Evening star., 1925-02-15
RADIO AS VOCATION
.. DE[[|NGER'S TOPIC
Laboratory Chief Says 1t Of
fers No "Short Cut to
Wealth."

Discoursing on radio as vocation.
Or. j. II. Dellinger, chief of the radio
laboratory of the Bureau of Stand
ards, recently said: The idea that
radio offers short cut to wealth
with little work, can be dismissed at
once" There need be no forty
miners rush to the gold fields.'" he
continued, explaining some of the
mistakes which prospective engi-
neers, statesmen and inventors may
make, unless they pause before they
leap into this worldwide industry.
DIR. Dellinger went on in part as
follows:
Radio in its various phases has
become large and expanding indus
try. At the present moment there
may be a slightly greater return for
those engaged in constructing, engi-
neering, selling and otherwise Great
ing radio goods, than in other fields.
But 1t by no means follows that the
came skill or initiative, or brains, or
personality, or work put into radio
will yield more money than in any
thing else during the next ten years.
Relatively Same Opportunity.
1T has been said that the oppor-
tunittes in radio are a thousandfold
greater today than ten years ago.
as many people in it. the opportunity
Tor each one is now exactly what 1t
was then. The laws of supply and
demand work rather fast. l am some
what inclined to think that at the
present moment people are going
over into radio a little faster than
the total number of existing oppor-
tunities warrants. This opinion may
be wrong; a similar opinion might
haa he1 yf he r,tn 10 in
dustry or 10 years ago, and yet the
automobile industry is by no means
today strewn with the wrecks of
blighted careers.
considered as an opportunity to
do satisfying work and to give serv-
Ice, radio has great attractions Bear
In mind that radio as a vocation is
very different from radio as an avo-
cation. AS an avocation or diversion
radio has It's greatest hold at the
present time. Indeed, one disadvan-
tage OF radio as a vocation is that
You are thus denied it as an avoca-
tlon. L know some people won't
agree with me on this. They think
they can work at radio all day and
get their diversion from it in the
small hours of the night, too But.
or course. q persons interests and
thought are bound to become one
sided when he denies himself the
relief that a true avocation supplies
In It's many phases radio as a voca-
tlon supplies as good opportunities
for real hard work and investment
or all the powers of mind and BODY
as any other.
Rated as "Growing Servfce,-
Probably the chief satisfaction that
the worker in radio derives is the
IA iS in
valuable and an appreciative service.
Only d few years now until world
VIDE telephony will be a reality By
com motnatfon of wire and radio peo-
pie VIII converse across the oceans.
ana regular means will be provided To
broadcast important speeches that
VIII be heard simultaneously in every
country on the globe What further
achieVements there will be only the
INA gination can suggest. Whether q
worker be gagged in radio science.
engineering, selling. publishing, oper-
atins or programing, he can feel
that his contribution to those con-
quests is an essential one.
Another fine thing about work in
radio is that it leads inevitably to
widening of the horizon and a
viewpoint not limited by national or
any other boundaries. AS the radio
20 themselves spread out INTO a Ill
lands, so must the thoughts and
plans of the worker in any of the
branches of radio.
1T is only when We consider the
several branches of radio that we
come really to think definitely about
radio as a vocation. You can't very
well just go into radio. 1t must be
radio operating, research, engineer
ing, broadcasting, manufacturing,
selling or publishing. The interest in
radio is so great that an unlimited
amount of information has become
aVailable-in magazines, in books, in
schools-to all who wish to become
learners. What person can learn
In any Of the fields of radio work,
hrst from these sources, and second,
from his actual experience in the
Job, Is limited solely by his capacity
Tor absorbing information.
Formal training is a great help
to the worker in any Of the fields
mentioned. Not that the college or
school course of itself makes the
man or brings greater rewards. 1t
simply gives a greater knowledge of
the subject and broader grip on the
implications of the subject and it's
place in the whole scheme of life,
80 that the trained man can more
readily profit by new developments
and perform services of real value
In unforeseen circumstances and thus
take advantage of opportunities. The
particular branch of radio that one
should enter depends on his natural