Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1911-02-03

work in large cities is generally d.
vided into three shifts, two of them
working 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
morning. 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 viii be assistant manager in one
Of the large exchanges where there
are three or four hundred girl opera
tors.
Then he becomes manager OF
small exchange station, and finally, Il
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 a 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 a big one, be,
ing to traffic chief itself. He is the
immediate superior of all exchange
stations managers in a large district,
such as the old city of New York, or
Rrnn1y1un ON .axr- ie
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 year
Then comes the coveted position of
superintendent Of traffic, who gets $780,
600 to $4,000 a year. is member of
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,
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-
ton, are in a condition of continued
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 and
working as traffic inspector, has mani
tested desire and aptitude for work
ing up through what is known as the
engineering department rather than to
become an executive. His observant
instructor has noticed this and COM
municates accordingly with the head
of this particular branch, who assigns
the beginning to the study of charts
showing the volume and trend of tele-
phone in various districts. So your boy
watches the number of calls made in
particular localities, their decrease and
increase at different hours and from
day to day. and thus becomes a sort OF
traffic prophet When he finds that the
demands of an exchange will be up to
the maximum of it's racf'"'os In two
or three years, say, he p4 esents his
data to the head of the department,
and new exchange station rdered
built. An exchange station ht- to be
planned at least two years ahead as
this time is required to install one. A
traffic engineer also designs the equip
ment and switchboard capacity neces-
sary for all stations, and it is on his
recommendation that steps are being
'9'-o'' r--+''---0 'ly to maintain the serv-
e GA lo-delay basis
The pay of engineers and assistants
is about the same as in the managing
branch of the traffic department and,
after becoming full fledged traffic
engineer in charge Of large district.
the incumbent is on a par with the
traffic chief and in lire for the traffic
superintendency
Such in general way, are the stems
that boy who desires to make traffic
telephony his life's work has to take
And let me add that with the telephone
industry growing so rapidly in all
parts of the country, the field of traffic
telephony promises to be a fertile one
Tor bright, ambitious boys for many a
year to come.
Copyright 1910, by the Associated Idt-
erary Press)