the assumption that the proportion o f social science degrees granted will remain the same as during recent years and that college en rollments and graduations will continue to rise as rapidly as current forecasts suggest. Employment opportunities for new Ph. D.’s were good in 1956 and will probably continue to be favorable in most social science fields during the remainder of the 1950 decade and the early 1960’s, despite the anticipated rise in the number o f degrees granted in the social sciences. Econo mists with the Ph. D. degree and those with all the Ph. D. requirements except the doctoral dis sertation are expected to find exceptionally good employment opportunities and it is likely that those with only a master’s degree will also have good opportunities, provided they are well trained in a particular specialty and in statistical research methods. In the other social science fields, those with only master’s degrees may meet considerable competition for professional positions. College graduates with only a bachelor’s degree in the social sciences are likely to find opportuni ties for professional employment increasingly limited. Many of these graduates will probably find work in related fields of business or public administration, social work, and high school teaching; a considerable number will enter fields of work unrelated to their field of study. How ever, education in the social sciences has a basic value other than vocational training—that of helping individuals to meet their personal and social responsibilities in everyday living. Total number of graduate degrees conferred by higher educa tional institutions in the social sciences, 1951—5 5 Subject field All social sciences Anthropology Economics History Political science 1 Sociology Social science, not elsewhere classified___ Master’s degree Ph. D . degree 21, 161 4, 946 409 312 851 227 519 843 211 1, 183 1, 608 954 778 212 3, 6, 5, 2, 2, 1 Includes international relations and public administration. Source: Compiled from U. >S. Office of Education, Annual Reports on Earned Degrees Conferred by Higher Educational Institutions. Earnings Starting salaries for social scientists employed as instructors ranged from $3,000 to $4,000 in large colleges and universities in 1956. Generally, posi tions with the higher salaries required the Ph. D. degree, or completion of all requirements for this degree except the doctoral dissertation, and some experience—often obtained as a graduate teaching assistant. In a majority of colleges and universi ties, salaries of professors were roughly double the instructor’s salary, and in a few cases consid- 148 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK erably more than double. (See statement on col lege and university teachers.) In 1956, beginning salaries for social scientists entering the Federal Government in professional or administrative positions were $3,670 a year for inexperienced graduates with only the bachelor’s degree and $4,525 for those with the master’s de gree or equivalent in education and qualifying ex perience. A ll new candidates for such positions were expected to meet the requirements of the Federal Service Entrance examination. (See section on The Federal Government.) Entrance salaries for social scientists hired as business trainees in private industry are generally comparable with those offered other college gradu ates for similar employment. Beginning salaries for men graduates with a major in economics and considerable training in business related subjects were around $350 a month in 1956. Starting sal aries of social scientists entering the field of mar ket research were somewhat lower. Salaries of social scientists entering nonprofit organizations were about $300 a month for research positions and slightly lower for administrative and oper ating positions, particularly in the field of social welfare and recreation work. Women social scientists generally had sub stantially lower starting rates than men in 1956, partly because they were more frequently em ployed by nonprofit organizations or were em ployed in nonprofessional jobs. Women social scientists, performing the same type of work as men, generally earn substantially less than men o f comparable age, experience, and level of educa tion. A 1952 survey of earnings of social scientists indicated that women Ph. D.’s earned on the aver age about $1,000 less than men, even though they were an older, and presumably more experienced, group. Social scientists in fields which have a relatively high proportion of workers employed by the gov ernment and private industry earn more, on the average, than those in specialties largely confined to college and university employment. The 1952 survey of the earnings of social scientists indicated that median annual salaries of economists and po litical scientists were $6,500 and $5,900, respective ly, and those of historians, sociologists, and an thropologists were $5,300 or less. Average sal aries have risen since that date—perhaps as much as 10 percent by 1956. In all fields, social scientists with the Ph. D. de gree earned substantially more, on the average, than did those with the master’s degree, as shown in the following tabulation of median annual sal aries received in 1952. Occupation Master’s degree Anthropologists_____________________________$4,500 Econom ists_______________________________ 5,400 Historians_________________________________ 4,200 5,300 Political scientists_______________________ Sociologists________________________________ 4,100 Ph. D. degree $5,800 7,200 5,500 6,100 5,800 Salaries of social scientists employed by colleges and universities vary little by subject specialty; in 1952, median salaries ranged from $5,000 for his torians to $5,500 for economists. Salaries in large institutions with many graduate students tend to be substantially higher, especially for professors, than salaries in smaller institutions. Many social scientists earn income in addition to their regular salaries. Summer teaching is the principal source of such income in all fields, but consulting work is an important source of supple mentary income for economists, political scientists, and sociologists. Income from royalties is a more common source of supplementary earnings for his torians. Social scientists regularly employed by colleges and universities are the group most likely to have additional earnings. Comparatively few Federal Government employees have supplemen tary income: when they do, their chief additional activity is teaching. W h ere To Go for More Information Additional information, particularly on em ployment trends and outlook, is given in the fol lowing publication: Employment Outlook in the Social Sciences, Bureau of Labor Statistics Bull. 1167, 1954. Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D. C. Price 30 cents. The results of a survey of the characteristics and earnings of social scientists are published in the following report: Personnel Resources in the Social Sciences and Hu manities, Bureau of Labor Statistics Bull. 1169, 1954. Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D. C. Price 70 cents. Additional information on educational require ments for economists and sociologists may be found in the following publications prepared by SOCIAL SCIENCES the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Veterans Administration: Educational Requirements for Employment of Econ omists, Y A Pamphlet 7-8.4, 1955. Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D. C. Price 15 cents. 149 American Historical Association, Library of Congress Annex, Washington 25, D . C. American Political Science Association, 1726 Massachusetts Ave. N W ., Washington 6, D. C. American Sociological Society, New York University, Washington Square, New York 3, N. Y. Educational Requirements for Employment of Sociol ogists, Y A Pamphlet 7-8.8, 1955. Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D. C. Price 15 cents. Information on opportunities in related fields of work in the foreign service is given in : Information on the respective branches of social science may be obtained from the following pro fessional organizations: New Opportunities in the U. S. Foreign Service, U. S. Department of State Publication 6284, 1956. Superin tendent of Documents, Washington 25, D. C. Price 15 cents. Information on how to find out about U. S. Civil Service examinations in social science and related fields is given in section on The Federal Government. American Anthropological Association, Logan Museum, Beloit College, Beloit, W is. American Economic Association, Northwestern University, Evanston, 111. Anthropologists (D. O. T. 0 -3 6 .0 1 ) Nature of Work Anthropology, the study of man and his works, is the smallest of the social science fields. Prob ably not more than a thousand persons, including archeologists, were professionally employed in this field in 1956. More than a fifth were women—a higher proportion than in any other social science field. Most anthropologists specialize in cultural or social anthropology—usually in either archeology or ethnology. Archeologists visit the places where earlier civilizations are buried and make excava tions to look for the remains of people and their homes, clothing, utensils, and ornaments. For example, archeologists working in Asia Minor are digging up the temples of the Hittites and have found whole libraries of hieroglyphics, which re veal the history of a people once powerful enough to challenge the Egyptian Pharaohs but com pletely forgotten until recent times. Archeologists working in the sands of New Mexico are salvaging the remnants of Indian village civilizations before they are destroyed by the tide of new highways under construction there. The reconstruction of Williamsburg, Va., illustrates the work of arche ologists in reconstructing the life of colonial America. Ethnologists may spend long periods living among primitive tribes, under difficult con ditions, so they can learn their ways of life at first hand. The ethnologist takes accurate, detailed, and complete notes describing the physical char acteristics of the people, their social customs and material possessions, usually learning their lan guage in the process. He also collects examples of their pottery, tools, weapons, and other articles. Few persons specialize in physical anthro pology. These anthropologists apply intensive training in human anatomy and biology to the study of human evolution and growth, and to the scientific measurement of the physical differences among the races of mankind. College teaching is the principal function of most anthropologists. However, research is the major work of nearly one-third of all anthro pologists, including many in government agencies and nonprofit organizations, as well as a sub stantial proportion of those employed in colleges and universities. A good many are employed in library and museum work, administration, or op erational activities. A few are engaged primarily in consulting, writing, or other activities. W here Employed Most teachers of anthropology are on the facul ties of the small group of institutions (24 in 1955) conferring graduate degrees in anthropology. Anthropologists in other types of work are em- 150 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK ployed in museums, libraries, areas under gov ernment supervision—parks, monuments, trustee ship territories and others—and frequently in foreign lands, at the sites of field explorations financed by research organizations. (See chart 29.) Training and Other Qualifications Persons with bachelor’s degrees in anthro pology may occasionally qualify for teaching as sistant ships or for positions as field or research assistants, particularly in connection with arche ological studies. However, it is increasingly dif ficult for those without graduate training to ob tain any but temporary positions in this field. The usual minimum entrance requirement for pro fessional work in anthropology is a master’s degree and some experience in field work. New graduates with master’s degrees in anthropology may quali fy for positions as instructors in colleges and uni versities and for entrance positions in research and administration or library and museum work. Although it is occasionally possible to advance to higher level positions on the basis of experience, it is generally necessary to obtain the Ph. D. de gree for better positions in all fields of employ ment. Some training in physical anthropology and in archeology is necessary for all anthropologists. Trained anthropologists are also expected to ob tain experience by doing basic research in the field. Undergraduate students may begin their field training by accompanying expeditions as laborers. They may gradually advance to supervisory posi tions in charge of the digging or collection of ma terial and may finally take charge of a portion of the work of the expedition. Most anthropologists prepare doctoral dissertations based on data col lected in the course of independent field research; they are, therefore, experienced fieldworkers by the time they obtain the Ph. D. degree. Employment Outlook Employment opportunities were good in 1956 for highly trained anthropologists in most fields o f specialization. However, there appeared to be an oversupply of social anthropologists owing to the sharp decline during the early 1950's in the use of anthropologists as program officers and consultants in foreign aid programs. In most fields of anthropology, persons without the doc torate faced very keen competition for profes sional positions in 1956, since demand was limited largely to replacement needs. Those specializing in archeology had somewhat better employment opportunities as a result of some new government projects involving the salvage of objects of arche ological value that might be destroyed by the pro posed vast network of new highways. These salvage operations, financed partly by Federal funds and partly by State museums and universi ties, also provided a considerable number of tem porary summer jobs for students of anthropology and were expected to continue to do so for the remainder of the 1950’s at least. Employment o f anthropologists by colleges and universities is expected to rise slowly during the remainder of the 1950 decade and substantially during the 1960’s (see statement on college teach ers on p. 63). An average of 40 to 50 instructors may be needed annually to meet the needs result ing from expansion in college faculties and the re placement of faculty members who retire, die, or leave for other types of work. Employment o f anthropologists in other fields of work is likely to remain fairly stable—with new hiring limited largely to replacements, which may not exceed 25 a year. New graduates with Ph. D.’s in anthropology will probably have favorable employment oppor tunities through the early 1960’s, at least (assum ing that the proportion of graduate students spe cializing in this field does not become substan tially higher than in recent years). Graduates with only the master’s degree, however, are likely to face persistent competition for professional po sitions. Those with training in social psychology may find positions in related fields of work, espe cially in personnel and industrial relations and in public opinion and market research. Others may find jobs in public administration and in nonprofit organizations and civic groups, which prefer per sonnel with social science training as a general background. Information on Earnings and Where To Go fo r More Information is given at the beginning of this chapter. 151 SOCIAL SCIENCES Economists (D. O. T. 0 -3 6 .1 1 ) Nature of Work Economics is the largest of the basic social science fields, with about 15,000 persons employed primarily as economists in 1956. In addition, many other people not classified as economists were employed in work which required some training in economics. Economists study the ways in which men make their living and the factors which determine their success or failure in satisfying their material needs. All economists must have a broad back ground in economic theory; most specialize in one or more fields in which economic principles are applied. Some economists are concerned with such problems as the control of inflation, the prevention of depression, and farm, wage, tax, and tariff poli cies. Some develop comprehensive theories to ex plain the causes of employment and unemployment or the ways in which international trade influences world economic conditions. Others are concerned with the collection and interpretation of data on a wide variety of economic problems. Economists are employed principally as teachers in colleges and universities, as professional work ers on economic research projects in government agencies, and, to a lesser extent, in private industry and nonprofit research organizations. (See chart 29.) Those employed as college teachers not only guide students in learning the basic principles and methods of economics but frequently engage in writing, lecturing, or consulting activities. They do much of the basic research on fundamental problems in economic theory and formulate many of the new theories and ideas which directly or in directly influence economic thought in industry and government. Most government economists do research and ad ministrative work. They may plan and carry out studies involving the collection of basic economic data and may use these data to analyze problems in such areas as the consequences of changes in technology, industrial organization, government policy, or the demand for and supply of goods or manpower. They write reports on their findings and may be called upon to present reports before policymaking bodies. The largest numbers of economists in the Federal Government are spe cialists in agricultural, business, international P h o t o g r a p h b y u . S. D e p a r t m e n t o f La b o r An economist using statistical charts to explain employment trends. trade and development, labor, and fiscal economics. In addition, many economists in the Federal Government are employed as statisticians, foreign affairs specialists, intelligence specialists, or as pro fessional workers in other positions which require substantial training in economics. Economists employed by large business firms perform mainly administrative and research du ties. They may concentrate on problems relating to domestic business conditions, markets and prices of company products, government policies affect ing business, or international trade. Their main purpose is to provide management with informa tion to be used in making decisions on problems such as the timing of new financing or the advis ability of expanding the company’s business by adding new lines of merchandise or by opening branch plants in new areas. Some economists are self-employed and act as consultants, mainly to business firms. Where Employed About half the professional economists are employed by colleges and universities; approxi mately a third work for government agencies— primarily Federal; a small but growing number are employed by private industry; and a few serve in research agencies and community organizations. Economists are found in nearly all university towns and cities. The largest number of econo- 152 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK mists are in the Washington, D. C., area, where more than three-fourths of the economists in the Federal Government are located. Economists in private industry are usually employed in cities where the home offices of large corporations are located. The New York City and Chicago metro politan areas have the largest concentration of economists in private industry, as well as in non profit research organizations. Training and Other Qualifications A bachelor’s degree with a major in economics is sufficient for many beginning research jobs in government and private industry, although per sons employed in such jobs are not always re garded as professional economists. All economic research work requires a good background in the core subjects—economic theory, history, and meas urement. Since beginners are usually concerned mainly with the collection and compilation of data, a thorough knowledge of statistical proce dures is especially important. Those who have had several courses in mathematics and statistics usually have better employment opportunities than those with only the minimum requirements in these subjects. It is possible to advance to more responsible research jobs involving considerable analysis or supervisory duties on the basis of ex perience, but there is a trend toward requiring further academic training for advancement to high-level positions. Young people with bachelor’s degrees in eco nomics can usually qualify for the same types of jobs as most college graduates with a major in business administration. Industrial and business firms often hire graduates as management trainees, rotate them through various departments to ac quaint them with company activities, and then assign them to positions where they are most needed or best fitted. Whether or not the employee is finally assigned a job which makes specific use of his training in economics depends largely on the needs of the company. The master’s degree is generally the minimum requirement for appointment to the position of college instructor, though graduate assistantships may be awarded to outstanding students working toward their master’s degree. Completion of all the requirements for the Ph. D., except the dis sertation, is necessary for appointment to the posi tion of instructor in many large colleges and uni versities. In government or private industry, economists with the master’s degree can usually qualify for research-related positions of a some what higher level than those open to holders of only the bachelor’s degree. The Ph. D. degree is necessary for attaining a professorship in a high-ranking college or uni versity and is an asset in obtaining many types of jobs, such as administrator or director of research projects in the government, a research council, foundation, or business organization. Employment Outlook The job market for well-qualified economists is expected to continue to be very good throughout the rest of the 1950 decade. In 1956, the demand for economists was strong, and shortages of per sonnel with experience or graduate work were re ported in some specialized fields, particularly in agricultural marketing economics and transporta tion. The shortage of agricultural marketing economists was largely the result of a pronounced increase in demand, beginning in the mid-1950’s, for personnel to do research in the various State agricultural experiment stations. In addition, the slow but steady rise in the use of marketing eco nomists in private industry continued. During the late 1950’s, a moderate rise in the demand for economists in the Federal Government and in pri vate industry, coupled with a marked increase in the demand for economists to teach in colleges and universities, is expected to create numerous em ployment opportunities for economists with grad uate training. Although inexperienced college graduates with only a bachelor’s degree in eco nomics will have few opportunities for employ ment as professional economists, they will prob ably continue to be in demand as market research assistants and as administrative and management trainees in industry and government. Employment of economists will increase sub stantially in the college teaching field during the 1960’s (see statement on college teachers) and to a moderate extent in other fields. Colleges and universities may need as many as from 500 to 600 new instructors annually to handle rapidly increasing college enrollments and to replace fac ulty members who retire, die, or leave for other fields of work. Several hundred economists are also likely to be required annually to meet ex pansion and replacement needs in industry, gov- SOCIAL SCIENCES ernment, and nonprofit organizations. Private industry is expected to employ a growing number of economists, as businessmen become more ac customed to relying on scientific methods of ana lyzing business trends, forecasting sales, and planning purchasing and production needs. Employment of economists in the Federal Gov ernment is likely to increase somewhat, as the importance of more extensive data collection and analysis by government agencies is more widely recognized as a guide to policy planning in gov ernment and industry. The demand for agricul tural economists in the State agricultural experiment stations will continue to rise, if present plans for increased expenditures for research under the Federal Research and Marketing Act of 1946 are carried out. Employment prospects for economists with the doctorate are expected to be very good—better than for other social scientists—through the early 1960’s, at least. Assuming the proportion of 153 graduate degrees granted in economics remains the same as in the post-World War II period, the number of new Ph. D.’s will probably be consid erably less than the number of new college in structors needed. As a result, employment oppor tunities for economists who have fulfilled all requirements for the doctorate except the dis sertation will also be very good. Although there may be considerable competition for professional positions among economists with lesser qualifica tions—in view of the anticipated increase in their numbers—it is likely that most economists with graduate training will be able to find professional employment, especially if they have adequate training in statistics and mathematics. Those with only a bachelor’s degree are likely to continue to find relatively limited opportunities for pro fessional employment as economists. Information on Earnings and Where To Go for More Information is given at the beginning of this chapter. Historians (D. O. T. 0-36.91) Nature of W ork Historians study the records of the past and write books and articles describing and analyzing past events, institutions, and ideas. They may specialize in the history of a specific country or region or in a particular period of time—ancient, medieval, or modern. Sometimes they study cer tain phases of history, such as the economic and social life of a country or period; international, diplomatic, military, church, political or cultural history, or other specialized areas. Most his torians specialize in United States history or in modern European history. Some historians, usu ally called archivists, specialize in selecting, pre serving, and making available documentary ma terials of historical value. Most historians are employed as teachers in col leges and universities. (See chart 29.) Small but increasing numbers are engaged in research and in archival, library, and museum work, mainly for government agencies but also for historical socie ties, special libraries, and private industry. Fre quently, college teachers also do historical re search, writing, and lecturing, and are occasion ally employed as consultants. Government his torians do mainly original research, or adminis trative work and writing in connection with re search projects. They examine, analyze, and evaluate original source materials—letters, memo randa, circulars, official records and reports, books, pamphlets, and articles—and prepare reports and special studies. Historians in the Defense Depart ment may prepare confidential studies based on classified materials or may prepare pamphlets and books for publication. Those engaged in museum or special library work may edit historical ma terials, prepare exhibits, and do related work. Some are experts in such areas as the development of various types of transportation (trains, cars, aircraft) ; others are specialists in colonial furni ture, art, architecture, costumes, or other objects of historical interest. W here Employed Roughly 6,000 to 7,000 persons were employed as historians in 1956, exclusive of high school his tory teachers, who are not usually classified as his torians, although some have had considerable pro fessional training. Approximately 80 percent of the historians were employed in colleges and uni versities. About 10 percent were employed in Federal Government agencies, principally the Na tional Archives and the Defense Department. Small numbers were employed by other govern- 154 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK ment organizations (State, local, and interna tional), by nonprofit foundations, research coun cils, special libraries, museums, and by large corporations. Since history is taught in all institutions of higher education, historians are found in all col lege communities. About half the historians and three-fourths of the archivists in the Federal Gov ernment are employed in Washington, D. C. His torians in other types of employment usually work in localities which have museums or librar ies with collections adequate for historical re search. Training and Other Qualifications Graduate education is usually necessary to qual ify as a historian. A survey of historians em ployed in 1952 indicated that more than twothirds had doctorates and nearly all the rest had master’s degrees. While a bachelor’s degree with a major in history is sufficient training for many beginning jobs in archival work and may some times be accepted for beginning positions in Fed eral, State, and local governments, persons in such jobs are not usually regarded as professional his torians. A major in history in college undergrad uate work is often recommended by employing agencies for jobs in international relations and journalism. Since beginning jobs open to college graduates with only a bachelor’s degree in history are likely to be concerned with the collection and preserva tion of historical data, a knowledge of archival work is helpful. Graduate training or its equiva lent in experience is required for advancement to higher level positions. The master’s degree .in history is the minimum requirement for appointment to the position of college instructor, but the Ph. D. degree is usually necessary for appointment in a large college and university. The doctorate is indispensable for at taining high-level college teaching, research, and administrative positions in the field of history. Most professional historians in the Federal Gov ernment and in nonprofit organizations are re quired to have the Ph. D. or the equivalent. Employment Outlook Employment opportunities for well-qualified historians were better in 1956 than at any time since the Korean conflict, primarily because of the increased demand for college history teachers. The demand for historians in the Federal Govern ment also increased slightly in 1956, mainly in con nection with research on defense-related historical studies and museum work. In general, the supply of historians with the Ph. D. degree was adequate to meet the demand. Shortages were reported only in such exceedingly small and narrow special ties as aeronautical history and museum work. Historians with the master’s degree faced consid erable competition for professional positions, and those with the bachelor’s degree had few, if any, opportunities for employment as historians. Col lege graduates who had majored in history were in moderate demand for high school teaching posi tions and for administrative and management trainee jobs in government. They were also find ing some employment opportunities as administra tive assistants in nonprofit foundations, civic or ganizations, and private industry, although such positions were often unrelated to their specific training. Employment of historians in college teaching is expected to increase moderately during the re mainder of the 1950 decade and more rapidly dur ing the 1960’s. (See statement on college teach ing.) An average of 500 new instructors will probably be needed annually to teach new classes made necessary by expanding enrollments, and to replace those teachers who retire, die, or leave for other types of work. Employment of historians outside the college teaching field is likely to rise very slowly, and will be affected by any change in congressional appropriations for Government agencies using this type of personnel. Probably fewer than 100 new historians will be required an nually to fill all vacancies outside the college teach ing field. Historians with the doctorate are expected to have favorable employment o p p o r t u n i t i e s throughout the remainder of the 1950’s and the early 1960’s (assuming that the proportion o f graduate students majoring in this field does not become greater than in recent years). Those with only the master’s degree in history will probably continue to encounter keen competition for profes sional positions, and those with only the bachelor’s degree will find it increasingly difficult to advance to professional employment. Information on Earnings and Where To Go for More Information is given at the beginning of this chapter. SOCIAL SCIENCES 155 Political Scientists (D. O. T. 0 -3 6 .9 6 ) Nature of W ork Political science is the study of government— wliat it is, what it does, and how and why. Politi cal scientists are interested in government at every level—local, county, State, regional, national, and international. The greatest number of political scientists specialize in public administration; many specialize in American Government or inter national relations, and smaller numbers specialize in fields such as public law, history of political ideas, political parties, and public opinion and area studies. College teaching is the principal function of political scientists. However, substantial numbers o f political scientists are engaged in administra tive or operational work, most frequently in the areas of personnel work, budget analysis, munici pal or rural administration. Perhaps a tenth of political scientists specialize in r e s e a r c h . These research workers may make surveys of gov ernment agency operations to discover the amount and kind of work performed and may prepare analyses designed to show how well agency per formance accomplishes the intended legislative purpose or what changes in legislation or adminis trative management seem necessary. A few po litical scientists specialize as consultants to college or municipal research bureaus, civic and taxpay ers’ associations, and government agencies. Some political scientists serve as legislative aids to Congressmen. Political scientists probably numbered fewer than 10,000 persons in 1956. However, it is ex ceedingly difficult to estimate the number of per sons in this profession, since only those teaching political science in colleges and universities can be clearly identified. The field of applied public administration, in which many political scientists specialize, is very broad and political scientists fre quently do work similar to that done by persons with training in many other fields, including busi ness administration, accounting, law, and the other social sciences. W h ere Employed Approximately the same number of professional political scientists are employed by government agencies and by institutions of higher learning. (See chart 29.) Fewer than 10 percent of politi cal scientists are employed by all other types of employers including nonprofit organizations and private industry. Political science teachers are found in nearly every college community in the United States, since courses in political science and government are widely taught. Since most other political scientists are employed by government agencies, they are likely to be located in Washington, I). C., other large cities, or in State capitals. Training and Other Qualifications Graduate training is generally required for pro fessional employment in the field of political science. A master’s degree in public administra tion is generally considered sufficient for political scientists in government service or in nonprofit research and civic organizations concerned with problems of public administration. Completion of the requirements for the Ph. D. degree, except the doctoral dissertation, is the usual prerequisite for appointment to the position of college instructor, and the Ph. D. degree is generally required for advancement to the position of professor. College graduates with a bachelor’s degree in political science find this background sufficient for some entrance-level positions in government and in research organizations. A few find posi tions which offer training in management or in volve research into problems of government ad ministration. Persons in such work may advance to high-level positions and achieve recognized professional status in the field of political science on the basis of experience. Most college grad uates with a major in political science who enter government agencies or private organizations are employed as personnel assistants, budget analysts, or investigators, and in other administrative types of work which may also be open to persons with training in business administration, economics, ac counting, and many other fields as well as political science. College graduates with a major in political science frequently continue their education either in political science or in law, since political science is the most common undergraduate major of stu dents planning a law career. More than 100 col- 156 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK leges and universities offer graduate training in public administration; a majority of these offer field training, frequently in the form of an intern ship, which requires the student to perform an ad ministrative assignment in a government organi zation for a limited period. Employment Outlook The rising trend in the employment of political scientists is expected to continue in the late 1950's and throughout the 1960 decade. While most of the increase will be in the college teaching field, a moderate rise is also anticipated in State and local government employment. Employment opportunities for well-qualified political scientists were good in 1956, with special ists in public administration and public finance most in demand. Rising employment of political science teachers in colleges and universities pro vided the bulk of the new job opportunities for those with the Ph. D. degree or its near equiva lent. The need for better trained personnel in ad ministrative positions in government agencies re sulted in an increased demand for political scien tists with a master’s degree in related fields of spe cialization. Federal Government agencies con cerned with defense activities and foreign affairs were recruiting political scientists with graduate training relating to the problems of certain major geographic areas; a good knowledge of the lan guages used in the areas was also usually required. Some graduates with the master’s degree in politi cal science, as well as a few well-qualified persons with the bachelor’s degree, were finding oppor tunities in research or administrative work in non profit agencies working on problems of public ad ministration. A number of political scientists who met certification requirements entered high school teaching. Employment of political scientists in the col lege teaching field is expected to rise slowly dur ing the remainder of the 1950 decade and more rapidly during the 1960’s. (See statement on col lege teachers on p. 63.) Employment will prob ably rise moderately in other fields. Colleges and universities may need an average 300 of new in structors annually to teach new classes and to re place those leaving the college teaching field. A moderate rise in the employment of political scientists trained in public administration is an ticipated as a result of the growing stress on the value of specialized and technical training in many areas of government operation, particularly at State and local government levels. Several hundred political scientists, trained in various phases of public administration, will be needed annually to meet expansion and replacement needs in government agencies. No substantial change is foreseen in the employment of political scientists in other types of work. New Ph. D.’s should find good employment op portunities in college teaching during the late 1950’s and throughout the early 1960’s, assuming the same proportion of students major in political science as in recent years. Political scientists who have completed all requirements for the Ph. D. ex cept the doctoral dissertation will also find good opportunities to enter college teaching. Those with specialized training in public administration and public finance are likely to find good employ ment opportunities for professional work in gov ernment and civic agencies. Political scientists with master’s degrees in other specialties may face considerable competition for professional posi tions and many will enter other fields of work. New graduates with only the bachelor’s degree will probably continue to find professional employment opportunities in the political science field severely limited. However, this background will be most helpful to those planning to continue their studies in law, foreign affairs, journalism, and other re lated fields. Information on Earnings and Where To Go for More Information is given at the beginning of this chapter . Sociologists (D. O. T. 0-3 6.31 ) Nature of W ork Sociologists study the many groups which men form—families, tribes, communities, nations, and a great variety of social, religious, professional, business, and other organizations. Sociologists trace the origin and growth of these groups and analyze their activities and the influence they have on their members. Some sociologists are primarily concerned with the characteristics of particular kinds of social groups and institutions; others are more interested in the ways in which individuals SOCIAL SCIENCES are affected by groups to which they belong. The major specialties in sociology are social organiza tion—including social psychology—and applied sociology which includes human relations in in dustry, penology and corrections, and regional and community planning. Other specialties are intergroup relations, family problems, social effects of mral and urban life, research methodology, popu lation problems, and public opinion surveys. College teaching is the principal source of em ployment for sociologists. However, research is the major function of a growing number of soci ologists, including many in college and university research organizations as well as a high propor tion of those in the Federal Government and in nonprofit research foundations. Some sociolo gists are employed in administrative, management, or operational activities, and a few are engaged in consulting work. Sociological research involves the collection of data—often through personal interviews, the preparation of case studies, administration of tests, carrying out o f statistical surveys, and writing of reports. Sociologists may make studies of indi viduals, families, or communities in an attempt to discover the causes of social problems—such as crime, juvenile delinquency, alcoholism, poverty, and dependency—the sources of family conflict, the normal pattern of family relations, or the d if ferent patterns of living in communities of vary ing types and sizes. They may collect and compile data from official government sources and make statistical analyses to show the trends in popula tion growth and the extent of population move ment in different parts of the country. Some soci ologists are specialists in survey procedures, in such fields as public opinion research, market re search, and mass methods of communication and advertising—including radio, television, news papers, magazines, and circulars. Sociologists in administrative work may super vise research projects or the operation of welfare agencies, or marriage and family clinics. Those in operational work may be employed as coun selors, recreation workers, case workers, or proba tion and parole officers. Sociologists engaged in consulting work may give advice on such diverse problems as probation and parole procedures to be used in the treatment of delinquents, city plan ning, or the most effective methods of advertising to promote public interest in particular products. 157 Perhaps 5,000 persons were professionally em ployed as sociologists in 1956. In addition, many persons were employed in positions requiring some training in this field, including many in social, recreation, and public health work. It is exceed ingly difficult to estimate exactly the numbers o f professional sociologists. Many sociologists out side the teaching field are classified under some other job title. In the Federal Government, for example, sociologists may be designated as social science analysts, public welfare research workers, analytical and survey statisticians, and intelli gence research specialists. W here Employed Approximately three-fourths of the profes sional sociologists were employed in colleges and universities in 1956. About one-eighth were in government agencies—Federal, State, local, and international. A few sociologists were employed in research councils and other nonprofit organiza tions. Not more than 5 percent were employed in private industry or were self-employed. Sociology is taught in almost all institutions of higher learning. Many of these institutions have social science research organizations which do re search on sociological problems. As a result, most sociologists are located in college communities. Training and Other Qualifications Undergraduate training in sociology is gener ally regarded as preliminary to further study in this field or in social work or as preparation for meeting one’s personal and social responsibilities rather than as training for professional employ ment. Nevertheless, a bachelor’s degree with a major in sociology is sufficient qualification for some types of jobs in the field of sociology. Per sons with such training may be employed as inter viewers, or as research assistants working under close supervision. Although it is occasionally possible to advance in such work solely on the basis of experience, graduate training is the usual pre requisite for higher level positions. Sociolgists with bachelor’s degrees may also be employed as case workers, counselors, recreation workers, or administrative assistants in public and private welfare agencies. However, the best positions in welfare agencies are commonly reserved for per- 158 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK sons with specific training in social work. Those with sufficient training in statistics may obtain po sitions as beginning statisticians. Those who meet local certification requirements may enter high school teaching. However, a substantial proportion of sociology majors with only a bach elor’s degree enter occupations unrelated to their specialized training. The master’s degree in sociology is the usual minimum requirement for appointment to the po sition of college instructor but, in many of the larger institutions, the completion of all require ments for the Ph. D. degree except the doctoral dissertation is required. Outstanding graduate students may often qualify for teaching assistantships while completing their training for a higher degree. Sociologists with the master’s degree can gen erally qualify for administrative positions and re search-related jobs of somewhat higher level and less routine character than the positions open to those with only the bachelor’s degree. They may be given responsibility for conducting specific por tions of a survey or preparing analyses and re ports under the general direction of an experi enced research worker. They are apt to have op portunities for advancement to supervisory work in both public and private agencies. The Ph. I), degree is essential for attaining a professorship in a high ranking college or univer sity and is commonly required for sociologists av I i o direct major research projects, hold impor tant administrative positions, or act as consultants in government organizations, philanthropic or other welfare agencies, research foundations, mar riage and family clinics, and business firms. Employment Outlook Employment opportunities for sociologists are expected to increase moderately during the last part of the 1950 decade and substantially during the early 1960’s. Most of the demand will con tinue to be in college teaching; however, research is a growing field for sociologists. Sociologists with advanced graduate training had better employment opportunities in 1956 than at any time earlier in the decade. State univer sities and agricultural experiment stations were actively recruiting rural sociologists for staff posi tions involving research and extension work as well as teaching, owing to increased Federal ap propriations for a rural development program. A few sociologists with advanced training in sta tistics and social psychology were finding new em ployment opportunities in private industry in the area of market research. The supply of sociolo gists with advanced training appeared to be suf ficient, however, to meet the increased demand. Graduates with no training beyond the minimum required for the master’s degree faced keen compe tition for professional positions as sociologists and many entered related fields such as social work, vocational rehabilitation, and recreation. Most sociologists with only a bachelor’s degree entered fields of work unrelated to their major field of study. Throughout the 1960’s, expanding college en rollments and other factors will increase the de mand for sociologists. (See statement on college teaching.) Colleges and universities may need as many as 300 new sociology teachers each year, on the average, to meet expansion needs and to replace faculty members who resign, retire, or die. The demand for sociologists trained in re search methods, including advanced statistics, will probably continue to increase, although slowly, in the areas of rural sociology, population research, and market research. Some expansion is also ex pected in connection with studies of acute social problems such as juvenile delinquency, broken homes, and the increasing proportion of old peo ple in the population. The number of sociologists with the Ph. D. de gree will probably rise somewhat more slowly than the demand through the early 1960’s, at least (assuming graduations in this field follow the general trend of total graduations). As a result, employment opportunities for both Ph. D.’s and those who have completed all requirements for the doctorate except the dissertation are expected to be good during this period. New graduates with only the master’s degree will probably con tinue to face considerable competition for posi tions as professional sociologists. Those with spe cialized training in statistics and survey research methods and some training in population or rural problems or in social psychology are likely to have the best employment opportunities. Information on Earnings and Where To Go for More Information is given at the beginning of this chapter. OTHER PROFESSIONAL AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS Accountants (D. O. T. 0 -0 1 .) Nature o f W ork Accounting is the second largest field of profes sional employment for men. In 1956, roughly 350.000 accountants and auditors were engaged in professional accounting work, including some 55.000 certified public accountants (C P A ’s) who had passed rigorous examinations and met educa tional and experience requirements prescribed by law in their State. Fewer than 10 percent of all accountants, and 2 percent of the C P A ’s, were women. Accountants compile and analyze business rec ords and prepare financial reports, such as profit and loss statements, balance sheets, cost studies, and tax reports. The major fields of employment are public, private, and government accounting. Public accountants provide their services on a fee basis to various business enterprises and the gen eral public. Private accountants, often referred to as industrial or management accountants, han dle the financial records of a single business firm and work on a salary basis. Government account ants work on the financial records of government agencies or of private business organizations and individuals wrhose dealings are subject to govern ment regulation. Accountants in any field of em ployment may specialize in such areas as auditing, tax work, cost accounting, budgeting and control, or systems and procedures. Public accountants, however, are most likely to specialize in auditing or tax accounting; private accountants, in man agement or cost accounting. Many accountants in the Federal Government are employed as Internal Revenue agents, investigators, and bank examin ers, as well as in regular accounting positions. W h ere Employed The majority of accountants are employed by private industry, with the greatest number in manufacturing establishments. Perhaps a third o f all accountants, including a substantial major ity o f the C P A ’s, are in public accounting. Fed eral and State Governments employ nearly onetenth of the total. Private accountants are found wherever large business or industrial establishments are located. Public accountants are mainly concentrated in major metropolitan centers, but the proportion in smaller communities is rising because growing numbers are going into business for themselves, and major national firms are continuing to open additional branch offices. Training and Other Qualifications Training in accounting is offered in a wide vari ety of institutions, including 4-year colleges and universities, junior colleges, accounting and other private business schools, and correspondence schools. However, a bachelor’s degree with a major in accounting or a closely related field is usually required for the better positions, particu larly in public accounting. Four years of college education with 24 semester hours in accounting, or an equivalent combination of education and ex perience, is required for junior professional posi tions in the Federal Government. Practical ex perience is of great value in qualifying for profes sional accounting work. In 1956, more than 40 colleges offered internship programs in coopera tion with public accounting firms, and occasionally with large corporations, which enabled students to obtain several months of experience, thus im proving their job opportunities. In nearly half the States, only those who are licensed or registered may call themselves C P A ’s or public accountants. Information on registra tion and certification should be obtained directly from the State Board of Accountancy in the State where the student plans to practice. Most States require at least 2 years of public accounting ex perience or the equivalent for the CPA license. Although some States have no specific educational requirement, the trend is toward requiring a 4year college degree with a major in accounting. New York, New Jersey, and Florida require C PA 159 160 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK candidates to be college graduates and similar re quirements are pending in several other States. A ll States use the CPA examination provided by the American Institute of Accountants. An in creasingly large proportion of those passing the examination in recent years were college grad uates. Inexperienced accountants usually begin with fairly routine work. Junior public accountants may be assigned to counting cash, verifying addi tions, or performing other detailed work. They usually advance to semisenior positions in 2 or 3 years and to senior positions within another 2 or 3 years. Those able to deal with top executives in industry may eventually become supervisors, man agers, or partners in larger firms. Many become independent practitioners. Beginners in private accounting may start as ledger or cost clerks, time keepers, junior internal auditors, or, occasionally, as trainees for technical and executive positions. They may rise to chief plant accountant, chief cost accountant, senior internal auditor, or manager of internal auditing, depending on their specialty, and some become controllers, treasurers, and even corporation presidents. In the Federal Govern ment, new accountants are hired as trainees and are usually promoted in a year or less. Although advancement may be rapid for able accountants, particularly in public accounting, those with in adequate training are likely to be assigned to rou tine jobs with little opportunity for promotion. Employment Outlook A shortage of qualified accountants, especially for public accounting and cost work, was evident in 1956. The shortage, most marked in the Mid west and Far West, was due both to a sharp drop in supply (the number of accounting graduates declined by nearly 50 percent between 1950 and 1954) and to a rising demand for accountants to assist management in controlling rapidly expand ing business operations. Employment opportun ities for accountants in the Federal Government were also greatly increased because of major re visions in accounting procedures. The demand for accountants is expected to con tinue to be strong for the remainder of the decade and during the early 1960’s. As many as 10,000 accountants may be needed annually during this period to replace those who die, retire, or transfer to other occupations, and at least half as many will be needed each year to fill new positions, unless there should be a major drop in the general level of business activity. Demand for college-trained accountants will rise faster than for less broadly trained personnel, because of the increasing com plexity of the accounting profession and because more States are requiring CPA candidates to be college graduates. I f the proportion of college graduates majoring in accounting remains the same as in recent years, the numbers receiving de grees in this subject field will rise gradually— from about 8,000 in 1955 to nearly double that number by the midsixties. These graduates are likely to have very good employment opportuni ties, at least through the early 1960’s, and gradu ates of private business and accounting schools should also have good job prospects during this period. The greatest number of jobs will continue to be in major industrial centers, but there will be many openings in small industrial communities. Over the long run, accounting employment is expected to expand because of several factors: The greatly intensified emphasis on the use of ac counting information for management guidance; the complex tax systems; the growth in size and number of publicly held business corporations ac countable to stockholders for their operations; and the increasing use of accounting services by small business organizations. Highly trained ac countants will be in even greater demand as con sultants on management problems, such as plan ning of new systems and procedures for use with electronic data-processing equipment. Increasing numbers of women will be engaged in professional accounting, though most public accounting firms still hesitate to employ them— because of tradition, objections from clients, or because women are considered unsuited for travel or factory assignments. However, those women who rank high among graduates with accounting majors and who secure the CPA certificate will, in time, undoubtedly break down many of these barriers. Earnings and W orking Conditions Starting salaries for inexperienced professional personnel in New York City public accounting firms averaged about $55 a week in small firms and $60 in medium-size firms early in 1956, ac cording to local placement officials. In general, OTHER PROFESSIONAL AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS salaries were higher in large firms throughout the country. Major CPA firms serving large business corporations were offering from $350 to $400 a month to college graduates with very good aca demic records and attractive personalities; pri vate business firms of comparable size paid some what higher starting salaries. Salaries of senior personnel with 5 years’ experience were approxi mately double the starting rate. Starting salaries tend to be higher in many localities, particularly in the Midwest and the Far West. A survey cov ering 87 firms actively recruiting college men majoring in accounting, indicated an average monthly starting salary of $352 in 1956. The Federal Civil Service entrance salary in 1956 was $3,670 for junior accountants and audi tors, and $4,525 for those with slightly higher qualifications. Higher level jobs are usually filled by promotion from within. Since most public accounting work is done in the offices of the firm’s clients, physical working conditions may vary from a modern office to an inconvenient, noisy factory. Public accounting work is seasonal and accountants usually work under great pressure during the busy season, from late November to March, and may put in a sub stantial amount of overtime. Working condi tions for private and government accountants are generally the same as for most other office workers, including the standard 40-hour workweek. Audi tors in private industry and government and staff members of large public accounting firms may be required to do considerable traveling. 161 W here To Go for More Information Information, particularly on C P A ’s and on the aptitude and achievement tests now given in many high schools and colleges and by many public ac counting firms, may be obtained from : American Institute of Accountants, 270 Madison Ave., New York 16, N. Y. Further information on specialized fields of ac counting may be obtained from the following organizations: National Association of Cost Accountants, 505 Park Ave., New York 22, N. Y. Controllers Institute of America, 2 Park Ave., New York 16, N. Y. The Institute of Internal Auditors, 120 W all St., New York 5, N. Y. Information on collegiate training in account ing may be obtained from : The American Accounting Association, The College of Commerce and Administration, Ohio State University, Columbus 10, Ohio Additional information on employment trends and outlook in accounting is given in the following U. S. Department of Labor publications: Employment Outlook in Accounting, Bureau of Labor Statistics Bull. 1048, 1951. Superintendent of Docu ments, Washington 25, D. C. Price 20 cents. Employment Opportunities for Women in Profes sional Accounting, Women’s Bureau Bull. 258, 1955. Superintendent of Documents, Washington, 25, D. C. Price 20 cents. Architects (D. O. T. 0—03.10) Nature of W ork Architects plan and supervise the construction of buildings and other structures. Their goal is to design structures which are safe, useful, and pleasing to the eye. When an architect gets a commission for a building, the first thing he does is to confer with the client to determine what his needs are. For example, if a school is to be built, the architect must consider, among other things, the size of the school district and how fast its population is growing; the need for a place to park school buses; the entrances and exits needed in case of fire; the 4 2 7 6 7 5 ° — 5 7 --------- 1 2 amount of corridor and staircase space required so that students can move quickly from one class to another; and the location, size, and equipment o f the lunchroom. After studying all the requirements of a build ing, the architect draws up preliminary plans, which are submitted to the client for his approval. Any alterations the client may suggest are incor porated in the final design, which includes the ground and floor plans and vertical cross sections, as wTell as the exterior of the building. The design is then translated into working drawings, which show the exact dimensions of every part of the structure and where plumbing, heating, and other 162 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK equipment are to be placed. A t this stage, con sulting structural, mechanical, and heating engi neers are called in (except on small jobs where the plumbing and heating contractors provide all the engineering services needed). The engineers’ me chanical drawings are then coordinated with the architect’s working drawings, and specifications are prepared listing the materials to be used in construction, the equipment, and, in some cases, the furnishings to be installed. The building is now “ off the board,” but the ar chitect’s responsibility is by no means over. He prepares a list of the building contractors to be invited to bid and receives their sealed bids. He assists the client in deciding which bid to accept and in drawing up the contract between client and contractor. The architect also acts as the client’s representative in relation to the contractor, making sure that the design is not altered and that the materials specified in the contract are used in the construction. I f problems arise, he may act as arbitrator between client and contractor. The typical architect is, or expects to be, in prac tice for himself, either alone or with a partner and a few assistants. However, large-scale projects, such as the Em pire State Building or Radio City, obviously can not be undertaken by small firms. The increased volume of complex structures, including public buildings, in recent years, has led to the establish ment of more large firms, which can be expected to carry out an even higher proportion of all archi tectural commissions in the future. As a rule, architects handle a wide variety of projects and do not confine their practice to a par ticular kind of building. Moreover, there is relatively little specialization o f work along functional lines even within the larger firms. Where there is specialization, it is usually in design, administration, specification writing, and construction supervision. In some middle-size firms and in most large ones, there is more design work than the principals can do them selves, and one or more men are employed as de signers. The writing of specifications is another well recognized specialty; some architects even confine their practice to this work, hiring them selves out on a free-lance basis. The architect, or a member o f his staff, makes several inspection trips a week to the proj ect under construction. On larger projects, there is also a full-time resident inspector who reports to the architect. Most em ployees in architectural firms, however, are en gaged on the working drawings of the various projects, the scope of their activity and the degree of their responsibility depending on their ability and experience. W here Employed As of July 1956, there were 22,554 registered architects. In addition, more than 5,000 people who had not received a license were working as architects. According to the 1950 Census, only 4 percent of all employed architects were women. An even smaller proportion (less than 1 percent) of all the registered architects that year were women. One of the reasons that more women do not become architects is that the normal path of progress is to enter one’s own practice, and women are likely to encounter special obstacles in independent practice. About half of all architects are self-employed, as individuals or members of a firm of architects. Most of the others are employees of architectural firms. Some architects work for engineers, build ers, real-estate firms, and other businesses with large construction programs. Another small group is employed by various government agencies. A few are full-time teachers in schools of architecture. Members of the profession are found in all parts of the country, mainly in metropolitan areas. In 1955, more than half of the registered architects were in the following seven States: California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsyl vania, and Texas. New York leads all other States in the number of registered architects with 14 per cent of the total. Training and Other Qualifications A license is required in all States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Alaska for the practice of architecture, where safety of life, health, and property is involved. Require ments for admission to the licensing examination vary among States, but generally include gradua tion from a recognized professional school fol lowed by 3 years of experience. (Most States accept a long period of experience as a substitute for graduation from an architectural school.) To be accredited as a recognized professional school, a school of architecture must offer at least OTHER PROFESSIONAL AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS a 5-year course, usually leading to the bachelor o f architecture degree. The great majority of schools of architecture admit qualified high school graduates, but some require 1 or 2 years of prepro fessional education in a college or university. Entrance requirements vary from one school to another, generally conforming to the standards set for the liberal arts college with which the school or department of architecture is affiliated. Prac tically all architectural schools emphasize a knowledge of high school mathematics as a condi tion for entrance, however. Training or facility in both freehand drawing and drafting are im portant tools for an architect, thougli not a re quirement for entering a course in architecture. Although a typical curriculum in architecture includes some general subjects—usually English, a physical science, a social science, and some elec tives—the larger part of the student’s time is de voted to professional and technical subjects, in cluding the history of architecture, graphic pres entation, building materials and structure, archi tectural design, specification writing, working drawings, and professional practice. Success in architecture requires an unusual com bination of abilities—not only the capacity to mas ter technical complexities but also a gift for ar tistic creation and a flair for business and for human relations. It is often recommended that, to gage his interests and potentialities, a young person should, if possible, spend some time in an architect’s office before entering architectural school. Architectural students are also encour aged to work in architects’ offices or for building contractors during summer vacations. Summer work in an architect’s office gives the student some knowledge of practical problems and an advan tage over the inexperienced graduate when he looks for his first regular job. Usually, the new graduate begins as a junior draftsman, entrusted only with display drawings or minor construction or equipment details in the working drawings. As his proficiency in creases, he is entrusted with more complex work. After 3 years, he usually graduates to a chief or senior draftsmanship, with responsibility for all the major details of a set of working drawings. I f he continues to work for an architectural firm, he will probably progress to a job captaincy, with responsibility for a full set of working drawings and the supervision of other draftsmen. A job captain may also drawTup the preliminary plans 163 for a structure. Some men who remain employees in architectural firms become designers rather than job captains, whereas others branch off into specification writing. An employee who is par ticularly valued by his firm may be designated an associate, and may receive a share of the profits as well as his salary. As noted above, however, the architect’s usual goal is to enter his own prac tice and about half achieve this goal. Employment Outlook With construction activity at a high level, the employment situation for architects was very good in 1956, and the outlook for the next decade was considered favorable. Most architects wTork on nonresidential projects, such as office buildings, stores, schools, hospitals, clubs, theaters, and government buildings. The demand for architects’ services depends primarily on the volume of such construction, although the increasing complexity of modern buildings and homeowners’ new awareness of the value of archi tects5 services have meant their somewhat greater utilization in construction. Nonresidential con struction, at record levels in 1955 and 1956, is expected to increase much more in the future. The volume of such construction may, by 1965, be more than 50 percent greater and, by 1975, more than 100 percent greater than in 1955. Resi dential construction, which also employs some architects, is likewise expected to double over the next 20 years. Thus, the demand for architectural services will continue to expand substantially. These predictions represent the general trends anticipated in the construction industry and the architectural profession over the long run. In the past, long-run trends in the construction industry were interrupted by marked ups and downs. Dur ing periods of sharp decline in construction activ ity, there was serious unemployment among archi tects and many of them were forced out of the pro fession. Since World War II, however, the pol icies of the Federal Government have played a major role in determining the volume of construc tion, and it is expected that, in the future, the in dustry and the profession will be more stable than they were before the war. Besides positions created by the expected in crease in demand for architectural services, sev eral hundred openings are likely to arise yearly owing to deaths and retirements. The numbers 164 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK of new architectural school graduates available to fill these vacancies and new positions will rise in the late 1950’s and the 1960’s, assuming that grad uations in this field follow the trend anticipated in college graduations as a whole. These new grad uates are likely to have good employment oppor tunities through the early 1960’s. The outlook for women architects is much more uncertain than for men. In 1956, a woman who was a good draftsman could readily obtain em ployment, and this situation was expected to con tinue, but chances of advancement are limited for most women architects. Few women achieve an associateship or establish themselves in private practice, although there are and have been some outstanding women architects. Earnings and Working Conditions The range of salaries for new graduates of rec ognized architectural schools was wide in 1956, the amount paid depending on prevailing wages in the particular area, the ability of the candidate as shown by his drawings, and the firm’s reputation and ability to pay. New graduates who had worked during the summer while attending archi tectural school (most students have been able to obtain summer jobs in recent years) commanded a starting rate on their first regular job of from $60 to $90 a week in 1956, based on reports from a few selected employers. Draftsmen with 3 or more years’ experience had salaries ranging up to $150 a week; job captains, specification writers, and other senior employees earned up to $200 a week. Some architects in private practice earn a good deal more than high-paid salaried employees of architectural firms. But the range of incomes is very wide. In 1950, for example, some independ ent architects earned less than $3,000 a year while others had professional incomes of $25,000 or more. Undoubtedly some of those with low in comes had not been long in private practice. The young architect who starts his own office often goes through a period when his expenses are greater than his income. The need for a financial reserve in the initial period of practice and the wide range of earnings are characteristics of all self-employed professional groups. W here To Go for More Information American Institute of Architects, 1735 New York Ave. N W ., Washington 6, D. C. Commercial Artists (D. O. T. 0 -4 4 .) Nature o f W ork Commercial artists design and draw illustra tions for advertisements, books, magazines, post ers, displays, and television commercials. In ad dition, they may retouch photographic prints, prepare charts and maps, draw movie cartoons, do freehand and mechanical lettering, design labels for containers, and sketch and color greeting cards. In contrast to painters and others engaged in the fine arts who have a free choice of subject matter and method of presentation, the commercial artist does work to fit the requirements of a specific client or employer. O f the approximately 80,000 artists and art teachers employed in 1950, it is estimated that the majority were commercial artists. Commercial art work requires skills ranging from creative planning, designing, and drawing to relatively mechanical operations. Many artists specialize in a particular technique or type of commercial art. Among the most important specialists are layout men who choose and arrange the positions of pictures and lettering so as to attract the eye; illustrators who are primarily con cerned with making the sketches and drawings; and letterers who design and execute the appro priate lettering, either freehand or with the use of mechanical aids. W here Employed The largest employers of commercial artists are advertising agencies, commercial art studios, print ing and publishing companies, television and mo tion picture studios, and department stores. A number work for Federal Government agencies, principally the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Others fill positions in sign shops, mail-order houses, calendar and greeting card com panies, and a variety of other business establish ments. A few commercial artists teach in art OTHER PROFESSIONAL AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS Commercial artist preparing copy for newspaper ad. schools. Many are free-lance artists who work in dependently on specific assignments and generally sell their services to several different employers. Some commercial artists who hold salaried posi tions also do free-lance work. Most commercial artists are employed in big cities, such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Detroit where the largest users of commercial art are located. Training and Other Qualifications Artistic ability is the most important qualifi cation needed to become a commercial artist. In addition, a considerable amount of training in the techniques of commercial art is required. This may be obtained in art schools, in commercial art courses offered by public vocational high schools, and through practical experience on the job. Training in the fine arts is not generally consid ered appropriate preparation for employment as a commercial artist. The most widely accepted training for commer cial artists is that given in art schools or institutes which specialize in teaching commercial and ap plied art. To enter art school, a high school education is usually, but not always, required. Some schools admit only those applicants who demonstrate talent by submitting acceptable work samples. The course of study generally takes 2 165 or 3 years and a certificate is awarded on gradua tion. However, a growing number of art schools, particularly those connected with universities, re quire 4 years of study and confer a bachelor’s degree—commonly the bachelor of fine arts (B. F. A.) degree. In these schools, commercial art instruction is supplemented by cultural sub jects such as English and history. The first year in art school may be devoted to the study of such fundamentals as perspective, design, color harmony, composition, and use of crayon, pencil, pen and ink, and other artistic mediums. Subsequent study generally includes drawing from life, advertising layout, lettering, typography, illustration, and highly specialized courses in the student’s particular field of interest. Good drawing technique, creative imagination, and artistic judgment concerning the harmony of color and line are basic requirements for a success ful career in commercial art. The various spe cialties, however, differ in some of the specific abilities required. For example, letterers and retouchers must be able to do precise and detailed work requiring excellent coordination, whereas the qualifications most needed by illustrators are that they be highly imaginative and able to draw well. For commercial artists engaged in free lance work, the ability to sell both ideas and fin ished work to employers or clients is very important. Beginning commercial artists need on-the-job training before they are judged to be qualified for more than very routine jobs. These artists are generally assigned to work such as erasing smudges from art work, filling in colors on ex perienced artists’ drawings, and doing pasteup work (using scissors and a pot of paste to assemble the components o f an advertisement or other art w ork). In this field, advancement is based largely on the individual’s artistic talent and creative abil ity. Those with the necessary qualities can become layout men, letterers, illustrators, or other spe cialists. After a few years of experience, some commercial artists leave salaried employment for free-lance work. Employment Outlook Talented young artists who were trained at good schools found employment opportunities very favorable in late 1956. Less well-trained begin- 166 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK ners who could demonstrate talent were, as a rule, able to obtain employment readily. As in the past, many young people who lacked sufficient tal ent or training were seeking to enter the field, and these faced keen competition. Commercial artists with specialized skills—particularly in lettering, layout, pasteup, and typography—were in greater demand than those with only general training. However, employment opportunities for begin ning illustrators were limited since, in this spe cialty, experienced free-lance artists are used extensively. In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, employment and advancement opportunities are expected to continue to be good for talented and well-trained entrants. Some young people with only average ability will also probably be able to enter the field, but they will have very limited chances for ad vancement. A number of new job openings will arise as a result of the anticipated expansion of the field. In addition, young commercial artists will be needed to replace those wdio die, retire, or transfer to other types of work. Most oppor tunities for employment will continue to be in the large cities which serve as the commercial art centers of the country. A gradual increase in employment of commer cial artists is expected over the long run. The upward trend in business expenditures for all kinds of visual advertising will be reflected in a growing demand for commercial artists; the tele vision industry and packaging design are expected to offer expanding areas of employment; and other forms of art such as poster and window dis plays, greeting cards, calendars, and movie car toons will also probably employ an increasing number o f artists. In addition, the growing field o f industrial design is expected to need more art ists who are qualified to work with engineering concepts. On the other hand, greater use of photography may continue to affect adversely the demand for illustrators, although those with con temporary styles may still do well as magazine fiction illustrators. It should also be borne in mind that a major economic recession would de crease overall employment opportunities by re ducing advertising budgets. Women with exceptional artistic talent will con tinue to find employment in all aspects of commer cial art work, but opportunities will probably remain limited for most women commercial art ists. Work as fashion illustrators in department stores is the major source of employment open to women artists. However, some do free-lance work, and others hold positions with printing and publishing houses, greeting card companies, ad vertising agencies, commercial art studios, and government agencies. Earnings and W orking Conditions Inexperienced commercial artists earned, on the average, between $40 and $60 a week in 1956 al though some started at higher salaries. The amount earned varies with the beginner’s talent as revealed by his portfolio of samples, his training, the particular job, the type of firm, and geo graphic location. After a few years of experience, qualified artists may expect to earn about $100 a week. Art directors, designers, executives, wellknown free-lance illustrators, and others in top positions generally have much higher earnings. A 1955 survey (made by Art Direction maga zine) of 2,500 art directors and other commercial artists in top positions showed that about 75 per cent earned between $5,000 and $15,000 annually. More than 20 percent made $15,000 or more an nually, and fewer than 5 percent earned less than $5,000 a year. Earnings were higher in New York City than in any of the other 20 cities in cluded in the survey; the median (average) salary was between $15,000 and $20,000 yearly in New York. In Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Los An geles, Miami, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia, the median salaries were between $10,000 and $15,000 annually. Nearly 1 out of every 3 salaried persons surveyed also did free-lance work. Salaried commercial artists generally work 35 to 40 hours a week, but sometimes must work long hours under a considerable amount of pressure in order to meet deadlines. Free-lance artists us ually have irregular working hours. W here To Go for More Information Information on schools, employment trends, and earnings is available from : National Society of Art Directors, 115 East 40th St., New York, N. Y. OTHER PROFESSIONAL AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS 167 Dietitians* (D. O. T. 0 -3 9 .9 3 ) Nature of Work Dietitians plan adequate diets and menus to help people maintain or recover good health. They may also help educate people regarding good food habits. Administrative dietitians administer and direct food service programs for large public and pri vate institutions. They arrange for the purchase o f food and supplies and supervise the mainte nance of sanitary conditions in kitchens and pan tries. They are also responsible for the selection and training of employees who work with food. They may help the director of a dietetic depart ment formulate departmental policy, coordinate dietary service with activities of other depart ments, and assist with the management of the budget. Therapeutic dietitians are directly responsible for nutritional service to patients. They confer with doctors and nurses about the patients’ nutri tional problems, visit patients to explain their individual food needs, and help them maintain diets prescribed by the physician. Therapeutic dietitians may work in hospital clinics for out patients—often with the title of clinic dietitian. In the clinics, they discuss diet problems with in dividual patients or with groups of patients, such as diabetics, to help them follow physicians’ orders. They may also demonstrate how food is prepared. Some dietitians continue their training in grad uate classes and become public health nutritionists. The work of the public health nutritionist is prin cipally that of technical consultation and in-serv ice education for health, welfare, and education personnel who come into direct contact with the public. A State public health nutritionist, for example, may visit State hospitals and sanatoriums throughout the State and consult with the personnel in charge of food service on the ade quacy of the inmates’ diets, sanitation practices, and kitchen layouts. They may hold community conferences with members of various local health units to improve public understanding of the nu tritional use of food. They may speak or advise on nutrition at meetings of such groups as dentists, nurses, health officers, and camp leaders. They ♦Prepared by the Women’s Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor. The hospital dietitian is responsible for planning nutritional and attractive meals for patients of all ages. may work for the prevention of dietary deficiency diseases in a region or determine the extent of malnutrition in a community. Where Employed More than 22,000 persons were employed as dietitians and nutritionists in 1950, according to the census. A ll but a small percent of them were women. The largest number of dietitians work in hos pitals. The American Hospital Association re ported over 9,700 dietitians employed in hospitals in 1955. Nearly 9 percent of them were working part time. General and special hospitals (except psychiatric and tuberculosis) employed 8,600 dietitians; psychiatric hospitals, 700; and tuber culosis hospitals, 400. Many dietitians work in institutions for the aged, in correctional institutions, and summer camps for children. Some supervise school-lunch programs or food service in schools, on trans portation lines, or in commercial and industrial establishments. Others work as consultants for Federal, State, and local governments to assist less experienced personnel with problems of ad- 168 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK ministration and operation of food service pro grams. A few are self-employed and work as consultants, serving private patients in conjunc tion with a physician or group of physicians. Most public health nutritionists work for Fed eral, State, and local health departments. Over 400 public health nutritionists were employed in 1955. Approximately 275 of these w^ere in State and local health agencies and the remainder were in the Federal Government and voluntary health and welfare agencies. A few are employed abroad as advisors to foreign governments. Training, Other Qualifications, and A dvancem ent To qualify as a professionally trained dietitian, it is necessary to complete a 4-year course in the home economics department of an accredited col lege or university and obtain a bachelor’s degree. The course must include a specialty in foods and nutrition with related courses in the physical and social sciences, such as chemistry, psychology, and sociology. Those who expect to become adminis trative dietitians should also take courses in insti tutional management. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree, many graduates spend a year as dietetic interns in 1 of the 65 hospitals or training centers approved by the American Dietetic Association. The intern is usually provided room, board, and professional laundry without cost, and may also receive a small monetary stipend. United States Government hospitals pay $2,000 for the year of internship, but the intern reimburses the Government for room and board. Completion of an approved internship is accepted by many employers as evi dence of adequate training, and preference is given job applicants who have this training. Com pletion of an internship or 3 years of experience, 1 year of which has been supervised by a member o f the Association, makes a dietitian eligible for membership in the American Dietetic Association. Dietitians planning to become public health nu tritionists take graduate courses in public health nutrition in 1 of about 15 colleges or universities offering such advanced training. These courses lead to the degree of Master of Science with a major in nutrition. Some junior colleges or vocational schools offer 2 to 3 years of training in dietetics. This train ing, however, does not qualify persons for profes sional-status jobs. Such individuals may be em ployed as dietetic aids or sandwich girls or may have charge of the food service in some small institutions. Good advancement opportunities exist for the experienced dietitian and nutritionist. After a few years’ experience in a small hospital or as an assistant on the staff of a larger institution, a dietitian may be promoted to a chief dietitian’s job. Nutritionists may advance to such posts as nutrition consultant or director of nutrition serv ices in a State or local public health department or voluntary health and welfare organization. Dietitians who prefer to work in the educational field and who meet the requirements, may find good opportunities as home economics teachers in high schools and colleges, or schools of nursing. (See index for reference to statements on home economists and on secondary school and college teachers in this Handbook.) Employment Outlook The supply of qualified dietitians and public health nutritionists has not kept up with the de mand, the shortages being most marked in the East and Midwest. Not enough qualified persons are entering the profession to provide replace ments for those who leave and to fill new positions resulting from expansion in employment in the food service and nutrition fields. In the 5-year period from 1950 to 1955, an average of 1,000 new positions were created annually in hospitals. This increase alone exceeded the number of newly trained dietitians who became available each year. In 1955-56, only 674 dietetic interns wTere in train ing; 173 internships remained unfilled. The shortage of trained dietitians and nutri tionists is expected to continue well into the 1960’s. The expansion of hospital programs, school-lunch programs, and programs in expanding facilities for the aged point to an increasing need for fully trained dietitians. Earnings and Working Conditions Salaries offered in mid-1955 ranged from $3,420 to $4,560 yearly for inexperienced staff dietitians who had completed their internships, and from $3,540 to $5,520 for dietitians with 4 to 5 years of experience, according to the placement service o f the American Dietetic Association. 1 69 OTHER PROFESSIONAL AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS In 1955, dietitians in very large nonfederal hos pitals were reported to receive as much as $10,000 a year. In 1956, beginners in Federal hospitals received an annual salary of $3,670. Qualified persons with 1 year of experience could receive a starting annual salary of $4,525. Annual salaries for dietitians in the Federal service range up to $7,465. A survey of hospital personnel, made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed that in 14 met ropolitan areas surveyed in 1956 and 1957, average weekly salaries of hospital dietitians ranged from $68.50 in Atlanta to $84.50 in Chicago. Most of these dietitians worked an average of 40 hours per week. The average straight-time weekly earnings and hours of hospital dietitians in the survey areas Weekly average City Philadelphia_______________________________ Portland (Oreg.)__________________________ San Francisco-Oakland___________________ St. Louis___________________________________ A tlanta. Baltimore Boston. Buffalo Chicago. Cincinnati Cleveland Dallas _ Los Angeles-Long Beach. Memphis _ .. _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ ____ _______ 42. 5 40. 5 40. 5 41. 5 40. 5 40. 0 40. 0 40. 0 40. 0 41. 5 50 50 00 00 50 50 50 50 50 00 69. 79. 81. 73. 50 00 00 50 The Outlook for Women in Dietetics, Bulletin No. 234-1, U. S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau, available from the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. Price 25 cents. Earnings $68. 76. 72. 70. 84. 78. 80. 73. 78. 75. Earnings The U. S. Civil Service Commission, Washing ton 25, D. C., has information on the requirements for dietetic interns and dietitians in Federal Gov ernment hospitals. (See also chapter on Govern ment Occupations. Refer to index for page numbers.) Further information on employment opportu nities is contained in the following publication: Weekly average Hours 40.5 40.0 40.0 40.5 W here To Go for More Information fo llo w : City Hour 8 A list of accredited colleges, universities, and internship centers, and information on scholar ships and employment can be obtained from : American Dietetic Association, 620 North Michigan Ave., Chicago 11, 111. American Home Economics Association, 1600 20th St., N W .VWashington, D. C. Draftsmen (D. O. T. 0-4 8 .) Nature of W ork In making an airplane, a house, a ship, or almost any other product, manufacturers and construc tion companies need detailed plans giving dimen sions and specifications for the entire product and each of its parts. The workers who draw these plans are draftsmen. They translate the ideas and calculations of engineers into exact drawings and sketches, using such instruments as compasses, dividers, scales, T-squares, protractors, and tri angles. In many companies, draftsmen are sup plied with drafting machines which combine several of these measuring and guiding devices, making preparation of drawings faster and easier. Draftsmen in higher grade positions, such as that of design draftsman, generally work from sketches, specifications, or field notes furnished by an engineer, architect, or designer. They have the important job of transforming ideas into actual drawings generally called layouts. Their work may include making calculations concerning the strength, quality, and cost of materials; such cal culations may require the use of engineering hand books and tables. In many drafting rooms, draftsmen known as detailers are responsible for making working drawings of details or parts o f the machine or article to be manufactured. De tailers usually work from layouts prepared by design draftsmen. Other draftsmen designated as checkers examine each drawing for errors. Tracers may also be employed to make corrections and to prepare the drawings for blueprinting by copying them in ink on transparent cloth sheets, although, in recent years, photoreproduction o f final pencil drawings has been rapidly eliminatingthe need for tracing in ink. Tracers’ work is mostly routine and requires relatively little knowledge or skill. 170 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Practically all draftsmen specialize in some par ticular field of work. The largest fields are mechanical, electrical, aeronautical, structural, architectural, naval architectural, and topographi cal drafting. W h ere Employed Drafting is a large occupation, employing about 125,000 persons in 1950, of whom about 7 percent were women. The occupation has grown consid erably since that time. The industries which employ the most drafts men include construction and the following branches of manufacturing: Machinery, electrical equipment, aircraft, motor vehicles, chemical products, and fabricated metal products. Many draftsmen work for engineering and architectural consulting firms, and sizable numbers are em ployed by Federal, State, and local governments. Although some are employed in every State and in small as well as large cities, the greatest number of draftsmen work in the Northeastern, Middle A t lantic, and North Central States. Training and Other Qualifications A person can acquire the specialized training needed to become a draftsman from a number of sources, including technical institutes, junior col leges, extension divisions of universities, colleges offering special 2-year programs, technical high schools, correspondence schools, and trade schools. A person can also become a draftsman by serving a 3- or 4-year apprenticeship or by some other type of on-the-job training combined with part-time schooling. In any case, the training should in clude mathematics, physical sciences, mechanical drawing, standard methods of lettering, and trac ing. Many of the higher grade jobs require a knowledge o f the industry involved. Persons with little or no training begin their drafting careers as trainees (sometimes called tracers) or apprentices and later advance to junior draftsmen. Those with specialized training can usually start directly in junior drafting positions. From such positions, advancement is possible to senior draftsman, and then to design draftsman. Some workers eventually advance to chief or leader draftsman. From top drafting jobs, it is possible to advance to design and engineering po sitions, especially if additional training in mathe matics and science is obtained. Many graduates of engineering and architectural schools start their careers in the drafting rooms but usually ad vance rapidly into professional positions. Many agencies of the Federal and State Gov ernments hire trainees and apprentices in addition to experienced draftsmen. As in industrial or ganizations, workers in government employment advance as they gain in skill and experience. A person desirous of a drafting career should have an aptitude for detail and for visualizing objects; artistic ability is not generally required. Good eyesight is important, since drafting in volves close work. Employment Outlook Employment opportunities for well-trained draftsmen were excellent in 1956. Job prospects for persons wishing to begin a drafting career as an apprentice or trainee were also very good. The demand for draftsmen increased rapidly after the outbreak of hostilities in Korea in 1950, when the needs of the defense program were added to those of an expanding civilian economy. During the middle 1950’s, not enough trained draftsmen were available to meet the growing demand, and many employers reported difficulty in filling jobs. Employment of draftsmen will probably con tinue to increase both in the near future and over the long run. As the engineering and scientific occupations grow, more draftsmen will be required as supporting personnel. Moreover, the industries employing most draftsmen are expected to expand further; and with the increasing complexity of industrial operations, design problems will become more and more involved, adding to the need for well-trained draftsmen. In addition to drafts men needed to fill new positions, many will be required each year to replace those who die, retire, or move into other fields. Losses to the occupation from death and retirements alone were estimated to be about 1,600 during 1956 and will rise slowly in the future. This analysis assumes a continued high level of employment and business activity in the country as a whole. It also assumes that Government spending for defense— a major factor affecting demand for draftsmen—will remain high. A sub stantial cut in defense spending or a sharp drop in business activity in the metalworking or con- OTHER PROFESSIONAL AND struct ion industries would reduce the demand for draftsmen. On the other hand, a substantial in crease in defense expenditures or an acceleration in other government programs such as public works would intensify the demand for draftsmen. Earnings Average straight-time weekly earnings of draftsmen in 17 cities in the winter of 1955-56 were as follow s: Draftsmen RELATED OCCUPATIONS 171 In early 1957, indications were that draftsmen’s salaries in most cities and for most skill levels were at a higher level than those shown in the tabulation. In the Federal Civil Service, the entrance salary for trainee draftsmen who were high school grad uates without experience was $2,960 in 1956. For those with post-high school education and train ing in drafting, entrance salaries were higher. The majority of experienced draftsmen working for the Federal Government earned between $3,670 and $4,525 in 1956, and some earned still higher salaries. Area Tracer Northeast: Newark-Jersey C ity ___ New York City Philadelphia Providence_____ South: Atlanta_______ Dallas Memphis New Orleans Middle W est: Chicago Detroit Milwaukee Minneapolis-St. Paul. _ St. Louis Far W est: Denver.. ___ __ Los A n gele s-L on g Beach ___ Portland San Francisco-Oakland Junior $58. 00 $71. 72. 73. 62. 52. 50 63. 00 71. 50 62. 50 Senior Chief or leader 50 $100. 00 $129. 50 00 108. 50 144. 50 00 97. 50 132. 50 00 85. 00 113. 00 69. 63. 67. 69. 50 50 50 50 96. 84. 99. 94. 00 50 50 50 138. 50 107. 50 78. 90. 78. 75. 79. 00 00 00 50 50 106. 120. 98. 93. 106. 00 50 50 50 00 130. 50 84. 50 104. 00 129. 50 80. 50 79. 50 77. 00 98. 50 97. 50 94. 50 130. 50 118. 00 118. 50 N ote : Tabulation includes male draftsmen only. ficient data to warrant presentation. W here To Go for More Information General information on drafting careers may be obtained from : American Federation of Technical Engineers, 900 F St. N W ., Washington 4, D. C. The American Institute of Architects, 1735 New York Ave. N W ., Washington 6, D. C. Information on training opportunities may be obtained from : Engineers Council for Professional Development, 29 W est 39th St., New York 18, N. Y. National Home Study Council, 1420 New York Ave. N W ., Washington 5, D. C. National Council of Technical Schools, 1507 M St. N W ., Washington 5, D. C. Dashes indicate insuf The U. S. Civil Service Commission, Washing ton 25, D. C., will furnish information on positions available in Federal Government agencies. For further information on such positions and how to apply for them, see chapter on Government Occupations. Foresters (D. O. T. 0 -3 5 .0 7 ) Nature o f W ork Foresters are concerned with growing and man aging forests and utilizing their resources. The forest-land manager is responsible for all the re sources and activities in his area, including recrea tional facilities, wildlife, and grazing land, as well as timber. One part of his job is to protect valu able lands from fire, destructive insects, and dis ease. Other important duties include estimating the amount of timber in a forest area, appraising the value of forest lands, selling or buying timber, and planning and supervising the cutting of timber so that mature trees are removed and younger ones left for future logging operations. Professional foresters regard trees as a crop which should be harvested in such a manner that the amount of timber cut will not exceed the new growth. Because the work of the forester covers such a wide range of activities, numerous specialties have developed. Wood utilization, for example, begins with the logging of timber and also includes the OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK 172 few by the Department of Defense and other Fed eral agencies. In addition, about 1,800 worked for State Governments and about 250 for county and municipal governments. College teaching and other educational activi ties, including extension work and university re search, provided employment for approximately 750 foresters. The remaining 1,800 held a variety of jobs. This group included specialists in such closely allied fields as wildlife, range management, tree culture, forest engineering, and watershed management. Training and Other Qualifications C o u r t e s y o f u. s . D e p a r t m e n t o f A g r ic u l t u r e The forest-land manager is responsible for all the resources and activities in his area. This district ranger and grazing permit holder are inspecting range conditions in one of the national forests. various industrial phases of converting wood into consumer products. Other specialties include wildlife management, range management, forest economics, and recreation work. Some of these specialties are rapidly becoming recognized as dis tinct professions. Foresters may also specialize in such activities as research, editing and writing, extension work (educational work regarding scien tific forestry practice among farmers, logging companies, and the public), and teaching at the university level. W h ere Employed Roughly 17,000 professional foresters were em ployed in forestry and closely allied fields in 1956, according to estimates made by the Society of American Foresters. The largest group, nearly 7,400, were in private industry, working mainly for lumber, pulp and paper, and veneer and ply wood companies, though some were in business for themselves as consultants or managers of their own land. Although the number of consultants is small, this field represents a growing source of em ployment for professional foresters. Nearly as many foresters were in government as in private employment. About 5,000 worked for the Federal Government, mainly in the Forest Service of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Some were employed by the Department of the Interior, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and a Four years of college work leading to a bach elor’s degree in forestry is usually the minimum educational requirement for entrance into the pro fession. Students are almost always required to spend one summer in summer camps operated by their college. They are also encouraged to gain first-hand experience in forest or conservation work during other summers. Training in forestry leading to a bachelor’s or higher degree was offered in 1956 by 37 schools, 26 of which were accredited by the Society of American Foresters. The curriculum in most of these schools included a foundation of essential courses in five areas: (1) silviculture (methods of growing and improving forest crops) ; (2) forest protection (from fire, insects, and disease) ; (3) forest management (which includes the study of mensuration or measurement of the amount, con dition, and types of timber and timber products, surveying, and mathematics through trigonom etry) ; (4) forest economics; and (5) forest utili zation (the harvesting and marketing of timber and other forest resources). Most schools offer an additional year’s training leading to the master’s degree and some offer doc toral training. Although graduate training is not essential for entrance into the profession, the mas ter’s degree is generally required for teaching or research positions and the doctorate is highly de sirable for such posts. Some foresters have entered the profession with training primarily in a related field such as horti culture, botany, or agronomy. Also, specialists in forest engineering have entered with engineering degrees and wood technologists with degrees in chemistry, physics, or engineering. OTHER PROFESSIONAL AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS In addition to adequate training, qualifications for success in the field of forestry include sufficient physical stamina to perform the many arduous tasks required and a willingness to work much of the time in isolated areas. Since many forestry jobs also involve public contacts, the forester must have facility in dealing with people. Employment Outlook Employment opportunities for forestry grad uates were good in 1956 and are expected to remain favorable throughout the 1950’s. The demand for foresters has risen rapidly since the end of World War II, principally as a result of large-scale ap plication of scientific management to forest lands owned by private industry. Growth o f allied fields—such as wildlife management, wood utili zation, recreation, and range management—has also provided many new positions. On the other hand, the number of forestry graduates declined sharply during this period, from the record high o f 2,394 in 1950 to 852 in 1955, the lowest level since the years immediately following World War II. A steady increase in the number of forestry degrees granted is expected after 1955, however, along with the anticipated continued growth in employment opportunities. As in recent years, there will probably be particular need for wellqualified personnel with advanced degrees for re search positions. The long-run outlook is for continued expansion o f employment in forestry. The country’s grow ing population and rising living standards well tend to increase the demand for lumber, paper, and other major forest products, although the de mand for these products will also be influenced by any changes in the general level of business activ ity affecting construction and other major wood using industries. Recent trends emphasizing scientific forestry practice are expected to con tinue. Companies in the forest product industries are becoming increasingly aware of the profitabil ity of improved forestry and logging practices and new technical developments for utilizing the entire forest crop. Moreover, further advances in research and in wood utilization and technology are needed to reduce costs and develop new and improved products, especially in view of the con stant competition from products made of metals, plastics, and other materials. 173 The extent o f employment opportunities for foresters will also depend on whether or not a shortage of timber develops in this country. As suming continuation of present trends in forest management, most authorities believe that growth of timber during the next 20 years will be sufficient to meet the expected increase in demand for wood. I f during this period the demand for timber should rise much more than anticipated, scientific forestry practice would undoubtedly be extended and intensified. For example, one of the largest potential sources of future employment opportu nities for foresters is the 4.5 million small owners of forest land, whose holdings comprise more than half the Nation’s commercial timberland. At present, only a small fraction of these lands are under professional forestry management. I f de mand for timber increases enough so that these small owners find it profitable to utilize foresters’ services, additional job opportunities will become available. Employment of foresters in the Federal Gov ernment has grown steadily during the past dec ade and it is expected that the growth will con tinue for a number of years. In early 1957, the Forest Service of the U. S. Department of A gri culture anticipated that their future demand for foresters would grow at an even more rapid rate than in the past. Among the major factors which are expected to affect this growth are the growing volume of timber cut on Federal lands, and the trend toward more scientific management of these lands. O f course, funds necessary for the intensi fication of scientific management on Federal lands are subject to congressional approval. State Government agencies also will probably continue to expand their employment of foresters. Forest fire control and other Federal-St ate coop erative programs such as providing technical ad vice to owners of private forest lands, are being channeled more and more through State organiza tions. Growing demands for recreation facilities in forest lands are likely to result in expansion o f State parks and other recreation areas. In addition to openings created by the growing need for professional foresters, some vacancies will occur as a result of deaths and retirements. However, such openings will not be numerous dur ing the 1950’s and 1960’s, since foresters are a rela tively young group. 174 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Along with the expected growth of employment in the profession, a rise in the number of forestry graduates is likely to occur, especially after 1960. I f young men with degrees in forestry continue to represent the same proportion of all college grad uates as in recent years, the number of bachelor’s degrees granted each year in forestry will, by the middle 1960’s, be almost twice the 1955 figure and, by 1970, will be about as high as in the peak year 1950. Graduating classes of this size may likely encounter competition for the better paying pro fessional entry jobs in forestry, unless scientific management of forests expands faster than is in dicated by present trends. Opportunities for women in the profession of forestry are and probably will continue to be, few—largely because of the necessary field work, much of which is rigorous and in isolated places. Earnings and W orking Conditions Starting salaries for new forestry graduates with bachelor’s degrees were often between $6,600 and $4,500 in private industry in 1956, according to the Society o f American Foresters. In more responsible jobs, such as managing a company forest, salaries were typically $7,500 to $9,000. Foresters holding executive positions in land man agement or wood procurement were reported to earn from $10,000 to $15,000, and those who were officers of corporations usually received from $15,000 upward. In addition to their salaries, foresters in private industry may be furnished nonmonetary benefits such as rent-free houses, fuel, and the use of company transportation. In the Federal Government, the beginning sal ary of foresters with only the bachelor’s degree was $3,760 per year in 1956. Those with a master’s degree could begin at $4,525 and those with a doctor’s degree at $5,440 if employed in research work. In late 1956, Federal starting salaries for forestry graduates with bachelor’s degrees were raised to $4,210 and for those with master’s degrees to $4,930 per year. Beginning salaries for for estry graduates with doctoral degrees remained at $5,440 per year. In addition, the salary sched ule provides for periodic increases above these base salaries. Individuals in administrative and super visory positions received higher salaries. For ex ample, in the Forest Service, forest rangers in charge of a district earned from $5,440 to $7,465, annually. Supervisors of national forests re ceived from $7,570 to $10,065, and regional for esters who administered a number of national forests as well as cooperative activities with States and private landowners received from $11,610 to $12,690 a year. When living quarters are fur nished, a salary deduction is made. The amount varies with the value and kind of accommodations but was usually from $200 to $600 per year in 1956. Salaries for foresters employed by the States have been generally somewhat lower than those paid by the Federal Government. In recent years, however, salaries paid by many State Governments have increased so that they are now close to those paid in Federal employment. Salaries in teaching and research in a college or university depend upon the institutiton and the position held. In the 26 schools of forestry accredited by the Society of American Foresters, 1956 salaries average about $3,000 for beginning instructors and ranged from $5,000 to $12,000 for professors. Heads of departments or schools earn between $6,500 and $14,000 a year. As part of his regular duties, the forester must spend considerable time out of doors under all kinds of weather conditions. Many foresters put in extra hours in travel and in emergency duty such as firefighting. Travel often involves ab sence from home for extended periods of time, particularly in beginning jobs. The young for ester is also likely to have his headquarters shifted frequently. With advancement to more respon sible positions, he can expect a more permanent assignment. The hazardous nature of many forestry jobs is indicated by the fact that insurance companies often require extra premiums for forest rangers and others whose duties involve working alone in remote areas. Foresters working in logging and sawmilling may also face accident hazards. A l though injury rates in these industries have been reduced, they are still far above the average for manufacturing industries. W here To Go for More Information Additional information on the profession of forestry and on accredited schools may be obtained from : Society of American Foresters, 825 Mills Bldg., 1.7th and Pennsylvania Ave. N W . Washington 6, D. C. OTHER PROFESSIONAL AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS Forest Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington 25, D. C. American Forest Products Industries, Inc., 1816 N St. N W ., Washington 6, D. C. Additional information on career opportunities in forestry and on schools providing instruction is given in the following Government publications: 175 U. S. Department of Agriculture, Careers in Forestry. Miscellaneous Publication No. 249, 1955. Superin tendent of Documents, Washington 25, D. C. Price 15 cents. Forest Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, For estry Schools in the United States, 1951. U. S. De partment of Agriculture, Forest Service, Washington 25, D. C. Free. Home Economists* (D. O. T. 0—12.10 through 0—12.36) Nature of the W ork and W here Employed Home economists are employed in a wide variety of specialized occupations. At least half of the approximately 70,000 home economists in the country work for Federal, State, or local govern ment agencies as home economics teachers, exten sion service workers, dietitians or nutritionists, and research workers. They work in secondary schools and colleges, hospitals and other institu tions, and in government agencies which provide services directly to the public. Other home econ omists work mainly for private schools and hos pitals, commercial or industrial eating establish ments, for business and manufacturing firms, and for newspapers, magazines, and radio and televi sion broadcasting companies. Although home economics is generally consid ered a woman’s field, a growing number of men are entering various home economics professions. Some men are employed in teaching, merchandis ing, interior design, and family counseling, but most of them specialize in foods and institution management. In 1955, nearly 500 men were ma joring in home economics (about 1 percent of the number of women home economics majors). The largest group of home economists (about 42,000) are teachers, of whom about 27,000 are em ployed in the public schools; about 500 in private and parochial schools; approximately 3,000 in colleges and universities; and 11,000 in adult edu cation programs. (For information on teaching, see statements on secondary-school teachers and college and university teachers in this Hand book. Refer to index for page numbers.) An additional 5,000 are employed as extension service workers (see chapter on Professional and Other Agricultural Occupations). More than 20,000 are employed as dietitians (see statement on dieti tians). ♦Prepared by the W o m e n ’ s B ureau , U. S. D ep artm en t of Labor. Another group of 3,500 specialists are home economists in lousiness. They are employed in commercial establishments which manufacture or distribute products or services used in the home, or are associated with magazines, newspapers, ra dio, and television. More than a thousand of this group of special ists are known as home-service workers and are employed by gas or electric utility companies ; an other 400, known as equipment workers, are em ployed by manufacturers of household equipment, such as washing machines, kitchen cabinets, or cooking utensils. They demonstrate the use of the company’s equipment in the customer’s home and advise on the effective use of fuel. They may ad dress groups of retailers, homemakers, or young people, prepare newspaper articles or booklets, or make personal appearances on radio or television programs. Home economists in food manufacturing, num bering about 1,000, interpret the needs of con sumers to food manufacturers and prepare recipes and other material for consumers. They may test and develop new products, improve present prod ucts, write cookbooks or directions on food pack ages, and answer consumers’ queries. About 450 others are employed in journalism, radio, and television. They write articles and feature stories on foods, clothing, and other topics of household interest. Some home econ omists in radio and television personally pre sent their educational programs. Possibly 250 additional specialists have various types of work in the advertising and public rela tions fields with companies producing or distribut ing all types of homefurnishings, household sup plies, and services. The field of textiles and clothing employs more than 100 home economists who advise on fibers and 176 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK fabrics available for clothing and household fur nishings and their economical and functional use. Some of these specialists are employed in research. Others are employed as advisers by dress-pattern companies, clothing manufacturers, laundry and dry-cleaning establishments, and a few chain cloth ing stores for which they write news stories and booklets, plan educational and promotional pro grams, and engage in other public-relations work. In addition to these experts, other home economists with a knowledge of textiles and clothing are fash ion coordinators or personal shoppers. A few work as fashion designers. Some enter the retail clothing field and work up to positions as buyers or other executives. (See chapter on Department Stores.) A related field is that of interior design where the home economist designs interior decora tions, arranges displays for business establish ments, and counsels on home decoration. Some home economists specialize in housing, ad vising architectural firms on home planning, equip ment arrangements, and the selection and use of household appliances. A few are employed in finance, where they advise bank customers on fam ily spending and saving in relation to the house hold budget. Related Fields of Work. Home economists also work in research laboratories, specializing in the analysis, development or use of foods, equipment, or household supplies, or other aspects of home economics. The U. S. Department of Agriculture employs about 140 home economists in research on clothing, equipment, food preparation, nutri tion, and general household economics. Some are employed in research by other Federal agencies, State agricultural experiment stations, colleges, and commercial establishments. About 300 home economists are employed by State, county, city, and voluntary agencies in the social-welfare field. They act as advisers and con sultants to work out budget standards for families, taking into account the funds needed for shelter, food, clothing, and household supplies to provide minimum healthful living standards. Training in home economics is useful in a num ber of other related fields. About 250 specialists in child development and family relations are em ployed as teachers in nursery schools, kinder gartens, recreation centers, or children’s institu tions. A few work as counselors and consultants in rehabilitation programs. Training and Ofher Qualifications About 500 colleges and universities grant de grees with majors in home economics. Most col leges and some other organizations interested in education offer promising students scholarships, fellowships, and loans—the latter sometimes with out the payment of interest. Completion of a 4-year course leading to a bach elor’s degree in a home economics department of an accredited college or university is required for professional work in home economics. Under graduates majoring in home economics usually take certain general or basic courses, including such subjects as English and the humanities; so cial, physical, and biological sciences; psychology; art and design; child development; family rela tionships; foods and nutrition; health and hy giene; home management and family economics; housing; household equipment and homefurnish ing; and textiles and clothing. Additional professional courses are taken, de pending on the area of specialization, A student majoring in dietetics, for example, would take ad vanced courses in dietetics, nutrition, and food economics, as well as chemistry, bacteriology, and such subjects as institutional organization and administration. Persons majoring in dietetics often serve 1-year internships in hospitals or other training centers after receipt of the bachelor’s de gree, as indicated in the statement on dietitians elsewhere in this Handbook. A student majoring in textiles and clothing would be required to take advanced courses having a direct relationship to that specialized field. A person preparing to teach would need to fulfill the general require ments for teachers, in addition to having a major in home economics. Some types of work, such as certain kinds of research and college teaching positions, require a master’s or a doctor’s degree. Among personal qualifications, home economists must like to work with people and be interested in them. They must be able to work with persons with different standards and backgrounds and should have a capacity for leadership with the ability to inspire cooperation. OTHER PROFESSIONAL AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS 177 Employment Outlook Earnings and Working Conditions For a number of years, the demand for home economists has far exceeded the supply. In this predominantly woman’s occupation, many oppor tunities are created each year by the high turnover due to marriage and home responsibilities. The shortage of home economists in the high school teaching field is especially critical. Onethird to one-fourth of all secondary teaching posi tions become vacant yearly, and it is estimated that as many as 5,000 home economics graduates are needed annually for replacement purposes. In addition, teachers are needed in schools that are expanding their home economics departments or installing such departments for the first time. Additional teachers are needed also to take care of expanding enrollments in secondary schools. Since 1950, the number of college graduates with home economics majors who have prepared to teach has increased only slightly, from 2,886 to 3,124; moreover, some of the home economics graduates who prepare to teach do not, in fact, become classroom teachers. In other specializations, the need is also great. The demand far exceeds the supply in the expand ing fields for home economists in research and in business. Home economists with advanced de grees are needed especially in college teaching, administrative work, and research. The shortage of home economists is expected to continue well into the 1960’s. The increasing de mand for their services in many fields, population growth, and the insufficient numbers of graduates in home economics indicate a growing need for persons trained as home economists for an in definite period. Salaries in this profession depend greatly upon the field of work and amount of experience. The average beginning salary for a high school teacher of home economics was slightly under $4,000 a year in 1956. Experienced teachers in city school systems averaged $4,800 in large com munities, with some exceeding $6,000. College professors of home economics average about $7,000, with deans and department heads receiv ing up to $12,000 a year. The lowest paid group of home economists in business received $3,000 but some experienced workers in this field w^ere paid up to $10,000 or more. Hours o f work may be irregular for some home economists, as for example, those engaged in pro motional and advertising work who are expected to be available for evening meetings or other nightwork. On the other hand, research workers and others employed in business and manufactur ing establishments may work a 40-hour week or less. Most home economists outside of the teach ing field receive up to a month of paid annual leave or vacation. Adequate paid sick leave, re tirement pay, and insurance benefits are generally available also. W here To Go for More Information American Home Economics Association, 1600 20th St., N W , Washington 6, D. C. Information on U. S. Civil Service examina tions is given in the chapter on Government Oc cupations. (See index for page numbers.) Interior Designers and Decorators (D. O. T. 0 -4 3 .4 0 ) Nature of W ork Although artists have for centuries been em ployed to beautify palaces and public buildings, interior decorating as a distinct occupation in this country is only about 50 years old. Nowadays, interior designers and decorators plan and super vise the furnishing of private homes and other structures, including offices, hotels, restaurants, stores, and ships. They also work on theater, mo tion picture, and television set decorations. 427675°— 57------ 13 On most decorating jobs, the structure is deter mined before the decorator arrives on the scene— that is, the walls, doors, windows, heating outlets, and the like are in place. The decorator then se lects and arranges the furniture, draperies, wall and floor coverings, lighting fixtures, lamps, and other decorative accessories, and may also design cupboards, bookcases, and other “built-ins.” On some jobs, he may also work with the architect in planning the interior of a new building or in re- 178 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK modeling an old one. This work is known as interior design. The first step in a decorating job is usually to prepare a color scheme and a plan showing the placement of the furniture, accessories, and floor and wall coverings. The decorator may also—and for larger assignments usually does—make draw ings or water colors of the finished interior, to illustrate his scheme. As a rule, he must furnish complete cost estimates for the client’s approval. The second step is to assemble the furnishings. A good deal of the decorator’s time goes into selecting the furniture, textiles, rugs, and decorative acces sories and into supervising the painters, upholster ers, and other craftsmen who work on the interior and the furnishings. His job is not finished until everything is in place and in good order. W here Employed According to one estimate, there were somewhat more than 10,000 interior decorators in 1956, many of whom were women. In addition, there were undoubtedly many other people, some of them part-time workers, who considered themselves in terior decorators but who had little training in the field. A sizable proportion of decorators have their own establishments. Some of these are “ consulting decorators,” who have no stock of furniture or fabrics to sell. More often, however, decorating establishments do have some furniture, decorative accessories, and fabrics for sale, since they find these attract clients for their services. Such dec orating establishments vary greatly in size; many are operated by a single decorator with 1 assistant; others employ as many as 15 or more salespeople and decorators. In recent years, large retail stores have become increasingly important as sources of employment for decorators. Most leading department and fur niture stores have a decorating department. One of the main functions o f the department is to help in the store’s sale of its merchandise, though the decorators are rarely restricted to the store’s stock in their plans for interiors. Department store decorators may also act as “ homefurnishings co ordinators,” who advise the merchandising divi sion and buyers concerning style and color trends in homefurnishings; this function is expected to become increasingly important. In addition, small numbers of interior designers and decorators are employed by architects, antique dealers, industrial designers, periodicals which feature articles on homefurnishings, and manufacturers in this field. Since the business requires being near centers of population, the majority of decorators are located in large cities and their suburbs. Training and Other Qualifications Some of the successful interior decorators have “ grown up” with this comparatively new field of work, and it is still possible to become a decorator with little or no formal training. An untrained person or one with very little training is at a dis tinct disadvantage in trying to enter the field, however, since very few reputable decorating firms or department stores will accept such people in beginning jobs. The best preparation for becom ing an interior decorator is a 3-year course from a recognized art school, or a 4-year college course leading to a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, with a major in interior decoration. Personality plays an important role in the ca reer of an interior decorator, since his success will in good measure depend on his ability to sell. The decorator who has his own establishment needs business ability, as well as good salesmanship and a pleasing personality. The high school student who plans to become an interior decorator should also have some aptitude for drawing and an inter est in art. The course of study in interior decorating us ually includes the principles and history of art, freehand and mechanical drawing, painting, and study of the various materials, such as woods and fabrics, with which the decorator works. In ad dition, business courses such as salesmanship and business arithmetic are of great value. The new graduate is not accepted as a qualified decorator, but is expected to serve an informal apprenticeship in the field, either with a decorat ing firm or in a department store. The apprentice may act as a receptionist, as a shopper with the task of matching materials or finding accessories, as a stockroom assistant, or as an assistant drafts man. Not all new graduates obtain these informal apprenticeships, since there are usually fewer openings than graduates. Those who fail to ob- OTHER PROFESSIONAL AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS tain these jobs are advised to work as salespeople in fabric, lamp, or other homefurnishings estab lishments or departments, to gain experience in dealing with customers. Such experience will make it easier to obtain an apprenticeship with a decorating firm or department. It may also ulti mately lead to a career in merchandising or as a buyer. The length o f the on-the-job training period varies, depending on the individual’s performance and the establishment’s requirements. In many cases, the apprentice progresses from simple to more complex assignments without a change of title. In other cases, the young worker may be promoted to “ assistant decorator” and given full responsibility for a limited assignment, such as a single room. In any case, it is likely to take at least from 1 to 3 years before one advances to the position of decorator. After additional experi ence, the decorator may advance to head of a deco rating department in a store, may open his own decorating establishment, or may develop into a stylist or homefurnishings coordinator. Employment Outlook Not long ago, only wealthy people and a limited number of businesses and institutions used the services of interior decorators. In recent years, however, decorating service has been made avail able to the general public at lower cost and people have become increasingly aware of the contribu tion a decorator can make to the comfort and beauty of a home. As a result, the demand for interior decorating has been growing and is ex pected to increase in the future. Despite this growth, however, the field has remained very com petitive, and new entrants still find it difficult to gain a foothold. One reason for the competitive character of the field is the ease of entrance resulting from the lack o f established and accepted standards. Anyone who wishes to call himself a decorator can do so ; and many women, having furnished their homes to their own and their friends’ satisfaction, start a small decorating business. Consumers often have no way of evaluating the services offered by deco rators, and will sometimes choose the amateur whose services may appear less expensive. 179 In recent years, department and furniture stores have played an increasingly important role in in terior decoration for the home. A t the same time, the growing volume o f commercial and institu tional work has most often been placed with the larger decorating establishments. It is expected that the larger establishments, both stores and decorating firms, will gain an increasing share of the expanding decorating business. This develop ment will make for greater orderliness in the trade and provide increased opportunities for regular employment, as opposed to private practice. On the other hand, interior decorating, like all luxury trades, has in the past had marked ups and downs depending on general economic conditions, and would undoubtedly again suffer sharp reverses during a period o f economic decline. Earnings Entrance salaries for graduates of interior deco rating schools or of college courses in interior decorating were typically between $45 and $60 a week in 1956, according to limited data for deco rating departments and establishments in some eastern cities. Assistant and full-fledged deco rators may be paid either a straight salary, a salary plus commission or bonus, or a straight commission. The earnings of most department store decorators are usually figured directly as a percentage of their sales. Decorating establish ments may also offer their employees a proportion of the profits, particularly if the customer is the employee’s personal contact. Independent decorators, like decorating firms and department stores, rarely charge a fee for their services. They generally rely on the profit which they make on furnishings sold to customers for their income. The fact that earnings are so closely geared to sales means that, for both employed and independ ent decorators, the income range is very wide. Some decorators barely earn a living, whereas others make $20,000 or more a year. W here To Go for M ore Information American Institute of Decorators, 673 Fifth Ave., New York 22, N. Y. 180 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Lawyers (D. O. T. 0 -2 2 .) Nature o f W ork Lawyers (attorneys) advise clients on their legal rights and obligations and represent them in courts of law. In addition, they negotiate settle ments out o f court and represent clients before quasi-judicial or administrative agencies of the government. They may also act as trustees, guardians, or executors. Government attorneys play a large part in administering Federal and State laws and programs; they prepare drafts of proposed legislation; establish procedures for law enforcement; and argue cases in the courts. Some lawyers serve as judges in Federal, State, and local courts. Others are primarily engaged in teaching, research, writing, or administrative activities. Most lawyers are engaged in general practice and handle all kinds of legal work for their clients. An increasing number, however, specialize in par ticular phases of the law or in certain types of legal work. The branches of the law in which lawyers are most likely to specialize include: ad ministrative, admiralty, corporation, criminal, estates and wills, international, labor, patent, real estate, trust, and tax law. Some attorneys devote themselves entirely to trying cases in the courts. Others never appear in court and limit their work to activities such as drawing up legal documents, conducting out-of-court negotiations, or doing the legal work necessary to prepare for a trial. Many persons with legal training are not em ployed as lawyers but are in other occupations which require some knowledge of law. They may, for example, be F B I agents, insurance adjustors, tax collectors, probation officers, credit investiga tors, or claims examiners and adjudicators. W h ere Employed About 80 percent of the 220,000 lawyers listed by the American Bar Association as professionally active in 1955 were in private practice. More than two-thirds of the private practitioners were in practice by themselves; more than one-fourth were in a partnership; and the remainder—only about 5 percent—worked for other lawyers or law firms. The greatest number of salaried attorneys are employed by government agencies. In 1955, about 8,000 held positions with municipal govern ments. The Federal Government employed ap proximately 6,000 attorneys, chiefly in the Depart ment of Justice, the Department of Defense, and the Veterans Administration. About another 3,000 were military personnel serving as attorneys in the Armed Forces. A few thousand were em ployed by State Governments. More than 7,000 held judicial positions. The second largest number of salaried lawyers work for private companies, including large man ufacturing firms, banks, insurance companies, real estate firms, and public utilities. Most of the re mainder teach in law schools. Some lawyers combine salaried and independent practice; others do legal work on a part-time basis while primarily employed in another occupation. Although lawyers practice in all parts o f the country, including small towns and rural areas, they are concentrated in cities and in the States with the greatest population. In 1955, about 30 percent of all lawyers were in New York City, Chicago, Washington, D. C., Los Angeles, Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Cleveland. Almost half were located in the following States: New York, California, Illinois, Ohio, Texas, and Pennsylvania. Training and Other Qualifications Before a lawyer can practice in the courts of any State he must be admitted to the bar of that State. Applicants must pass a written examination, with the exception that, in a few States, graduates of certain in-State law schools are admitted to the bar without examination. I f a lawyer has been admitted to the bar in one State, he can usually be admitted to practice in another State without taking an examination, provided he is of good moral character and has a specified amount of experience. The right to practice before Federal courts and agencies is controlled by special rules of each court or agency. To qualify for bar examinations in most States, an applicant must have completed 2 or 3 years of college wTork and, in addition, must be a graduate OTHER PROFESSIONAL AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS of a law school approved by the American Bar Association or the proper State authorities. Some States will accept study in a law office in stead of, or in combination with, study in a law school—though this method of training is now rarely used. A few States require a period of clerkship in a law office after graduation. A number of States require registration and ap proval by the State board before students enter law school. O f the 165 law schools in operation in 1955, 127 were approved by the American Bar Association and the others—chiefly night schools—were ap proved by State authorities only. A substantial number of full-time law schools also have night divisions designed to meet the needs of part-time students; some law schools have only night classes. Four years of part-time study is usually required to complete the night-school curriculum. In 1955, more than one-third of all law students were enrolled in evening classes. Six years of full-time training after high school are generally required to become a lawyer. As a rule, this consists of 3 years of college study followed by 3 years in law school. However, law schools which have a 4-year, full-time curriculum may accept students after 2 years of college work. On the other hand, some schools require appli cants to have a college degree. Specific college subjects are not generally required for entrance into law school. Students interested in a particu lar aspect of the law may find it helpful to take related courses; for example, engineering and science courses would be useful to the prospec tive patent attorney, and accounting would be use ful to the future tax lawyer. Although qualified young people interested in a legal career can usually obtain admission to a law school, they may not always be able to en roll in the school of their choice. Some of the more widely known schools frequently have more applicants than they can accept. In selecting stu dents, law schools generally consider college grades, amount of college education, the particu lar college attended, and recommendations made by college professors. A number of law schools require applicants to take the standard law school admission test, and several give their own apti tude tests. 181 The first 2 years of law school are generally devoted to fundamental courses such as contracts, criminal law, property, torts, and equity. The third year is composed largely o f elective courses in specialized fields such as tax, labor, or corpora tion law. Practical experience is often obtained in the school’s practice court where the students conduct trials under the supervision of experi enced jurists. Upon graduation, the degree of bachelor of laws (LL.B.) is awarded by most schools, although a few confer the degree of juris doctor (J.D .). Advanced study is often desir able for those planning to specialize in one branch of the law or to engage in research and law school teaching. Most beginning lawyers start in salaried posi tions although some go into independent practice immediately after passing the bar examination. Young salaried attorneys usually act as assistants (law clerks) to experienced lawyers. As a rule, their work is limited to research such as check ing points of law; they rarely see a client or argue a case in court. After several years of sal aried employment, during which time they can obtain experience and funds and become known to potential clients, many lawyers go into practice for themselves. Employment Outlook Young lawyers starting independent practice in 1956 encountered considerable competition from established attorneys, particularly in large cities. Law school graduates in the top 10 percent of their class had good opportunities for obtaining salaried positions with well-known law firms, on legal staffs of corporations and government agen cies, and as law clerks to judges. Graduates of the less widely known schools and those with lower academic ratings often experienced diffi culty in finding salaried positions as lawyers. An appreciable number were not working as lawyers but held government and industry positions which required some legal training. During the late 1950's and early 1960’s, at least 5,500 lawyers will be needed each year to replace those who die, retire, or otherwise leave the pro fession. Some additional graduates will also be required to fill new jobs created by the expected 182 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK gradual increase in demand for legal services. However, the supply of lawyers will probably be more than sufficient to meet the demand even if the number of law school graduates increases at a somewhat slower rate than that anticipated for all college graduates. As a result, the legal profession is expected to remain highly competi tive and some law school graduates may have to seek employment in related work. Young attorneys entering private practice will, as in the past, generally face a Starvation pe riod” of several years while they build up their clientele. Prospects for establishing a new prac tice will probably continue to be best in small towns and expanding suburban areas since, in big cities, competition with other lawyers tends to be keener, overhead costs are higher, and the diffi culties of becoming known to potential clients are greater. On the other hand, opportunities for salaried employment will be limited largely to big cities where the chief employers of legal talent—government agencies, law firms, and big corporations— are generally located. For able and well-qualified lawyers, good opportunities to advance will continue to exist in both salaried employment and private practice. A gradual increase in the legal profession is expected over the long run, primarily as a result of the continued growth of business activity and the country’s anticipated population expansion. The trend toward more complex legislation at Federal, State, and local levels points toward the need for more salaried lawyers as well as for more independent practitioners. In addition, the in creased use of legal services by low- and mid dle-income groups—stimulated in part by lawyer reference plans and legal aid societies—will add to the long-term growth in demand for lawyers. The growing complexity of business and govern ment activities is expected to create a steadily ex panding demand for lawyers who are specialists in such fields as corporation, patent, administra tive, labor, and international law. Moreover, con siderable numbers will continue to be needed as replacements for those who leave the profession. Opportunities for women lawyers, who com prised less than 3 percent of the profession in 1955, will probably continue to be limited for some time to come. Although more than half of all women lawyers are employed in salaried posi tions, a substantial number are in practice for themselves. Many women lawyers hold positions, not as attorneys, but in occupations requiring a knowledge of law. Earnings and Working Conditions Beginning salaries for young lawyers are gen erally highest in large law firms and Federal agencies. Those employed by medium-size law firms, corporations, and banks generally earn somewhat less, and inexperienced lawyers work ing for small law offices or engaged in legal-aid work usually receive the lowest salaries. The be ginning lawyer in practice for himself generally makes little more than his expenses during the first few years and often has some other source o f income. Lawyers in practice less than 5 years earned, on the average, about $5,000 in 1954, according to a U. S. Department of Commerce survey. As a rule, beginners in practice for themselves earned less than those in salaried positions. The aver age annual income above expenses for all lawyers surveyed in 1954 was approximately $10,200. About 5 percent of the lawyers reported earnings of $25,000 or more a year. On the average, in comes of lawyers in large cities were higher than those of lawyers located in small communities. Earnings of salaried attorneys employed by law firms were generally highest in large firms. Lawyers often work long hours and under con siderable pressure when a case is being tried. In addition, they must keep abreast of the latest laws and court decisions. However, since lawyers in private practice are able to determine their own hours and workload, many stay in practice until well past 70 years of age. W h ere To Go for M ore Information The specific requirements for admission to the bar in a particular State may be obtained from the clerk of the Supreme Court or the secretary of the Board of Examiners at the State capital. Information on law schools and on law as a career is available from : The American Bar Association, 1155 East 60th St., Chicago 37, III. OTHER PROFESSIONAL AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS 183 Librarians* (D. O. T. 0 -2 3 .2 0 ) Nature of W ork Librarians are concerned with making knowl edge and information available to the public, chiefly through such printed or recorded materials as books, periodicals, pamphlets, and reports. Since a number of libraries have recently begun to loan phonograph records and film, as well as books, librarians may also be concerned with these medi ums. Librarians select and purchase books and such other materials as the library loans or uses; classify, catalog, and circulate books and other loan items; publicize library services; investigate the reading interests of people served by the li brary in order to meet these needs; do research to secure facts or information requested; and guide readers of all ages to books and information suited to their individual interests. Librarians may also collect, review, and abstract published and unpublished materials in order to prepare bibliographies and book reviews which make information about books and other publica tions more readily available to the public. Some librarians serve as advisers to schools or other or ganizations on bibliography and references for research. In a small library, the librarian may perform all of these duties, whereas in a large organization different librarians may handle each function. Some may specialize in a particular subject-matter area. For example, a medical librarian maintains and distributes a collection of medical texts, refer ence books, and research materials relating to the medical profession; a law librarian maintains and circulates materials used in the legal profession; a children’s librarian assists children with their school and leisure interests by securing and dis tributing books and other reading materials of particular importance to children; and a business librarian selects, reviews, collects, and distributes books and periodicals on developments in business and industry. W here Employed Librarians are employed in public libraries and in libraries maintained by public and private schools, colleges, and universities, government ♦Prepared by the Women’s Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor. agencies, research associations, and business and in dustrial firms. In the United States in 1950, more than 55,000 librarians were employed, of whom almost 90 percent were women. About two-thirds of these women were employed in public libraries or in the libraries o f public schools. In recent years, more men have been entering the library field partly because o f the increased salaries being offered, the growing emphasis on library service in scientific and technical fields, and improved op portunities for advancement to administrative positions. In 1956, most of the librarians—some 44,000— were employed by the 7,500 public library systems in the United States. The remainder were em ployed by school, college, special, and Federal Government libraries, including libraries serving the Armed Forces, and United States Information Service libraries in all parts o f the world. Many elementary and secondary schools had their own libraries, and about 1,850 libraries were maintained by colleges and universities. More than 3,000 special libraries were operated by re search agencies and private firms. These special libraries serve the particular interests of the em ploying organization rather than the wide range of public interest. For example, the library of a scientific research organization deals exclusively with materials suited to the conduct of specified areas of research, whereas an insurance company library concentrates on materials related to the insurance business. An estimated 150 libraries were run by agencies of the Federal Government. The Library of Congress, which is an agency of the Federal Government, is the outstanding ex ample of a comprehensive library operation. It is the largest library in the United States. Accord ing to law, a copy of every book or pamphlet which has been copyrighted in this country must be de posited in this library. Although most libraries are located in cities and towns, a new type of library (the bookmobile) has been developed in recent years to serve large geographical areas. About 1,000 of these book mobiles were in use in 1956, traveling from village to village to provide library services to people who wTould otherwise have had to travel long distances to reach a library. Similarly, bookmobiles are 184 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK used in some large cities where they prove more effective and economical than established branches in outlying areas. Training and Other Qualifications Positions as librarians in small school or public libraries and in the Federal Government may be secured after completion of a 4-year under graduate course in library science at a college or university. Approximately 500 colleges and uni versities offered such courses in 1953. In addi tion, some positions for special librarians may be open to persons with specialized education and experience in a particular field, such as law, medi cine, engineering, or business, even though they have had no library training. In recent years, however, the trend has been toward requiring the completion o f a 1-year cur riculum in a library school, following graduation from a 4-year college, for “ professional libra rians.” Entrance requirements for professional library schools commonly include: (1) graduation from an approved 4-year college or university; (2) a superior undergraduate academic record; (3) evidence, through credit or examination, of a thor ough knowledge of the fundamentals of library work; and (4) a reading knowledge of at least one foreign language. Also, skill in typing is usually expected o f students in library schools. Most library schools grant the master’s degree upon completion of 1 year’s residence work in library science plus an extra summer semester or quarter. In 1956, there were 35 o f these graduate schools in the United States and Canada which were accredited by the American Library Asso ciation Committee on Accreditation. Many library positions require more than 1 year of specialized courses in library science. Cer tain positions for special librarians, for example, require completion of courses dealing with the subject matter with which the librarian will work. For example, a librarian who intends to spe cialize in a scientific field would have to take courses in mathematics and chemistry, physics, or engineering, depending upon the particular spe cialty; and a business librarian would have to study economics, business management, account ing, and finance. Advancement for the librarian may come through transfer to a larger library or by promo tion to a higher grade position in the same li brary. Promotions to administrative positions or to specialized work are also possible after addi tional education or experience. It should be noted, however, that advancement to higher level or specialized positions may be limited to “ pro fessional librarians” who have completed gradu ate training in an accredited library school. Since certification is required for many library positions and the requirements therefor may be established by local, county, or State agencies, these requirements should be investigated by the student through the school or college counselor or the American Library Association. Employment Outlook Library schools and associations reported a na tionwide demand for well-trained librarians in 1956. There were an estimated 10,000 unfilled positions for professional librarians that year. Since World War II, the number of degrees granted in library science has been less than 2,000 a year, and library schools have regularly reported 100-percent placement of graduates. According to a 1953 survey, there was a shortage of grad uates from accredited library schools to fill jobs in cataloging, library work with children, school librarianships, and special library services in sci ence and technology. It has been estimated that there were some 6,000 openings for school librari ans in 1954 and at least 1,000 openings in the spe cial library field in 1955. Most of the latter were in science and technology. Less than 15 percent of the library school graduates in 1954 entered the special library field, and only about 2 percent were in science and technology. The majority of grad uates took school or public library positions. The demand for librarians is expected to con tinue and to increase for the remainder of the 1950’s and well into the 1960’s. The expanding school population and improved standards for school libraries will necessitate the employment o f a growing number of fully trained librarians. Many additional openings will be created by turn over among young women in the field who leave their jobs for marriage and family reasons. Spe cial librarians, particularly in science and tech nology, will be greatly in demand as a result of the increasing interest in industrial research. The supply of graduates from accredited library schools is expected to be insufficient to meet these OTHER PROFESSIONAL AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS needs. Therefore, employment opportunities for trained workers will continue to be very good throughout this period. Those with special train ing in the sciences will have excellent opportuni ties, and mature workers, as well as those who can work only part time, will have good chances for employment. Over the long run, employment for librarians, particularly the specialists, is expected to expand, as more and more new information becomes avail able and the complexity of our sources of knowl edge increases. 185 eral Government in 1956 were $3,670 and $4,525 for librarians, depending upon the extent of their education and experience. Library assistants were hired at $2,690 and $2,960. The typical workweek for librarians is 40 hours and may include evening work in those libraries that remain open evenings. The 5-day week is becoming common, and the usual vacation after a year’s service is 4 weeks. In school libraries, the work year customarily coincides with the school year. W here To Go for Further Information Earnings and W orking Conditions Geographical region, size of city, size and type o f library, and degree of responsibility and tech nical skill required are important factors in fluencing librarians’ salaries. In 1956, the average salary for beginning library school graduates was $3,800 at year. Special librarians reported sal aries beginning at $4,000, with science-technology specialists receiving about $1,000 more. A 1955-56 survey of 110 universities with large graduate programs showed salaries ranging from $5,800 to $15,900 a year for chief librarians. Their average salary was $9,200. Entrance salaries in the Fed Additional information, particularly on schools, requirements, and scholarships or loans may be obtained from : American Library Association, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago 11, 111. Information on requirements and placement of special librarians may be secured from : Special Libraries Association, 31 East 10th St., New York 3, N. Y. Information about school library systems may be secured from : U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Education, Washington 25, D. C. Newspaper Reporters (D. O. T. 0 -0 6 .7 1 ) Nature o f W ork Reporters collect information on news events and write news stories for publication in daily or weekly newspapers. They gather information by interviewing people, consulting police and other public records, observing events as they happen, and by doing research in libraries. As a rule, re porters take brief notes while collecting facts and type their stories upon return to the office. Some times, to meet deadlines, they telephone the in formation to other reporters, known as “ rewrite men,” who write the stories for them. Big city dailies frequently assign some reporters to special “beats,” such as police stations or courts, to cover news originating in these places, while local news which develops elsewhere is handled by general assignment reporters. News on cer tain subjects such as sports, politics, and religion is often dealt with by specialists in these fields. Reporters on small newspapers not only cover all aspects of local news but may also take photo graphs, write headlines, lay out inside pages, and even write editorials. On the smallest weeklies, they may also solicit advertisements, sell subscrip tions, and perform general office work. Newspaper reporting is only one of several oc cupations open to young people trained in jour nalism. Persons with this background may also work for general circulation magazines, trade, business, labor, and other specialized periodicals; for radio and television stations, advertising agen cies, and public relations firms; and for govern ment agencies. These related activities are not dealt with in this statement. O f approximately 60,000 editors and reporters employed in the printing and publishing indus tries in 1950, it is estimated that about half were newspaper reporters. Although women composed almost one-third of the combined group, the pro- 186 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Newspaper reporter phoning in a story to the city desk. portion of newspaper reporters who were women was much smaller. Where Employed The majority of reporters are employed by daily newspapers and most of the others work for week ly papers. In addition, some reporters are em ployed by press services and newspaper syndicates. Reporters work in cities and towns of all sizes throughout the country. O f the approximately 1,800 daily and 9,000 weekly newspapers pub lished in 1956, the great majority were in small towns. Sizable numbers of reporters, however, are located in cities since each large city daily employs many reporters whereas a small-town paper gen erally has only a few. Training and Other Qualifications Although talented writers with little or no academic training beyond high school can become reporters, an increasing number of newspapers require applicants to have a college education. Some editors prefer college graduates with a de gree in journalism while others consider a degree in liberal arts equally desirable. Professional training leading to a degree in journalism can be obtained in morei than 150 colleges; about 100 of these have separate depart ments or schools of journalism. The typical 2year journalism curriculum is given during the junior and senior years of college and is about equally divided between cultural and profession al subjects. Professional subjects offered students preparing to become newspaper reporters include reporting, copyreading, editing, feature writing, and the history of journalism. Graduate training is a relatively recent development and, although a number of schools award master’s degrees, only a few offer programs leading to the doctor’s de gree in journalism. In 1956, most schools and departments of journalism were not overcrowded and qualified applicants had an excellent chance of admittance. Young people who wish to prepare for news paper work by obtaining a liberal arts background in college should take English and specialized courses in writing as well as subjects such as so ciology, political science, economics, history, and psychology. Those without college training usu ally qualify by gaining experience on rural, small-town, or suburban papers. The ability to write well and to report the news accurately are important for success in this field, as are such per sonal qualities as a “nose for news,” persistence, initiative, resourcefulness, and an accurate memory. Most beginners become “ cub” reporters on week ly or small daily newspapers. However, some college graduates start as copy boys on large city papers and occasionally obtain promotions to re porting jobs. Other graduates are hired directly for reporting positions by some large newspapers that prefer to train them on the job. In competing for regular positions, it is helpful to have had experience as a “stringer”—one who covers the news in a particular area for a newspaper and is paid on the basis of the stories printed. “ Cub” reporters are assigned to such work as summarizing speeches, covering relatively unim portant meetings or interviews, writing obituaries, and handling minor news events. As they gain experience, they may advance to covering more important developments or are assigned to a a “ beat” or special subject. For experienced re porters, advancement is possible to positions such as columnist, or correspondent, or editor. News papermen also progress by moving to reporting OTHER PROFESSIONAL AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS jobs with larger papers or with press services and newspaper syndicates. Some reporters eventually advance to top executive positions or become pub lishers. Others transfer to related fields such as advertising, radio, television, or public relations. 187 papers. However, on some newspapers, women reporters are used on the same types of jobs as men. Women also have many prospects for employment in related fields of journalism. Earnings and Working Conditions Employment Outlook Weekly or daily newspapers located in small towns and suburban areas offered the most op portunities to young people seeking work as news paper reporters in 1956. City dailies provided some opportunities for beginners to start as copy boys with a chance of later advancement to re porting jobs. In addition, city newspapers occa sionally employed beginners to fill openings for reporters, although experienced reporters were usually hired for such positions and there was considerable competition for reporting jobs in most large cities. Beside these opportunities in reporting, openings in related fields such as ad vertising, trade and technical publishing, radio, and television were readily available to new col lege graduates with journalism training. During the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, most opportunities to enter newspaper reporting are expected to result from the need to replace re porters receiving promotions to editorial or other higher level positions, transferring to other fields of work, or lost to the profession through death or retirement. Although newspaper circulation is likely to grow" and the number of pages per newspaper is expected to increase, newspapers will probably be able to take care of this ex pansion without a comparable rise in employ ment of reporters. Prospects for beginners are expected to remain best on small-town and subur ban newspapers. On such papers, preference will probably continue to be given to beginning re porters who are versatile and able to help with photography and other aspects of the work and who are acquainted with the community. In view of the interest and attraction of newspaper work, there will probably always be many young people seeking to enter the field. Howsver, talent ed individuals will—in the future as in the past— have a good chance of breaking into and advancing in the profession. Special opportunities for women are to be found in reporting on subjects such as society new-s, food, fashions, clubs, and beauty culture for the society page of the women’s section of news Many daily newspapers have negotiated con tracts with the American Newspaper Guild which set minimum wages for beginning reporters and provide for salary increases to be given an nually for the first few years. In 1956, Guild minimum rates for reporters without any previous experience ranged from about $45 a w-eek on a few of the smaller daily papers to more than $70 a week on a number of big city dailies. However, the majority of newspapers with Guild contracts paid beginning reporters between $50 and $65 a week. Young people starting as copy boys earn much less than new reporters. Guild minimum rates for experienced reporters in 1956 ranged from $100 a week on the smaller papers to $130 a week and more on some big city papers. Well-qualified and experienced reporters are often paid salaries higher than the minimum rates called for in Guild contracts. Some partic ularly successful reporters on city dailies earn more than $200 a week. Newspaper reporters on city papers generally work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, although their hours are often irregular. Many o f those em ployed by morning papers start work in the after noon and finish around midnight. Large city papers pay overtime rates for more than 40 hours of work a week and often provide various em ployee benefits such as paid vacations, group insurance, and pensions. W h ere To Go for M ore Information Information about opportunities with daily newspapers may be obtained from : American Newspaper Publishers Association, 370 Lexington Ave., New York 17, N. Y. Information on union wage rates is available from : American Newspaper Guild, Research Department, 1126 16th St., NW ., Washington 6, D. O. Names and locations of all daily newspapers and a list of departments and schools of journal ism are published in Editor & Publisher Inter national Yearbook, available in most large news paper offices and public libraries. 188 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Personnel Workers (D. O. T. 0—39.81 through .8 3, .85 through .88, and 0—68 .7 0 through .78) Nature o f W ork W here Employed Personnel workers are concerned with helping management make the most effective use of em ployee abilities. They are responsible for the development of recruiting and hiring procedures and for the maintenance of personnel records. In addition, they may counsel employees, advise man agement in disciplinary matters such as the dis charge of employees, classify jobs, plan wage and salary structures, develop safety programs, and conduct research in personnel methods. Labor relations, employee training, and the administra tion of retirement and other benefit plans are also important aspects of their work. (Personnel workers in schools and colleges who counsel stu dents or are otherwise concerned with student problems are not dealt with in this report.) Personnel work ranges from policymaking to routine administrative activities and includes a number of highly specialized functions. Indus trial relations directors, personnel managers, training directors, and others in executive posi tions are generally concerned with formulating policy and advising management. Positions such as job analyst, personnel counselor, salary and wage administrator, and labor relations specialist require specialized training. Some personnel jobs deal with administrative details and procedures which are of a routine nature. The types of personnel jobs found in a company depend on the size of the company and the extent of its personnel activities. In a small business, one person may handle all the personnel work and, in some cases, also have other duties. In a very large organization, on the other hand, the per sonnel department may have several hundred em ployees with highly specialized duties. The great est number and variety of personnel positions are to be found in big companies whose personnel pro grams include labor relations, training, safety, job classification, and other specialized aspects of em ployee relations. Some business organizations limit their personnel activities largely to recruit ment, handling of disciplinary problems, and maintenance of personnel records; these companies need fewer personnel workers. Personnel workers are found in nearly all types of business enterprises as well as government agen cies. O f the more than 50,000 personnel and labor relations workers employed in 1950, well over half worked for private industry. Industries employ ing large numbers are steel, automobile, and ma chinery manufacturing, telephone and other utili ties, department stores, petroleum refining, and chemicals. About one-third of all personnel and labor relations workers are employed by Federal, State, and local government agencies, chiefly those of the Federal Government. In addition, a num ber are college teachers of personnel administra tion, industrial relations, and similar subjects. Some wTork independently, generally as manage ment consultants or labor relations experts. Most personnel workers are located in big cities and in the highly industrialized sections of the country. Training and Other Qualifications A college education is becoming increasingly important for personnel work. However, many personnel executives are not college graduates but entered the field by advancing from production, sales, or clerical jobs, and this method of entry is still open for some jobs in private industry. For professional positions with the Federal Govern ment, a bachelor’s degree is generally needed. Some specialized positions in both private indus try and government service require advanced training beyond the bachelor's degree. College courses in personnel management, busi ness administration, public administration, psy chology, statistics, economics, political science, sociology, English, and public speaking are re garded as desirable preparation for personnel work. Although some employers in private in dustry prefer college graduates who have majored in personnel administration, many consider such training too specialized and prefer those with a general business administration background. Other employers consider a well-rounded liberal arts education the most desirable preparation for personnel work. Young people interested in gov- OTHER PROFESSIONAL AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS ernment positions are often advised to major in public administration, political science, or person nel administration; however, those with other academic backgrounds are also eligible for govern ment employment. For some positions, more specialized training may be necessary. Jobs involving testing and counseling often require a bachelor’s degree with a major in psychology or even a graduate degree in this field. An engineering degree may be needed for work dealing with time study or safety standards, and a degree in industrial relations may be helpful for work involving labor relations. A background in accounting and law is also very use ful for those aspects of personnel work dealing with wages, pension and other employee benefit plans, and labor relations. Most employers perfer personnel workers who have had firsthand experience with the operations o f the company and with the type of work per formed by the employees. For this reason, many firms recruit new personnel staff members from their own employees—in which case, other quali fications often outweigh educational background. On the other hand, some companies and govern ment agencies hire only college graduates and put them through in-service training programs that teach both the operations of the organization and specific personnel procedures. College graduates may also be employed directly for beginning jobs in personnel work as junior interviewer, personnel clerk, assistant job analyst, or labor relations assistant. Qualities regarded as desirable for success in personnel work are the ability to speak and write well, plus more than average skill in working with people of all levels of intelligence and experience. In addition, the prospective personnel worker should have a liking for detail, a high degree of persuasiveness, and an attractive appearance. 189 through in-service training programs for junior personnel workers conducted by large companies and Federal Government agencies. In general, employment prospects will be best for college graduates with specialized training in certain as pects of personnel work such as psychological testing, safety engineering, counseling, and indus trial relations. A gradual increase in the demand for personnel workers is expected over the long run. The antici pated expansion in the country’s labor force will create a need for more personnel workers to carry on existing types of activities. In addition, a marked growth is expected in many aspects of per sonnel work. Increased recognition of the im portance of the “ human factor'’ in industry will bring about a demand for more executives trained in employee relations; wider use of psychological testing by employers will result in a need for ad ditional staff; and growth of in-service training programs and their application to new problems will increase the size of training staffs. The de mand for more labor relations experts is also ex pected to continue. Extension of employee serv ices, growing emphasis on safety, development o f pension and other benefit plans, and intensified research activities also point toward a future de mand for more trained personnel workers. More over, additional workers will be needed to replace those lost to the field through retirement or death and for other reasons. Opportunities for women, who constitute ap proximately one-fourth of all personnel workers, are expected to continue to expand. Prospects will remain best in organizations which have many women employees such as department stores, tele phone companies, and government agencies. A l though advancement opportunities will probably continue to be limited, a growing number o f women are expected to attain top positions. Employment Outlook Earnings and W orking Conditions Some opportunities to advance to personnel work will be available in the late 1950’s for quali fied young people willing to start in production, clerical, or subprofessional positions. However, new graduates seeking to enter professional per sonnel positions directly from college are expected to face keen competition in many parts of the country. A number of opportunities for immedi ate professional employment will be offered Beginning salaries for college graduates in pro fessional personnel positions typically ranged from $3,000 to $4,500 a year in 1956. In the Fed eral Government, beginners with bachelor’s de grees started at $3,670 a year and those with mas ter’s degrees at $4,525. Prospective personnel workers who held clerical, production, or subpro fessional positions generally earned lower salaries. 190 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK The average salary paid personnel directors and others in top positions in 1956 was approximately $10,000 a year. However, annual salaries ranged from less than $5,000 in some small companies to more than $60,000 for vice presidents in charge of personnel or industrial relations in some giant corporations. Employees in most personnel offices generally work 40 hours a week. However, during periods of intensive recruitment, strikes, or other unusual situations, considerable overtime work may be re quired. As a rule, personnel workers are paid for holidays and vacations. W h ere To Go for More Information General information on personnel work as a career may be obtained from : The American Society for Personnel Administration, Kellog Center, East Lansing, Mich. General information about public service ca reers, including personnel work, may be obtained from : Public Personnel Association, 1313 East 60th St., Chicago 37, 111. American Society for Public Administration, 6042 Kimbark Aye., Chicago 37, 111. Psychologists (D. O. T. 0-3 6.21 through .26) Nature o f W ork Psychologists study the behavior of people and use the knowledge gained to help individuals ad just successfully to home, social, school, and work ing situations. Many teach in colleges and uni versities or engage in research. Others apply psy chological principles and methods in such activi ties as diagnosing and treating mental disorders, measuring aptitudes, counseling, and selecting workers for jobs. Altogether, in early 1956, there were about 20,000 professionally employed psy chologists, of whom approximately one-fourth were women. Psychologists may be divided into two major groups: Those who specialize in the applied fields of psychology and generally work directly with people, and those who specialize in the basic sci ence fields and are employed mainly in research or college and university teaching. The largest number of psychologists, over one-third, are spe cialists in clinical psychology, an applied field which deals primarily with problems of malad justed or disturbed people. They interview, give diagnostic tests, and provide group or individual psychotherapy. Specialists in counseling psychology, the second largest field, help students, the physically handicapped, and other individuals achieve educational, vocational, and social adjust ment. Psychologists specializing in the other ap plied fields may deal with educational methods, personnel selection, and the efficiency of workers on the job. Many specialists in the applied fields do research work and college teaching—often on a part-time basis. The basic science fields employ about one-fifth of all psychologists and include such specialties as social, experimental, and physiological psychol ogy. A few examples of problems on which spe cialists in these fields may do research are: How leadership qualities are developed; how color is recognized; and how the brain functions under conditions of extreme fatigue. W h ere Employed Colleges and universities employ more than onethird of all professional psychologists. Federal Government agencies—chiefly the Veterans A d ministration, the Department of Defense, and the Public Health Service of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare— employ the sec ond largest group. In addition, large numbers work for State and local government agencies. Sizable groups also work for elementary and high schools, private industry, and nonprofit founda tions, hospitals, and clinics. A small number serve as commissioned officers in the Armed Forces and the Public Health Service. A few psychologists, less than 5 percent, are in independent practice. In addition to positions with the title “ psychologist,” there are many personnel and administrative OTHER PROFESSIONAL AND jobs filled by persons trained in psychology. Most psychologists are employed in large cities and in university towns. Training and Other Qualifications The master’s degree with a major in psychology is generally the minimum requirement for profes sional employment in the field of psychology. The Ph. D. degree is needed for many beginning jobs and is almost essential for advancement. The bachelor’s degree is not considered sufficient edu cation for professional employment, but some young people with this degree secure jobs of a rou tine nature in psychological work and in related work where training in psychology is helpful. A Ph. D. in clinical or counseling psychology usually requires 4 or 5 years of graduate study, including 1 year of internship or supervised ex perience. In these specialties, the trend toward practical training often also extends the minimum time needed to earn the master’s degree from 1 to 2 years. Specialists in the other psychological fields frequently complete the doctoral program in 3 or 4 years and can secure the master’s degree in 1 year. Most graduate schools prefer students with wellrounded educational preparation and do not re quire an undergraduate major in psychology. Students are selected primarily on the basis of college grades and their performance on aptitude tests. Emotional stability, interest'in people, and social maturity are considered especially impor tant for those preparing to enter the applied fields. Many graduate students receive financial help from universities and other sources, either in the form of part-time employment as assistants or outright grants as fellows. Several Federal agen cies provide funds to graduate students either di rectly or through the educational institution giv ing the training. The Veterans Administration offers a large number of 4-year doctoral traineeships, chiefly in clinical and counseling psychol ogy, during which time students are paid for parttime employment with that agency. The Public Health Service supports doctoral traineeships in clinical psychology. The Office of Vocational Re habilitation offers 2-year traineeships in vocational rehabilitation counseling, primarily for those working toward the master’s degree. RELATED OCCUPATIONS 191 Beginning psychologists wfith master’s degrees qualify for jobs assisting in the administration and interpretation of psychological tests, analyz ing and collecting statistical data, counseling in schools, performing routine administrative and personnel duties, or acting as vocational rehabili tation counselors. Those with doctorates qualify for more responsible research, clinical, and coun seling positions as well as for teaching in colleges and universities. In considering the qualifications of psychologists, some employers are placing in creasing emphasis on a sound knowledge of mathe matics and of the biological and physical sciences. To enter Government employment, psycholo gists must usually qualify through the Civil Serv ice system. Those desiring to qualify for inde pendent practice must meet certification or li censing requirements in an increasing number of States. Nine States—Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington—had such require ments in 1955. Employment Outlook The strong demand for well-qualified psycholo gists which existed in early 1956 was expected to continue for several years. However, some inex perienced young people with only master’s degrees were having difficulty finding work as psycholo gists, and this situation may persist. Employment of psychologists will increase sub stantially during the 1960’s; though perhaps at a slower rate than between 1945 and 1955 when the number in the profession tripled. In addition to the country’s growing population, the following factors point toward long-term expansion of the profession: Increasing recognition by schools, government agencies, and private industry of the contributions that can be made by this relatively new science; growing concern about mental health needs, resulting in a tremendous increase in State funds available for the treatment of the mentally i ll; and the emergence of the Federal Government as a major sponsor of psychological research not only within the Government but also in universi ties and private industry. A considerable expansion is anticipated in the number of psychologists employed by State agen cies. Currently understaffed mental hospitals and 192 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK mental hygiene clinics will need many clinical psychologists. Employment of vocational reha bilitation counselors in State programs is expected to increase from 1,600 in 1955 to more than 4,500 by the early 1960’s, and will draw primarily upon psychologists with the master’s degree who have specialized in rehabilitation work. In addition, the number of psychology teachers needed by col leges and universities wTill rise considerably, par ticularly during the 1960’s (see statement on col lege and university teachers, p. 63), and substan tial growth is expected in the number of psycholo gists employed in elementary and secondary schools. The trend toward greater use of psycho logical techniques by private industry is likely to continue, thereby creating new openings for ex perimental, personnel, and human engineering specialists. The Federal Government, which employed 60 percent more psychologists in 1954 than in 1951, will remain an important source of employment. Many openings for psychologists with Ph. D.’s are expected at Teterans Administration hos pitals. Such hospitals employed 600 clinical and 100 vocational counseling psychologists in 1955, and it is estimated they will need about 1,500 clinical psychologists and from 500 to 1,000 addi tional vocational counseling psychologists by the early 1970’s. The Department of Defense will probably continue to have some openings for re search psychologists who are specialists in ex perimental, physiological, human engineering, and personnel psychology. It should be kept in mind, however, that the number o f Government positions is dependent on funds appropriated an nually by Congress. In addition to newly created jobs, some va cancies occur each year owing to deaths and re tirements. However, such openings will be rela tively few for several years since psychologists are a young group. The transfer of psychologists to work of a purely administrative nature also creates some job vacancies. Most employment opportunities for women psychologists will probably continue to be in clinical and counseling psychology; in 1955, about half the women professionally employed as psy chologists were clinical psychologists. Women often find it difficult to secure work with psycho logical consulting firms, in some kinds of mili tary research, or as industrial psychologists. Earnings and W orking Conditions Beginning salaries in early 1956 were generally around $5,000 for well-trained psychologists with Ph. D.’s. However, in the Federal Government and private industry, some psychologists with the doctorate started at $6,500. Those with only a master’s degree generally began at salaries be tween $3,600 and $4,500. Median earnings of psychologists—disregard ing differences in training and experience—were $6,400 in 1954, according to a survey of 13,000 psychologists, chiefly members of the American Psychological Association. Psychologists work ing for private industry or consulting firms had median earnings of $7,000; those in the Federal Government or in the Armed Forces, $6,700; and those in colleges or universities, $5,800. Ph. D.’s averaged $7,800 a year and psychologists with only master’s degrees, $5,100. Women Ph. D.’s had median earnings of $6,000, and those with master’s degrees, $4,500. A ll these figures include not only regular salaries but also any additional income received from professional work, such as summer teaching and consulting. W h ere To Go for More Information General information on the professional, place ment opportunities, and a list of universities with approved doctoral programs in clinical and coun seling psychology may be secured from : American Psychological Association, 1333 16th St. N W ., Washington 6, D. C. Information on traineeships and fellowships may be secured from colleges and universities with graduate psychology departments and from the following government agencies: Chief, Vocational Counseling, Department of Medi cine and Surgery or Chief, Clinical Psychology Divi sion, Veterans Administration, Washington 25, D. C. Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, U. S. Department of Health, Education, and W elfare, Washington 25, D. C. Training and Standards Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland OTHER PROFESSIONAL AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS 193 Social Workers* (D. O. T. 0 -2 7 .0 6 to 0 -2 7 .5 0 ) Nature of the W ork and W here Employed Social workers help people to solve their fam ily, health, financial, or other problems which jeopardize their welfare. They provide financial aid, advice, and assistance in such matters as finding a job, arranging for medical care, or securing low-cost housing. They seek to change the attitudes and behavior of individuals when necessary to aid them in caring for themselves more effectively and in improving their relation ships with others. O f the 80,000 or more social workers in the country (most of whom are case workers) about two-thirds are government employees, mainly in public assistance or other welfare programs ad ministered by State, county, or city governments. The remainder are employed by voluntary agen cies, supported by contributions, endowments, or fees paid by those served. In proportion to the population, more social workers are employed in the North than in the South and more in the East than in the West. More work in urban than in rural areas. About 2 out of 3 are women. Social Caseworkers Working With Families. Most social caseworkers work directly with indi viduals and families who have difficulties such as those arising from poor relationships between hus band and wife or between parent and child, poor household management, ill health, or lack of in come. More than 36,000 caseworkers in public assistance or other government welfare programs arrange for financial aid for the blind, aged, dis abled, and unemployed and for children lacking one parent or both. Caseworkers may help em ployable people find jobs. They may also arrange for medical care or for the distribution of food and clothing to their clients. Besides caseworkers in government agencies, over 5,000 family workers are employed by pri vate agencies, for the most part to counsel troubled people. Only emergency financial aid is given by these private organizations as needy persons are referred to public assistance agencies. Among the larger of the private agencies in most cities are those affiliated nationally with the Family ♦Prepared by the Women’s Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor. 4 2 7 0 7 5 ° — 5 7 --------1 4 Service Association, Catholic Charities, Jewish Family Service, various Protestant churches, the Salvation Army, and the National Travelers’ Aid. Child-Welfare Workers. More than 14,000 social caseworkers in both government and pri vate child-welfare agencies perform such services as placing neglected or mistreated children in fos ter homes, providing a temporary housekeeper in a home where the mother is in a hospital, counsel ing a youthful offender who has been brought be fore the juvenile court, aiding the unmarried mother and her child to find a satisfactory place in the community, or providing appliances for a crippled child. School Social Workers. More than 1,000 school social caseworkers are employed in at least 500 school systems on a full-time basis. Other school social workers have classroom duties and devote only part of their time to social work. A school social worker may visit the home of the child with poor attendance, give guidance to aggressive or excessively shy children, or seek the causes of poor progress in the case of an intelligent child. Most of these workers are employed in large school sys tems. Seven States have legislation which pro vides for these services on a local basis. Medical Social Workers. An estimated 6,000 social caseworkers work with doctors and nurses to aid patients when personal or emotional needs retard recovery. They are employed by public health departments, in hospitals, clinics, and health centers. They may work on such pro grams as those concerned with polio, heart disease, cancer, tuberculosis, and rehabilitation. The medical social worker may, for instance, aid a child amputee to develop a more healthful attitude toward his handicap, work with an uncooperative patient shying away from surgery, or instruct a discharged patient’s family on his diet and care. The medical social worker helps both the patient and his family to understand the recommendations of the physician. Psychiatric Social Workers. Nearly 2,300 so cial caseworkers are employed in mental hospitals 194 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK or clinics and similar agencies for adults and children. They help the psychiatrist and other members of the psychiatric team plan for the patient and they interpret to the patient’s family the meaning of mental illness. They also work with the patient after he returns home as well as with his family and community agencies. One of the large employers of psychiatric social workers is the Veterans Administration. In vet erans’ hospitals and clinics, medical and psychiat ric social workers are used interchangeably and both are known as clinical workers; in 1956, they numbered over 1,350. Social Group Workers. A social group worker works with organized groups of all ages to de velop the individual and to foster socially desir able behavior. Leisure-time activities programs may include handicrafts, games, hikes, dancing, and the like. Specially planned groups may also be set up for the treatment of emotionally dis turbed persons or for redirecting the behavior of delinquent youth, under the guidance of fully trained social group workers. Many of the 9,000 workers in this field are em ployed by youth-serving social agencies and set tlement houses. Others work for the American Red Cross, recreation departments, camps, re ligious organizations, and such agencies as the Girl Scouts and the Camp Fire Girls. A small but increasing number are employed in hospitals, clinics, public social agencies, and in community programs for older workers. Community Organization Workers. An esti mated 2,000 to 3,000 social workers are employed by community chests, community welfare coun cils, and other community agencies which have responsibilities for health and welfare planning. They have such duties as determining whether ad ditional social organizations are needed or recom mending changes in social organizations already in existence to avoid duplication of effort. Some community organization workers set up and con duct fund-raising campaigns and supervise the disbursement of collected funds as directed by the community council. Other Social Workers. Social workers are found performing a variety of other services. They work in all types of institutions, serving such groups as aged persons, delinquents, and adult offenders. About 3,000 are engaged in cor rectional work with those on probation or parole. Some 800 are teachers in schools of social work, almost half of them working part time. An esti mated 500 specialists are in the social work re search field in large cities and research centers, measuring the effectiveness of the social services rendered and seeking ways to improve methods of operation. Some experienced social workers from the United States serve in other parts of the world. They may work as consultants in the rehabilita tion of the disabled, as teachers in schools or sem inars, or as administrators in setting up agencies and schools. They may be employees of the Fed eral Government, the United Nations or one of its affiliated groups, national professional associa tions, or private agencies such as the American Friends Service Committee, the American Red Cross, United Hebrew Immigrants Aid Society, the Young Women’s Christian Association, and the Catholic Relief Service. Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancem ent The social work profession considers 2 years of graduate training, in 1 of the 51 approved schools of social work in the United States, as a desirable standard for professional social work ers and is encouraging adherence to this standard by educators and employers of social workers. In these schools, the student is helped to develop an ability to perform social work functions through classroom courses, field work, and re search. Basic training is the same for all types of workers. For admission to schools of social work, the applicant must have earned a bache lor’s degree in an approved liberal arts college. For the student planning to become a social worker, undergraduate work should include such courses as economics, political science, psychology, sociology, statistical methods, and the bio logical sciences. English composition and public speaking courses help in preparing records, inter viewing, and participating in meetings and conferences. Possibly 200 colleges and universi ties offer upperclassmen one or more under graduate, introductory courses in social work. About half of them offer 10 or more semester hours in an organized sequence and are members of the Undergraduate Division of the Council of Social Work Education. Although these courses OTHER PROFESSIONAL AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS are not required for entrance to graduate schools of social work, they give the interested student an excellent introduction to the work. In addition to adequate training, a student in social work should have a warm interest in people and in social problems, a mature and unbiased outlook, and should be able to exercise good judg ment. Students at all levels will find helpful such experiences as serving as a part-time volun teer, or as a summer employee, in camps, social settlements, hospitals, and social agencies. In relation to the number of students in this field, more financial aid for students with good academic records is available for graduate study in social work than in most professions. In 1955, approximately 70 percent of graduate social work students were receiving such aid. Scholarships are offered by graduate schools, private agencies, foundations, civic groups, and State Govern ments for those with good scholastic standing. Sometimes aid is offered contingent upon the stu dent’s pledge to return to work for the financing agency. Agencies often grant leave o f absence and give scholarships to promising employees to encourage graduate study. In other instances, students are paid for part-time social work, thus providing funds for their professional education. Such, however, is the shortage of qualified per sonnel in this profession that about three-fourths of the social workers in 1956 had less than 1 year o f professional education. The proportion of those with graduate preparation ranges from 22 percent among public assistance workers to 60 per cent among child-welfare workers. In some large cities, where higher salaries are paid, the propor tion of all types of social workers with 2 years o f professional education reaches 72 percent. Some assisting or aide positions, however, (nota bly in public-assistance programs) may be entered without a bachelor’s degree. As workers gain experience and demonstrate ability, they have many opportunities for ad vancement into higher level positions, such as senior staff member, supervisor, executive, teacher, or research worker. However, advancement is limited for those lacking graduate professional education in an accredited school of social work. Employment Outlook Nearly 7,000 students were enrolled in gradu ate schools of social work in 1955; more than 1,500 students earned a master’s degree in that 195 year. Following a 20-percent decrease in enroll ment between 1950 and 1954, there was a 30percent increase in the number of students between 1954 and 1955. Even after this recovery, the ca pacity of these schools was not being fully utilized. Not enough graduates are entering the field to replace those who are retiring, to fill vacancies, to enlarge existing services, and to man new services. An estimated 10,000 vacancies existed in 1956 throughout the entire field of social work. There were numerous examples of specific shortages. Three thousand vacancies were reported in the public assistance and child-welfare fields in 1956 and more than 100 vacancies existed in the Veter ans Administration. Several hundred social workers were also needed in each of the following fields: Corrections, mental health, rehabilitation, school work, and group work. Many of the 2,000 positions in the Red Cross, some overseas, were unfilled. Qualified instructors in the schools of social work were also in short supply. For the next several years, from 800 to 1,000 new workers fully trained personnel in supervisory positions. In view of the widespread gap between the num ber graduating from social work schools and the existing vacancies, and the rapid rise in popula tion, authorities in this field expect the shortage to last for 10 years or longer and to become increas ingly severe. This situation has caused agencies to employ persons without professional social work training for nonsupervisory positions and to place fully trained personnel in supervisory positions. Men hold the majority of positions in the field o f probation and parole, in group work, and in community organization. They are in great de mand for administrative positions in all agencies, as medical and psychiatric social workers in the Veterans Administration and military hospitals, and in rehabilitation work. The proportion of men in social work is gradually increasing. Earnings and Working Conditions The salaries of social workers vary greatly from State to State. In 1956, graduates of professional schools without work experience were paid $3,600 or more as beginning salaries. In some of the larger cities, experienced social workers with 2 or more years of graduate training were paid a median (average) annual salary of $4,345. Childwelfare workers and probation and parole officers were paid slightly less than this average salary 196 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK and psychiatric social workers somewhat more. The Federal Government through its civil serv ice system employs a few college graduates who have had undergraduate training in introductory social work courses at entrance salaries of $3,670. For those with 2 years of training in a professional school of social work, the entrance salary is $4,525; and for those with both 2 years of graduate train ing and 2 years of experience, the entrance salary is $5,440. Administrators in public and private agencies with heavy responsibilities may be paid $10,000 or more a year, with salaries reported up to $35,000. Positions in administration and in com munity organization are usually better paid than other positions, and men generally command higher salaries than women. The workweek for social workers is usually from 35 to 40 hours. In a few agencies, 24-hour service is maintained so that shifts are rotated among the workers. Social work positions generally provide such benefits as retirement pensions, paid sick leave, and vacations. W here To Go for More Information General information on the field of social work, including lists o f approved graduate schools, undergraduate colleges, and universities which o f fer courses of social-welfare content, and avail able scholarships, may be obtained from: Council on Social Work Education, 345 East 46th St., New York 47, N. Y. A series of eight bulletins on the outlook in social work, published by the Women’s Bureau of the U. S. Department of Labor in 1950-51, is available in many libraries. Information on entrance into the public service may be found in the chapter on Government Oc cupations in this Handbook. Statisticians (D. O. T. 0 -3 6 .5 1 ) Nature o f W ork The charts and graphs displayed in magazines and newspapers, and those hanging on the walls o f many business offices usually represent the findings of studies planned by statisticians or by persons with substantial training in statistical methods. Statisticians’ work involves the collec tion and analysis of data on a wide variety of subjects, such as changes in temperature, the financial value of a college education, growth in the yield of corn per acre, increase or decrease in sales, or changes in employment and earnings. Their findings may extend scientific knowledge or provide information needed for government and business planning and administration or in other activities. Statisticians specialize, as a rule, either in math ematical statistics or in an applied field. Math ematical statisticians develop and test experimen tal designs, sampling techniques, and analytical methods which lead to more efficient procedures for obtaining and interpreting quantitative infor mation. Applied statisticians use statistical tech niques in making studies of specific subject fields. The applied statistician usually remains in his own subject-matter field or in a related field of study, but the mathematical statistician may easily transfer from one field to another. Because statistics is a tool vdrich is used by specialists in a variety of fields, it is frequently impossible to distinguish people who are prima rily statisticians from those who are chiefly sub ject-matter specialists with a knowledge of statistics. For example, the applied statistician w7ho provides quantitative information on eco nomic conditions may be called an economist, while the one who designs experiments on the growth of animals under different diets and en vironments may be classified as a biologist. Sim ilarly, the mathematical statistician who develops new statistical methods applicable to all problems which can validly be expressed in numerical terms may be classified as a mathematician. (See state ment on mathematicians, p. 134.) Furthermore, clerical workers who perform mathematical com putations or prepare charts or tables are some times called statisticians. This overlapping of fields makes it difficult to determine the number of statisticians. However, it is broadly estimated that, in 1956, there were about 15,000 professional workers whose major interest was in statistical methods and their application to problems in par ticular fields. Only a small proportion of these were mathematical statisticians. OTHER PROFESSIONAL AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS Most statisticians are engaged in research or perform administrative or supervisory functions in connection with research programs. Some are employed as college teachers—often combining teaching with research or administrative activities. Others act as consultants. The research statistician has two main func tions: (1) To devise methods of obtaining, clas sifying, and summarizing quantities of data so as to provide usable information; and (2) to analyze the data and prepare reports on the findings. The design of surveys based on scientifically selected samples is often the statistician’s principal task. In planning surveys, statisticians choose the sources from which the needed data can be obtained most readily, draw up questionnaires or report forms, and prepare instructions for collecting the data. They also make plans for tabulating the data, analyze the tabulations, and present the findings in summary tables, charts, and written reports. W h ere Employed The largest employer of statisticians is the Fed eral Government. Every major Federal agency employs some members of this profession, although more than two-thirds of all statisticians on Fed eral payrolls are in the Departments of Defense, Commerce, and Agriculture. Private industry employs a large and growing number of statis ticians, particularly in market research and qual ity control work. Colleges and universities are a major source of employment for mathematical statisticians. Other statisticians are employed by State and local governments, nonprofit founda tions, and research organizations. Training and Other Qualifications Students planning careers as statisticians can obtain the necessary minimum training in many institutions, although only a few colleges and universities grant degrees in statistics. A bache lor’s degree with a major in mathematics or eco nomics and a minor in statistics is the most usual educational preparation for an entry job leading to a professional position as a statisti cian. Essential courses in mathematics include college algebra, plane trigonometry, analytical geometry, and differential and integral calculus. In addition, at least one course in statistical 197 methods is necessary. Advanced courses in math ematics and statistical theory are considered de sirable for many jobs and essential for some. Furthermore, all statisticians not qualified as mathematical statisticans need thorough training in some subject-matter field. The minimum requirements for the position of junior statistician in the Federal Government were, in 1956, a bachelor’s degree with 15 semes ter hours in statistics (or in a combination of mathematics and statistics, including at least 6 se mester hours in statistics) and with 9 semester hours in 1 of several subject-matter fields. Many private firms have similar minimum prerequi sites for entrance positions. In addition, for many quality control positions, statisticians need engineering training and courses in the applica tion of statistical methods to manufacturing processes. For market research and forecasting work, a major in business administration or a re lated field is also helpful. First jobs for inexperienced college graduates with only bachelor’s degrees are likely to involve much clerical work. Since this work often re quires the use of adding and calculating machines, ability to operate such machines is extremely helpful. In most types of employment, the sta tistician must also have considerable knowledge of tabulating equipment. Although persons with only bachelor’s degrees may be able to advance to more responsible positions on the basis of ex perience, there is a trend toward requiring further academic training, especially in the subjectmatter field, for advancement in analytical and survey work. The master’s degree in statistics or mathematics is required for many entry positions in mathe matical statistics and is almost indispensable for promotion to high-level positions in this field. This degree also qualifies the statistican for teach ing in a department of mathematics in many col leges and universities. However, a doctoral de gree is required for appointment as instructor in some high-ranking institutions and is essential for advancement to a professorship in many colleges. The doctorate is also an asset in obtaining highranking administrative positions and consulting work outside the college teaching field. Employment Outlook Employment opportunities for well-qualified statisticians are expected to increase substantially 198 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK during the remainder of the 1950 decade and dur ing the 1960’s. Most of the opportunities will be in industry, but moderate increases are expected also in other types of employment. Statisticians with graduate degrees in mathematical statistics will have the best employment opportunities. In 1956, the demand for statisticians was very strong and shortages were reported in many specialized fields, particularly in mathematical statistics. Persons with broad training in mathe matics and statistics and a knowledge of engineer ing or the physical sciences were in demand for many types of work, including quality control and programming for electronic computing equipment. Increased Federal appropriations for agricultural marketing and rural development research pro grams created new opportunities for agricultural statisticians both in the Federal Government and in State agricultural experiment stations. In the long run, employment of statisticians will probably increase at least as fast as employment in profes sional occupations as a group. Mathematical statisticians with graduate train ing will be in demand in private industry to aid engineers in designing experiments and in devel oping methods of testing new equipment, in pro duction quality control work, and in operations research. It is anticipated that companies will also rely more and more on the work of statisti cians in analyzing and forecasting sales and busi ness conditions and in modernizing their account ing procedures. With the growing use of elec tronic computing machines, there will be an increasing demand for statisticians who are able to plan work so as to make the most efficient use o f such equipment. The number of teachers of statistics is also ex pected to rise, owing to increasing college enroll ments (see statement on college teachers, p. 63) and because many colleges are likely to offer more courses in statistics as the importance of statistical training in other fields of study becomes more widely recognized. The number of statisticians in government agencies is also likely to rise mod erately. Additional personnel are expected to be needed to analyze the increasing amount of statis tical data available on the operations of expanded programs in such fields as social security, health, and education; also, a large number will continue to be employed in long-term programs involving collection of economic data of many kinds. In addition to those needed for expansion in employ ment, several hundred statisticians will be required yearly to replace those who resign, retire, or die. Earnings and W orking Conditions Men college graduates with good training in statistics generally have about the same entrance salaries in private industry as other college grad uates employed as business trainees. Women graduates who have specialized in statistics gen erally receive higher entrance salaries than women college graduates in most other professional fields. Beginning salaries for men graduates with a major in statistics averaged about $350 a month in pri vate industry in 1956; for women, entrance salaries averaged about $330. Beginning salaries for statisticians in the Fed eral Government were $3,670 a year in 1956 for inexperienced graduates with only a bachelor’s de gree and $4,525 for those with the master’s degree or its equivalent in education and experience. Statisticians earn more, on the average, than persons working in the closely related social science fields. A 1952 survey of the earnings of social scientists indicated that the median (average) annual salary of statisticians was $6,800, somewhat higher than the median for economists ($6,500) and much higher than the comparable figures for other social science fields. Salaries of statisticians, like those of other professional workers, have risen substantially since 1952. W h ere To Go for M ore Information Additional information on employment trends and on educational requirements for statisticians is given in the following publications: Employment Outlook in the Social Sciences. Bureau of Labor Statistics Bull. 1167, 1954. Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D. C. Price 30 cents. Educational Requirements for Employment of Stat isticians. Veterans Administration Pamphlet 7-8.9, 1955. Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D. C. Price 15 cents. Information on the characteristics and earnings of statisticians is contained in the following report on a statistical survey: Personnel Resources in the Social Sciences and Hu manities. Bureau of Labor Statistics Bull. 1169, 1954. Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D. C. Price 70 cents. Clerical, Sales, and Service Occupations Clerical Occupations The clerical workers who take care of the vast amount of correspondence, recordkeeping, and other office duties necessary to the operation of modern businesses and government agencies are one o f the largest occupational groups in the United States. About 1 out of every 8 persons at work in the country in 1956 was in a clerical or closely related job. Altogether, about 9 million men and women were employed in occu pations classified by the Bureau of the Census as “ clerical and kindred.” (See chart 30.) CHART 30 EMPLOYMENT IN CLERICAL OCCUPATIONS, 1946-56 MILLIONS OF WORKERS Nature and Location of Clerical Work The major clerical occupations are shown in chart 31. Stenographers, typists, and secre taries—by far the largest group of clerical work ers classified separately by the Census—totaled about iy 2 million in 1950. Bookkeepers were the second largest group with more than 700,000 workers. Other clerical occupations with more than 100,000 workers each include those of tele phone operator, shipping and receiving clerk, cashier, mail carrier, and office-machine operator. Many officeworkers are designated simply as “ clerks.” There are also large numbers in clerk Clerical work is the largest of all areas of employment for women. U N IT ED ST A TE S DEPA RTM EN T OF LABOR BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. positions with more specific titles which indicate the type of work done—for example, file clerk, billing clerk, credit clerk, time clerk, payroll clerk, or postal clerk. These clerks and many others who were not classified separately by the Census made up more than one-third of all clerical employees in 1950. Clerical work is the largest of all areas of em ployment for women. In 1956, about 1 out o f every 4 employed women was an office worker. The number and proportion of women in clerical occupations have been rising steadily over the years. Women outnumbered men in these occu pations for the first time in 1940, and by 1956, twothirds o f all clerical workers were women. More than 90 percent of the telephone operators; the stenographers, typists, and secretaries; and the attendants in physicians’ and dentists’ offices ar& women. Women also fill more than three-fourths of the jobs as bookkeepers, cashiers, and office199 200 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK CHART 31 MAJOR CLERICAL OCCUPATIONS Employment, 1950 100 200 —I-----r~ Stenographers, Typists, and Secretaries Thousands of Workers 300 400 500 ) ) 600 i 700 i > 1600 Bookkeepers Telephone Operators Shipping and Receiving Clerks p Cashiers Mail Carriers Office Machine Operators K Bank Tellers Ticket Agents Messengers and Office Boys m Attendants, Physician’s and Dentist’s Office Telegraph Operators U NITED STATES D EPA R TM EN T OF LABOR bureau of labo r s t a t is t ic s machine operators. Only in one large occupa tion— office-machine operator—was there a rise from 1940 to 1950 in the proportion of men em ployed. Nevertheless, about 3 million men were employed in clerical and related work in 1950. More men than women wTere working as shipping and receiving clerks, mail carriers, bank tellers, ticket agents, messengers, and telegraph opera tors, as well as in many smaller occupational groups such as vehicle dispatchers, bill collectors, railway mail clerks, and baggagemen. Clerical workers are employed in all industries, since some office work is essential in nearly every business. However, an increasing proportion of clerical workers are employed in finance, service, and related industries—principally in banks, in S ource1 - U. S. Bureau of th e Census insurance and real estate companies, and in profes sional and business services. More than onefourth of all officeworkers were employed in this group of industries in 1956, whereas only a little more than one-fifth o f such workers were em ployed in manufacturing. Wholesale and retail trade, government, and transportation, communi cation, and other public utilities also employed large numbers of clerical workers. Clerical jobs are to be found in the smallest o f towns—everywhere that business is carried on. However, the great concentration of employment is in the largest cities where the central offices of insurance companies, banks, and corporations are located or where large government offices are established. CLERICAL, SALES, AND SERVICE OCCUPATIONS Training and Other Qualifications Graduation from high school is the usual mini mum educational requirement for entering cleri cal jobs. Additional business courses or some college work may be required for jobs requiring specialized skill. The most widely sought office skills—stenography and typewriting—may be ob tained either through high school or business school courses. Ability to do some typewriting is an asset in qualifying for most types of cleri cal work. The operation of many kinds of office machines, such as adding machines, special book keeping machines, and billing machines, is often taught on the job. A good many large firms offer training courses in the use of equipment such as telephone switchboards, dictating machines, or electric typewriters, and a few firms finance busi ness school training for employees on company time if they agree to stay on for a stated period of employment. Many companies participate in work-study programs with local high schools; pupils who have been in such programs usually are given preference when seeking employment. Some employers give aptitude and other tests to applicants for office jobs. Reading comprehen sion, numerical skill, and good knowledge of spell ing and grammar are important in obtaining a job and essential to advancement. A good per sonality and ability to get along with others are rated high in qualifications necessary for success in office work. College graduates often enter clerical occupa tions to gain experience in a particular industry or business and later work up to professional or ad ministrative positions. Young people who enter with little education may never advance far and may leave for other types of jobs. However, com panies often prefer to hire people with only mini mum qualifications for clerical positions, since they are more likely to be satisfied with and remain on jobs of a routine nature than are persons with more advanced training. Promotion from a beginning clerical job may be first to a minor supervisory position and then to that of section head. Many preferred jobs—secre tary, information clerk, customer relations clerk, and others requiring a general knowledge of com pany policies and procedures—are frequently filled by promotion from the ranks of clerks and typists. Although seniority is an important consideration 201 in selecting clerks for promotion and transfer, emphasis is also placed on the individual’s ability and personal qualifications for the new job. Employment Outlook Large numbers of openings will occur each year in clerical occupations. Most of the employment opportunities will result from employee turnover, which is exceptionally high in this field. A 1955 survey of several hundred firms with office staffs ranging from fewer than 50 to more than 1,000 workers indicated an average annual turnover rate of 40 percent, about half of which resulted from young women leaving their jobs to marry or care for their children. In addition to the many jobs expected to become available because of continu ing high replacement rates, a number of new op portunities are likely to result from employment growth. The shortage of clerical workers— particularly of stenographers and secretaries— which had been evident in most cities for several years was still pronounced in 1956. Many business firms were hiring people who in previous years when more workers were available would have been consid ered unsuited for office work. These included persons in the older age groups, high-school-age youths, and handicapped workers; many were em ployed on a part-time basis. In general, employers were well pleased with these workers and are likely to continue to recruit from their ranks. The ex tensive use of older women is indicated by the rise in the median age of women office workers from 31 years in 1951 to 33 years in 1956. A rapid rise in the number of clerical workers and in the proportion these workers represent o f the total working force has been a marked fea ture in the growth of American industry over the years. In 1910, only 1 in 20 American workers was engaged in clerical work. By 1940, the pro portion of clerical workers had risen to 1 in 10 and, in 1950, it was 1 in 8 employed workers. In 1956, the proportion of clerical workers was a little higher than in 1950. The remarkable increase in employment of cleri cal workers has taken place despite—sometimes even because of—the introduction of new laborsaving equipment and more efficient management methods. For example, the dial telephone, far from slowing down the growth in the number o f 202 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK telephone operators, stimulated the use of tele phone services and increased the demand for tele phone operators, so that their numbers rose faster between 1940 and 1950 than the number of cleri cal workers as a group. Similarly, the introduc tion o f electric typewriters, duplicating equip ment, machines to take dictation, and other im provements in methods of writing and copying letters and reports failed to halt the rise in em ployment of secretaries, stenographers, and typists whose number rose by 50 percent between 1940 and 1950. Only in a few small clerical occupa tions, such as bill collector, messenger, and tele graph operator, was there a decline in numbers during this decade. Underlying this growth has been the tremen dous increase in the size and complexity of busi ness organizations, which has added greatly to the volume of recordkeeping and communication required. Centralized management services have been established to aid in the control and coordi nation of these enlarged organizations, and this has brought about expansion in such areas as advertising, research, accounting, personnel ad ministration, insurance, and employee benefits. These activities have added vastly to the amount o f paperwork involved in business management. A t the same time, the greater volume o f tax and other reports to government agencies further in creased the amount of office work required of in dustry, and has also greatly increased clerical work in government offices. In the near future and over the long run, cleri cal employment is likely to continue to rise owing to the same factors that have brought about pre vious increases. However, industry has begun to make a determined attack on the problem o f clerical costs and is introducing new equipment designed to handle a rising volume of work without a corresponding increase in the number of clerks required. A few large insurance companies, banks, and industrial firms had already installed electronic data processing equipment by 1956 and thereby reduced their need for clerks in many routine operations. Although these machines have created a number of new jobs, many of which require considerable skill and are relatively well paid, their net effect is a reduction in the number o f clerical workers needed to perform a given vol ume of work. However, electronic data process ing machines are expensive and complicated and it will doubtless take a number o f years before they are widely used, even in the very large or ganizations able to buy and effectively use them. It is probable that a more important factor af fecting employment of clerical personnel will be the more widespread use in small firms o f the less expensive types of office equipment, such as im proved bookkeeping machines, calculators, add ing machines, and photographic and other dupli cating equipment. Whereas the use of these ma chines increases the employment of certain types of office personnel (mainly office-machine opera tors), their net effect is the accomplishment of more work with fewer people. Taking into account the basic growth factors in the clerical field and the efforts of business to reduce clerical costs by the use of more automatic equipment and other means, it appears likely that employment in clerical occupations will continue to increase, but at a slower pace than during the past several decades. There is already some evi dence of a slowing down. I f the number of cleri cal workers had continued to rise as rapidly after 1950 as it did in the previous decade, the total number of clerical workers in 1956 would have been nearly 10 million, compared with an actual total of somewhat less than 9 million. Further more, the rise in the number of clerical workers has been due in part to increased employment o f part-time workers. For example, between Octo ber 1955 and October 1956, more than three-fourths o f the increase in total employment was accounted for by part-time workers. Employment opportunities in the clerical field may be greatly affected by changes in the level o f business activity. There are usually plenty of people in the labor force with the qualifications needed for most office jobs. However, the com paratively low salaries offered limit the number o f applicants when other jobs are available. On the other hand, when business activity declines keen competition is likely to develop, since the supply of workers available for clerical employ ment is increased by displaced workers from many other occupations. Earnings and W orking Conditions The most common hiring-rate range for in experienced clerical workers, including typists, was from $40 to $42.50 a week in the winter of CLERICAL, SALES, AND SERVICE OCCUPATIONS 1955-56, according to a survey of earnings in 17 labor market areas by the U. S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. The highest paid ofiiceworkers were men classified as account ing clerks (class A ) whose average weekly salaries ranged from $75 to $95.50 a week. Among women office workers, secretaries were generally the high T able Area est paid, with salaries ranging from an average of $61.50 in Providence, R. I., to $81 in Detroit, Mich. Accounting clerks (class A ) usually were the second highest paid among women officeworkers. Average salaries of women in the major o f fice occupations in the 17 labor market areas surveyed are shown in table 1. 1 . — Average weekly salaries for women in 14 office occupations Book Book keeping keeping Clerks, Clerks, Clerks, ma ma ac ac file, chine chine count count opera opera class B ing, ing, tors, tors, class A class B class A class B Northeast: Newark-Jersey C i t y . . __________ $62.00 ................ . 66.00 Philadelphia . . . . _________________ 61.00 56.00 Providence_______________________ South: Atlanta __________________________ 60.00 62. 50 Dallas_____________ _____ _________ M em phis ___________________ 60.00 New Orleans....... ............... ___ 58.00 M iddle W est: 73.50 Chicago_____ ___________ _____ 73.00 Detroit __ ______ __ ____ __ _ M ilw aukee. __ . _ __________ 66.00 62.00 Minneapolis-St. Paul 61.50 St. Louis____________________ ____ Far W est: 65.50 D e n v e r .______________ _________ Los Angeles-Long Beach......... .. 75.00 69. 50 Portland _ ___________ San Francisco-Oakland__________ 74.00 203 Clerks, payroll Com p tome ter opera tors K ey punch opera tors , 17 areas, winter 1 9 5 5 -5 6 Office girls $63.50 $58.50 $45.00 57.50 63.50 New York 46.00 City 54.50 41.00 54.00 51.00 49.00 42.00 Switch Secre Stenog board Typ taries raphers, opera ists, general tors class A Typ ists, class B $75.50 78.50 70.50 61.50 $61.50 63.00 56.50 51.50 $59.50 62.00 55.00 50.50 $58.50 61.50 54.00 50. 50 $51.00 53.50 46.00 45.00 44.50 41.00 42.50 36.50 71.00 70.00 62.50 67.50 59.50 60.50 54. 00 54.50 48.00 48. 50 41.50 42.00 53.50 54.00 54.00 49.50 47.00 46. 50 43. 50 42.00 63.50 64.50 55.00 50.50 57.00 51.50 49.50 43.50 41.50 47.00 78.50 81.00 74.50 68.50 73.00 66.50 69.50 58.50 56. 50 59.00 62.50 63.00 53.00 55.00 55.50 65.00 67.00 58.00 54.00 58.50 55. 50 53. 50 48.50 47. 50 49. 50 56.50 67.50 62.00 63.00 43.00 52.00 45.50 52.00 70.50 79.50 75.00 79.00 59.50 68.00 63.00 68.50 50.50 63.00 53.50 63.00 55.50 64.00 60.00 62.00 48. 50 55.00 51.00 54.00 $54.00 59.00 49.00 49.50 $71.50 73.50 64.00 58.50 $58.50 58.50 52.00 49.50 $47.50 49.00 41.00 42.50 $63.50 68.00 58.50 52.50 54.50 51. 50 51.00 46.50 68.00 64.50 64.00 68.00 53.50 54.00 51.00 50.50 44.50 40.50 42. 50 41.50 58.50 58.50 56.50 54.00 57.00 56.50 51.50 51.00 53.50 52.50 53.00 52.00 62.00 58. 50 54.50 52.00 53.00 76.00 78.00 69.50 66. 50 70.00 61.00 60.50 56.00 52.00 54.00 51.00 48.50 46.50 44.00 45.50 68.50 70.50 59.50 59.00 60.50 65.50 67.00 55.50 57.00 58.00 51.50 57.00 55.50 58. 50 63.50 76.00 74.00 75.00 55.00 64.00 60. 50 62.00 45.50 52.00 48.00 50.00 59.00 72.50 64.00 71.00 54.00 68. 50 61.00 65.00 Source: U . S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Ofiiceworkers in Detroit and in the Los A n geles-Long Beach area received the highest aver age salaries, about 6 percent more than the sala ries paid in New York City. New Orleans officeworkers received the lowest salaries, on the aver age— about 20 percent less than those in New York City. Pay levels for office workers tend to be higher in manufacturing than in most nonmanufacturing industries. However, salaries in public utilities frequently exceed those in manufacturing estab lishments. The most usual work schedule for full-time officeworkers in the cities surveyed was a 5-day week of 40 hours. About two-thirds of the women office workers in finance, insurance, and real estate o f fices worked less than 40 hours a week. In New York City, where a high proportion of all clerical workers are employed in such offices, 7 out of 8 women ofiiceworkers had a workweek of less than 40 hours—most typically 35 hours. Ofiiceworkers usually receive at least 6 paid holidays a year and 2 weeks’ paid vacation after a year’s employment. Related benefits usually in clude life insurance, hospitalization and surgical insurance, pay continuation in case of accident or illness, and some type of retirement pension plan. W h ere To Go for More Information Information on clerical workers in different fields of employment is given in the chapters on various industries—especially those on the bank ing, insurance, and telephone industries— and in the chapter on Government Occupations. (See index.) Information on training is available from : U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Education, Guidance and Student Personnel Section, Washington 25, D. C. United Business Education Association, (A depart ment of the National Education Association) 1201 16th S t, N W , Washington 6, D. C. Information on private business schools may be obtained from : National Association and Council of Business Schools, 601 13th St., N W ., Washington 5, D. C. 204 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Bookkeepers CD. O. T. 1 -0 1 .0 2 , 1 -0 1 .0 3 ; 1 -0 2 .0 1 , .0 2 , .03) Nature o f W ork Jobs in bookkeeping range from entry positions as clerk or machine operator to the highly respon sible post of head bookkeeper. Bookkeeping clerks perform routine tasks such as recording and post ing items by hand; in small businesses, they may also perform related duties such as typing, filing, answering the telephone, and mailing statements. Bookkeeping-machine operators may use relatively simple machines to record only one type of data or may operate complicated machines that record a great variety of information. General bookkeep ers, who are employed chiefly in small establish ments, keep complete and systematic records of their employers’ business transactions, recording items in journals and on special forms, posting ledgers, balancing books, and compiling reports. In large establishments which employ many office workers, a bookkeeper may have charge of one section of the records, such as accounts payable or accounts receivable. The head bookkeeper in a large office has responsibility for all aspects of his department’s work. W h ere Employed About 800,000 workers were employed as book keepers in 1956; more than three-fourths of them were women. Well over one-third of all bookkeep ers are employed by wholesale and retail trade establishments, one-fifth by manufacturing firms, and about one-sixth by finance, insurance, and real estate firms. Substantial numbers are employed also by public utility firms, business and profes sional services, and construction companies. Training and Other Qualifications Most employers require applicants to be gradu ates o f high schools, business or vocational schools or, in some instances, o f junior colleges. A busi ness course which includes training in many office functions such as typing, shorthand, and the use o f adding and other office machines, as well as busi ness arithmetic and bookkeeping procedures, will usually be especially helpful in obtaining a book keeping job, particularly in a small office. An increasing number o f large companies offer some on-the-job training or participate in cooperative programs, under which high school students ob tain school credit for part-time work. Experience of this kind is of considerable advantage in obtain ing full-time employment after graduation. P o sitions as head bookkeepers usually require either education in accounting or extensive experience. Employment Outlook Many employment opportunities for book keepers are expected during the remainder of the 1950’s and the early 1960’s. In this large occupa tion with its high proportion of women, the rate o f turnover is very great. There is constant de mand for new employees to replace young women who leave after a few years of employment to take care o f their families. In addition, a moderate number of new jobs will become available as the field continues to expand. However, the trend toward breaking down bookkeeping functions into office-machine operator and other routine clerical jobs is likely to continue, and the vast majority of openings will be in such jobs. Employment op portunities for bookkeepers who are required to assume responsibility for a complete set of books will probably continue to be good, although such jobs will be relatively few in number and will generally be filled by promotion from within or by persons with accounting training or experience. The great majority of openings for hand book keepers will be in relatively small offices. Over the long run, the growth in the number o f bookkeepers is likely to be slowed down markedly because of the increasing use of office machines. The more extensive use o f bookkeeping machines and related equipment in small firms and the further introduction of electronic computers in very large offices wfill make possible a very great increase in the amount of work performed, with little if any increase in the number of bookkeepers. Nevertheless, some new jobs for bookkeepers will rise each year because of such factors as the grow ing emphasis on scientific management in industry, increasingly complex tax systems, and the general growth of the economy. (See also statement on accounts, page 159.) (Information on Earnings and Where To Go for More Information is given in the introduction to this chapter.) CLERICAL, SALES, AND SERVICE OCCUPATIONS 205 Secretaries, Stenographers, and Typists* (D. O. T. 1 -3 3 ; 1 -3 7 .1 2 , .1 4 , .1 8 , and .32) Nature of W ork More women are employed as secretaries, ste nographers, and typists than in any other field of work. Over 1y2 million persons, of whom 95 per cent were women, were engaged in this work in 1950, and since then the number has increased considerably. Typists spend a major portion of their time in typing copies o f printed or written materials. This work may range from simple copying to the typing o f complex tables and manuscripts. In addition, many typists perform such other clerical duties as filing, recording information in longhand, sorting mail, and operating calculators, tabulators, and duplicating and other office machines. Stenographers, besides typing, take dictation in shorthand; a small number use a stenotype ma chine. A few stenographers become specialists in foreign languages, legal or police work, or public or court stenography. Court reporters must be able to record accurately difficult technical lan guage at high rates of speed for several hours at a time. Secretaries also have stenographic duties, but, in addition, they usually handle many business de tails for their employers on their own initiative, such as acknowledging correspondence, scheduling appointments and meetings, and obtaining infor mation. Some secretaries specialize in legal, medi cal, private, social, or other types of secretarial work. Many secretaries and stenographers also use voice recorders from which they transcribe dictation. W h ere Employed Typists, stenographers, and secretaries are em ployed by practically every kind of business in the United States, as well as by government, religious and social organizations, and other nonprofit groups. In 1950, in the United States as a whole, almost 8 out of 10 of these workers were private wage and salary workers; nearly 2 out of 10 were in government jobs; and the remainder were selfemployed or unpaid family workers. Though ^Prepared by the W o m e n ’ s B ureau , U . S. D ep artm en t o f L abor. typists, stenographers, and secretaries are em ployed in urban centers throughout the country, in 1950, approximately 6 out of 10 such workers were located in the Northeast and North Central regions. Training and Other Qualifications Typists must have training not only in typing but also in spelling, vocabulary, punctuation, grammar, and correspondence procedures. Secre taries and stenographers must have, in addition to the typist’s skills, the ability to take dictation quickly and accurately. The following table shows some generally acceptable average workingspeeds : Class of worker Words per minute Dictation Beginning stenographer___ 8 0 -1 0 0 _______ Senior stenographer 100-140 _ Court reporter 150 or more__ General or clerk typist Technical typist Dictating machine typist _ Tran scription 2 5 -3 5 3 5 -4 0 55 -6 5 Typing 4 0 -5 0 5 0 -6 0 70 -8 0 4 0 -5 5 50 -6 5 4 5 -6 5 Completion of a business course in high school, junior college, or business school often satisfies the basic requirements for entrance into this field. For the better paid positions, particularly those classified as secretarial, additional training in busi ness subjects and on-the-job experience are usually necessary. The ability to use office machines, such as voice recorders, calculators, or tabulators, is helpful for many jobs. Many positions require a knowledge of the terminology of a particular field, such as law, medicine, or engineering, or the abil ity to use a foreign language. Persons working as secretaries, stenographers, and typists have good possibilities for advance ment to higher level positions. A typist with training and ability in shorthand may advance to a stenographic job. A typist may also become an expert operator of one or more office machines that require special skill. Stenographers may advance to positions as secretaries, administrative assist ants, office supervisors, or operators of one or more 206 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK special office machines. A secretary can become an executive secretary or an administrative assistant, or fill other advanced positions requiring the em ployee’s specialized knowledge of the particular industry or business. Frequently, advancement for typists, stenographers, and secretaries comes in the form of greater responsibilities and higher salaries without any change in job title. Further more, some of today’s successful business people started their careers as stenographers or typists and advanced to highly responsible positions after extensive experience in a particular type of business. Employment Outlook High school graduates with typing skills were in great demand in most areas of the United States in 1956. Competition was keen for the services of stenographers in most metropolitan areas. Openings for secretaries, however, have generally been fewer in number than openings for typists and stenographers. Since many secretarial posi tions are filled by promotion from stenographic and typing positions within the same organiza tion, the number of such vacancies that reach the open market is somewhat restricted. A shortage of competent secretaries, stenogra phers, and typists has existed in many areas since W orld War II. The continued high level of eco nomic activity has necessitated expansion in this field of work, as in others. In addition, numerous job openings are created because many young women leave the labor market to assume family responsibilities. In the long run, employment will continue to rise because of continued expansion of private business and government activities. Since turn over rates will probably remain high among the young women in the field, there will be many job opportunities. Stenographers and secretaries will probably continue to have a wider choice of jobs than persons with only typing skills. Stenographic and typing positions generally offer steady employment. Unless there is a major decline in economic activity, these workers are usually assured o f jobs. Earnings and W orking Conditions Earnings o f secretaries, stenographers, and typists are greatly influenced by the location of the job, the size and type of the business, the responsibility or skill level required, and the length o f the workweek. Average weekly salaries o f women secretaries, stenographers, and typists, ac cording to a 1955-56 survey by the Bureau o f Labor Statistics of office workers in 18 metropoli tan areas, are shown in the following table: Stenographer Metropolitan area Typist Secre tary General Tech nical Class A Class B Atlanta, Ga _______ $71. 00 $59. 50 $53. 50 $47. Chicago, 111__________ 78. 50 66. 50 $73. 00 65. 00 55. Dallas, Tex __ 70. 00 60. 50 54. 00 46. Denver, Colo________ 70. 50 59. 50 66. 00 55. 50 48. Detroit, Mich_______ 81. 00 69. 50 81. 00 67. 00 53. Lawrence, Mass 67. 00 54. 50 43. Los Angeles, Calif___ 79. 50 68. 00 79. 50 64. 00 55. Memphis, Tenn 62. 50 54. 00 54. 00 43. Milwaukee, Wis 74. 50 58. 50 58. 00 48. Minn eapolis-St. Paul, Minn 68. 50 56. 50 54. 00 47. New Orleans, L a ____ 67. 50 54. 50 49. 50 42. New York, N. Y ____ 78. 50 63. 00 72. 50 61. 50 53. Newark-Jersey City, N . J_______________ 75. 50 61. 50 66. 00 58. 50 51. Philadelphia, Pa_____ 70. 50 56. 50 66. 50 54. 00 46. Portland, Oreg 75. 00 63. 00 60. 00 51. Providence, R . I ____ 61. 50 51. 50 59. 50 50. 50 45. San Francisco, Calif_ 79. 00 68. 50 62. 00 54. St. Louis, M o ___ 73. 00 59. 00 64. 00 58. 50 49. 00 50 50 50 50 00 00 50 50 50 00 50 00 00 00 00 00 50 In the Federal Civil Service in 1956, typists could secure jobs with annual starting salaries o f $2,960 or $3,175, depending upon the difficulty o f the job. For stenographers, annual starting salaries were $2,960, $3,175, and $3,415, again depending upon the difficulty of the assignment. A workweek of less than 40 hours is customary in many offices. In 17 of the 18 metropolitan areas covered by the 1955-56 survey, secretaries, stenographers, and typists worked an average of 38 to 40 hours a week; in one area, the average was 36 hours. Two weeks’ paid vacation each year, after the first year of service, is usual in private industry. Some firms provide 1 week of paid vacation during the first year of employment and many firms pro vide 3 weeks of paid vacation after 15 years of service. Office workers also receive a number of holi days with pay. National holidays are usually CLERICAL, SALES, AND SERVICE OCCUPATIONS granted, and some workers are given State and local holidays. A substantial number of employers provide group insurance for their office work force. In some instances, the premium cost is paid by the employer; in some, the cost is shared by employee and employer; and in others, the entire premium is paid by the employee. Insurance coverage may be sickness and accident, hospitalization, life, or a combination of these. Retirement or pension plans are also becoming more common in private industry. In 1956, from 50 to 84 percent of all office workers in the 18 major metropolitan areas studied were employed in firms with retirement or pension plans. Sales O Sales workers are the link between producers of goods or services and the people who use them. The things they sell include all items produced by American business—houses, airplanes, sheet steel, industrial machinery, gasoline, clothing, food, insurance, stocks and bonds, needles, and pins, to cite a few illustrations from a virtually endless list. Their customers include not only housewives and other individual consumers but also government agencies and business enterprises of all kinds. Among the many different types of sales work ers are manufacturers’ sales representatives who sell to wholesalers, other manufacturers, and re tail stores; wholesale salesmen, who sell to retail stores; insurance agents and real estate salesmen, who sell both to business organizations and to in dividuals; newsboys, including those delivering papers to homes; and salesmen and saleswomen employed by retail businesses such as food, de partment and apparel stores, service stations, and automobile agencies. (See chart 82.) A lto gether, more than 4 million workers were em ployed in sales occupations in 1956. Nature of W ork and Training Because of the wide variety of products sold and the many different classes of consumers that buy them, sales jobs differ greatly as to duties, knowledge and level of education required, and personal characteristics needed. There is, like wise, a very great range in earnings among the different types of sales positions. 207 W here To Go for M ore Information Information may be secured from : The National Secretaries Association, 222 W est 11th St., Kansas City 8, Mo. Office Employees’ International Union, 1012 14th St., N W ., Washington 5, D. C. Training information is available from: United Business Education Association (a depart ment of the National Education Association), 1 2 0116th St., N W ., Washington 6, D. C. Information about private business schools may be obtained from : National Association and Council of Business Schools, 601 13th St., N W ., Washington 5, D. C. pations Sales clerks in retail trade are by far the largest group of sales workers, representing more than 60 percent of the total number in 1950. Some sales persons in stores— for example, those selling fur niture or major electrical appliances—must know a great deal about the merchandise they sell. However, most sales clerks merely display mer chandise, assist the customer in making a selec tion, and receive payment or make out a charge slip. In some branches of retail trade, such as five and ten cent stores, persons without high school diplomas find opportunities as sales clerks. However, high school graduation is now being required to an increasing degree for the better selling jobs in department and many other types of stores. (See chapter on Department Store Occupations.) Salesmen working for manufacturers or whole salers must usually have a thorough knowledge o f the products they sell and know how each product can meet the needs of their customers. In many jobs, especially in the manufacturing field, tech nically trained men such as engineers, chemists, and pharmacists are required. Training courses in sales techniques are given new salesmen by most large companies, and courses in salesmanship arc offered by many universities. In addition, at least several years of experience are usually re quired to become fully established as a salesman in this area of work. Many of these salesmen must travel extensively and be away from home much of the time. Most work on a commission basis, rather than on straight salary, and conse- 208 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK CHART 32 M A JO R S A L E S O C C U P A T IO N S Employment, 1950 O SE LE C TE D TYPES OF SALES PERSO NNEL: r 100 — i— 200 Thousands of Workers 300 400 500 600 — i— 700 ~ I Insurance Agents and Brokers Real Estate Agents and Brokers Newsboys SALES PERSO NN EL IN: Food Stores Department and General Merchandise Stores Wholesale Trade Manufacturing Apparel and Accessories Stores Motor Vehicles and Accessories Retailing Five and Ten Cent Stores Drug Stores Furniture and Housefurnishings Stores Hardware and Farm Implement Stores Household Appliance and Radio Stores / / / Lumber and Building Material Retailing 551 Shoe Stores ZB UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR bureau of la b o r s t a t is t ic s quently their earnings may vary considerably from month to month or from year to year, de pending on business conditions and other factors. Insurance agents and brokers must be able to pass a qualifying examination and obtain a State license before they can sell insurance of any type. Most States also require real estate agents and brokers to obtain a license. Both of these grow ing occupations require mature personnel with a high degree of selling ability. (See chapter on Insurance Occupations.) The job of newsboy is unique in sales work be cause it is the only occupation in the field which affords employment primarily for children. It is usually a part-time job conducted on a neighbor hood basis. More than half of the nearly 100,000 newsboys employed in 1950 were under 16 years o f age. Source: U.S. Bureau of th e Census The position of advertising salesman or agent is still another example of the many different types of jobs to be found in the sales field. Advertising salesmen are employed primarily by advertising agencies and publishing companies, but increasing numbers are employed as program-time salesmen for radio broadcasting and television companies. Although men predominate in the sales field— particularly in such areas as wholesale trade, manufacturing, insurance, and real estate—selling is becoming an increasingly important source o f employment for women. Within retail trade, more saleswomen than salesmen are employed in the following types of stores: five and ten cent, department and general merchandise, apparel and accessories (except shoes), drug, jewelry, and florist. On the other hand, men constitute a ma jority of the sales force in retail establishments CLERICAL, SALES, AND SERVICE selling automobiles, lumber, fuel, hardware, gaso line, household appliances and radios, furniture and housefurnishings, liquor, and shoes. Employment Outlook A rise in employment of sales personnel is antici pated over the long run, but the rate of growth is uncertain. Employment in sales occupations rose by a fourth between 1940 and 1950 and by 8 per cent between 1950 and 1956— about as fast as the rise in the labor force as a whole over the 16-year period. (See chart 33.) However, much of the CHART 33 EMPLOYMENT IN SALES OCCUPATIONS, 1946-56 M illions UNITED STATES DEP A RT M EN T OF LABOR BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. increase in employment during this period was the result of hiring more women part-time work ers—most of them for jobs in retail trade— and of a shortening of the standard workweek. The OCCUPATIONS 209 total number of man-hours worked by sales per sonnel undoubtedly increased much less than the number of sales workers employed. Employment also rose much more slowly than retail sales— since greater use of self-service techniques and other improvements in sales procedures and equip ment have enabled many stores to handle more business without a proportionate increase in their sales force. These factors will probably continue to limit the growth of retail sales employment in the fu ture. However, in view of the long-run upward trend in retail sales, some further gains in employ ment of sales personnel are likely, so long as the general level of economic activity remains high. Much of the growth will take place in expanding suburban communities, as new or branch stores of various types are opened to meet the needs of local areas. Employment is also expected to rise in the ex panding fields of insurance and real estate. In addition, young men with engineering and other technical training will continue to be in strong demand as salesmen for manufacturers and whole salers. The increasing complexity of much of the equipment sold to industry makes it necessary to use highly trained technical salesmen to aid cus tomers in learning to use equipment and to adapt it to their needs. In the future as in the past, most of the job openings for sales workers will occur as a result of turnover. Each year thousands of employ ment opportunities will arise— especially in retail trade— from the need to replace salesmen and saleswomen who transfer to other jobs or drop out of the labor market. Service Occupations About 7y2 million workers were employed in service occupations in 1956. Included in this total were domestic service workers in private house holds ; workers who provide protection to life and property, such as firemen and policemen; personal service workers, including barbers, beauticians, and practical nurses; and institutional service workers, such as janitors, waiters, cooks, and ele vator operators. (See chart 34.) Service occupations should not be confused with service industries. Service industries—which in 427675°— 57-------15 clude hotels, automobile repair shops, amusement enterprises, and advertising agencies—employ not only workers in service occupations but also many professional, clerical, and skilled workers, such as mechanics, copywriters, actors, and stenographers. On the other hand, many workers in service occu pations are employed outside the service indus tries; janitors in factories and porters on railroad trains are examples of service occupations found in manufacturing and in transportation industries. Many service occupations require considerable 210 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK CHART 34 MAJOR SERVICE OCCUPATIONS Employment, Except in Private Households, 1950 O 100 Thousands of Workers 200 300 400 500 600 700 Waiters and Waitresses Janitors and Sextons Cooks Guards, Watchmen,and Doorkeepers Attendants, Hospital and Other Institution Bartenders Barbers Policemen and Detectives Beauticians and Manicurists Porters Practical Nurses Charwomen and Cleaners Firemen, Fire Protection Housekeepers and Stewards Elevator Operators Counter and Fountain Workers Attendants, Recreation and Amusement UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR B U R E A U OF L A B O R ST A T IST IC S skill and training; others are comparatively un skilled. Protective service jobs in government agencies are, for the most part, filled on the basis o f competitive examinations. Candidates for such work may have to meet very rigid requirements, especially with respect to age, height, health, strength, and emotional stability. F B I agents are also required to be graduates of either law or accounting schools. Many personal service work ers need specialized vocational training; some, such as barbers and beauty operators, must usually obtain a license in order to qualify for regular em ployment. Chefs and cooks in restaurants must have either specialized training or considerable experience. On the other hand, such workers as kitchen helpers, maids, charwomen, and janitors need little, if any, training. Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census Employment Trends and Outlook Private household workers, numbering 2 million in 1956, are the largest group in the service field. However, the proportion which domestic workers represent of all service workers is declining. In 1940, domestic service workers made up about 40 percent of all service workers, whereas in 1950, they comprised approximately 25 percent. The number of domestic workers fell sharply during W orld War II, as is likely to happen whenever there is an acute shortage of labor. Since the war, the number of private household workers has risen again but not as fast as service employment in general. Employment in service occupations other than those in private households has risen sharply since 1940. Between 1940 and 1950, the number of service workers outside the home rose by more than CLERICAL, SALES, AND SERVICE OCCUPATIONS one-third— faster than the labor force as a whole. Employment of these workers has continued to rise more rapidly than the labor force, recording a gain of 18 percent between 1950 and 1956. (See chart 35.) The fastest growing service occupaCHART 35 EMPLOYMENT IN SERVICE O CCUPATIO N S, 1946 -56 (E x c e p t in P riv a te H o usehold s) Millions UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census tion for which Census data are available has been that of attendant in hospitals and other insti tutions—employment in this occupation more than doubled between 1940 and 1950. During this period, employment rose 50 percent or more in the following service occupations: bar tenders, cooks, charwomen and cleaners, practical nurses, and professional and personal service at tendants not elsewhere classified. The number of waiters and waitresses, including counter and fountain workers, increased 40 percent. Only two large service occupations declined in size between 1940 and 1950—the number of boarding- and lodging-house keepers declined 60 percent and em ployment o f barbers and beauticians dropped 8 percent. A substantial majority of the workers who entered service occupations during the 1940's were women; between 1940 and 1950, the pro portion of women in service occupations, except private household work, rose from 38 to 45 percent. Employment of service workers reflects the changing patterns of American living. Among the major reasons for the rise in service occupa tion employment, particularly outside private households, has been the urbanization of the popu lation; the remarkable increase in the number of people employed in manufacturing and other non 211 agricultural industries; and rising income levels. Between 1940 and 1955, nonfarm employment rose more than 50 percent—about twice as fast as the population. Much of this increase was accounted for by a substantial rise in the number and pro portion of working women in the labor force. These factors have greatly increased the need for services such as meal preparation and the care of the sick which, in former years, were provided to a much greater extent in the home. Between 1940 and 1950, half the rise in the total number of serv ice workers outside private households was ac counted for by greater employment in eating and drinking places and in hospitals and other health institutions. During this period, there was also an extremely sharp rise in the number of service workers in educational institutions, mainly to care for the many large, new consolidated schools and to provide meals for the many children who no longer brought lunches with them or went home at midday as was formerly the custom. The growth of cities has also helped to create a greater demand for protective service workers. The number of such workers—firemen, policemen, and detectives—rose more than 30 percent during the 1940’s, somewhat faster than the labor force as a whole, though much more slowly than many other service occupations. In the long run, employment in service occupa tions will probably continue to rise substantially. As in the recent past, most of this growth is ex pected outside private households. Nevertheless, some rise in employment of domestic workers is likely, in view of the increasing number and size of families and the rising number of working mothers with young children. However, most job openings for workers in all service occupations, both in and outside private households, will result from the need to replace the thousands of workers who annually leave their jobs. Turnover is high in these occupations for several reasons—the high proportion of Avomen, especially in private house hold work; the many temporary and part-time jobs; and the relatively Ioav rates of pay in un skilled and semiskilled occupations. These fac tors Avill no doubt continue to operate creating many thousands of job openings each year. Additional information on service Avorkers in several fields of employment is given in the chap ters on the Hotel and Restaurant industries and the statements on barbers, beauty operators, and practical nurses. (See index.) 212 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Barbers (D. O . T. 2 -3 2 .0 1 ) Nature o f W ork Barbers spend most o f their time cutting hair. They also provide customers with other personal services such as shaves, facial and scalp massages, shampoos, and hair singes. In addition, they sometimes sell hair tonics, shampoos, and related preparations, and give advice on care of the hair and scalp. Barbers must know the latest hair styles and be alert to follow customers’ instruc tions on the type of haircut they prefer. They must also try to finish each haircut in the way best suited to the shape of the customer’s head. A barber builds up a steady trade not only by giving good haircuts but also by putting customers at ease, giving them quick and courteous serv ice, and keeping a clean, attractive shop. In small shops, a barber may keep his own work area clean or take his turn sweeping the shop. Each bar ber is usually responsible for keeping his barbering tools sterilized and sharpened. Barbers who run their own shops have responsibilities common to many small businesses, such as ordering sup plies, paying bills, and hiring and managing em ployees. W h ere Employed More than 195,000 barbers were working in ap proximately 100,000 barbershops in 1950. A few thousand were employed in beauty shops and combined barber and beauty shops. The typical barbershop is a small (1- or 2-man) establish ment in which the shopowner himself does all or part of the work. However, shops employing sev eral barbers are to be found in large hotels and office buildings in downtown areas of cities and in a growing number of suburban shopping centers. A ll cities and towns and most villages have bar bershops. However, barbers are concentrated in large cities and in the most populous States. Training and Other Qualifications A license is required for both apprentice and master barbers in all States except Virginia. To obtain a license as an apprentice, the prospective barber must, in nearly all States, be a graduate o f a State-approved barber school, pass a written ex amination, and demonstrate his ability to perform barber services in a practical examination given by the State board of barber examiners. In addi tion, most States require entrants to be at least 16 or 18 years of age, to have completed the 8th grade, and to meet certain health requirements. After receiving a license, the trainee must wrork as an apprentice in a barbershop for a specified period (18 months in most States). After com pleting this apprenticeship and, in most States, passing a second set of written and practical ex aminations, the trainee may be licensed as a jour neyman (experienced) barber. Barbers who move to another State must usually take licensing examinations given by that State. More than 100 public vocational schools and private barber colleges offer barber training. Courses are usually 6 or 9 months in length and include 1,000 or more hours of training. The prospective barber mainly studies basic barber services—haircutting, shaving, massaging, and fa cial and scalp treatments— and, under supervision, practices these services on people. In addition to attending lectures on barber services and the use and care of barber tools, students take courses in anatomy, sanitation, and hygiene, including the recognition of skin diseases. Instruction is also offered in salesmanship and general business methods. Apprentice barbers may obtain their first jobs through employment services operated by the bar ber school they attended, through the barber’s union, or through personal contacts in their local communities. Experienced barbers may advance by opening their own shops, by becoming man agers of large shops, or by moving to shops which have more customers. Those who open their own shops must, of course, have the necessary capital to buy or rent quarters and equipment. The usual cost of equipping a 1-chair barbershop is roughly estimated at $1,500. However, costs d if fer greatly, since barbers can sometimes buy used equipment and fixtures at low prices or may de cide to pay above average prices in order to get the best equipment. Each barber usually buys his own scissors and other tools while in barber school, at a cost of about $50 to $65. CLERICAL, SALES, AND SERVICE Employment Outlook Several thousand openings for barbers are ex pected each year during the late 1950's. Most openings will arise from the need to replace barbers who retire, die, or transfer to other fields of work. The death and retirement rate among barbers is high since they are an older group than workers in many other occupations; in 1950, half of all bar bers were over 48 years of age and about a fifth were 60 or older. In addition, some experienced barbers, as well as many apprentices, have been attracted to other types of jobs—which have been relatively easy to obtain under the favorable eco nomic conditions prevailing in recent years. The need for replacements will probably continue to create many openings for apprentice barbers dur ing the rest of the 1950 decade. Total employment in barbershops has been de clining over the past 20 years. Among the factors contributing to the decline in number of barbers employed are the extensive use of mechanical and electrical razors which enable men to shave them selves easily, the raising of training requirements for new entrants to barbering, and the fuller use of the time of the barbers who have remained in the trade. The decline in employment has become slower during recent years, but the number of young men in the occupation has decreased; the median (average) age of barbers rose from 44 years in 1940 to 48 years in 1950. The ease with which young men, as well as experienced barbers, can obtain other jobs may lead to a further drop in the number of barbers in the late 1950’s pro vided that the level of overall employment remains high. Such a drop in numbers of barbers would result in steadier work and more business for barbers remaining in the field, since the growth in population is constantly tending to increase the total demand for haircutting services. On the other hand, if an economic downturn should occur, thousands of barbers at work in other occupations might reenter barbering. This would create keener competition for barber jobs and curtail opportunities for newcomers to enter the field. Over the long run, the growth of population will undoubtedly bring about an upturn in the total number of barbers needed. The small (1or 2-man) barbershop will probably remain the most common type of establishment: however, the continuing shift of population to suburban com OCCUPATIONS 213 munities should result in more opportunities to open large shops in these areas and in a need for larger staffs in shops already established there. Earnings and W orking Conditions Barbers earned, on the average, between $3,000 and $4,000 in 1956. However, some barbers in the most desirable locations earned more than $5,000. These figures include tips, which often are an important part of barbers’ earnings. Bar bers tend to increase their earnings as they acquire a personal following. Those who own shops or are managers of large shops have the highest earn ings. Most barbers not in business for themselves are paid on a commission basis—usually 60 to 70 percent of the money they take in—or receive sal aries plus commission. However, some are paid straight salaries. A barber’s income depends in part on the location of the shop, since the income level and tipping customs of the community, the competition from other barbershops, and the prices which can be charged all affect earnings. Haircut prices, for example, range from less than $1 in some communities to $2 in others. Earn ings, of course, depend also on the barber’s skill and personality, which help build up a personal following. Barbers often have a longer workweek than employees in many other occupations—usually 45 to 50 hours or more. Most shops are open 6 days a week, but nowadays more and more bar bers are working only 5 or 5y2 days. General good health and stamina are important for barbers, since they must stand on their feet for long periods and, much of the time, work with both hands above shoulder level. Although barbers often are continuously occupied during peak periods, there is frequently slack time which they usually use to take care of their tools or at tend to personal matters. One-week vacations are common; some employees receive 2-week va cations. Some union contracts provide insur ance and medical benefits. The principal union which organizes barbers— both employed barbers and barbershop owners— is the Journeymen Barbers, Hairdressers, Cosme tologists, and Proprietors’ International Union of America. Barbershop owners or managers may also belong to the Associated Master Barbers and Beauticians of America. 214 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Where To Go for More Information Journeymen Barbers, Hairdressers, Cosmetologists, Information on State licensing requirements may be obtained from the State board of barber examiners at each State capital. General information on the occupation of bar bers may be obtained from : 12th and Delaware Sts., Indianapolis 7, Ind. and Proprietors’ International Union of America. National Educational Council, Associated Master Barbers and Beauticians of America, 537 South Dearborn St., Chicago 5, 111. Beauty Operators* (D. O. T. 2—3 2 .1 1 through .3 1 ) Nature of Work The great majority of workers in beauty shops are all-round operators who provide their cus tomers a variety of services, largely related to the care of the hair. They cut, style, shampoo, curl, bleach, dye, or tint the hair. In addition, they give facial and scalp treatments, remove superfluous hair, arch and tint eyebrows, and give manicures. In large shops, operators may specialize in one phase of the work, as, for example, hair styling, hair dyeing, permanent waving, manicuring, or electrology. Where Employed Beauticians work in all parts of the country, in both large and small communities. The majority are employed in small establishments employing 1 to 3 beauty operators in addition to the owneroperator, or are self-employed. Some large shops may employ 25 or more all-round operators and a number of specialists. According to a trade report, more than 110,000 commercial beauty shops were operating in 1955. In addition to operators who work in these shops, some operators are employed at Government bases in foreign countries, on cruise ships, and in hos pitals and other institutions. The proportion of men among beauty operators is relatively small; available reports from some local areas indicate a ratio of about 2 percent. The men are for the most part in management jobs or in specialized occupations, such as hair styling. Training and Other Qualifications A beauty operator is required to obtain a license from the State cosmetology board in all States *Prepared by the Women’s Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor. A beauty operator putting finishing touches on customer’s hair. except Delaware and Virginia. The license is granted upon payment of a small fee (usually $5 to $10), after the applicant successfully passes an examination in both theory and practice of cos metology. In order to take the examination, the applicant must satisfy certain requirements in cluding usually a minimum age of 16 to 18 years, a health certificate, and completion of a cosmetol ogy course in an approved private beauty school or a public vocational school. In a few States, the boards require that a beauty-school graduate gain experience in a commercial beauty shop under a special arrangement as a “junior operator” before taking the examination. Courses in the more than 900 private schools reported in 1955 usually consist of from 1,000 to 1,500 clock hours of combined classroom work and practice in beauty service. In the majority of these schools, students could complete the courses in from 6 to 9 months. Cosmetology programs in public vocational schools are usually given in CLERICAL, SALES, AND SERVICE connection with other high school courses leading to a vocational high school diploma. Thus, be sides learning the skills of the occupation, students generally take academic subjects offered in the 4-year, high school curriculum. Apprenticeship training in a beauty shop is ac cepted as qualifying the applicant for the exami nation by about half the State boards. The pe riod of apprenticeship is usually longer than the term in a private school and requires, in addition to instruction on the job by an approved operator, certain study courses in subjects related to the work. The first job may be one of assisting an experi enced beautician. After 3 months to a year on the job, the beginning operator may become an all round operator performing a variety of opera tions. Later, the operator may specialize in one particular type of work (for example, as hair stylist, hair dyer, facial or scalp specialist, or per manent waver) or become a manager in a large shop. Those with adequate capital may set up their own shops, working alone or employing other beauticians. A trained and experienced operator may also find work as a teacher in a beauty school, as a representative for a manufacturer of cos metics or beauty-shop equipment, as an electrologist, or as an inspector for a State licensing board. For some of these specialized positions, additional training may be needed, since many State boards require teachers, shop managers, and electrologists to obtain special license. Further more, many States set higher age, education, and experience requirements for the teaching license. To be a success, the beauty operator should be able to establish friendly relationships with peo ple. Dexterity is necessary in handling the hair; and a sense o f form and artistry in cutting and styling is important, as are ability and willingness to understand instructions and customers’ wishes. In addition, the work requires a great deal of standing, except, of course, for persons who do manicuring only. OCCUPATIONS 215 expensive home-permanent wave kits helped women meet the shortage of beauty services which existed during and after World War II, it did not prevent further growth of the beauty service in dustry. The State Board Cosmetology Guide re ports that the number of beauty shops in the United States increased from 1950 to 1955 by al most 10,000. In 1950, the decennial census reported 190,000 women employed in beauty occupations. This in cluded beauticians, manicurists, and barbers, as well as managers and proprietors of beauty shops. The number of operator licenses reported by State cosmetology boards for 1955 for both men and women was more than 15,000 above 1950. In addition to jobs created by expansion, tens of thousands of job opportunities will be created annually by turnover in the beauty service field. This is a type of work in which a large number of young women are employed (almost one-third were under 30 years of age in 1950) and in which the turnover is high, because many leave to marry, raise families, or take other jobs. The expected outlook assumes a continuation of the present high level of economic conditions. Changes in economic conditions are apt to have a marked effect on beauty-shop employment. A l though women usually attach great importance to beauty services, they are likely to cut this expense if their income is reduced. There are reasonably good opportunities for employment in this field for mature and older per sons. In 1950, about one-fifth of the employed beauticians were 45 years of age or older. Op portunity for part-time work is another important feature of beauty-shop employment. Some opportunities also exist for handicapped persons. Manicuring can be done by persons un able to stand for long periods of time; and there are instances of blind persons who are experts in massage treatments and deaf persons who special ize in electrology. Employment Outlook Earnings and W orking Conditions Expansion in employment is expected to con tinue in this occupation because of the demands of the growing population and the tendency for an increasing proportion of women to patronize beauty shops. Although the introduction of in The majority of beauty operators, working in a shop for an employer, are paid a basic wage plus a commission. “ H alf of take beyond double,” the usual formula, means that twice the operator’s basic wage is subtracted from total fees paid by 216 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK the operator’s customers, and one-half of the bal ance is paid to the operator as commission. How ever, some operators may be paid only a salary or only a commission. Information from scattered sources indicates that, in 1955, a beginning beau tician was paid a basic wage ranging up to $50 a week, depending upon the type and location of shop. (A number of States have minimum-wage rates applicable to beauty operators.) By build ing up the number of customers, the earnings of the beautician can be increased substantially. Highly experienced operators may earn from $75 to $100 a week, and stylists and specialists in ex clusive shops as much as $150 or more a week, not including tips. Tips paid directly to the operator also increase earnings. In some shops, where cos metics are sold directly to customers, a small com mission (up to 10 percent) may be paid to the beautician who sells these products. Incomes of shop owners vary widely, from those o f the beautician with a small shop who works only part time to those of the owner of an exclu sive beauty salon in a large city. Most employed beauticians work from 40 to 48 hours a week, although shop owners frequently work longer hours. Hours may be irregular, however, frequently including evening and Satur day work. Some States have overtime-pay pro visions for hours beyond a specified minimum. Beauticians employed in establishments such as department stores usually participate in the em ployee-benefit plans of the organization, including sick and vacation leave and pensions. Some shops allow their employees at least a week of vacation with pay. Two unions for beauticians are active in the United States: the Journeymen Barbers, Hair dressers, Cosmetologists and Proprietors’ ^Inter national Union of America and the Barbers and Beauty Culturists Union of America, both affili ated with the A F L -C IO . W h ere To Go for More Information State boards of cosmetology can supply infor mation on licensing and other requirements. Local vocational schools and private beauty schools can provide information on how the stu dent can meet these requirements. A list of fed erally aided vocational schools that offer beauty courses is published by the U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Educa tion, Washington 25, D. C. The following pub lication includes detailed information about the beauty service field: Employment Opportunities for Women in Beauty Service. Women’s Bureau Bull. 260, 1956. Superin tendent of Documents, Washington 25, D. C. Price 25 cents. Practical Nurses and Auxiliary Nursing Workers* (D. O. T. Practical Nurse, 2 -3 8 .2 0 ; Nurse Aide, 2 -4 2 .2 0 ; Orderly, 2 -4 2 .1 0 ) Nature of W ork Practical nurses and auxiliary nursing workers, who perform specified nursing duties for the physically or mentally ill and help maintain a com fortable environment for them, have become in creasingly important members of the medical team over the past decade. Practical nurses, also known as licensed voca tional nurses or licensed nursing attendants, are primarily concerned with providing care and treatment to patients, under the supervision of physicians or professional nurses. As members of nursing teams in hospitals and health agencies, practical nurses perform many of the duties for merly carried by professional nurses, thus freeing professional nurses for those aspects of patient ♦P repared by the W o m e n ’ s B ureau , U . S. D ep artm en t of L a bor. care and treatment requiring more extensive formal training and specialization of skills than practical nurses have acquired. Duties of a prac tical nurse include observing and recording symp toms and reactions of patients; giving prescribed treatments and medications, and carrying out per sonal hygiene measures for the patient. Other duties, such as making beds, serving meals, or caring for hospital equipment, may also be per formed by practical nurses, although in many hos pitals these tasks are assigned to persons of lesser training, such as nursing aides, attendants, or ward maids. In private homes, practical nurses carry out the instructions of the attending physician or public health nurse, and they must exercise considerable judgment in recognizing nursing situations which are beyond their training and skill. Besides car- CLERICAL, SALES, AXD ing for the patient, practical nurses may be re sponsible for certain housekeeping duties in the home which are necessary to the patient's health and well-being. Practical nurses in doctors' o f fices assist physicians or professional nurses in the examination of patients, give simple medica tions or treatments, carry out routine laboratory tests, and perform some clerical duties. In indus trial establishments, the duties of practical nurses may vary from providing first aid and emergency care to employees at the place of business to homevisiting services. Auxiliary nursing workers, such as nursingaides, hospital attendants, ward maids, and or derlies differ from practical nurses in that their training is acquired on the job, and the more re sponsible duties of practical nurses are not as signed to them. Auxiliary workers are also re garded as members of nursing teams, sharing pa tient care to a limited extent, working under the supervision of professional or practical nurses. Auxiliary workers may be assigned such duties as feeding or bathing patients, keeping patients’ rooms in order, changing linens, answering calls, and performing other tasks to assure the patients’ comfort. In private households, auxiliary nursing workers may be known as mother’s helpers or visit ing housekeepers. W here Employed By far the largest number of practical nurses and auxiliary nursing workers are employed in hospitals and nursing homes. According to a 1955 survey of the American Hospital Association, hos pitals employed some 400.000, of whom 10 percent were practical nurses; 36 percent, hospital at tendants; 34 percent, nursing aides; 7 percent, ward maids; and 6 percent, orderlies. Small num bers of practical nurses and even smaller numbers of auxiliary nursing workers are employed in pub lic health agencies, industrial establishments, and doctors’ offices. Practical nurses take positions in private homes also. In 1950, according to the decennial census, there were some 70,000 private duty practical nurses. it is unlikely that a significant increase bas occurred in this total, since the more recently brained practical nurses tend to find work in hos pitals or other health agencies. Although nursing traditionally has been re garded as a woman’s occupation, large numbers of SERVICE OCCUPATIONS 217 men work in nursing services as orderlies, hos pital attendants, and psychiatric aides. Some men are also employed as practical nurses, as well as professional nurses. Training and Other Qualifications Before 1945, the majority of practical nurses were either self-trained or learned their skills through practice on the job. During the past dec ade, however, training requirements have become increasingly formalized, licensing procedures have been instituted by most States, and standards of performance on the job have been established. Today, most practical nurses receive formal train ing. Practical nurse training may be obtained in schools approved bv State boards of nursing in States which provide for licensing of practical nurses, or by State boards of vocational education, or by the National Association for Practical Nurse Education (N APN E) which offers a school ac crediting service. Some schools have the approval of more than one of these organizations. Approved schools are of two types: those oper ated by public-school systems, usually as a part of a State or local vocational school or adult educa tion program; and private schools controlled by hospitals, health agencies, educational institutions, or community organizations. The past two dec ades have seen a tremendous growth in the number of training facilities. In 1930, there were 11 ap proved schools. In 1956, there were 412 schools which admitted 15,500 new students. The usual period of training for practical nurs ing is 1 year, although there are variations among States, with courses ranging from approximately 9 to 18 months. About one-thircl of the course time in approved programs is spent in classroom work, and two-thirds is devoted to clinical experi ence in hospitals. A few extension and refresher courses are also available for practical nurses who wish to obtain additional training or who are pre paring to qualify for licenses. Tuition for practical nurse training runs up to approximately $200, but in some programs there is no charge for tuition. Vocational education programs under public-school systems may charge tuition for nonresidents only. There are, how ever, incidental expenses for books, equipment, or uniforms in all these programs. Tuition 218 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK scholarships, stipends, and allowances for room and board are available in a number of schools. To be accepted by approved training schools, candidates usually must be between 18 and 50 years of age, although occasionally persons as young as 17 years or between 55 and 60 years are ad mitted. Applicants over 25 years of age usually must be at least eighth grade graduates, and ap plicants under 25 years must have completed 2 years of high school. Limitations on admitting married and older women to training programs seldom apply in practical nursing. O f the 1954 graduates from public school programs, twothirds were or had been married; the average age of all 1954 graduates was 35 years. Applicants are generally required to take an aptitude test and to submit letters of personal reference. Personal interviews, evaluation of school records, and other selection devices are commonly used in practical nursing today. The licensing of practical nurses is a compara tively recent development, most of the legisla tion having been enacted since 1945. By 1955, however, all States except Colorado and West Virginia and the District of Columbia provided for the licensing of practical nurses. In most States, a license can be obtained by completing an approved training program and passing a State examination; by State endorsement of a license issued by another State having equal standards; or by a waiver issued for a limited time to experi enced, but not formally trained, women in States that have recently passed licensure laws. Auxiliary nursing workers usually receive their training in the hospitals and clinics in which they are employed. Training on the job varies among institutions, from a week to 3 months. Profes sional nurses may give classroom instructions and demonstrate techniques, and trainees may perform specified practice work. In other cases, training may be informal and consist of daily instructions for work assignments given by supervisors. There are few^ specified educational or experi ence requirements necessary for auxiliary nursing worker trainees. Unlike practical nurses, they are not licensed workers. They usually can qualify for jobs if they are at least 17 years of age and are physically able to perform the tasks required. However, an eighth grade education is often required. Employment Outlook A substantial shortage of both auxiliary nurs ing workers and licensed practical nurses, par ticularly of the latter, was evident in 1956. As a result, there were practically no barriers of age, sex, marital status, race, or religion to the employ ment of persons in good health who were educa tionally qualified for these occupations. Over the past 15 years, there has been a sharp upward trend in the number of practical nurses who have received formal training and who have been employed in hospitals. For example, between 1953 and 1954 the number of professional nurses in hospitals increased by 3.2 percent, but the num ber of practical nurses increased by 12.6 percent. Nevertheless, a shortage has existed because of expanding health services for an increasing popu lation and a rising demand for practical nurses to perform some of the duties formerly assigned to professional nurses. The demand for practical nurses and auxiliary nursing workers is expected to continue strong for the remainder of the 1950’s and well into the 1960’s. The success of using practical nurses and auxiliary nursing workers as members of nursing teams, working under the supervision of professional nurses or physicians, indicates that there will be an expanded use of these workers in most hospitals and health agencies. In particular, psychiatric aides, who have been trained to work with dis turbed patients in mental institutions, will be in great demand. All types of nursing workers who have received training for their jobs will have good employment opportunities throughout this period. Earnings Average salaries of women employed as practi cal nurses in hospitals ranged from $38 to $63 a week, according to a survey made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics during 1956 and 1957 in 14 metropolitan areas. Male practical nurses aver aged from $50.50 to $67.50 a week. Women nurs ing aides, whose duties were more routine than those of practical nurses, had average weekly salaries ranging from $29 to $59. Male nursing aides, who are usually called orderlies, had aver age salaries ranging from $36.50 to $62.50 a week. The following tabulation shows average weekly CLERICAL, SALES, AND SERVICE salaries for men and women practical nurses and nursing aides in each of the survey areas: Practical nurses Nursing aides City Atlanta Baltimore Boston Buffalo Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland Dallas Los Angeles-Long Beach Memphis Philadelphia Portland (Oreg.)____ San Francisco-Oakland St. Louis Women $29. 38. 44. 44. 47. 42. 40. 29. 00 00 50 50 00 00 50 50 52. 30. 35. 47. M en Women M en 50 50 50 00 50 50 00 50 $43. 47. 51. 49. 54. 52. 51. 40. 00 00 50 00 00 50 50 00 50 50 00 50 56. 00 50 00 00 00 66. 00 43. 00 55. 50 59. 41. 38. 53. 59. 00 36. 50 62. 50 47. 00 63. 00 44. 50 67. 50 58. 50 $38. 43. 50. 59. 58. 51. 48. 36. $65. 61. 52. 58. 58. 00 00 00 00 50 50. 50 63. 50 A regular 40-hour workweek was reported for the majority of practical nurses and nursing aides covered by the salary survey of hospital personnel. For a few, however, the workweek ranged as high as 48 hours. The large number of practical nurses not employed by hospitals— particularly those on private duty—had varying lengths of workweek, depending on the type of employer. OCCUPATIONS 219 Graduates of approved practical nursing schools or persons who have had equivalent training in hospitals, upon passing a written examination for civil service, were hired by the Federal Govern ment at $3,175 per year in 1956. Auxiliary nurs ing workers without prior training or experience, who qualified for employment by passing an apti tude test, were hired at $2,960. W here To Go for M ore Information Additional details about practical nurses and auxiliary nursing workers are given in a U. S. De partment of Labor’s Women's Bureau publica tion. The Outlook for Women as Practical Nurses and Auxiliary Workers on the Nursing Team, Bulletin No. 203-5. 66 pp. Washington, D. C., 1953. Price 40 cents. Information about these occupations may also be obtained from : National League for Nursing, Committee on Careers, 2 Park Ave., New York 16, N. Y. National Association for Practical Nurse Education, 654 Madison Ave., New York 21, N. Y. National Federation of Licensed Practical Nurses, Inc., 250 W est 57th St., New York 19, N. Y. Skilled Trades and O ther Industrial Occupations The trades and other industrial occupations— skilled, semiskilled, and unskilled—together pro vided jobs for nearly 4 out of 10 employed workers in the United States in 1956. The men and women in these jobs perform key functions in the econ omy. They help transform the ideas of the scien tists and the plans of the engineers into goods and services. They help operate transportation sys tems, communication facilities, and atomic instal lations. They build homes, office buildings, and factories. Many work in factories where they build, install, control, maintain, and repair the tremendous amout of machinery needed by a complex industrial society. Others repair auto mobiles, television sets, and washing machines. The efficient operation of the Armed Forces also depends on skilled workers in uniform as well as upon civilian craftsmen to produce weapons, ve hicles, ships, tanks, planes, and communications equipment. To young people who have mechanical or man ual interests and abilities, the trades and other industrial occupations offer the bulk of employ ment opportunities. Within this area, there is a wide range of occupations varying in skill and earnings from the unskilled laborer to the highly skilled tool and die maker. Although the jobs in the trades and industrial occupational groups can be classified into three categories— skilled, semiskilled, or unskilled— there is no clear-cut dividing line between the skill levels and, therefore, skill classifications must al ways be somewhat arbitrary. This is so because the nature of the work performed in these jobs often changes as new machines or methods are in troduced. Thus, some of the types of work for merly done by skilled craftsmen have been broken down into several simpler jobs, each requiring a much shorter period of training than was orig inally demanded of the craftsmen. These simpler jobs can be performed by workers who are usually classified in the semiskilled category but, in some cases, they still retain the title of a skilled worker. Similarly, job titles sometimes fail to reflect levels of skills. For example, the job title “ car penter” may designate workers at various skill 220 levels, ranging from those who are able to work from blueprints in fashioning a complicated struc ture to those who have little more skill than handy men, using only a saw and hammer. Also, workers classified as “ operatives” by the Census Bureau are generally considered to be semiskilled, but some might be considered skilled based on their train ing, functions, and earnings. During the past two centuries, the occupational structure of our economy has undergone a major but gradual transformation as a result of the wide spread introduction of machinery and mass-pro duction techniques. The emergence of the factory system of production, which emphasized the di vision of labor and specialization of function, changed our economy and resulted in the appear ance of many new skills and trades. New occu pations arose and others were drastically altered. The manufacturing industries, with their greater potential for division of labor, were particularly influential in these occupational changes. The groupings of kinds of labor into such categories as skilled, semiskilled, and unskilled was primarily a result of factory production. Trends in the last half century suggest that the principal effect of the steady advance of technol ogy, in the factories and on the building site, has been to reduce dramatically the proportion of un skilled workers in the work force. At the same time, the proportion of semiskilled workers in our labor force has increased significantly and the per centage of skilled workers has remained relatively stable. Today, many people believe we are on the thresh old of a new age of industrial progress which may affect the future occupational structure of the labor force. Rapid increases in the industrial ap plication of scientific knowledge and invention, particularly in the field of electronic controls and computers, are making possible the increasing “ automation” of work processes. Automation is a term which has been used increasingly in the past few years to describe this most recent phase of America’s industrial development. Although au tomation has been defined in many ways, it is gen erally agreed that, in our factories, it involves the SKILLED TRADES AND OTHER INDUSTRIAL OCCUPATIONS use of electronic, mechanical, hydraulic, pneu matic, or other devices to feed, control, handle, and adjust the machinery and equipment used in a pro duction process. Automatic technology to date has had limited application in industry generally and, therefore, it is still too early to know the full impact it may have on employment and occupational skills. Em ployment in skilled and semiskilled groups is ex pected to continue to increase during the next decade despite the anticipated increasing use of automation. It appears that the increasing appli cation of automation during the next decade will cause moderate changes in skill requirements among the trades and other industrial occupa tions. Except for the semiskilled group, these changes will broadly represent extensions of past trends in occupational employment that have re sulted from advancing technology. A moderate increase in the relative importance of skilled work ers is anticipated. The increasing amount of com plex and costly automatic machinery will require more highly skilled craftsmen to make, install, 221 operate, and maintain this machinery. The longterm decline in the relative importance of the un skilled is expected to continue as machine power is increasingly substituted for these workers. The semiskilled group, as a proportion of the work force, will be relatively stable. Semiskilled workers have been one of the fastest growing occu pational groups, but as simple, repetitive opera tions such as the feeding or manipulation of a machine are taken over by automatic devices, the growth of this group will be slowed. The reports on the trades and other industrial occupations which follow are grouped by industry or field of work, rather than by level of skill, since this is the most useful grouping for practical vo cational guidance. The occupations which are found in a wide variety of industries, or in indus tries for which an entire chapter has not been pre pared, are included in this section of the Hand book. The great majority of the trades and other industrial occupations, however, are described in the section, Some Major Industries and Their Occupations. Skilled Workers Our Nation's economic and military strength depends to a great extent on the initiative, compe tence, and skills of its craftsmen. The contribu tions of our physicists, engineers, chemists, and other professional workers to our national security and well-being are transformed into goods and services by a skilled, intelligent, and flexible work force. Skilled workers make the patterns, models, tools, dies, jigs, machines, and equipment without which industrial processes could not be carried out by semiskilled and unskilled workers. Skilled craftsmen repair the equipment used in industry as well as the mechanical equipment and appli ances used by consumers. They also construct our homes, buildings, and highways. Skilled workers require a thorough and com prehensive knowledge of the processes involved in their work. They exercise considerable inde pendent judgment and often have a high degree of manual dexterity. In some instances, they are responsible for valuable equipment or products. Workers in skilled occupations usually require an extensive period of training. Young people should consider seriously the greater advantages which the skilled trades offer compared with semiskilled or unskilled jobs. With training and experience in a craft, a man often has a wider choice of jobs. It is possible to shift to other jobs within an industry as well as to jobs in other industries. Such a worker is able to handle not only the skilled job in the plant but also, if necessary, one requiring less skill, and he is, therefore, more valuable to his employer than the person who can operate only one machine. In many plants, the skilled worker, who understands the whole process, is given preference in promo tion to a foreman’s job. Knowledge of a craft pays off in job security and usually in earnings as well. Skilled workers appeared to have steadier employment according to the 1950 Census, which showed that a larger percentage of these workers were employed 50 or more weeks in 1949 compared with either semiskilled or unskilled workers. Also, their average income in that year was nearly 20 percent higher than that of semiskilled workers and almost 60 percent more than that of unskilled laborers. The skilled occupations also provide op portunities for self-employment. The prospect o f becoming an independent contractor, for example, is an important incentive for some people to enter the skilled building trades. Many other crafts men open up their own small repair shops. 222 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK The key functions performed by craftsmen suggest why employment in the skilled occupa tions has grown from about 5 million skilled work ers and foremen in 1940, or about 1 out of 9 of our civilian working population, to about 8.7 million, or about 1 out of 7, in 1956. Continued growth in the number of skilled jobs is expected in the next decade. Many other job opportunities for young persons to become craftsmen each year will result from the need to replace skilled workers who die, retire, or transfer to other fields of work. Changing technology and economic conditions will affect job opportunities for skilled workers in many occupations and industries. As mechan ical equipment becomes more widely used, the large and growing mechanics and repairmen group of occupations should provide many thousands of job opportunities for auto mechanics, industrial ma chinery repairmen, maintenance electricians, diesel mechanics, business machine repairmen, and re frigeration and air-conditioning mechanics and re pairmen. In the building trades, substantial num bers of job openings for skilled workers are ex pected to occur as a result of the anticipated sharp rise in the level of construction activity. The major skilled machining occupations—tool and die maker, machinist, machine tool operator, set-up man, and layout man—should provide large num bers of job openings in many industries. Employ ment of skilled craftsmen in petroleum refining and in the chemical industry— particularly instru ment repairmen, pipefitters, electricians, and main tenance mechanics—is expected to grow at a faster rate than total employment in these highly auto mated industries. In the skilled printing trades, moderate growth of employment is anticipated. Employment of skilled workers in the automobile and aircraft industries is expected to increase numerically and percentagewise as a result of these industries’ increasing dependence on automatic operations; job opportunities will be particularly favorable for maintenance workers such as mill wrights, industrial machinery repairmen, and pipefitters. Skilled workers are employed in almost every industry, but the largest numbers are employed in manufacturing and construction. About 40 per cent of the craftsmen were in the manufacturing industries and 25 percent in the construction in dustry, according to the 1950 Census of Popula tion. O f all employed craftsmen, 84 percent were wage or salary workers for private employers, about 10 percent were self-employed, and about 6 percent were government workers. The build ing trades generally had a fairly large percentage of self-employed. Other individual occupations with large proportions of self-employed included automobile mechanics and shoemakers. As might be expected, employment of the skilled work force was concentrated in the more highly industralized States. Five States with more than half a mil lion craftsmen each—New York, Pennsylvania, California, Illinois, and Ohio—accounted for about 2 out of every 5 skilled workers. Job op portunities for skilled workers, however, are found in every State. More than half of the country’s skilled workers in 1950 were employed in 3 skilled occupational groupings—building trades, mechanics and repair men, and machining occupations. The Census also reported that more than half a million work ers were employed in each of 3 skilled occupa tions— carpenters, automobile mechanics and re pairmen, and machinists; in addition, there were more than 800,000 foremen. (See table.) There were 15 skilled occupations with more than 100,000 workers each. Most skilled occupations, however, had relatively small numbers of workers. E m p l o y m e n t i n selecte d s k ille d o c c u p a t i o n s , 1 9 5 0 Occupation Number of workers Percent (in thou sands) Total craftsmen, foremen, and kindred workers 7, 700. 7 100. 0 Mechanics and repairmen 1, 690. 9 Automobile 642. 8 Radio and television 73. 9 Airplane 70. 6' Railroad and car shop 48. 0 Office machine 17. 0 N ot elsewhere classified 838. 6 Carpenters 902. 4 Foremen (not elsewhere classified) 840. 7 Machinists _ 503. 5 Painters, construction and maintenance. _ 389. 6 Electricians ____ _____ 304. 3 Plumbers and pipefitters. _ _ 273. 9 Stationary engineers 214. 3 Linemen and servicemen, telegraph, telephone, and power 210. 3 Compositors and typesetters_____________ 172. 6 Brickmasons, stonemasons, and tile setters ___ _ 164. 4 22. 0 8. 4 1. 0 . . . 10. 11. 10. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 9 6 2 9 7 9 5 1 0 6 8 2. 7 2. 2 2. 1 SKILLED TRADES AND OTHER INDUSTRIAL OCCUPATIONS E m p l o y m e n t i n s elected s k ille d o c c u p a t i o n s , 1 9 5 0 — Occupation Number of workers (in thou sands) Toolmakers, diemakers, and setters Tinsmiths, coppersmiths, and sheetmetal w o r k e r s _______ B a k e r s _____________ Excavating, grading, and road machine operators __ __ _ Cranemen, derrickmen, and hoistmen___ Inspectors (not elsewhere classified) Tailors and tailoresses Cabinetmakers _ ______ Locomotive engineers _______ M illw rights._ _ __ __ _____ All other craftsmen, foremen, and kin 1, dred workers Con. Percent 153. 9 2. 0 118. 7 115. 4 1. 5 1. 5 105. 103. 93. 80. 72. 71. 59. 1. 1. 1. 1. . . . 1 0 4 4 1 2 3 061. 3 4 3 2 0 9 9 8 13. 9 Source: U . S. Bureau of the Census. The relative importance of occupations within the skilled group has been changing. Those oc cupations which are concerned with the repair and servicing of machinery and equipment have shown the greatest proportionate growth in recent years. This has been largely the result of the increasing mechanization of our industrial and business proc esses and the greater use of electrical and mechan ical appliances in our homes. Between 1940 and 1950, the mechanics and repairmen group of skilled occupations about doubled. Large relative gains w^ere also made in the building trades—particular ly for cement and concrete finishers, carpenters, plumbers and pipefitters, and electricians. How ever, in some skilled occupations employment de clined over the decade; among these were tailors, blacksmiths, metal molders, and paperhangers. Skilled labor requirements have fluctuated with the needs of the economy and national defense. During the depression of the 1930’s, the de mand for skilled workers was severely reduced. Training of young persons had virtually stopped and restrictions on immigration adopted in the 1920’s had curtailed a major source of skilled labor. During World War II, the need for rapid and substantial expansion of the skilled labor sup ply was partially met by recruiting skilled workers from among the unemployed and those engaged in less skilled occupations. Also, the number of hours worked was increased and semiskilled and other workers who had brief training or some qualifying experience were temporarily up-graded to craft or foreman jobs. Skilled jobs w^ere broken 223 down so that they could be performed by less skilled workers. The skilled labor supply was also increased by intensive training programs. In the immediate post-World War I I period, employment of skilled workers rose sharply with the expansion in construction activity and in creased industrial activity needed to supply the pent-up demand for consumer products. (See chart 36.) Employment of these workers declined in late 1949 and early 1950, but rose sharply to meet the mobilization production requirements during the Korean hostilities. After some decline at the end of the Korean hostilities, the number of skilled workers continued its upward trend; by the end of 1956, about 8.7 million craftsmen, foremen, and kindred workers were employed. Employment of skilled workers is expected to exceed 10 million by 1966 as a result of such factors as the trend in the growth of the population and labor force, prospective growth in industry, and the changing occupational patterns within indus try. There will be differences in the rate of em ployment growth in the various skilled occupa tions in the next decade. For example, as mechan ical equipment becomes more widely used the mechanics and repairmen group of occupations should grow at a faster rate than the skilled labor force generally. Similarly, the building trades CHART 36 224 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK should show a rapid growth as a result of the anticipated sharp rise in the level of construction activity. On the other hand, the skilled print ing trades, one of the larger groups of skilled workers, will increase at a slower rate than the average of the skilled work force. Skilled workers are developed in the United States in several different ways. Some workers acquire their skills through apprenticeship or other formal training programs; others qualify by picking up the skills of their trades through experience on the job, or by working with skilled craftsmen. Some young persons also learn the skills or part of the skills of a trade in vocational schools. Most training authorities agree that the best way to learn a trade is through a formal appren ticeship program. Apprenticeship is a period of on-the-job training, supplemented by related trade instruction, which is designed to acquaint the ap prentice with the materials, tools, skills, and principles of the trade. The apprenticeship pro vides the worker with a balanced knowledge of his trade and the ability to perform required op erations competently. The formal apprenticeship agreement stipulates the years of overall training and the number of hours of training the appren tice is to receive in the various aspects of the trade. Most apprenticeships run for periods varying from 2 to 4 years—but some last as long as 6. Apprenticeship has a number of advantages over less formal methods of learning a trade. An apprentice receives broad training and experience which enables him to adjust more easily to chang ing job requirements. He is likely to be more ver satile and able to work in a wider range of jobs. The completion of an apprenticeship gives the worker a recognized status which gives him an advantage in securing new jobs as well as greater job security. Many firms select their foremen from among their apprentice-trained workers be cause they are likely to be thoroughly familiar with all aspects of the work being performed. Many companies have established training pro grams which are not apprenticeships but which provide workers with on-the-job training and, fre quently, with supplementary classroom instruc tion. In these programs, new workers begin on the simplest tasks under the direction of a fore man or an experienced worker. They move to progressively more difficult work until they achieve the necessary skills. Many persons, in moving from one semiskilled job to another with different employers, pick up knowledge and skill which eventually enables them to become skilled workers. Many young people also learn the rudiments of a skilled trade by attending vocational, trade, or technical schools. A small proportion of these graduates are able to move directly into jobs in their trade and, after acquiring experience on the job, are able to qual ify as skilled workers. In other cases, young per sons who are already employed in semiskilled or unskilled jobs have been able to move into the skilled categories by taking vocational courses re lated to their work. Many young men acquire skills in the armed services which enable them to qualify or shorten their training period for skilled jobs in civilian life. It is estimated that a fourth of the young men in the armed services are given extended school and on-the-job instruction which helps to prepare them for many skilled or technical occu pations such as automobile mechanic, electronic technician, airplane mechanic, electrician, office machine repairman, and painter. Semiskilled and Unskilled Workers In 1956, nearly 13 million men and women— about one-fifth of the total workforce—were “ op eratives,” the Census designation for those who are often called semiskilled workers. (See chart 37.) Like all broad occupational classifications this one contains jobs varying widely in the nature of the work, in earnings, and in levels of skill. For ex ample, truck driving, one of the largest occupa tions in the semiskilled group, may call for skill in driving, knowledge of routes and traffic rules, ability to make minor repairs, some clerical work, and independent responsibility and judgment. On the other hand, some machine operator jobs in industry require only the repetition of a halfdozen different motions all day long— reach for a metal blank and put it in the machine, pull the lever, press the button, take out the piece of metal, which now has been stamped or cut, and place it on a pile, reach for another metal blank, etc. Such a routine can be picked up in a day and mastered in a few weeks. Many other semiskilled jobs re quire a number of months to learn. SKILLED TRADES AND OTHER CHART 37 With some exceptions, such as the truckdriver’s occupation, semiskilled jobs generally are fairly routine and repetitive. Often they pay fairly well, particularly when a worker’s pay is based on the amount of his production, under an incentive sys tem. Unlike the skilled worker, the semiskilled worker does not need to invest many years of his life learning a trade, but frequently this is a dis advantage. Because of his limited training, he is less valuable to employers and thus may have lower earnings and less job security. However, the semiskilled worker can more easily adapt to new opportunities as they arise. Should the chances for employment disappear in one field of work, as often happens when some new process displaces 4 2 7 6 7 5 ° — 5 7 ---------1 6 INDUSTRIAL OCCUPATIONS 225 an existing one, it is usually the semiskilled man who most readily writes off his investment of time and experience in that field, finds another job and, in a brief period of training, learns the new occupation. Rather than intensive training in a vocational school in one type of work, a semiskilled worker should have some familiarity with different types of work— machine shop, woodworking, weldings electrical work, etc. He does not need to attain proficiency in any one of these fields, but does need a familiarity with the different types of processes and machines so that lie can adapt readily to them. Semiskilled workers have been one of the fastest growing occupational groups in the American la bor force. For example, in 1930, they made up about 16 percent of the Nation’s labor force, and by 1950, they had increased their proportion to about 23 percent. During the 1955-66 decade semiskilled Avorkers will obtain a substantial share of the expected large increase in total employment. HoAvever, employment in this group, as a propor tion of the total Avorking population, is expected to be relatively stable. The increased employment of semiskilled Avork ers has been accompanied by a long-term downAvard trend in the relative importance of unskilled laborers in the Avork force. This trend is likely to continue as a result of further mechanization in materials handling and construction equipment. In 1956, about 3.5 million persons were employed as laborers in industry (excluding those on farms and in mines). Unskilled laborers Avork in jobs which require no preAuous education or special training. The Avorker can learn the task he must perform in a very short time on the job. Unskilled jobs fre quently involve manual handling and moving of heavy objects or materials. Such jobs are found mainly in manufacturing, construction, and transportation. THE B U ILD IN G TRA D ES The largest group of skilled workers in the American labor force are employed in the building trades. These craftsmen constitute a related group o f workers' primarily because they are all closely identified with the construction process. Alto gether, there were about 2.8 million building trades craftsmen in mid-1956— about one-third of all the skilled workers in the United States. The more than two dozen skilled building trades vary greatly in size. The great majority of the skilled building craftsmen are employed in six major trades—carpenters, painters, plumbers and pipe fitters, bricklayers, operating engineers, and con struction electricians—each with over a hundred thousand workers. The 1.2 million carpenters alone accounted for about 40 percent of all skilled building trades workers. By contrast, only a few thousand workers were employed in each of sev eral trades including marble setters, terrazzo workers, tile setters, glaziers, stonemasons, and elevator constructors. There are several reasons why young men should consider one o f the building trades as a career. They offer especially good opportunities for those who are not planning to go to college and who are willing to spend several years in learning a skilled occupation. Well-trained journeymen can find job opportunities in all parts of the country. Their hourly wage rates are generally much higher than those o f most other manual workers and they may enjoy more economic .independence. Jour neymen with business ability have greater oppor tunities to establish their own business than workers in many other skilled occupations. His torically, employment in most building trades has expanded despite technological developments. A principal disadvantage of work in the build ing trades is the sharp employment fluctuations that result from changes in general business con ditions. In the past, declines in building trades employment have been much greater than those in most other industries. Another disadvantage is that even during years of high levels of construc tion activity, annual earnings of workers in the building trades are somewhat limited by the sea sonal nature of construction work. Time is lost as a result of bad weather and other interruptions. 226 In addition, construction jobs generally are of short duration and building craftsmen must spend time in finding their next job. Continually chang ing, and sometimes inconvenient, places of em ployment are also disadvantageous. W h a t Are the Building Trades? Building trades craftsmen are skilled workers employed mainly in the construction, maintenance, repair, and alteration of homes and other types of buildings, highways, airports, and other struc tures. The wide range of materials and skills used in construction work has permitted speciali zation of various work operations; accordingly, building trades workers who use essentially the same materials or skills have tended to become identified with distinctive trades. For example, brickmasons and stonemasons work with masonry materials. Although operating engineers work with no particular materials, they have a group of related skills which enables them to handle vari ous types of excavating, grading, hoisting, and other equipment. The building trades consist primarily of jour neymen (skilled workers) who generally must have a high level of skill and a sound knowledge o f assembly and construction operations. They are often assisted in their work by tenders, ap prentices, and laborers. Journeymen may be grouped into three broad classifications—structural, finishing, and mechan ical. However, some craftsmen— for example, carpenters—may do finishing as well as structural work. Generally, the building trades are classified in one of these three categories, as follows: Structural—carpenters, bricklayers, stonema sons, cement or concrete masons, structural iron workers, ornamental iron workers, reinforcing iron workers (rodmen), riggers, boilermakers, and operating engineers. Finishing—lathers, plasterers, marble setters, tile setters, terrazzo workers, painters, paperhangers, soft-floor layers, glaziers, roofers, and asbestos workers. Mechanical—plumbers and pipefitters, mill wrights, construction electricians, sheet metal workers, and elevator constructors. THE BUILDING TRADES All but a few of these skilled trades are de scribed in detail individually, later in this chapter. These descriptions are necessarily brief and incom plete. They do not apply fully to all localities be cause of local differences in the scope of the various trades. Also, they are not statements or recom mendations concerning the jurisdiction of these trades and are inappropriate for use in jurisdic tional negotiations, or the settlement of jurisdic tional disagreements. W here Building Trades Workers Are Employed Building trades workers are employed mainly in the contract construction industry; others work on “ force-account” construction, are self-em ployed, or use their construction skills mainly in maintenance work in industries other than con struction, particularly manufacturing. The building craftsmen who work in the con tract construction industry are employed by gen eral and special-trade contractors. General con tractors may be classified as building (residential, commercial, or industrial), highway, or heavy con struction contractors since most of them limit their operations to one of these activities. They con struct buildings and other structures (dams, bridges, roads, etc.), taking full responsibility for the complete job, except for any specified portions of the work that may be omitted from the general contract. Ordinarily, general contractors do most of the work with their own crews, but they often subcontract particular phases of the construction job to special-trade contractors. Special-trade contractors usually do the work of only one trade (for example, painting or elec trical work), or of two or more closely related trades (plumbing with or without heating, or plastering with or without lathing). Beyond fit ting their work to that of other trades, they have no responsibility for the structure as a whole. The special-trade contractors obtain orders for their work from general contractors, architects, or from property owners. Repair work is almost always done on direct order from the owners, occupants, architects, or rental agents. There are several hundred thousand contractors (both general and special-trade), most of them operating in local areas. The great bulk of them are fairly small—generally employing fewer than 2 27 10 workers. However, some firms are quite large—employing several thousand workers each. Skilled building trades craftsmen are also em ployed by government agencies and business es tablishments which do not use the services of a contractor but do their own construction (forceaccount) or repair work. Many building trades craftsmen are selfemployed. Self-employed journeymen work di rectly for many property owners on small jobs. They may be paid by the hour or the day, or they may be paid an agreed price for the job, either pro viding the materials and including them in the price or using materials provided by the owner. Self-employment is most common in carpentry and painting, but is also found in most other skilled building trades. In some of the trades, work may be performed away from the construction site. For example, sheet metal workers may be employed in shops where ducts are fabricated for installation in a building. Many building trades craftsmen are also employed to do maintenance work in fac tories, stores, mines, hotels, and almost every other type of large business establishment. A skilled building craftsman’s work is identi fied with a specific trade, such as carpentry or bricklaying, rather than with an individual con tractor or even a broad group of contractors. Thus, a carpenter may be employed mainly by a particular builder but, in the course of a year, he may be employed by a concrete contractor to build forms for a concrete bridge; by an electrical or plumbing contractor to build a temporary struc ture at a large construction site; or he may con tract to do a small repair job on his own. Building trades craftsmen are employed in al most every community. These widespread oppor tunities are important for young persons inter ested in a career in the skilled building trades. Once they learn one of the trades they can find jobs not only in their own community but in almost any part of the country. Employment of these workers is distributed in much the same way as the Nation’s population. Thus, employment is concentrated in the industralized and highly pop ulated areas. Nine States—New York, California, Pennsylvania, Texas, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, New Jersey, and Massachusetts—accounted for more than 50 percent of total employment in the skilled building trades. 228 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Training, Other Qualifications, and A dvancem ent Apprentice training under a formal apprentice ship agreement registered with a State apprentice ship agency or the U. S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training is con sidered by training authorities generally to be the best way to acquire the all-round proficiency of a skilled building trades worker. Apprenticeship is a prescribed period of on-the-job training sup plemented by related trade instruction which is designed to develop skill and to make the ap prentice familiar with the materials, tools, and principles of his trade. It provides him with a balanced knowledge of his field of work and en ables him to perform its operations competently. In addition to the apprenticeship method, many skilled craftsmen have learned their trades in formally. Most of these workers have picked up a trade through several years of on-the-job ex perience. Generally, they first worked as laborers and helpers and learned the skills of a trade by working with and observing the work of ex perienced craftsmen. Some building craftsmen have acquired their skills, or part of their skills, by attending vocational or trades schools. Generally, apprentices in the building trades are required to be between the ages of 17 and 25, and in good physical condition. A high school education or its equivalent, with course work in mathematics and the sciences, is desirable. Often, applicants are given tests to determine their apti tude for a particular occupation. For some skilled building trades, it is important to have consider able manual dexterity, mechanical aptitude, a discerning color sense, and an eye for quickly de termining proper alinement of materials. The formal apprenticeship agreement generally stipulates a training period of 3 to 5 years of rela tively continuous employment and training, sup plemented by at least 144 hours a year of related classroom instruction. The journeymen on the job and the foreman explain to the apprentice how the work is done and show him how different op erations are performed and how different tools are used. Ordinarily, most of this instruction is given by a particular journeyman to whom the appren tice is assigned. The apprentice is required to do work of progressively increasing difficulty and with progressively less supervision. Related classroom instruction varies among the trades, but usually includes courses such as: History of the trade; characteristics of the ma terials used; shop mathematics as related to the trade’s w ork; rudiments of engineering where appropriate (particularly for pipework, ventilat ing systems, and electrical work) ; sketching, ele mentary drafting, and interpretation of draw ings; safety practices; and special-trade theory such as color harmony for painters and elemen tary sanitation for plumbers. Such related in struction is seldom offered in small communities where there may be only a few apprentices and a small number of journeymen in a particular trade. In these areas, apprentices receive instruction through courses offered in the local high school or by itinerant instructors, generally furnished by the State. Other subject matter requirements are met through personal instruction by local journeymen and contractors or, in some cases, by correspondence courses. The formal registered apprenticeship agree ments also recommend the length of time the ap prentice is required to work in each major opera tion of the trade as well as his rate of pay at successive levels of advancement. The apprentice is paid at an advancing rate, usually starting at 40 to 50 percent of the journeyman’s pay. The apprentice’s rate increases at 6-month intervals until a rate of about 90 percent of the journey man’s rate is reached in the final months of train ing. Often, advanced apprenticeship standing and pay are given to apprentices for trade skills acquired in the Armed Forces, or through trade school instruction. Advanced standing is granted on an individual basis and is usually determined by a demonstration of trade skill and knowledge. In most communities, the apprenticeship pro grams are supervised by joint apprenticeship com mittees composed of representatives of the local employers or employer groups and the union local. In these cases, the apprentices sign their appren ticeship agreements with these committees. The committee determines the need for apprentices in the locality and establishes minimum apprentice ship standards of education, experience, and train ing. Where employers cannot provide the diver sity of experience necessary to give an apprentice all-round instruction in the various branches of the trade, or relatively continuous employment over the entire period of apprenticeship, the committee transfers the apprentice to another employer. Where specialization by contractors is extensive—for instance, in electrical work—it is THE BUILDING TRADES customary for the joint committee to rotate appren tices among several contractors in the trade at in tervals of about 6 months. In some large cities the local joint apprenticeship committee employs a coordinator to supervise the apprenticeship pro gram. In areas where these committees have not been established, the apprenticeship agreement is solely between the apprentice and an employer or em ployer group. Many journeymen have received worthwhile training under these types of appren ticeship programs, but these programs may involve some element of risk for the apprentice. In such instances, there is no joint committee to supervise the training offered, to settle differences over the terms and conditions of apprentice training, or to arrange a transfer in cases of personal incompat ibility between the apprentice and the employer. The apprentice's training depends principally on his employer’s business prospects and policies. I f the employer lacks continuous work or does only a restricted type of work, he cannot provide the ap prentice with the all-round training needed to de velop journeyman skills. In many localities craftsmen, most commonly construction electricians and plumbers, are re quired to have a journeyman’s license to work at their trade. To qualify for these licenses, they must pass an examination showing a well-rounded knowledge of the job and of State and local regula tions. More detailed information concerning the train ing, other qualifications, and advancement of building trades workers is given later in this chapter in the discussion of the individual occupa tions in the building trades. Advancement opportunities for building trades craftsmen are quite varied. For example, a journevmen may become a foreman in charge of his em ployer’s crew. In most localities, small jobs are run by “ working foremen” who work at the trade along with members of their own crews except when engaged in supervisory or management du ties. On very large jobs, the foremen do no actual production work. A craftsman can also become an estimator for a contractor. In this job he esti mates material requirements and labor costs in order to enable the contractor to bid on the work of a particular construction project. Some crafts men advance to jobs as superintendents on large projects. Other craftsmen become instructors in trade and vocational schools. 229 In addition, many thousands of journeymen have become contractors. Sound journeyman knowledge is a great help in assuring success as a contractor. However, the successful contractor must also have the ability to plan work, to foresee needs and problems, to direct others, to estimate material and time requirements for jobs on which he is bidding, and a sound knowledge of business practices and financing. xAwards of contracts on the basis of competitive bidding, relatively moderate fixed capital require ments, liberal credit arrangements to facilitate the purchase of materials, and the possibility of con ducting a fairly substantial business from the pro prietor’s home, all combine to make it easier to enter a small contracting business in the construc tion industry than it is to start a small business in many other industries. Because it is easy to enter the contracting business, competition is usu ally very keen, especially for smaller jobs. For larger jobs, considerable working capital and in vestment in equipment are necessary. Some States or municipalities require contractors to be li censed. Employment Outlook A continued upward trend in the employment of skilled building trades workers is expected dur ing the late 1950’s and the 1960’s. The rate of employment increase for these craftsmen is ex pected to be greater than the rate of growth of the Nation’s total labor force. In addition to open ings resulting from an increase in employment, thousands of job opportunities for new workers to enter the building trades will result from the need to replace skilled workers who die, retire, or transfer to other fields of work. The favorable employment prospects for these skilled workers will result primarily from the ex pected large rise in the level of construction ac tivity, continuing the post-World War II trend. The postwar construction trend can best be illus trated by an examination of construction expendi tures. Total construction expenditures (including maintenance and repair) rose from $20 billion in 1946 to about $60 billion in 1956 (actual expendi tures not adjusted for changes in price levels). The rate of growth for new construction during the same period was even greater— from $12 bil lion to $44 billion. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs about doubled—increasing from about 230 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK $8 billion to nearly $16 billion. The post-World War II growth of the construction industry can also be seen in the increase in construction em ployment. For example, in contract construction, which employs a majority of the skilled building craftsmen, employment in the 1946-56 decade rose from 1.7 million to about 3 million, or about 80 percent. The same factors which accounted for the rapid postwar expansion in construction activity are ex pected to result in a further growth in the con struction industry during the 1956-66 decade. These include the high level of personal and cor porate income, the rising volume of business ac tivity, the growth in population and number of households, the size of governmental expenditures for highways, schools, etc., and defense expendi tures. During the 1946-56 decade, personal disposable income rose from $1,126 per capita to more than $1,700, the population increased by about 19 per cent, and households by about 25 percent. As suming a continued high level of business ac tivity, personal disposable income is expected to increase significantly during the 1956-66 decade. Population and households are expected to in crease by about a sixth during this period. Rec ord highway construction expenditures are antici pated in the next 10 years under the Federal Gov ernment’s multi-billion dollar highway develop ment program. The continuing shift of popula tion from the cities to the suburbs will result in a growing demand for all types of new construc tion such as hospitals, schools, churches, and com mercial establishments. Other factors that will contribute to a high level of construction activity include anticipated high level defense require ments for construction work; increased construc tion requirements generated by new and expand ing industries; and demands for maintenance, re pair, and modernization work for a constantly in creasing number of buildings and other structures. An analysis of these and other factors affecting the volume of construction indicates an increase in construction activity of about 40 to 50 percent during the 1956-66 decade. In terms of constant (1955) dollars, total construction expenditures (including both new construction and mainte nance and repair expenditures) over the next decade may reach $85 to $90 billion compared with about $60 billion in 1956. This large increase in construction activity is expected to result in a substantial increase in the employment of building craftsmen. However, employment is expected to increase at a slower rate than expenditures. Continued technological developments in construction methods and equip ment will permit greater output per construction worker. The technological changes which can be foreseen at the present time are not likely to re sult in large declines in employment in the large building trades. The experience of the past 50 years shows that the skilled building trades gen erally have been able to adapt to technological changes and continue to grow. Employment of building trades craftsmen in maintenance jobs in factories, commercial estab lishments, schools, and large residential projects is also expected to increase substantially in the 1956-66 decade. There will be differences in the rate of growth among the various building trades. Employment growth will be most rapid for bricklayers, cement and concrete masons, operating engineers, sheet metal workers, plumbers and pipefitters, and elec tricians and less rapid for paperhangers, painters, stonemasons, marble setters, and building laborers. Employment of carpenters will also increase sub stantially and this trade will continue to be the largest single occupation in the building trades. (A more complete statement covering employ ment opportunities in each trade is given in the discussions of individual occupations in this chapter.) One of the principal sources of job opportunities for new workers will result from replacement needs. The building trades, with about 2.8 mil lion skilled craftsmen in 1956, represent a very large field of work. Deaths and retirements alone will create about 50,000 to 60,000 job openings each year. Other openings will result from the need to replace experienced craftsmen who leave the building trades for other fields of work. In July 1956, an estimated 103,080 apprentices were in registered apprentice training programs and perhaps 20,000 to 30,000 other apprentices in programs which were unregistered. Oppor tunities for young men to receive apprentice train ing will be available in all parts of the country during the 1956-66 decade. In addition, thousands of other workers will be able to enter the trades informally. THE Some indication of the location %f future ap prenticeship opportunities is given in the follow ing geographical distribution of registered build ing trades apprenticeships as of July 1956: State 808 764 below: Number of apprentices Alabam a_____________ 1, 387 Arizona______________ 1, 016 California____________ 511 14, 162 Colorado_____________ 1, 223 Connecticut_________ 2, 480 Delaware____________ 247 District of Columbia 1, 202 Florida_______________ 2, 798 Georgia______________ 1, 994 Idaho________________ 352 Illinois_______________ 9, 051 Indiana_____________ 2, 149 Iowa_________________ Kansas______________ Kentucky____________ 1, 300 Louisiana____________ 1, 439 Maine_______________ 281 Maryland___________ 1, 487 Massachusetts______ 2, 548 Michigan____________ 5, 196 Minnesota__________ 2, 688 Mississippi__________ 465 Missouri____________ 2, 995 M ontana____________ 463 Nebraska___________ 718 N evada_____________ 328 New Hampshire____ 151 New Jersey_________ New Mexico________ 2, 289 569 New Y ork__________ 8, 689 North Carolina_____ 1, 842 North Dakota______ 168 Ohio_________________ 7, 336 Oklahoma___________ 962 Oregon______________ 1, 013 Pennsylvania_______ 3, 906 Rhode Island----------- 542 South Carolina_____ 819 South Dakota______ 237 Tennessee___________ 1, 981 Texas_______________ 4, 989 Utah________________ 595 Verm ont____________ 95 Virginia_____________ 1, 278 Washington_________ 2, 152 West Virginia______ 570 Wisconsin___________ 2, 610 W yom ing___________ 235 Earnings and W orking Conditions Hourly wage rates paid building craftsmen are generally much higher than those paid most other skilled workers. However, because construction work is seasonal and time is lost for other reasons, average annual earnings are not as high as the hourly rates of pay indicate. Nevertheless, an nual earnings of these craftsmen, as a group, compare favorably with those of other skilled workers. The hourly rates of pay for skilled workers in the building trades vary by trade and locality. Generally, the highest hourly rates are paid in the larger communities. (Wage rates for a trade may also vary within the same city depending upon the type of work performed and the work ing conditions.) The average minimum union hourly wage rates as of July 1, 1956, for 22 selected occupations in 52 large cities, as reported to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, are shown T o ta l___________________________________________ 103, 080 Arkansas____________ 231 BUILDING TRADES Trade Average hourly rate All building trades___________________________________ $3. 04 Journeymen______________________________________ 3. 22 Asbestos workers___________________________ 3. 29 Bricklayers__________________________________ 3. 62 Carpenters___________________________________ 3 .1 3 Cement finishers____________________________ 3.11 Electricians (inside wiremen) ______________ 3. 34 Elevator constructors_______________________ Glaziers______________________________________ Lathers_______________________________________ Marble setters______________________________ Mosaic and terrazzo workers______________ 3. 36 2. 93 3. 43 3. 28 3. 28 Painters______________________________________ Paperhangers________________________________ Pipefitters___________________________________ Plasterers___________________________________ Plumbers____________________________________ 3. 2. 3. 3. 3. Rodmen______________________________________ Roofers, composition_______________________ Roofers, slate and tile______________________ Sheet metal workers_______________________ Stonemasons_________________________________ 3 .1 7 2. 96 3. 08 3. 20 3. 50 Structural-iron workers____________________ Tile layers___________________________________ 3. 30 3. 22 01 92 35 50 35 Helpers and laborers____________________________ Bricklayers’ helpers________________________ Building laborers___________________________ Composition roofers’ helpers_______________ Elevator constructors’ helpers______________ 2. 2. 2. 1. 2. 29 48 20 96 42 Marble setters’ helpers_____________________ Plasterers’ laborers________________________ Plumbers’ laborers__________________________ Terrazzo workers’ helpers_________________ Tile layers’ helpers__________________________ 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. 52 55 35 60 51 232 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Union rates for these occupations are those ne gotiated between trade unions and employers. They do not include overtime, bonuses, and pay ments for special qualifications or other reasons. Average union hourly rates for many of the indi vidual building crafts in selected cities are in cluded in the discussion of these occupations later in this chapter. Forty hours was the standard workweek for a majority of building trades workers in 1956. Time-and-a-half was generally paid for hours worked beyond the standard workday of 8 hours. Time-and-a-half or double-time rates were usually paid for work on Saturdays and Sundays or on holidays. Travel pay to and from work was com monly paid to building trades workers whenever their work was outside a specified local area. A substantial proportion of organized building trades workers are included in negotiated health and insurance programs. A majority of the build ing trades workers in major cities are covered by health and insurance programs financed almost entirely by employer contributions. Pension plans for building trades workers have become more common in recent years. A large proportion of skilled building trades workers are members of trade unions affiliated with the Building and Construction Trades De partment of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. Construction work is active and sometimes strenuous but great physical strength is generally not necessary to perform the work capably. Much o f the heavier work is now performed by ma chinery. Nevertheless, persons interested in be coming building craftsmen should be in good physical condition. Prolonged standing, bending, stooping, and working in cramped quarters are frequently necessary. Exposure to cold and in clement weather is common as much of the work is done outdoors or in partially enclosed structures. During the winter, when the buildings are suffi ciently enclosed, artificial heat is commonly pro vided. Many persons prefer construction work to other skilled occupations because they are able to work outdoors. Construction work is generally more dangerous than work in manufacturing, but the risk of in jury is lessened considerably when proper work practices are followed. In recent years, the safety record of construction wmrkers in contract con struction work has improved. W here To Go for More Information Information on opportunities for apprenticeship or other types of construction employment in a particular locality may be obtained from individ ual construction firms, employer associations, or locals of the building trades unions. Many ap prenticeship programs are supervised by local, joint union-employer committees. In these in stances, an apprentice applicant may apply di rectly to the coordinator of the joint apprentice ship committee if there is one in his locality. In recent years, there has been a trend toward in creased use of the local office of the State employ ment service as a source of information and a contact point for apprenticeship openings. For more information on jobs in the building trades, a young man should write to the organiza tions listed below: American Federation of Labor and Congress of In dustrial Organizations, Building and Construction Trades Department, 815 16th St.. M V , Washington 6, D. C. Associated General Contractors of America, Inc., Munsey Trust Bldg., Washington 4, D. C. National Association of Home Builders, 1625 L St.. X W , Washington 6, D. C. For the names of labor organizations and trade associations concerned with specific building trades, see the individual discussions of the vari ous building trades later in this chapter. Carpenters (D. O. T. 5 -2 5 .1 1 0 through .830) Nature o f W ork Carpenters saw, fit, and assemble wood, plywood, wallboard, and other materials and fasten these materials by means of glue, nails, bolts, or wood screws to form various structures. In addition, they often install linoleum, asphalt tile, and sim ilar soft-floor coverings. They use handtools such as hammers, saws, chisels, and planes as well as power tools such as portable power saws, drills, and rivet guns. THE BUILDING TRADES 2 33 stairs. Specialization is more common in the large cities; in small communities carpenters ordinarily do all types of carpentry work. In rural areas carpenters may also frequently do the work of other craftsmen, particularly painting, glazing, or roofing. Where Employed Carpenter apprentices learn the trade through actual work experience. Carpentry work is commonly divided into 2 broad categories— “ rough” carpentry and “ finish” carpentry. A skilled carpenter, however, should be able to do both types of work. In rough work, carpenters erect the wood frame buildings, includ ing subflooring, sheathing, partitions, floor joists, studding, and rafters. They also install heavy timbers used in the building of docks, railroad trestles, and similar heavy installations. Rough carpentry also includes the building of forms to en close concrete until it has hardened, the making of chutes for pouring wet concrete, and the erection of scaffolding and temporary buildings on the con struction site. In finish work, carpenters install molding around floors and ceilings, wood paneling, cabinets, exterior and interior trim, window sash, door frames, and hardware. They also build stairs and lay floors. Finish work carpenters must be very accurate because their completed work is vis ible and because they often work with expensive woods. Although a skilled journeyman is expected to know all aspects of carpentry work, there is much specialization within the trade, because of the wide scope of the work performed. For example, some carpenters specialize in installing acoustic panels on ceilings and walls. Others specialize in trim ming (the installation of mill work and finish hardware), laying hardwood floors, or building Most carpenters work in the construction in dustry and are employed mainly by contractors and home builders at the construction site. They work principally on building construction, al though many are employed on highway or other nonbuilding projects. A large number do repair, alteration, or modernization work. Many car penters alternate between wage employment for contractors and self-employment on small jobs. Many others work for Government agencies or business firms which do their own construction work. A large number of carpenters do mainte nance work in factories, hotels, office buildings, and other large establishments. Carpenters are also employed in shipbuilding, in mining, and in the production of many kinds of display materials. Carpenters are employed in almost every com munity in the country. Their employment dis tribution is generally similar to that of the Na tion’s population. The widespread employment of carpenters is an important consideration for young persons interested in learning this trade. Beginning carpenters can not only find jobs in their own communities but once they become jour neymen they can obtain jobs in almost any part of the country. Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement Completion of a 4-year apprenticeship program for carpenters is recommended by training au thorities generally as the best way to learn this trade. A substantial proportion of carpenters, however, have learned the trade informally. They have picked up the trade by working for several years as helpers or handymen, observing, or being taught by, experienced carpenters. Many of these persons have gained some of the knowledge of their trade by taking correspondence o,r trade school courses. Apprenticeship applicants are generally re quired to be at least 17 years of age; a high school education or its equivalent .is desirable. Good 234 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK physical condition and manual dexterity are im portant assets. Many apprenticeship programs are under the supervision of local joint employerunion apprenticeship committees. Generally, the apprentice .is covered by a written apprenticeship agreement and the program is registered with a State apprenticeship agency or the U. S. Depart ment of Labor’s Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training. The apprenticeship generally consists of 8,000 hours of on-the-job training plus a minimum of 576 hours o f related instruction. During the apprenticeship period the apprentice learns how to use and handle the tools, machines, and mate rials commonly used in the trade. He learns ele mentary structural design and becomes familiar with the common systems of frame and form con struction. Because the work of the carpenter is basic in the construction process, the apprentice must also learn the relationship between carpentry and the other building trades. The apprentice receives related classroom in struction in drafting and blueprint reading, mathematics applicable to layout work, and the use o f woodworking machines. An illustration of a 4-year apprenticeship work schedule for con struction carpenters follow s: Type of work Carpenters may advance to the position of car penter foremen. In addition, they may become general construction foremen. Carpenters usually have greater opportunities than most building craftsmen to become general construction foremen since carpenters are more familiar with the entire construction process. Also, the proportion of selfemployed among carpenters is higher than among most other skilled building trades. Some selfemployed carpenters are able to expand their ac tivities to contracting— hiring other journeymen. Adequate financial resources and a sound knowl edge of business principles and practices, in addi tion to a knowledge of construction, are basic re quirements for success as a contractor. Employment Outlook Approximate hours Total____________________________________________ 8, 000 Form building________________________________________ Build and place straight concrete fo r m s; build and place irregular concrete forms ; build and place concrete forms for stairways and floors, walls and columns. Rough framing_________________________________________1, Floor, wall, roof, stair, scaffolding, etc., on both house and heavy construction. Outside finishing------------------------------------------------------------ 1, Application of cornice and wall trim ; set door and window frames ; application of trimming fixtures; roof covering. Inside finishing_________________________________________1, Application of door and window tr im : fit and sand doors and windows ; application of base boards and m oldings; construction and set ting cases, wardrobes, stair w o rk ; flooring. Hardware fitting______________________________________ Application of hardware and fittings to exterior and interior of building, doors and windows. Layout___________________________________________ 850 500 200 700 500 750 Batterboards ; partitions ; doors and windows ; box-out in concrete walls. Care and use of tools and woodworking ma chinery______________________________________________ 1, 000 Miscellaneous------------------------------------------------------Scaffolding, walkways, shoring, sheds, etc. Hourly wages rates for apprentices start at about 50 percent of the journeyman rate and usually increase by about 5 percent in each 6month period until 85 to 90 percent is reached dur ing the last period of apprenticeship. I f ap prentice applicants have had experience or train ing directly related to the trade, such as training in carpentry in a vocational school or experience in the Armed Forces, they may be given advanced apprenticeship standing. 500 There will be tens of thousands of opportunities for young men to learn the carpentry trade dur ing the late 1950’s and the 1960’s. A substantial increase in the employment of these workers is expected as a result of anticipated higher levels of construction activity. In addition, replacement needs will create thousands of job opportunities for new workers. Employment of carpenters has increased rapid ly in recent years. Their rate of growth has been much faster than that of the total labor force. The number of carpenters employed increased from about 550,000 in 1940 to 900,000 in 1950, and to about 1,200,000 in mid-1956. The anticipated 40 to 50 percent increase in construction expendi tures in the 1956-66 decade (see discussion, p. 230), will result in continued growth in this occupa tion. Technological developments have affected and are expected to continue to affect both the number and skill requirements of carpenters. Construc tion materials that are processed off the site and materials designed for easier and faster installa- THE BUILDING TRADES tions have become progressively more important. There has also been a continued trend toward a greater use of factory prefabrication of structural building components as well as entire structures. Nevertheless, a substantial increase in employment of carpenters in construction is anticipated. A growing number of carpenters will also be needed in the maintenance departments of factories, com mercial establishments, large residential projects, and government agencies. The 1.2 million carpenters comprise the largest single group of skilled workers in the country and account for about two-fifths of all building trades craftsmen. Because of the large size of this oc cupation replacement needs are very great. Deaths and retirements alone will create about 20,000 to 25,000 job openings annually during the 1956-66 decade. Many other openings will result from the need to replace workers who leave the trade for other reasons. Young men who obtain all-round skill training o f the kind given under apprenticeship programs will have especially favorable long-range job prospects. These workers are in much greater de mand than the many persons in the trade who can do only the simpler and more routine types of carpentry work. They also have better opportuni ties for advancement. Earnings and W orking Conditions The U. S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual survey of union minimum hourly wage rates in the building trades showed that, as of July 1, 1956, the average union hourly rate for carpenters in the 52 large cities surveyed was $3.13. Among the individual cities the mini mum union hourly wage rates ranged from $2.25 in Charlotte, N. C., to $3.65 in Newark and New York, as shown in the following tabulation (wage rates for this trade may vary within the same city depending upon the type of work performed and the working conditions) : Atlanta, Ga_______________________________________ Baltimore, Md___________________________________ Birmingham, A la________________________________ Boston, Mass_____________________________________ Buffalo, N. Y _____________________________________ Charlotte, X. C__________________________________ Chicago, 111______________________________________ Cincinnati, Ohio_________________________________ Cleveland, Ohio__________________________________ Columbus, Ohio__________________________________ $2. 80 2. 95 2. 60 3. 05 3.3 2 2. 25 3. 35 3. 30 3. 58 3. 00 235 Dallas, Tex______________________________________ $2. 88 Dayton, Ohio_____________________________________ 3. 10 Denver, Colo_____________________________________ 2. 98 Des Moines, Iow a_______________________________ 3. 00 Detroit, Mich_____________________________________ 3. 20 Erie, Pa___________________________________________ 3. 15 Grand Rapids, Mich_____________________________ 2. 88 Houston, Tex_____________________________________ 2. 98 Indianapolis, Ind________________________________2. 88-3. 23 Jacksonville, Fla_________________________________ 2. 60 Kansas City, Mo_________________________________ 2. 90 Knoxville, Tenn__________________________________ 2. 73 Little Rock, Ark_________________________________ 2. 75 Los Angeles, Calif______________________________ 3. 00 3. 00 Louisville, K y ____________________________________ Memphis, Tenn___________________________________ 2. 55 3. 15 Milwaukee, W is_________________________________ Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn_____________________ 3. 00 Newark, X. J_____________________________________ 3. 65 New Haven, Conn________________________________ 3. 10 New Orleans, La_________________________________ 2. 68 New York, XT. Y _________________________________ 3. 65 Oklahoma City, Okla____________________________ 2. 73 2. 93 Omaha, Nebr____________________________________ Peoria, 111________________________________________ 3. 21 Philadelphia, Pa_________________________________ 3. 39 Pittsburgh, Pa_____________________________________ 2 .9 9 -3 .3 3 2. 80 Portland, Oreg___________________________________ Providence, R. I _________________________________ 2. 73 Richmond, V a___________________________________ 2. 30 3. 25 Rochester, X. Y ---------------------------------------------------St. Louis, Mo_____________________________________2. 95-3. 25 Salt Lake City, Utah____________________________ 2. 75 San Antonio, Tex________________________________ 2. 75 San Francisco-Oakland, Calif__________________ 3. 00 2. 75 Scranton, Pa____________________________________ Seattle, W ash ___________________________________ 2 .8 0 Spokane, W ash __________________________________ 2. 90 Springfield, M ass________________________________ 2. 83 Syracuse, X. Y ___________________________________ 3. 05 Toledo, Ohio______________________________________ 3. 33 Washington, D. C________________________________ 3 .2 3 Because of the seasonal nature of much of con struction work and because of time lost for other reasons, the average annual earnings of carpenters are not as high as their hourly rates of pay indicate. A large proportion of carpenters are members of the LTnited Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. A small number are mem bers of other unions. Union-employer contracts covering carpenters often provide health insur ance and pension benefits financed either entirely by employers or jointly by the workers and employers. Like other building trades the work of the car penter is active and sometimes strenuous, but ex ceptional physical strength is not required. Many 236 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK young persons like carpentry because they are able to work out of doors. Prolonged standing as well as climbing and squatting are often neces sary. Carpenters risk injury from slips or falls, from contact with sharp or rough materials, and from the use of woodworking machines. W h ere To G o for More Information A young man who wishes to obtain further in formation regarding carpentry apprenticeships or work opportunities in this trade should contact the carpentry contractors or general contractors in his area, a local of the carpenters’ union (United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners o f America) or a local, joint union-employer apprenticeship committee, if there is one in his locality. In addition, the local office of the State employment service may be a source of informa tion and a contact point for apprenticeship oppor tunities. Some local employment services screen applicants and give aptitude tests. Further information on apprenticeship in this trade is also available from : Associated General Contractors of America, Inc., Munsey Bldg., N W ., Washington 4, D. C. United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Carpenters Bldg., 222 Michigan St., Indianapolis 4, Ind. National Association of Home Builders, 1625 L St., N W ., Washington 6, D. C. Painters and Paperhangers (D. O. T. 5 -2 7 .0 1 0 ; 5 -2 8 .1 0 0 ) Nature of W ork Painters prepare surfaces and then apply paint, varnish, enamel, lacquer, and similar materials to the surfaces of buildings and other structures. Paperhangers cover room interiors with paper, fabric, or similar materials. Painting and paper hanging are distinct skilled building trades. However, many of these craftsmen do both types o f work. One of the important duties of the painter— especially in repainting—is to prepare the surface. Bough spots must be sandpapered, dust brushed off, grease removed, nail holes filled, and loose paint removed by scraping or by heating with a blowtorch and then scraping. Often, surfaces must be covered with a prime coat or sealer to pro vide a suitable surface or base on which to apply the new paint. Paint is applied to many kinds of materials, including wood, structural steel, and clay products, generally by means of a brush, spray gun, or roller. A painter must be skilled in handling brushes and other painting tools, in order to apply paint thoroughly, uniformly, and rapidly to any type of surface. In addition, he must be able to mix paints, match colors, and have a knowledge of color harmony. He must also know the character istics of common types of paints and finishes from the standpoints of durability, suitability for d if ferent purposes, and ease of handling and appli cation. A painter must know how to erect the necessary scaffolding from which he often works. Painters use spray guns to paint surfaces or objects which are difficult to paint with a brush such as lattices, cinder and concrete block, and radiators. They also use spray guns on large areas which can be sprayed with a minimum of prepara tion. When using a roller (a rotating applicator covered with soft material) the painter rolls the applicator over the surface to be covered. In paperhanging, the worker first applies “ siz ing” (a prepared material which prevents suction in the plaster and assures better adhesion of the paper to the surface being covered). He then measures the area to be covered and cuts the paper to size. He mixes a paste and applies it to the reverse side of the paper. (When working with other wall coverings, such as those which are fab ric-coated, the paperhanger applies an adhesive in stead of a paste.) The paste-coated paper is then placed on the wall or ceiling in strips and smoothed into place with a dry brush. The paperhanger matches the adjacent edges of strips of figured paper, cuts overlapping ends, and smooths the seams between strips with a roller or other special tool. In redecorating work it may be necessary to remove the old paper by soaking or, if there are many layers, by steaming. In many cases, it is also necessary for paperhangers to do minor plaster patching in order to get a smooth surface for the paper. THE BUILDING TRADES W here Employed Most painters and paperhangers work in the construction industry, usually at the building site. They work mainly for contractors engaged in new building construction work. Substantial numbers of painters and paperhangers are also employed by contractors to do repair, alteration, or modern ization work. Hotels, office buildings, utility com panies, manufacturing firms, school boards and other government units, and other organizations that own extensive property, commonly employ maintenance painters. When interior redecorat ing involves papering also, as in hotels or apart ment buildings, usually the maintenance painters may also do the paperhanging. In mid-1956, more than 400,000 painters and about 20,000 to 25,000 paperhangers were em ployed in these trades. Their employment was distributed throughout the country in about the same geographic pattern as building trades work ers generally. New York, California, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Illinois had especially large concentrations of these workers. Training, Other Qualifications, and A dvancem ent Most training authorities agree that completion o f a 3-year formal apprenticeship is the best way to become a journeyman (skilled) painter or jour neyman paperhanger. A substantial proportion of painters and paperhangers, however, have learned the trade informally. They have picked up the trade by working for several years as help ers or handymen, observing or being taught by ex perienced craftsmen. Workers without formal apprentice training have gained acceptance as journeymen more easily in these crafts than in most of the other building trades. However, the high level of competence achieved by journeymen through apprentice training increases their em ployment opportunities and enhances their status in any craft that has a large number of workmen who are not thoroughly qualified. Apprentice applicants are generally required to be between the ages of 16 and 21 and in good physical condition. A high school education is preferred although not essential. Applicants should have manual dexterity and a discerning color sense. They should not be allergic to paint fumes or to the various materials used in these trades. Many apprenticeship programs are under 237 the supervision of local, joint employer-union ap prenticeship committees. Generally, the appren tice is covered by a written apprenticeship agree ment and the program is registered with a State apprenticeship agency or the U. S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training. The apprenticeship for painters and paperhangers generally consists of 6,000 hours of onthe-job training plus related instruction. Many apprenticeships combine painting and paperhang ing. During the apprenticeship period the ap prentice learns how to use and handle the tools, equipment, and materials commonly used in the trade. The trainee learns the relationship between his work and the work performed by the other building trades. He also receives related class room instruction in color harmony, paint chem istry, estimating costs, and how to make, mix, and match paints. An illustration of a 3-year apprenticeship pro gram for painters and paperhangers follow s: Sandpapering, puttying, and priming of woodwork Preparing and sizing of walls Removing of wallpaper, calcimine, paint Calcimining and whitewashing Finishing walls with flat coat and enamel Finishing wood trim with oil, enamel, or varnish Preparing stains, staining, bleaching woodwork Pore filling and shellacking Lead stippling and starching walls Outside painting Applying various types of wall coverings Matching and mixing colors Rag and sponge stippling Blending and glazing walls and woodwork Graining, marbling, metal leafing Stenciling, striping, spackling Making putty Operation, care and use of all tools and equipment connected with the trade Rigging, staging and scaffolding Hourly wage rates for apprentices start at ap proximately 50 percent of the journeyman rate and increase periodically until the journeyman rate of pay is reached upon completion of appren ticeship. I f apprentice applicants have had ex perience directly related to the trade, such as ex perience in the Armed Forces, the applicants may be granted advanced apprenticeship standing. Painters and paperhangers may advance to the position of foremen. They may also advance to jobs as estimators for painting and decorating con tractors, computing material requirements and la bor costs. Some become superintendents on large 238 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK contract painting jobs, or they may start their own business as painting and decorating contractors. Success as a contractor, however, depends largely on having adequate financial resources and a sound knowledge of business principles and practices. Employment Outlook There will be thousands of opportunities for young men to learn these trades during the late 1950’s and the 1960’s. Most of these opportunities will arise from the need to replace experienced workers who die, retire, or leave the trades for other reasons. The employment of painters and paperhangers has increased at a slower rate than most of the other building trades in recent years. It increased by about 25 percent in the period 1940-56, com pared with a growth of more than 60 percent for the skilled building trades as a whole. Despite the anticipated large expansion of con struction activity during the 1956-66 decade (see discussion, p. 229) employment of painters will continue to grow slowly; employment of paperhangers will increase slightly or remain about the same. Technological developments have affected and are expected to continue to affect both the number and skill requirements of painters. New types of paint which are more easily applied and have im proved “ covering power” have made it easier for inexperienced workers to do work which meets standards of acceptability of some consumers. Spray painting, which is used particularly on large, unbroken interior surfaces, requires fewer painters to do the same amount of work. More over, many items formerly painted at the building site now come from a factory or shop with a prime coat and often with a final coat. Aluminum build ing products which often require no painting have become increasingly common in recent years. These and other factors are expected to continue to slow the growth of employment of painters. Employment prospects of paperhangers will continue to be limited by the substitution of paint for wallpaper as a covering for interior walls in residential and commercial buildings. The more widespread use of fabric wall covering, however, may improve somewhat the employment outlook for these workers. Because of the large size of the painter and paperhanger group, replacement needs are very great. Deaths and retirements alone will create about 8,000 to 10,000 job openings annually during the 1956-66 decade. Many other openings will result from the need to replace experienced work ers who leave the trades for other reasons. Earnings and W orking Conditions The Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual survey of union minimum hourly wage rates in the building trades showed that, as of July 1, 1956, the average union hourly rate in 52 large cities survey was $3.01 for painters and $2.92 for paperhangers. Among the individual cities the minimum union hourly wage rates ranged from $1.75 in Charlotte, N. C., for both painters and paperhangers, to $3.35 for painters in Newark and $3.28 for paperhangers in Chicago, as can be seen in the following tabulation (wage rates for these trades may vary within the same city depending upon the type of work performed and the working conditions) : Painters Paperhangers Atlanta, Ga__________________________ $2. 75 2. 68 Baltimore, Md______________________ Birmingham, A la___________________ 2. 75 Boston, Mass_______________________ 2. 65 Buffalo, N. Y _______________________ 3. 00 Charlotte, N. C_____________________ 1. 75 Chicago, 111__________________________ 3. 28 Cincinnati, Ohio____________________ 2. 73-3. 03 Cleveland, Ohio___________ _________ 3 .1 5 Columbus, Ohio_____________________ 2. 71 Dallas, Tex__________________________ 2. 81 Dayton, Ohio_______________________ 3. 00 Denver, Colo_______________________ 2. 90 Des Moines, Iowa___________________ 2. 75 Detroit, Mich_______________________ 3. 08 Erie, Pa_____________________________ 2. 70 Grand Rapids, Mich_______________ 2. 60 Houston, Tex_______________________ 2. 75 Indianapolis, Ind____________________ 3. 00 Jacksonville, Fla____________________ 2. 38 Kansas City, Mo____________________ 2. 90 Knoxville, Tenn_____________________ 2. 50 Little Rock, Ark____________________ 2. 31 Los Angeles, C alif_________________ 3. 01 Louisville, K y ______________________ 2. 80 Memphis, Tenn_____________________ 2. 56 Milwaukee, W is_____________________ 2. 75 Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn________ 2. 85 Newark, N. J_______________________ 3 .3 5 New Haven, Conn_________________ 2. 90 New Orleans, La__________________ 2. 40 New York, N. Y _____________________ 2. 85-3. 25 Oklahoma City, Okla_______________ 2. 60 2. 50 Omaha, Nebr_______________________ Peoria, 111___________________________ 2. 93 Philadelphia, Pa____________________ 2. 90 $3. 00 2. 68 2. 75 __ 3. 00 1. 75 3. 28 2. 73-2. 88 3 .1 5 2. 71 2. 81 3. 27 2. 90 2. 75 3. 08 2. 77 2. 85 2. 75 3. 00 2. 63 2 .9 0 __ 2. 31 3 .1 3 2. 25 2 .5 6 __ 2 .8 5 __ 3 .1 5 2. 40 __ 2. 60 2. 50 2. 93 2 .6 4 THE Painters Pittsburgh, Pa_____________________ Portland, Oreg______________________ Providence, R. I ____________________ Richmond, V a_______________________ Rochester, N. Y ____________________ St. Louis, Mo_______________________ Salt Lake City, Utah_______________ San Antonio, Tex__________________ San Francisco-Oakland, Calif____ Scranton, Pa________________________ Seattle, W ash _______________________ Spokane, W ash _____________________ Springfield, Mass__________________ Syracuse, N. Y _____________________ Toledo, Ohio________________________ Washington, D. C__________________ $3. 00 2. 75 2. 50 2 .1 5 3 .0 3 3. 09 2. 50 2. 50 3 .1 0 2. 38 2. 81 2 .7 6 2. 70 2 .7 0 3. 02 3. 05 BUILDING TRADES Paperhangers $3. 00 2. 88 2. 50 2 .1 5 3 .0 3 3. 09 2. 55 2. 50 3 .1 0 2. 38 2. 81 2.7 6 2. 70 3. 02 3. 05 A large proportion of painters and paperhang ers are members of the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers of America. A small number are members of other unions. Union-employer contracts covering these work ers usually provide health insurance and pension benefits, either financed entirely by employers or jointly by the workers and employers. Painters and paperhangers are often required to stand for long periods of time, to climb, and to bend at their work. A painter must have strong 239 arms because much of the work is done with arms raised overhead. Painters and paperhangers risk injury from slips or falls from ladders and scaffolds. W here To Go for More Information A young man who wishes to obtain further in formation concerning painting and paperhanging apprenticeships or work opportunities in these trades should apply to a painting and decorator contractor in his area; a local of the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers of America; or a local, joint union-employer appren ticeship committee, if there is one in his locality. In addition, the local office of the State employ ment service may be a source of information and a contact point for apprenticeship opportunities. Additional information may be obtained from : Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhang ers of America, 217-219 North Sixth St., Lafayette, Ind. Painting and Decorating Contractors Association America, 540 North Michigan Ave., Chicago 11, 111. of National Association of Home Builders, 1625 L St., N W ., Washington 6, D. C. Plumbers and Pipefitters (D. O. T. 5 -3 0 .0 1 0 , .0 26 , .2 1 0 , .410) Nature of Work Plumbers and pipefitters are highly skilled craftsmen who install, alter, and repair pipe sys tems. These systems provide steam heat, water or other liquids, air, gas, or waste disposal facili ties for residences, industrial and commercial buildings, and other structures. In assembling pipe systems, plumbers and pipe fitters bend, weld, bronze, and thread pipes and fittings. They also install fixtures, appliances, radiators, and heating units. They cut openings in walls for pipes and prepare the pipe for in stallation by cutting, reaming, and threading. When pipes are joined, the joints are caulked, soldered, threaded, or wiped, that is, molten solder is poured over the joint, spread, and then shaped with a cloth. After a pipe system is installed, the plumber tests for leaks by filling the pipes with water under pressure and checks the joints for pressure drop with a gage. Plumbers and pipefitters use handtools, such as wrenches, reamers, drills, braces and bits, ham mers, chisels, and saws. They also use gas or gasoline torches and welding equipment in their work. Power machines are often used to cut, bend, and thread pipes. Hand-operated hydraulic benders are also used to bend pipe. This broad field of work is sometimes considered to be a single trade. However, plumbers and pipe fitters do somewhat different types of work, par ticularly in large cities. Plumbers mainly install water, gas, and waste disposal systems, particu larly those which must be connected to public utility systems. Pipefitters install heating lines, such as hot water, and steam fitting systems, especially in industrial and commercial establish ments. For example, they install pipes for am monia systems in refrigeration plants, automatic sprinkler systems, lines for compressed air and industrial gages, and complex pipe systems in oil refineries, chemical plants, and food plants. 240 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement P h o t o g r a p h by u . S. D e p a r t m e n t o f La b o r Repair work keeps many plumbers busy, even during the slack seasons for new construction. Some plumbers and pipefitters specialize in gas fitting and steam fitting. Gas fitters install and maintain the gas fittings and the central gas main extensions which connect the main gas line to homes. Steam fitters assemble and install steam or hot water heating systems. Where Employed Most plumbers and pipefitters are employed by plumbing and pipefitting contractors in new build ing construction, mainly at the construction site. A substantial proportion of plumbers are selfemployed or work for plumbing contractors doing repair, alteration, or modernization work. Some plumbers are employed in the installation of pipe systems for government agencies and public utilities, and some work in the construction of ships and aircraft. Others are employed as main tenance workers in industrial and commercial es tablishments. Pipefitters, in particular, are em ployed as maintenance personnel in the petroleum, chemical, and food-processing industries where the industrial operations include the processing o f fluids through pipes. Jobs for plumbers and pipefitters are found in almost every community in the country, but they are concentrated in the highly populated and in dustrialized areas. Most journeymen who spe cialize in steam and hot water heating systems are employed in large northern cities. Most training authorities recommend a 5-year apprenticeship program for plumbers and pipe fitters as the best way to learn all the aspects o f the trade. A substantial proportion of these craftsmen, however, have learned the trade in formally. They have picked up the trade or one aspect of the trade by working for several years as helpers, observing or being taught by experi enced craftsmen. Many of these persons have gained some of their knowledge of the trade by taking trade school or correspondence courses. Apprentice applicants are generally required to be between the ages of 16 and 25; a high school education or its equivalent, including courses in mathematics, physics, and chemistry, is desirable. Applicants are often required to take aptitude tests, particularly to determine whether they have the high degree of mechanical aptitude required in this field. Most apprenticeship training programs for plumbers and pipefitters are conducted under written agreements between the apprentices and local, joint employer-union apprenticeship com mittees, which also supervise the training. The apprenticeship committee determines the need for apprentices in the locality, establishes minimum apprenticeship standards of training and, if neces sary, schedules a rotating work program. This program is designed to give the apprentice diver sified training by having him work for several plumbing or pipefitting contractors. Under formal apprenticeship programs, the apprentice is registered with the appropriate State ap prenticeship agency or the United States Depart ment of Labor’s Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training. The apprenticeship program usually consists of 10,000 hours of on-the-job training plus related instruction. During the apprenticeship period the apprentice learns how to use and handle the tools, machines, and materials commonly used in the trade. The apprentice also receives related class room instruction in such subjects as drafting and blueprint reading; mathematics applicable to lay out w ork; applied physics and chemistry; the use, care, and maintenance of machines and equipment used in the trade; and the local building laws and regulations which apply to the trade. THE BUILDING TRADES An illustration of a combined plumbing and pipefitting 5-year apprenticeship work schedule follow s: Type of work Approximate hours T o t a l ____________________________________________ 10,000 Install waste and vent pipes---------------------------------Install water pipe and hot water heating systemsInstall steam heating systems-------------------------------Install plumbing fixtures, set radiators, and heating units---------------------------------------------------------Install pumps________________________________________ Install stokers, oil burners, gas furnaces, and piping______________________________________________ Install and pipe septic tanks, cesspools, and sewers______________________________________________ Install panel and radiant heating systems-----------Install air-conditioning systems___________________ Install powerplant piping systems_________________ Testing of systems__________________________________ Repair work and boiler replacement_______________ Install and maintain control equipment_________ Shop work, use and care of tools, records, opera tion of pipe machine, and welding_______________ 1, 700 1, 800 1, 500 750 300 200 100 100 100 1, 000 300 1, 000 50 1,1 00 Hourly rates of apprentices in this trade start at about 50 percent of the journeyman rate and increase by about 5 percent in each 6-month period until a rate of 95 percent is reached during the last period of the apprenticeship. I f apprentice appli cants have had prior experience or training direct ly related to the trade they may, in some instances, be given advanced standing and pay. This ex perience or training may have been obtained in the Armed Forces or through courses in public or private schools. In some localities, a journeyman’s license is re quired for plumbers. To obtain this license a per son must pass a special examination to demon strate his knowledge of the local building codes. The examination also tests his all-round knowl edge of the trade. Some journeymen plumbers and pipefitters may become foremen for a plumbing contractor. Many journeymen go into business for themselves. As they expand their activities, they may employ other workers and become plumbing and pipefit ting contractors. In some localities, contractors are required to obtain a master plumber’s (jour neyman’s) license. Basic requirements for suc cess as a contractor are adequate financial resources and a sound knowledge of business principles and practices. A thorough knowledge of the pipe trade and an understanding of construction prin ciples are also necessary. 427675°— 57-------17 2 41 Employment Outlook A continued rapid rise in employment in this oc cupation is expected during the late 1950’s and the 1960’s. The rate of growth in this field will be much faster than that for the Nation’s total labor force. In addition to openings resulting from the increase in employment, many job opportunities for new workers will arise as a result of replace ment needs. Employment in this field has increased rapidly in recent years—from about 174,000 in 1940, to 274,000 in 1950, and to an estimated 315,000 in mid1956. Several factors contribute to the expecta tion of a continued rapid rise in employment in this trade. Most important of these is the anticipated 40 to 50 percent increase in construction activity in the 1956-66 decade. (See discussion, p. 230.) Furthermore, plumbing and pipefitting has be come increasingly important in many types of con struction, particularly residential building. For example, there has been a trend toward more bath rooms per dwelling unit. Moreover, the more widespread installation of appliances such as washing machines, dryers, and waste disposals re quires more plumbing work. The increasing num ber of installations of automatic heating systems will also create more work for these craftsmen. In addition, industrial pipe work is becoming more important in industry generally and requires more of these craftsmen for installation and main tenance work. For example, many industries, particularly the chemical and petroleum indus tries, which use extensive pipe work for their processing activities, are expected to expand their facilities substantially during the 1956-66 decade. Also, those industries which are automating their production activities will require more pipefitting work. The increasing industrial activities related to atomic energy and the greater use of refrigera tion and air-conditioning equipment will also re sult in more work for plumbers and pipefitters. On the other hand, some technological develop ments, such as the growing use of factory prefab ricated plumbing assemblies, may limit, to some extent, the growth in the number of jobs for plumbers and pipefitters. In addition to job opportunities resulting from the growth in the trade, the need to replace ex perienced workers who die, retire, or leave the trade for some other reason will create thousands of job openings for new workers each year. 242 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK Deaths and retirements alone will create from 6,000 to 7,000 job openings annually during the 1956-66 decade. Earnings and W orking Conditions Hourly wage rates for plumbers and pipefit ters are among the highest in the skilled building trades and among skilled workers generally. A n other important consideration for young persons considering plumbing and pipefitting as a career is that annual earnings of these workers are among the highest in the building trades because plumbing and pipefitting are affected less by sea sonal factors than are most other building crafts. The U. S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual survey of union minimum hourly wages in the building trades showed that, as of July 1, 1956, the average union hourly rate for plumbers and pipefitters in 52 large cities sur veyed was $3.35, compared with $3.22 for all jour neymen in the building trades. Among the indi vidual cities the minimum union hourly wage rates ranged from $2.75 in Richmond, Ya. for both plumbers and pipefitters to $3.75 in Newark. New York, and Philadelphia for plumbers and $3.85 in New York for pipefitters, as shown in the fol lowing tabulation (wage rates for these trades may vary within the same city depending upon the type of work performed and the working conditions) : '■pefitters Atlanta, Ga_________ Baltimore, Md_____ Birmingham, A la___ Boston, M ass______ Buffalo, N. Y _______ Charlotte, N. C____ Chicago, 111_________ Cincinnati, Ohio___ Cleveland, Ohio____ Columbus, Ohio____ Dallas, Tex_________ Dayton, Ohio_______ Denver, Colo________ Des Moines, Io\va__ Detroit, Mich_______ Erie, Pa____________ Grand Rapids, Mich Houston, Tex______ Indianapolis, Ind___ Jacksonville, Fla___ Kansas City, Mo----Knoxville, Tenn____ Little Rock, Ark----Los Angeles, C alif. $3. 20 3. 20 3. 05 3. 20 3. 30 2. 85 3. 37 3. 50 3. 38 3. 25 3 .1 0 3. 25 3.1 7 3. 25 3. 46 3 .1 0 3. 38 3. 40 3. 30 3 .1 0 3. 15 3. 08 3. 08 3. 43 Plumbers $3. 20 3. 20 3. 05 3. 15 3. 28 2. 85 3. 35 3. 28 3. 38 3. 25 3.1 0 3. 25 3.1 7 3. 25 3. 46 3. 10 3. 38 3. 10 3. 30 3 .1 0 3. 30 3. 08 3. 08 3. 53 Pipefitters Louisville, Ky $3. 18 Memphis, Tenn 3.1 3 Milwaukee, W is 3. 21 Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn 3.0 0 Newark, N. .T New Haven, Conn 3. 25 New Orleans, La 3. 05 New York, N. Y 3. 85 Oklahoma Citv, Okl a 3 .1 5 Omaha, Nebr 3. 20 Peoria, 111 3. 35 Philadelphia, Pa 3. 75 Pittsburgh, Pa 3. 43 Portland, Oreg 3. 25 Providence, R. I _ . 3.1 5 Richmond, Va 2. 75 Rochester, N. Y 3 .1 7 St. Louis, Mo 3. 55 Salt Lake City, Utah 3. 00 San Antonio, Tex 3 .1 8 San Francisco-Oakland, Calif___ __ 3 .4 5 -3 .6 9 Scranton, Pa 3 .1 0 Seattle, Wash 3 .1 5 Spokane, W ash 3.1 5 Springfield, Mass 3. 05 Syracuse, N. Y 3.2 3 Toledo, Ohio 3. 40 Washington, D. C 3. 51 Plumbers $3.18 3. 13 3. 21 3. 00 3. 75 3. 25 3. 05 3. 75 3 .1 5 3. 20 3. 35 3. 75 3. 43 3. 25 3. 15 2. 75 3.1 7 3. 55 3. 00 3. 18 3. 33-3. 45 3 .1 0 3. 15 3. 15 3 .1 0 3.1 6 3. 40 3. 41 A large proportion of plumbers and pipefitters are members of the United Association of Jour neymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the U. S. and Canada. Some are members of other unions. Union-em ployer contracts covering plumbers and pipefitters often provide health insurance and pension bene fits either financed entirely by employers or jointly by the workers and employers. The work of the plumber-pipefitter is active and sometimes strenuous, as in the other building trades. Frequently, he stands for prolonged peri ods and occasionally he squats or works in cramped or in other uncomfortable positions be cause much of the work is done in relatively inac cessible places. Since most of the work is indoors, there is less exposure to unfavorable weather con ditions compared with many other building trades. Workers in this trade risk the danger of falls from ladders, cuts from sharp tools, and burns from hot pipes or steam. The number of injuries per million man-hours worked by employees of plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contrac tors in the contract construction industry is lower than that for contract construction as a whole, but higher than the average for production workers in manufacturing industries. THE BUILDING TRADES W here To Go for M ore Information A young man who wishes to obtain further in formation concerning plumber or pipefitter ap prenticeships or work opportunities in the trade should apply to a plumbing, heating, and air-con ditioning contractor in his area, a local of the United Association of Journeymen and Appren tices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada, or a local, joint union-employer apprenticeship committee, if there is one in his area. In addition, the local office of the State employment service may be a source of information and a contact point for apprentice 243 ship opportunities. Some local employment serv ice offices provide such services as screening appli cants and giving aptitude tests. Additional information may be obtained from : Mechanical Contractors of America, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Suite 1843, New York 20, N. Y. National Association of Plumbing Contractors, 1016 20th St., N W , Washington 6, D. C. United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the U. S. and Canada, United Association Bldg., 901 Massachusetts Are., N W ., Washington 1, D. C. National Association of Home Builders, 162o L St., N W ., Washington 6, D. C. Operating Engineers (Construction Machinery Operators) (D. O. T. 5 -2 3 .0 1 0 through .9 2 0 , 5 -7 2 .9 1 0 , 5 -7 3 .0 1 0 through .5 20 , 7 -2 3 .0 1 0 through .1 20 , .300 through .3 99 , .500 through .599, and .900 through .999) Nature of W ork Operating engineers operate, maintain, and re pair the various types of power-driven construc tion machinery. Included among these machines are power shovels, cranes, derricks, hoists, pile drivers, concrete mixers, paving machines, trench excavators, bulldozers, tractors, and pumps. Some of these machines, such as bulldozers, are relative ly simple to operate, but others, such as large cranes, are complex and require coordination of numerous controls. Thus, the range of skills is wider among operating engineers than among journeymen in any other building trade. The broad range of skill requirements in this trade may be illustrated by describing the work performed by operating engineers in handling two types of machines—a crane and an earth-boring machine. The crane operator manipulates various pedals and levers to rotate the crane on its chassis and to raise and lower the crane boom and the load line. The operator manipulates a number of different attachments to the crane boom for various construction purposes. For example, he manipu lates buckets for excavation work, pile drivers to drive steel beams, wood and concrete piling into the ground, and wrecking balls for demolition work. Good coordination, skill in precision handling of heavy equipment, and judgment in estimating proper load size are among the essen tial aspects of the crane operator’s job. By con trast, the operation of earth-boring machines that dig holes for poles or posts is one of the less skilled tasks performed by operating engineers. The op erator sets the proper auger (drill) in the spindle, starts the machine, and stops it when the auger has penetrated to the proper depth. Operating engineers are often identified by titles describing the types of machines they op erate—for example, cranemen, bulldozer operator, or derrick operator. However, the more ex perienced operating engineers can generally handle a variety of construction machinery. These op erators work only on the more complex types of machines, when jobs requiring such equipment are available, because higher wage rates are paid for the operation of such machines. W here Employed Most operating engineers are employed in con struction work. They work for contractors en gaged in highway, dam, airport, and other largescale engineering projects. They are also em ployed on large building projects requiring exten sive excavating, grading, and landscaping. Op erating engineers also work on small jobs, hoisting concrete, structural steel, and other materials. Others are employed by utility companies, manu facturers, and other business firms which do their own construction work, as well as by State and local public works and highway departments. Relatively few operating engineers are self-em ployed. Those who are self-employed are owneroperators of equipment such as bulldozers and cranes. 244 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK In addition to construction work, operating engineers are employed in factories and mines. In some cases, the duties performed by these ma chine operators are about the same as those in construction work. For example, operation of a crane to unload cars of coal at a factory or powerplant is very similar to operation of a crane to unload cars of sand and gravel for a paving job. On the other hand, the nature of the work of a steel pourer (craneman) in a steel mill differs con siderably from a crane operator in the construction industry. Operating engineers are employed in every sec tion of the country, but mainly in the larger urban areas. This work, however, may take them to remote locations where highway construction and heavy engineering construction, such as dams, are being built. The geographical distribution of employment in this occupation is much the same as for the building trades generally. (See dis cussion, p. 227.) Training and Other Qualifications Formal apprenticeship programs for operating engineers are available in a few localities. For the most part, however, entrance into construction machinery operating jobs is informal. A young man with an aptitude for working with machinery and with some relevant experience such as truck driving, may begin work as an oiler or a helper, or he may get a job operating one of the simpler machines, such as an air compressor. As openings occur he may be given a chance to operate some what more complicated machines, such as bull dozers or rollers. After some experience operat ing these machines, he is given the opportunity to operate the more complex machines. Often, informal instruction is given to new personnel by experienced operators. Large contractors often have a wide range of construction equipment, thus affording opportunities to learn the operation of successively more complex equipment. Employment Outlook A continued rapid rise in employment of con struction machinery operators is expected during the late 1950’s and the 1960’s as a result of the an ticipated increase in the level of construction ac tivity. In particular, the growing volume of high way construction resulting from the Federal Gov ernment’s long-range multi-billion dollar high way development program, will provide thousands of job opportunities for operating engineers. Moreover, the trend in the postwar period toward the increasing use of construction machinery shows every indication of continuing. Larger, more spe cialized, and more complex machines, particularly those used in earth-moving, as well as smaller ma chines suitable for small construction projects, are continually being developed and are expected to be used to a greater extent. The greater mechani zation of material movement in factories and mines should also result in growing employment of these workers outside of construction. In addition to job openings resulting from the expected growth of employment in this occupation, the need to replace experienced construction ma chine operators who die, retire, or leave the trade for other reasons will create many job opportuni ties for new workers. Deaths and retirements alone will create about 3,000 to 4,000 job openings annually in the 1956-66 decade. Earnings and W orking Conditions The wage rate structure for operating engineers is more complicated than for any other construc tion trade. Hourly rates are established not only for different types of machines, but often for ma chines of the same type but of different capacity. Moreover, in some cases there are different rates for the same machine, depending upon the type of construction for which it is used. The wage scale also varies among different parts of the country and the operators of machines having the top wage rates in one area do not necessarily receive the top wage rates in other areas. The following tabulation based on the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics' survey of union minimum wage rates in the building trades in 52 large cities, as of July 1, 1956, shows the minimum union hourly wage rates paid to two classifications of construction machin ery operators—shovel and bulldozer operators (shovel operators are generally among the highest paid construction machinery operators). (Wage rates for these trades may vary within the same city depending upon the type of work performed and the working conditions.) THE BUILDING TRADES Shovels St. Louis, Mo_______________________ Salt Lake City, Utah_______________ San Antonio, Tex__________________ San Francisco-Oakland, Calif-------- o CO i i i i i i i Atlanta, Ga $3. 05 Baltimore, Md 3. 40 Birmingham, Ala 2. 70 Boston, Mass Buffalo, N. Y 3. 39 2. 65-2. 90 Charlotte, N. C Chicago, 111 3. 60 Cincinnati, Ohio____________________ 3. 33 Cleveland, Ohio_____________________ 3. 58 3. 33 Columbus, Ohio_____________________ Dallas, Tex________________________ ____ 3. 36 Dayton, Ohio_______________________ Denver, Colo_______________________ 2 .9 3 Des Moines, Iowa__________________ 3. 10 Detroit, Mich_______________________ 3.3 0 Erie, Pa_____________________________ 3. 50 3.1 8 Grand Rapids, Mich________________ Houston, Tex_______________________ ____ Indianapolis, Ind____________________ 3. 18 Jacksonville, Fla____________________ 2. 50 Kansas City, Mo__________________ 2. 85-3. 10 Knoxville, Tenn_____________________ 2. 83 Little Rock, Ark____________________ 2. 80 Los Angeles, Calif_________________ 3. 30 Louisville, K y_______________________ 3.1 5 Memphis, Tenn_____________________ 2. 70 Milwaukee, W is_____________________ 3. 31 Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn________ 3. 17 Newark, N. J_______________________ 4. 20 New Haven, Conn___________________ 3. 00 New Orleans, L a____________________ 2. 88 New York, N. Y _____________________ 4. 15 Oklahoma City, Okla----------------------- 2. 65-2. 90 3. 00 Omaha, Nebr_______________________ Peoria, 111___________________________ ____ Philadelphia, Pa-----------------------------3. 79 Pittsburgh, Pa______________________ 3. 60 Portland, Greg______________________ 2. 90-3. 38 Providence, R. I ____________________ 3. 25 Richmond, V a______________________ 2. 66 Rochester, N. Y _____________________ 3. 48 3. 33 2. 85 ____ 3. 26 1 245 B u ll- dozers 82. 2. 2. 3. 1 53 60 56 13 __ 2. 35 3. 00 3. 08 3. 33 3. 08 3 .0 0 3. 08 ____ 3.1 0 3.3 0 2. 98 3. 08 3.25 ____ 2. 09 ____ 2. 58 2. 55 3. 05 3.1 5 2. 45 2. 92-3. 14 2. 85 -----2. 65 2. 88 3. 28 2. 60 2. 55 3.3 3 3. 16 3.4 0 2. 20 3. 13 Shovels Scranton, Pa_ _ _ Seattle, WTash Spokane, W7ash Springfield, Mass Syracuse, N. Y Toledo, Ohio Washington, D. C ___ . _____ 1 $3.69 3.3 6 3. 10-3. 45 3. 00 3 .4 3 3.4 0 3.4 3 Bull dozers 1 $3 .06 3. 00 __ 2. 55 2. 88 3 .1 2 2. 88 1Wage rates in individual cities may not apply to comparable categories of construction machinery. A large proportion of operating engineers are members of the International Union of Operating Engineers. Union-employer contracts covering these workers, in some areas, provide health in surance and pension benefits, either financed en tirely by the employers or jointly by the workers and employers. Much of the operating engineer’s work is per formed outdoors. The work is active and some times strenuous. The operation of some machines, particularly bulldozers and some types of scrapers, is physically wearing because the constant move ment of the machine shakes or jolts the operator. W here To Go for More Information A young man who wishes to obtain further in formation regarding work opportunities in this trade should apply to general contractors in his area and to the local of the International Union of Operating Engineers. In addition, the local office of the State empl
@FedFRASER