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Burlington Commission on Human Rights, 1964-1965
At Work in Industry Today Page 7
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[photo to right] Georgia G. Davis How to advance from waitress to secretary in marketing. When Mr. Georgia Davis graduated from Carver High School in Salem, Va., in 1950, she faced an uncertain future. The Korean War had just begun and no one, least of all the youngsters in the graduating class, knew how it might affect them. She took the first job she could find--as a waitress. When the opportunity came to become a dental assistant with a local dentist, she was glad to take it. But Mrs. Davis wasn't satisfied with her personal development. Ten years after finishing high school, it was clear to her that she needed further education if she was to improve her employment opportunities. She entered Virginia State College at Petersburg for a two-year course in secretarial studies. After graduation, she applied at General Electric's Industry Control Department on the outskirts of Salem. She was given the usual battery of tests and demonstrated outstanding ability, scoring well above the average. She was offered the only opening available at the time, that of a typist in the Marketing typing bureau. She transcribed copy from dictating machine tapes supplied to her by over 20 sales engineers in the Marketing offices. When an opportunity came along for a higher-rated job in one of the Marketing offices about a year later, Mrs. Davis was among the candidates selected for an interview. The new job called for experience in shorthand, a skill that could easily have grown rusty in the year she spent transcribing copy from tape. But Mrs. Davis, for two night each week, had taught typing and shorthand at a Roanoke business college--an assignment guaranteed to keep her skill honed to a fine edge. Mrs. Davis go the job and has received several increases and a promotion to date. She continues to prepare herself for future opportunities and possible advancement. She has completed a business machine card punch course and plans to take other courses later. She says, "I like secretarial work and I want to stay in that field. But times are changing and the person who wants to get ahead has to keep on with his education. You have to get as much education as you can as quickly as you can." [photo to right] Thomas R. Dudley He shifts educational sights as a result of General Electric work Long before he graduated from Roanoke's Lucy Addison High School, Thomas R. Dudley had developed a keen interest in engineering, particularly chemical engineering. So much so that he won an honorable mention for an exhibit he prepared for his school's annual Science Fair. Mr. Dudley was accepted by Columbia University in New York City. He studied there for about two and a half years until an illness in the family and the consequent drain on finances forced him to leave the university. In the fall of 1963, he came home to Virginia, looking for work that would enable him to save enough money to go back to school. One of the first places he applied was the General Electric Industry Control plant in nearby Salem, which makes automation control equipment for industry. His college training helped him land a job as a technician in heavy mill engineering, the subsection making complex systems controls for steel mills. Mr. Dudley earned an increase within three months after joining Industry Control and has the chance to progress to higher grade work. chemical engineering continues to attract young Mr. Dudley, but not quite as much as it did before he came to General Electric. He says, "You can't be a technician in a place like this and stay lukewarm about electrical engineering. I've had the opportunity to work on some very important jobs and I'm finding I like the work more and more." Will he eventually forsake chemical for electrical engineering? "I think so," he says, "but I'm certainly going to continue my education and get a master's degree." How? Well, he plans to apply for a General Electric Tuition Refund that will help him finance an education that will be beneficial in his work at General Electric. Tom Dudley thinks that may young people entering college have only the vaguest concepts of what they want to do in life and that their knowledge of the challenges they will have to meet and surmount is almost nil. He sees a real advantage in working for firms like General Electric because the student is confronted, perhaps for the first time, with realities of competitive life. 7
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[photo to right] Georgia G. Davis How to advance from waitress to secretary in marketing. When Mr. Georgia Davis graduated from Carver High School in Salem, Va., in 1950, she faced an uncertain future. The Korean War had just begun and no one, least of all the youngsters in the graduating class, knew how it might affect them. She took the first job she could find--as a waitress. When the opportunity came to become a dental assistant with a local dentist, she was glad to take it. But Mrs. Davis wasn't satisfied with her personal development. Ten years after finishing high school, it was clear to her that she needed further education if she was to improve her employment opportunities. She entered Virginia State College at Petersburg for a two-year course in secretarial studies. After graduation, she applied at General Electric's Industry Control Department on the outskirts of Salem. She was given the usual battery of tests and demonstrated outstanding ability, scoring well above the average. She was offered the only opening available at the time, that of a typist in the Marketing typing bureau. She transcribed copy from dictating machine tapes supplied to her by over 20 sales engineers in the Marketing offices. When an opportunity came along for a higher-rated job in one of the Marketing offices about a year later, Mrs. Davis was among the candidates selected for an interview. The new job called for experience in shorthand, a skill that could easily have grown rusty in the year she spent transcribing copy from tape. But Mrs. Davis, for two night each week, had taught typing and shorthand at a Roanoke business college--an assignment guaranteed to keep her skill honed to a fine edge. Mrs. Davis go the job and has received several increases and a promotion to date. She continues to prepare herself for future opportunities and possible advancement. She has completed a business machine card punch course and plans to take other courses later. She says, "I like secretarial work and I want to stay in that field. But times are changing and the person who wants to get ahead has to keep on with his education. You have to get as much education as you can as quickly as you can." [photo to right] Thomas R. Dudley He shifts educational sights as a result of General Electric work Long before he graduated from Roanoke's Lucy Addison High School, Thomas R. Dudley had developed a keen interest in engineering, particularly chemical engineering. So much so that he won an honorable mention for an exhibit he prepared for his school's annual Science Fair. Mr. Dudley was accepted by Columbia University in New York City. He studied there for about two and a half years until an illness in the family and the consequent drain on finances forced him to leave the university. In the fall of 1963, he came home to Virginia, looking for work that would enable him to save enough money to go back to school. One of the first places he applied was the General Electric Industry Control plant in nearby Salem, which makes automation control equipment for industry. His college training helped him land a job as a technician in heavy mill engineering, the subsection making complex systems controls for steel mills. Mr. Dudley earned an increase within three months after joining Industry Control and has the chance to progress to higher grade work. chemical engineering continues to attract young Mr. Dudley, but not quite as much as it did before he came to General Electric. He says, "You can't be a technician in a place like this and stay lukewarm about electrical engineering. I've had the opportunity to work on some very important jobs and I'm finding I like the work more and more." Will he eventually forsake chemical for electrical engineering? "I think so," he says, "but I'm certainly going to continue my education and get a master's degree." How? Well, he plans to apply for a General Electric Tuition Refund that will help him finance an education that will be beneficial in his work at General Electric. Tom Dudley thinks that may young people entering college have only the vaguest concepts of what they want to do in life and that their knowledge of the challenges they will have to meet and surmount is almost nil. He sees a real advantage in working for firms like General Electric because the student is confronted, perhaps for the first time, with realities of competitive life. 7
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