The enterprise. [volume] (Harlem, Mont.) 1899-1926, 1910-10-20

work in large cities is generally d.
vided into three shifts. two of them
during the day and the early
night hours when the service is in
greatest demand, and the other in the
less arduous hours Of night and early
So, the new assistant man
ayers work at first will probably be-
on the easy night shift. But ultimate
ly, if he is ambitious and progressive,
he will be assistant manager in one
of the large exchanges where there
are three or four hundred girl opera
tors.
Then he becomes manager OF a
small exchange station, and finally, II
he attends to business and takes
pride in making his exchange model.
where all calls are handled with the
least possible delay and complaint, he
is rewarded by being made the actual
and direct head of one of the largest
exchanges. The salaries of managers
range from $4,000 to $4,000 year.
Their reputation is in their own
hands; for they are the sole respon'
sible heads of the exchanges, having
the employment and control of all en-
ployees and being subject only to the
traffic chief.
The next promotion is big one, be"
ing to traffic chief itself. He is the
immediate superior of all exchange
stations managers in large district
such as the old city of New York, or
Brooklyn, or New Jersey. This man Is
the executive director of all traffic
business and calls his exchange man
ayers together frequently to discuss
and decide upon various important
phases to keep their work progressive
and uniform His salary Is from $4,000
to $4,000 a year.
Then comes the coveted position OF
superintendent OF traffic, who gets $1o,'
900 to $4,000 u year, is a member or
the company, is executive head of all
traffic chiefs, and is on an equality
with the plant superintendent and the
general commercial superintendent, the
| three great directors of all telephone
business except that which is purely
financial and executive. Any one of the
three officials is in line for the posts
of general manager, and, ultimately.
i president.
| There is, however, another line OF
advancement in the traffic department.
that of traffic engineer. You may have
noticed that telephone districts, espe
cially in the larger centers of popula
tion are in a condition of continue
change, new exchanges being opened
old ones abandoned, etc, to meet the
changing conditions of telephone traf
fic This is where the engineers work
comes in.
We shall say that your boy, WHILE
getting his telephone education a..t
working as traffic inspector, has mani
tested a desire and aptitude for work
ing up through what is known as the
engineering department rather than tt
become an executive. His observan
instructor has noticed this and com
municates accordingly with the hea(
of this particular branch, who assign!
the beginning to the study of charts
showing the volume and trend of tele
phone in various districts. So your DO.
watches the number of calls made il
particular localities, their decrease an,
increase at different hours and from
day to day and thus becomes sort o
traffic prophet. When he finds that tn
demands of an exchange will be up t
the maximum of it's faci''"s In tw
or three years, say, he p-asents hi
data to the head of the denartment
| and new exchange station rdere
built An exchange station ht,- to b
planned at least two years ahead, a
this time is required to install one. .
traffic engineer also designs the equiv
ment and switchboard capacity nece'
sary for all stations, and it is on hi
recommendation that steps are bein
taken continually to maintain the SER
'ce on no-delay basis.
The pay of engineers and assistant
is about the same as in the manag1n
branch of the traffic department, an
after becoming. a full fledged trait
, engineer in charge of large distrsc
, the incumbent is on par with II
traffic chief and in line for the tra;f
superintendency
, Such, in. a general way, are the staI
, that boy who desires to make trait
telephony his life's work has to tax
And let me add that with the te1ephC1
industry growing so rapidly in &
, parts of the country, the field Of tra.f
telephony promises to be fertile IL
: for bright, ambitious boys for MANI
, year to come.
, Copyright, 1910, by the Associated J.,
erary Press.)