PART 1

.--COMMON COMMERCIAL EMPLOYMENTS--BOOKKEEPING

Among the oldest and most universal of office positions is that of bookkeeper. For men who require work that does not call for physical

## activity this vocation offers excellent opportunities of earning

immediate incomes while at the same time paving the way for advancement.

REQUIREMENTS

Men who elect this calling should be able to write a good business hand, be accurate and rapid in handling the usual arithmetical computations, be neat and painstaking in their work, understand the fundamental language of business, be familiar with the common business forms, and possess a thorough understanding of the universally employed double-entry system of bookkeeping.

LENGTH OF COURSE

The time required for completion of a course of study that will insure the possession of the above qualifications will depend upon the man’s previous education and experience, but should generally be kept within a period of six months. Many will make adequate preparation in much less time.

WHERE TRAINING MAY BE GIVEN

Excellent courses are to be had in a large number of approved private business schools, and men may be trained in their home environment or in large commercial centers where employment is to be sought, as they may elect.

WHY TAKE TRAINING?

While many so-called bookkeeping positions are open to men without training, it is highly desirable that a comprehensive knowledge of bookkeeping be secured, as it is only by this means that promotion can be expected. The posting clerk, or entry clerk, will always remain an unskilled laborer in competition with untrained boys and girls unless he is fortified by such a knowledge of the science of accounts as will enable him to become the head bookkeeper, the cost accountant, or the auditor. Such a man may, by additional training in evening school, qualify for the profession of accountancy and establish an independent business of his own.

SALARY

Men who know accounts and possess the other desirable business qualifications can be placed in positions with a salary range of from $10 to $30 a week.

PERMANENCY OF EMPLOYMENT

The all-round bookkeeper in any establishment is indispensable to the business, and is rarely released when business depression calls for retrenchment in the pay roll.

DISABILITIES

The possession of mental faculties and one hand, with fairly good general health are all that are absolutely essential to success in this occupation from the physical standpoint. Men with two artificial hands have succeeded in this work, but the absence of both hands is such a handicap that one so afflicted should rarely undertake work that requires so much writing. It should be emphasized, however, that no difficulty is experienced in learning to write well with the remaining hand, where one has been lost, regardless of previous habits in writing.

A simple device for enabling a man to do with a stump what he would ordinarily do with his left hand is available to all who care to use it. It enables one to hold a ruler or blotter; to steady a book or sheet in place while writing is being done; and to perform all the usual functions of the left hand. When the right hand is gone the left is trained to do what the right has done before, and the right arm stump becomes the supporting or auxiliary arm.

EVENING SCHOOL OR PART-TIME INSTRUCTION

Those who must get to earning at the earliest possible moment may be placed at the completion of the fundamental part of the course, continuing their study in evening school or in other types of extension classes where such are available. Or it may be possible in some localities to secure for such men half-day employment which will leave half of the day free for school work.

PLAN No. 1084. GENERAL CLERICAL WORK

Expert filing and indexing positions offer an opportunity for those whose handicap is of such a character that it is desirable for them to secure employment that will not require contact with the public.

QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING

The qualifications for this kind of work are accuracy, carefulness, and system in doing things. Training in the various indexing and filing systems in use is essential. Text material has been prepared by the manufacturers of filing cabinets, and courses of study, including practice, are offered by many schools in different parts of the country.

PROMOTION

Such positions rarely lead to promotion such as will appeal to the ambitious man whose handicap is of such a character as to warrant the selection of different and more promising occupation from the viewpoint of salary or independence.

LENGTH OF COURSE

Short intensive courses of from six to ten weeks will enable a man to qualify for this kind of office work.

CALCULATING MACHINE OPERATING

For a long time adding and listing machines have been in use in banks and large business offices. More recently calculating machines which are capable of performing mathematical work beyond the plain addition of the ordinary adding and listing type machine have been placed in business offices. The volume of figure work of this kind is particularly heavy in billing, cost, and pay roll departments in many lines of manufacture. Even small manufacturers regularly employ help for the figure work exclusively. Owing to the greater accuracy and speed made possible by the use of the calculating machine, such work is no longer handled by paper and pencil methods.

OPPORTUNITIES AND SALARIES

Opportunities for young men in this line of work exist in great number in all large cities, and there are many chances for positions of this kind even in the smaller manufacturing towns. The salaries for such positions range from $16 to $25 per week according to the degree of responsibility involved. There is an opportunity for advancement for young men of fair educational qualifications who possess a determination to learn the work which is just ahead and many young men aspire to positions as head of billing, pay roll, or cost departments, where the responsibility is considerable and the salary proportionate. Many such positions exist where a salary of $35 to $40 per week can be earned. Many large concerns have a practice of promoting men who show special aptitude for mathematical work in connection with the calculating machines to departments other than those mentioned.

QUALIFICATIONS

The necessary qualifications are simple for the clerk who is to handle figure work with a calculating machine. He should have a fair mental equipment with at least a common school education. A high school or business school course will be an advantage. He should also possess a natural liking for arithmetic. The full use of one hand, preferably the right, is essential to success in operating such a machine.

TRAINING REQUIRED AND LENGTH OF COURSE

To operate any key-driven type of machine speedily and accurately one must devote considerable time to intelligent practice. The process is not unlike that of learning to operate the typewriter. In the operation of this type of machine both hands will be required for the manipulation of the 81 keys. An intensive course of from 10 to 12 weeks is required to develop the necessary manual skill and master the special rules for performing the various mathematical calculations.

On the crank-operated calculating machine, all work is direct, i. e., all operations are handled exactly as they are handled with paper and pencil so far as rules are concerned. Anyone who can handle a pencil can readily operate this type of calculating machine. Speed and accuracy on this type of machine are largely independent of manual skill on the part of the operator. One who possesses a good common school education and some aptitude for arithmetic will need only two or three weeks of practice in order to handle successfully all figure work in the average office. Such machines have an unlimited range in practical work, handling such work as estimating, engineering problems, and statistics.

OTHER OFFICE MACHINES

Much important printing and duplicating are done on privately-owned machines, and skillful operators are always in demand for this work. Such an occupation may appeal to the man whose handicap makes him shrink from continual contact with the public, and who has his hands and fairly good general health.

Salaries are not large, usually from $10 to $15 a week and there is no natural line of promotion leading to more responsible positions. However, skill in this work, combined with a little capital, may enable a man to establish an independent business of his own by purchasing the necessary machines and advertising to do work for the general public.

Short unit courses of from 6 to 10 weeks will suffice to acquire the requisite manipulative skill for this work.

Where there are no schools giving instruction for this occupation arrangements can be made for securing training as an apprentice in the factory of the manufacturers, or in the offices of firms equipped to do this work for themselves, the training being under the direction of the Federal Board for Vocational Education.

Employment opportunities will be found only in the larger cities. However, an independent business may be established even in comparatively small towns.

The above statements regarding duplicating machine work apply to the operation of the addressograph and similar office devices, such as the Hollerith machine card puncher, the photostat, and the tabulating machine.

PLAN No. 1085. STENOGRAPHY

No less important than bookkeeping is stenography with its exceptional record for serving as a medium through which men may advance to high grade executive positions. Stenographic work requires somewhat more physical activity than does bookkeeping, but a skillful male stenographer, though somewhat physically disabled may count on employment owing to a constant demand that has never been fully met. In no other occupation is one thrown into such constant and close contact with the business executive to whose advantage it is to promote an employee who has shown capacity for more important and profitable work. As a stepping stone to big things a stenographic position has no rival in the list of business occupations.

Many prominent men might be named who owe their success to some extent to their ability to write shorthand. The list includes men high in official positions, and prominent railroad executives who have reached their high positions, through stenographic work. Their success gives conclusive evidence of the importance of this kind of training. In other lines, also as for example, in iron and steel, insurance, powder, electricity, and in fact right down the line of big business in America bright young men have, because they were shorthand writers, had the chance to go to school to the best teachers of the business in the world, i. e., the executive heads of their respective concerns. And instead of having to pay handsomely for their instruction, they received good salaries while they were learning and preparing to step up higher.

QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING REQUIRED

Taking character for granted, the necessary qualifications for amanuensis and secretarial work are:

Good general health, eyesight, and hearing. Ambition, enthusiasm, self-reliance, and determination. A mind of at least average activity and alertness, improved by a thorough high school education or its equivalent.

Training in English to the extent of becoming proficient in spelling and punctuation, and acquiring a good working vocabulary.

Ability to speak and write with a fair degree of fluency.

A knowledge of the more common business papers, forms, and customs.

Accuracy and reasonable facility in the use of figures; familiarity with the simpler methods of bookkeeping; and ability to write a presentable hand.

For the broader field of professional shorthand reporting, the requirements are more exacting.

The time required to master shorthand for amanuensis or secretarial work is from seven to twelve months; for professional reporting, from one to two years, during a considerable part of which time the learner is usually able to earn a comfortable salary while pursuing his course in advance shorthand.

WHERE TRAINING MAY BE SECURED

A number of good private business schools, located so as to be convenient for those taking courses, are prepared to give any training required under arrangements made by the Federal Board for Vocational Education.

SALARY POSSIBILITIES

The salaries paid to amanuenses and private secretaries range from $1,200 to $5,000 a year. Shorthand reporters, in law courts and elsewhere, earn from $2,000 to $10,000 a year.

HANDICAPS

The possession of both hands is essential to success in this work. Artificial appliances can scarcely take the place of the fingers in such rapid writing with both pen and machine. Good eyesight and hearing also are absolutely essential to success in this calling.

PLAN No. 1086. RETAIL SELLING

Large department stores and the chain stores offer opportunities for profitable employment at better salaries than were commonly paid a few years ago in the retail trade, and training for real salesmanship in this field is now available.

Men whose disabilities indicate as suitable for them physically more or less inactive types of employment, and who are not so injured as to make intimate contact with the public undesirable, may find in expert salesmanship opportunities worthy of their serious consideration. Positions as department heads or buyers are open to men who meet with conspicuous success as salesmen.

WHY TRAINING IS NECESSARY

The man behind the counter is no longer looked upon as clerk whose sole duty it is to hand out that which is asked for. He is classed as a salesman who has it within his power to build up the business of his department by winning and holding good customers. Knowledge of the well-defined principles of salesmanship and of his wares is quite as important to the “inside,” or store salesman, as it is to the man “on the road.” It is only by the right kind of training that such knowledge can be acquired. For the disabled soldier to learn “by experience” would require too much time.

WHERE TRAINING CAN BE SECURED

Training for this occupation can be obtained through part-time extension day or evening courses in many cities. Then, too, many large stores maintain educational departments where training on an apprenticeship basis can be arranged for by the Federal Board for Vocational Education. Men preparing for this work have the advantage of being able to earn wages while they are taking training.

PROMOTION AND SALARIES

Success in this vocation will surely mean promotion. The usual promotion stream for men who have received good training runs from stock keeper, through junior salesman, salesman, assistant buyer, to buyer. Salaries range from $12 a week for beginners up to several thousand a year for department heads. It is also possible for men who have the necessary capital to look forward to establishment of a retail business of their own, if they prefer to be independent of an employer. Training for success in developing a retail business should be even broader and more thorough than that required for salesmanship in a store operated by others.

LENGTH OF COURSE

A short intensive course of three or four months will serve to place a man on an earning basis in some good modern retail establishment, and a further period of six or eight months’ part-time extension study will be needed to place him on a sound footing as a salesman.

HANDICAPS

A salesman should not be so wounded as to be repugnant to sensitive customers. Any disfigurement which will attract the customer’s attention will increase the salesman’s difficulty in making a sale. The loss of a leg will not interfere with success in this work, nor will the loss of one hand if an artificial hand is used. Cheerfulness, courtesy, neatness, and tact are among the usual qualities that are required in any occupation which brings a man into close contact with the public.

PLAN No. 1087. TELEGRAPHY AND WIRELESS OPERATING

While it is true that railroads to some extent are telephoning their orders instead of telegraphing them, there is still a real demand for men who are not only trained in telegraphy, but who have some knowledge of railroad accounting and general railroad practice. Such men can hope to secure good paying positions in railroad office work. There is always a demand for telegraphers to fill commercial positions and it is quite likely that this field of work may grow in the future. It should be added also that the development of wireless service, and the enlargement of our merchant marine will open up a new field for men who are skilled wireless operators and whose knowledge of the practical art of sending and receiving messages is supplemented by a good understanding of the fundamental principles of electricity.

TRAINING NECESSARY

The necessary course of training for this vocation will include theory and practice in sending and receiving telegrams and wireless messages; a complete training in spelling and business English, business writing, and business arithmetic--unless it is apparent that the man needs no further training in these fundamentals; railroad freight office business practice, including a thorough study of bills of lading, freight classification, rating, etc.; instruction in railroad practice with reference to freight charges, storage, and demurrage, and rejected and unclaimed freight; fundamental bookkeeping, especially in connection with the keeping of cash records, and the handling of collections and remittances; and the making of monthly reports and balance sheets. Practical work will be provided at first in connection with the school course and later in offices on a part-time basis.

LENGTH OF COURSE

While much depends upon the individual, it is safe to assume that a period of from 9 to 12 months will be required to master telegraphy and the necessary business training that must accompany it to insure the highest degree of success. For wireless operators more advanced instruction in electricity will be required and a correspondingly longer time will be needed. Those who wish to do so may, however, complete the telegraphy portion of the course, accept a position, and continue their study of wireless in extension classes. Men who have had railroad experience, or some business training, or good courses in physics including electricity, will be able to shorten somewhat the time required for completion of the entire course.

HANDICAPS

No man should undertake to prepare for this vocation who has not the use of both hands, good hearing, and at least a fair degree of general good health. The other qualifications required are much the same as those required for any type of office work.

PEN ART

Men who have special aptitude for penmanship and lettering will find a wide field for the practice of this commercial art. Sign lettering, filling in insurance policies, diplomas, and other important documents, engrossing resolutions, teaching the subject, and supervising others in this department of business education are among some of the occupational opportunities open to men who excel in this line.

Training can be obtained in special schools, and positions for those who are qualified will not be hard to find.

## PART II .--PROFESSIONAL COMMERCIAL SERVICE

The occupations described in