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Burlington Commission on Human Rights, 1964-1965
At Work in Industry Today Page 24
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great degree upon you, the individual," says he. "The initiative one demonstrates--the projects one starts on his own--the extra effort exerted above and beyond the demands of the job-- all play an important role in one's ability to keep his job and grow in it. Keeping abreast of new developments in one's chosen field is also important. Education never stops. Change is so rapid these days--especially in the technical fields--that one must continually take courses and read. For example, since completing my work at Purdue in 1951, I have taken six additional technical graduate courses and a number of company courses--and I plan to take more." What advice does Bob Warr have for youngsters today relative to career planning? "Start your planning early," he says. "I did not make my decision until after four years of college. Youngsters of today and tomorrow just cannot afford to wait as long--especially in the technical fields. They will have to make their decisions by high school-- even junior high school -- so that they can prepare themselves to meet the competition. Advanced planning includes thinking of how to meet the expenses associated with higher education and striving for the highest grades possible. Youngsters who come from homes with limited incomes should realize that scholarships in most fields are available to those who have good academic records. "Even those youngsters who do not have the intention of going on to college must plan their future careers," says he, "since more and more jobs will require training. In the future, our country will need more skilled workers such as technicians, mechanics, secretaries, computer programmers--all of these jobs require special training." Any final advice? "Yes, one point," says Mr. Warr. "Under no circumstances should a youngster--or even an adult--get the idea that the world owes him anything. We achieve our goals to an important degree through our own efforts. Thankfully, the trend today is that a man is judged by his abilities-- this is the way it should be. It means, though,t hat an individual must be prepared so that he can demonstrate his abilities when the opportunity presents itself." [photo to right] Edward L. Whitehorne Learning what customers want in GE products What do customers expect from the biggest manufacturer of electrical equipment in the world? Naturally, General Electric tries to find out--and in an office at the headquarters of General Electric in busy midtown Manhattan sits a young man from Brooklyn named Edward Whitehorne. On his desk are papers and desk calculating equipment. Behind him is a wall of punched cards representing thousands of answers to thousands of questions. A few feet away is a room filled with data processing equipment. As a part of the GE Marketing and Public Relations Research team, Mr. Whitehorne sifts the raw material to try to extract data on customer needs. Mr. Whitehorne was graduated with honors from Boys High School in Brooklyn, but instead of continuing his education immediately he entered the Air Force. Four years in the Air Force, including three in Europe, gave him background in statistical work. Then came a year of study of data processing equipment, followed by four years as a computer tape librarian at the Brooklyn Army terminal. His first contact with General Electric came in 1962 when he worked as an independent contractor, handling data processing work on a free-lance basis. He landed his present job in the summer of 1963. Mulling over the problems of young people in today's complex society, Mr. Whitehorne believes that the toughest problem is deciding on realistic goals. "There is opportunity to advance in every field," he points out. "The problem is to make a decision as early as possible, and follow through with the kind of education that will help you meet your goals. There are plenty of adults still 'fooling around' today because they didn't set their goals early enough or because they didn't make the necessary effort to follow through." [photo to right] Dorothy P. Whiten She helps make sure that space vehicles accomplish missions Making sure that space vehicles come up with the right equipment to accomplish their missions in outer space is a primary concern of Dorothy Whiten, a supervisor in the quality control division of General Electric's Re-entry Systems Department in Philadelphia. It's her responsibility to lead a team of six people in assisting GE systems engineers to develop the proper equipment for a variety of space re-entry vehicles--spacecraft that must survive launch, carry out their missions in space, and then return safely tot he earth with their vital information intact. Mrs. Whiten comes by her technical responsibilities by an unusual route. Her academic and early work experience were in business administration and finance. She joined General Electric in 1957 as a file clerk in the quality control print crib. After promotions to stenographer and secretary, she began on-the-job training as a clerk in the calibration book group. A deep interest in this work and a desire to become a specialist int his field prompted her enrollment in three Company courses: Mathematics, computer programming and basic electricity. 24
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great degree upon you, the individual," says he. "The initiative one demonstrates--the projects one starts on his own--the extra effort exerted above and beyond the demands of the job-- all play an important role in one's ability to keep his job and grow in it. Keeping abreast of new developments in one's chosen field is also important. Education never stops. Change is so rapid these days--especially in the technical fields--that one must continually take courses and read. For example, since completing my work at Purdue in 1951, I have taken six additional technical graduate courses and a number of company courses--and I plan to take more." What advice does Bob Warr have for youngsters today relative to career planning? "Start your planning early," he says. "I did not make my decision until after four years of college. Youngsters of today and tomorrow just cannot afford to wait as long--especially in the technical fields. They will have to make their decisions by high school-- even junior high school -- so that they can prepare themselves to meet the competition. Advanced planning includes thinking of how to meet the expenses associated with higher education and striving for the highest grades possible. Youngsters who come from homes with limited incomes should realize that scholarships in most fields are available to those who have good academic records. "Even those youngsters who do not have the intention of going on to college must plan their future careers," says he, "since more and more jobs will require training. In the future, our country will need more skilled workers such as technicians, mechanics, secretaries, computer programmers--all of these jobs require special training." Any final advice? "Yes, one point," says Mr. Warr. "Under no circumstances should a youngster--or even an adult--get the idea that the world owes him anything. We achieve our goals to an important degree through our own efforts. Thankfully, the trend today is that a man is judged by his abilities-- this is the way it should be. It means, though,t hat an individual must be prepared so that he can demonstrate his abilities when the opportunity presents itself." [photo to right] Edward L. Whitehorne Learning what customers want in GE products What do customers expect from the biggest manufacturer of electrical equipment in the world? Naturally, General Electric tries to find out--and in an office at the headquarters of General Electric in busy midtown Manhattan sits a young man from Brooklyn named Edward Whitehorne. On his desk are papers and desk calculating equipment. Behind him is a wall of punched cards representing thousands of answers to thousands of questions. A few feet away is a room filled with data processing equipment. As a part of the GE Marketing and Public Relations Research team, Mr. Whitehorne sifts the raw material to try to extract data on customer needs. Mr. Whitehorne was graduated with honors from Boys High School in Brooklyn, but instead of continuing his education immediately he entered the Air Force. Four years in the Air Force, including three in Europe, gave him background in statistical work. Then came a year of study of data processing equipment, followed by four years as a computer tape librarian at the Brooklyn Army terminal. His first contact with General Electric came in 1962 when he worked as an independent contractor, handling data processing work on a free-lance basis. He landed his present job in the summer of 1963. Mulling over the problems of young people in today's complex society, Mr. Whitehorne believes that the toughest problem is deciding on realistic goals. "There is opportunity to advance in every field," he points out. "The problem is to make a decision as early as possible, and follow through with the kind of education that will help you meet your goals. There are plenty of adults still 'fooling around' today because they didn't set their goals early enough or because they didn't make the necessary effort to follow through." [photo to right] Dorothy P. Whiten She helps make sure that space vehicles accomplish missions Making sure that space vehicles come up with the right equipment to accomplish their missions in outer space is a primary concern of Dorothy Whiten, a supervisor in the quality control division of General Electric's Re-entry Systems Department in Philadelphia. It's her responsibility to lead a team of six people in assisting GE systems engineers to develop the proper equipment for a variety of space re-entry vehicles--spacecraft that must survive launch, carry out their missions in space, and then return safely tot he earth with their vital information intact. Mrs. Whiten comes by her technical responsibilities by an unusual route. Her academic and early work experience were in business administration and finance. She joined General Electric in 1957 as a file clerk in the quality control print crib. After promotions to stenographer and secretary, she began on-the-job training as a clerk in the calibration book group. A deep interest in this work and a desire to become a specialist int his field prompted her enrollment in three Company courses: Mathematics, computer programming and basic electricity. 24
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