your life's work miracle of high speed wire communication is commonplace today lift a telephone receiver and the world is that your fingertips speak and your voice spans oceans and continents with the speed of light early equipment was crude and handmade but i guess he made rapid progress as the years went by and went forward with america's expanding from tears today western union operates a vast network of two million miles of wire furnishing swift reliable communication but actual quotations are transmitted from exchanges in key cities to tickertape receivers in brokers offices throughout the united states cuba and in canada each year many millions of money orders ranging from small sums to thousands of dollars go over the telegraph wires even the nation's time depends upon wire signals from the official naval observatory da night and editorial offices everywhere teletype machines bring in the news of the world for millions of readers and every year more than two hundred million telegrams classroom the hands of operators in the traffic depart instructors in the schools which western union maintains in many cities here the trainees learn by practicing on actual equipment generally our high school education is desirable that teleprinter keyboard is similar to a typewriter as the keys are punched the distance receiver records each letter on a moving paper tape an operator removes the tape and gums it to the familiar yellow blames the letters m l on t identify the message as a night letter the operator must know how to handle the various classifications such as day letter night letter deferred cable and special listings to develop a trainee into a competent operator flex machines requires from two to three months job opportunities for man are found in the maintenance of all transmission equipment and in the operation of the relay offices in the carrier system department trained technicians maintain equipment that transmits hundreds of messages over a single payor of wires in the experimental laboratories college trained research engineers work constantly to find new methods and techniques to provide quicker service one of these developments is radio beam telegraphy transmitting one thousand and forty messages in each direction simultaneously through a series of high towers another is a facsimile a telegram whereby a written message is dropped into a transmitter and automatically reproduced by a receiver it were needed at the switch boards which control circuits between offices and in supervision of the partners as well as general executive positions typical of these is the traffic manager always responsible for the efficient of all messages through the traffic department the construction of new branch offices and maintenance of existing buildings and properties is the function of the plant department new equipment is installed and wired by equipment mayhem and installation experts from this department teller printers and multiplex machines are in constant use and require inspection by trained testing and regulating men so that sudden breakdowns may be avoided in the commercial department i handled most transactions with the public in addition this department employs about fifteen thousand messengers to pick up and deliver messages here excellent opportunities are provided for young men to acquire business training because of the contacts established while delivering messages more than a million prominent business man began their careers as western union messengers the scope of the modern telegraph and cable is world wide in america alone thirty thousand branch offices and agencies offer many opportunities for managers operators repairman and other trained personnel to render efficient service to the public it's a far cry from present day telegraph a set of these the early beginnings of the nineteenth century similarly it's a far cry from the first telephone developed by alexander bell in eighteen seventy five in the early days switchboard were operated by men and servers with crude today modern facilities handle more than one hundred million calls every twenty four hours these calls flow at the rate of one thousand per second through telephone network using enough water to string a line to the sun more than ninety million miles away this tremendous system provides job opportunities for half a million employees with allied range of interest  telephone exchange first the engineering department prepares the plans for the buildings and transmission systems and arranges for plant construction much of this technical work requires specialized training them skilled craftsman build lines install equipment and maintain it in operating order after construction is completed a large number of operators are brought in to staff the switchboard under the guidance of supervisors operators have been trained to provide courteous and speedy service to be an operator and applicant must have a clear voice normal hearing and eisai a high school education is an advantage of about two hundred twenty five thousand operators the most important factor in efficient exchange service are employed by all companies they also handle all day long distance and special because even in communities served by a dial telephone and automatic systems many operators are required for information and special service with the traffic personnel on hand the new home the next change is ready for a full scale operation a clerical forces eyes for computing charges for service preparing and mailing builds and collecting the money as well as all other office work costs an income analyzed and statistics prepared for administrative purposes now the new home for the exchange is a unit of the world wide tell phone networks who supply this far flung network with the latest improvement research engineers and laboratories constantly experimental discover new techniques new materials and quicker methods of production the dow telephone and automatic switchboard are among the better known accomplishments of these skilled engineers these are men who must possess the creative mind and an everlastingly curious approach in addition they are highly trained in scientific and technical fields while a college education is help for a young man or woman can start in the telephone or telegraph industries after graduation from high school and work here is all her way up for technical work and understanding of mechanical drawing elementary electricity physics and mathematics is very important all new employees in these industries are trained right on the job or in company school to perform specific tasks one of the special jobs is that of alignment his duty is to help build new lines and repair those which have been damaged in the spring and summer he find storms of rain and wind in the winter there is ice snow and freezing gales opportunities in our jobs for promotion are plentiful because most companies prefer to advance their own personnel whenever possible dependability is an important factor in judging an applicant's aptitude and just as the public depends on proper service and communication telegraph and telephone companies in turn must depend upon reliable capable employees to keep these nervous systems of our social and economic life functioning properly throughout the country man and women can find excellent job opportunities in the twins the use of wired communication these are jobs with stable employment for a wide range of aptitudes and ambitions if you are the sort of person who finds satisfaction in contributing to the service of other people everywhere then telephone or telegraph communication may become your life's work