Ms. Perez explained: "There are four of us and we rotate so that one of us can be on a break. This work is very tiring when the board is busy and you need a rest now and then. If the board gets terribly busy-after a strike, an accident, or something unusual-then you'll find the four of us here most of the time."
The work of a switchboard operator was much heavier before the advent of direct dialing. This enables anyone to call an extension in the company without going through the switchboard operators. Employees may also dial calls to telephones outside the company without an operator's assistance.
"All these calls you see are from people who don't know which extension to dial," Ms. Perez said, as she pointed to the switchboard. "Most of them need our help in deciding who in the company can help them."
Ms. Perez then observed that it calls for a thorough knowledge of the company and the various departments to operate a large company switchboard. The operators must know where they can reach every employee as well as who does what, so they can refer calls quickly and accurately. There are switchboards all over the company wherever there are large numbers of telephones and incoming calls from the public.
Operating a switchboard requires patience, quick thinking, a good memory, a clear voice and pleasing manner, and as Ms. Perez said knowledge of the company. Business courses in high school and some other schools often include instruction for those who want to become operators, and many companies give on-the-job training.
In most airlines telephone operations come under the coordination of the communications department. A telecommunications company usually installs and maintains the telephone system, but it is necessary for the airline to plan telephone needs in advance and work with the phone company representatives. This planning may call for engineers capable of making forecasts of future communications traffic loads, analyzing them, and deciding what and how much equipment will be required to meet the demands. This is especially true in the reservations department where increasing passenger loads (usually caused by lower fares or national prosperity) can create heavy demands for additional reservations clerks-and that means more telephones and related equipment.
In addition there are other intra-company communications systems, notably teletype and radio contact between flight crews and ground dispatchers and others who keep in touch with the planes. This calls for the services of radio technicians and communications specialists who have been trained in college, vocational or technical schools, or who may have received their training and experience with one of the telephone companies before coming to work for an airline.
The communications field changes rapidly with technological innovations; therefore, if this area interests you, you should contact the personnel offices of two or three airlines and find out about their needs and the experience and education they are seeking for their positions. This is not likely to be a large department but none is more vital-for without the ability to communicate quickly and reliably-an airline cannot operate.
DATA PROCESSING
"We might say this is the heart of the company, the place where valuable information is stored and is available when needed," said Ms. Barrett. "It was only 1951 when the first computer was installed for commercial use, and our ways of doing business since then have been revolutionized. Today we use computers to keep stockholder records and print dividend checks, prepare the company payroll, keep personnel records, do accounting work, prepare purchasing information and keep inventories of hundreds of items, to say nothing of processing flight records. Besides this computer, there is another that keeps the reservation records and prepares all the information needed about the number of seats sold on every flight."
She held the door open for us and continued:
"I have had to learn a lot about computers since our entire stockholder records are processed here. In fact, I would advise young people who plan a business career to learn everything they can about computers and how they work. After all, most businesses are becoming more and more dependent on them."
A recent survey of airlines reveals the extensive use now made of computers.
Reservations Department: ticket and travel agents (worldwide) have instant access to the central computer of many airlines to obtain information about schedules, reservations, interline connections, check-ins, rates, flights, hotel and rental car information, and baggage tracing. The computer can also print tickets instantly.
Operations Department: the computer is used to do the necessary calculations for crew management, flight planning, fuel consumption, and weight balance for each flight.
Maintenance Department: the computer keeps inventory records, schedules when each airplane must go for a certain type of maintenance, and the maintenance records of each plane.
Miscellaneous: the computer performs tasks such as compiling and analyzing financial and sales records, preparing payroll records and paychecks, handling cargo and stock control, preparing government reports and keeping stockholder and personnel records, as well as many other types of information needed by management.
Now back to our tour. We were in an office where a number of data typists were seated in front of small screens with typewriter keys below them. As they typed each letter or numeral, it appeared on the screen while electrical impulses fed the data directly into the computer or stored it on a tape or disk.
She pointed to a woman working next to several metal cabinets that had numerous disks stored in them. "She is the tape librarian," Ms. Barrett observed. "She classifies and catalogs all information that has been put on tapes or disks and is important enough to be kept for future use or reference. Thanks to her cataloging, the material is easy to find when you need it."
It would appear that the data typists might be bored inasmuch as they do nothing but type at their machines all day, and Ms. Barrett admitted that this work was repetitious and appealed only to certain people. Pro-motion is limited, although advancement to a supervisory position is possible after a number of years, and some employees who obtain additional training may gain jobs as programmers or console operators.
Our guide motioned us to where we could look through a large picture window into another room filled with green metal cabinets, in some of which we could see disks revolving.
"That's the computer room," she said. "The console operators usually are the only employees permitted in there. Console operators need several months of training for this job. They study the instructions for processing whatever data are to go into the computer (which is called input), load the disks or magnetic tapes into the computer, and start the machine. Operators must be alert while the console is running to see that nothing goes wrong. Error lights will signal a malfunction, and the operators must know how to locate and repair the trouble. Good console operators can trace the causes of failures, but this knowledge is not gained quickly. With experience, operators can move up eventually to supervisory posts or to related jobs as programmers.
"What do the programmers do?" we asked, this being an entirely new area.
"Programmers are important to the successful operation of a computer because they feed it the necessary step-by-step instructions to be followed. The machine has no brain so it must be given detailed directions, which are called programs. The programmers list the steps the machine must take to solve problems or produce the desired information."
A programmer writes in a special language that has been developed especially for computers and each program is different. The instructions required to tell the computer how to process a complicated payroll will be entirely different from those telling the machine how to bill customers, calculate finance charges, add charges, deduct payments, and prepare monthly statements.
"Most programmers are college graduates and those who make the programs for engineering or scientific applications usually need graduate degrees in computer science, engineering, mathematics, or in the physical sciences," the lawyer said. "For airlines I would say that college courses in data processing, accounting, and business administration would be desirable background. Programming is taught in all types of schools from high school to colleges and universities. Ingenuity, imagination, logic, patience, persistence, and accuracy are the principal qualifications required for the work."
The next position above that of computer programmer is systems analyst-a man or woman who discusses a data processing problem with a departmental manager or specialist. After the analyst learns the exact nature of the problem, it must be decided how to use the computer to solve it. Prior work experience is necessary, and, therefore, this is a good job for young people to work toward after they have mastered other positions in the computer field.
When we left the department and walked toward the elevators, Ms. Barrett added: "Computers are here to stay, so it is a good end of the business for a young person to learn-in fact it is as exciting and promising in its way as aviation!"
As we returned to the room where the receptionist sat, Ms. Barrett realized that she had not mentioned this position. The company employs receptionists in many offices, and while no specific qualifications are required for the job, knowledge of typing is useful and may help a young person gain employment. Some receptionists also operate a small switchboard, type, file, and perform other assignments. Because the receptionist is often the first person in a company whom the public meets, careful grooming and a pleasant manner are extremely important. Although there is normally little opportunity for advancement, a receptionist who has typing, shorthand, or bookkeeping skills can usually transfer to other positions as they become available.
We thanked our guide, said goodbye, then sped down to the ground floor and walked out on the busy street. In thinking back over the tour, we realized that the general offices of an airline offer as wide a variety of job opportunities as can be found in the offices of most large companies. We had by no means exhausted the possibilities for employment: there were still all those jobs in finance, sales, and personnel, which will be covered in the following chapters.
