CONTENTS Letter of transmittal__ Foreword... Introduction.. The outlook for women in technical library work.. Prewar distribution Annual addition to the supply- Wartime changes___ Earnings and advancement.. Organizations___ The outlook....... The outlook for women in patent work... The outlook for women in technical writing and editing. The outlook for women in technical illustration____ Page 8-111 8-v 8-1 8-3 8-4 8-5 8-5 8-6 8-7 8-8 8-12 8-16 8-18 The outlook for women in technical secretarial and other clerical work... 8-23 Appendix: Minimum education and experience requirements for application for beginning Federal civil service position as junior professional assistant librarian... Minimum education and experience requirements for application for beginning Federal civil service position as junior professional assistant with option as patent examiner__ Minimum experience and education requirements for application for beginning Federal civil service position as technical editor, biological sciences option. - - Minimum experience, education, and work sample requirements for application. for beginning Federal civil service position as technical illustrator... Sources to which reference is made in the text_ 8-26 8-26 8-27 8-28 8-29 Illustrations: 1. Technical librarian of a large corporation-- 2. Patent examiner in the U. S. Patent Office... 3. Assistant professor at a medical school giving art instruction___ 4. Student at work on a 3-dimensional drawing in perspective... 772331°-48- 2 8-x 8-14 8-19 8-21 8-IX Figure 1.-The technical librarian of the research laboratories of a large corporation with a few of the references and materials she uses in her work. 8-X THE OUTLOOK FOR WOMEN IN OCCUPATIONS RELATED TO SCIENCE INTRODUCTION Many establishments engaged in scientific work employ not only scientists working directly in scientific research or observation, but also a number of other persons engaged in such occupations as those of: the technical librarian, the patent searcher, the technical writer or editor, the technical secretary, the technical artist or illustrator. In these, the possession of a particular nonscientific skill or knowledge is as important as scientific training. There are similar types of work not elaborated upon here: the purchase and selling of scientific instruments and supplies; technical liaison between research and sales departments (interpreting research results in nontechnical language for salesmen's use); technical personnel work involving the selection of scientific personnel; and the teaching of science below college level. In these occupations, such qualifications as business acumen, training in personnel, or the ability to instruct in the classroom may be as essential as training in science. The amount and kind of training required in science as well as the amount and kind of nonscientific skill or knowledge needed vary widely for particular positions in occupations of this type according to the needs and hiring habits of the employers. For public high school teachers of science, for instance, the requirements differ in the various States and cities. In some States, teachers of high school physics are required to have only 1 year of college training in that science; in other States, a master's degree in physics is required. In small high schools, where a science teacher is expected to teach all the sciences offered and perhaps mathematics as well, a college background showing a variety of sciences is preferred to an intensive specialization in one. Opportunities in high school teaching have been mentioned in other parts of this series in the discussions of the separate scientific fields. However, it is well to remember that there were more than 50,000 teachers of science in the 28,000 high schools in the United States in 1945 (11). In size, this group is larger than any one of the scientific groups except for those in chemistry, engineering, and medicine. Moreover, the need for additional teachers of science in 1947 was still great, and indications were that opportunities for women in this field would continue in the years to come. Although technical librarians, secretaries, illustrators, writers and editors, and patent searchers have also been mentioned in the discussions of the outlook for women in particular sciences, these occupations warrant separate treatment here not only because of the dual qualifications required to enter them and the little publicity that has been given them, but because women form a much higher proportion in them than in the laboratory phases of scientific work. |