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THE MARINE REVIEW VOL. 43 CLEVELAND DECEMBER, 1913 NEW YORK No. 12 Marine Engineering the average young man _ reflects more or less seriously upon the line of employment he is to choose for his life work. Perhaps from his early boyhood he has had a vague desire to become a statesman, soldier, lawyer or doctor. Or, seeing a locomotive with all its wonderful mechanism, the life of a railroad engineer has seemed attrac- tive. But, at more mature age, say from 18 to 21, the problem becomes a serious one--very largely because of his limited personal knowledge of the kind of ability necessary for the work he is to choose, or the lack of assur- ance tHat he will find his choice satis- factory. The young man is too often influ- enced by his anxious' parents. - "I don't know what I am going to make of my boy", is an expression familiar £0: us all, The father may have a well estab- lished, profitable business, and his am- bition to have his son succeed him is perfectly natural, but to insist upon his son doing this if his tastes and talents lie in another direction, is a great injustice to the boy. I know of a case in which the father is the head of a very large manufacturing concern and was particularly anxious for his son to take up the business he has made by his skillful and ener- getic leadership. However, after a college education, the son decided upon a professional career with its uncertainty from a_ financial stand- point, thus proving himself to be a young man of strong character. A great engineer may have a son who would never be a success as an engineer, not necessarily from lack of intelligence, but because his tastes, habits or temperament might be en- tirely foreign to the requirements of this profession. es before school days are over W hat the Field Offers to the Young Man Seeking an Occupation By J. C. Workman I have been referring to the average young. man, Of coucsé, "there ate those who are naturally born musi- cians like Beethoven, preachers like Henry Ward Beecher, or electricians J. C. WORKMAN. : J. C. Workman, the author of this ar- ticle, is chief engineer of the American Ship Building Co. He began work in the machine shop of the William Cramp Ship & Engine Co., better known as Cramps, at Philadelphia, 26 years ago. From gang foreman in the erecting shop for two years, he went into the drafting room of the engineering department. In 1897 he came to Cleveland to work on revenue cutters for the Globe Iron Works of which he was made chief draftsman a year later. When the Am- erican Ship Building Co. was formed in 1899, taking over several companies in- cluding the Globe Iron Works, he was Saud ahiet draftsman of the combination. In 1911 he was made its chief engineer. He obtained his technical education at Franklin Institute, Philadelphia. He _ is 'a member of the Cleveland Engineering Society. like Edison or Marconi who are so abnormally developed in certain lines that they find their vocation as the magnetic needle finds the pole. I am also 'considering that the young man is choosing his future calling, not merely from a financial standpoint, but to discover the one for which he is peculiarly fitted, both by natural and temperamental quali- fications. One, too, that will be most congenial, for there is. hardly worse drudgery than to be compelled to per- form a task for which you have no interest or liking and which is simply endured for the remuneration. Frequently, however, and unfortun- ately, I believe, the money considera- tion has too great weight in the final decision that the young man makes. Of course, it looks very promising for the young college or high school graduate to start off with fifteen or twenty dollars per week; but we are reminded of the two apprentices who started at Baldwin Locomotive Works some 30 years ago. One would not work for the small sum then paid to boys learning the business, but started on a moderate wage turning .ear wheels... After 30 years he is still faithfully turning car wheels. The other lad was willing to begin at the bottom of the ladder, and has devel- oped into a competent and well paid engineer. The marine engineer of any ability is generally well paid, but if the young man, though he may possess the finest college education, expects large remuneration from the begin- ning, he will be disappointed in this profession. In either the engineering end of the business or in the hull con- struction branch, experience is a great asset. The question as to whether a col- lege education is essential in this branch of engineering has been very thoroughly discussed by Messrs. Car- negie and Crane. My own opinion, after some 26 years in the business, is that it all depends upon the man. However, the man with the college \