Careers For Girls (1949)

[Applause] thank you in the high schools private schools and  colleges of the United States today there are approximately four million girls  who will be going out within the next few years to make careers for themselves  [Music] some will find their only career in marriage but by far the most of them will  be making their living earning their way for a greater or lesser period of time in  a busy and toughly competitive world competition begins with the circus for  every really good opening and the girl who wins is usually the girl who knows what  she wants to do and has some aptitude for it instead of drifting into the first job that  comes along she looks for the kind of work that fits her abilities and the career she  has planned [Music] for planning beforehand preferably with the guidance of a good counselor  can prevent many a fault start or failure in choosing what you want to do the first and  most important thing is to understand yourself what you are good at and what your interests  are and how you get along with others if for instance you are the gregarious type if  you like to go in for things like cheerleading and promoting school projects you'd probably  be good at some job that calls for you to deal with the public and use your persuasive Powers  as in selling if you get good marks in science and are willing to prepare yourself for it  your field may be medicine nor chemistry foreign if you like Social Service organizing Aid  helping others out you might make a good nurse or social worker if you're a good Craftsman you would  do well at work like upholstering or dressmaking or in factory jobs requiring dexterity if you're  musical but not enough so to be a professional performer you might try choir directing  teaching music or working in a music store a dazzling Hollywood career as a star  of the movies is the one time or another a career as Cover Girl one of those fashion  models whose faces and figures ornament the nation's magazines is almost as highly  prized but jobs like these are Out Of Reach of most girls and in any case are  by no means as glamorous as they look modeling for instance is hard work employment  is extremely irregular and pay averages low probably not more than a tiny percentage of all  models in the United States make a good living when it comes right down to starting a career  the wise girl chooses a job romantic or not but fits her abilities interests and personality the biggest single field in which  women find employment is officework where there is room for both skilled and  unskilled help in general enough skill for most clerical jobs can be acquired either  at high school or in some secretarial School for many other office jobs whatever training is  essential can be acquired on the spot [Music] interesting and well-paid positions like that of  confidential secretary to some important person go only to girls with exceptional  ability and experience for those who make good in them such  jobs can lead to Top Flight executive positions of which more and more are  being held down by women these days another field which offers  innumerable opportunities for girls bent on a career is retailing selling in department stores and specialty  shops everywhere is largely done by women to those who like meeting and talking  with people selling jobs can be both interesting and remunerative for many stores  pay Commissions in addition to a regular salary but retailing offers many other kinds of careers  besides selling there are various specialized jobs some big stores for example maintain  Laboratories for testing the goods they sell here there are opportunities for girls with scientific  interests those who enjoy research and Analysis some of the bigger retail stores also make  a practice of taking in apprentices and putting them through a course of training and  a series of jobs in order to give them a firm grounding from more responsible positions if  they are capable of making the grade [Music] one of the jobs such beginners often  start in is comparison shopping in cities where competition among the big  stores is sharpest the comparison Shopper is sent out to scout rival stores in the  guise of a customer to find out whether they are offering better values on similar  articles of merchandise than the home store jobs like this may not be the kind you want  to end up in but they're good to begin in because they give you a chance to absorb rapidly  a great deal of useful knowledge about merchandise and Merchandising methods and from them you can  move on to any number of other and better jobs one of the more desirable positions  in retailing is that of buyer buyers hold highly responsible jobs and  get paid accordingly well the success of the store may depend greatly on the degree of  taste and judgment and foresight they exercise to be a buyer takes a lot of qualifications  a thorough knowledge of merchandising and sound judgment plus the ability to  anticipate the Public's changing taste women who are successful in the merchandising  field sometimes Embark upon independent Ventures as for instance Mary Lewis whose career led her to  a Smart establishment of her own on Fifth Avenue field which has grown spectacularly in recent  years is the beauty business which in some of its aspects is almost a monopoly of women  such skills as are necessary for working in the average beauty shop can be acquired in a short  course of training the chances of a woman who is willing to work hard being able to start her own  business are even better here than in retailing fortunes have been made in the beauty industry by  Helena Rubinstein Elizabeth Arden and others whose Deluxe establishments are chiefly showcases  for the products of their big factories told in which opportunities and rewards  for women are probably greatest is fashion a predominantly feminine industry here as in  any field where the competition is stiff it is worth finding out what training is required  for the career you want and going after it the choice of careers in fashion is wide buying  and selling designing manufacturing promotion and display and many others there is money to be made  in all these if you've got a good business sense combined with style sense though competition is  particularly Keen for the better paid jobs [Music] for anyone who has Ambitions to start  out on our own it is a risky industry particularly in The Limited field of creative  fashion designers as successful as Valentina couturier to many eminent women of the Opera the  theater and Society are a small and enviable band fashion can be a springboard to other professions  too such as journalism here again competition is intense and in any branch of Journalism a  college education is usually a prerequisite there is a big group of successful magazines written for and largely by women  which greatly attract career girls this whole field is even more overcrowded  than fashion but anyone who can make the grade will find a choice of interesting  jobs ranging from production and editorial assistance to Art editors layout  artists copy editors and writers it's a tough field to break into but once in  there is almost no limit to where you can go has witnessed the careers of two of the nation's  top editors Carmel snow of Harper's Bazaar and Edna woman Chase evolve public relations publicity  and promotion are Allied occupations opening up to women thanks to the success of publicists like  Eleanor Lambert and others who have made a name in this field to make good you need among other  things imagination and diplomacy a broad knowledge of current affairs and a personality  at its best when you're meeting people to a lesser degree these same requirements pertain  to many jobs in the field of Transportation Airlines particularly offer  opportunities for women if you want stimulating work with  a touch of adventurousness in it you might apply for a job as a plane stewardess for this you need some college preferably trained if you're the kind of person who enjoys  giving help to others there are many jobs for you like teaching for instance whose  greatest rewards are the inward satisfaction of doing work you love the esteem of your  community and the companionship of the young if you like children and are in a position to  take the necessary training you will enjoy such relatively new but increasingly important work  as that of child psychologist and what burns no you mustn't come here for  it and put cuts nice nice people and put sleeps sleepy hands  sleepy heads and what scratches sleep we had that's great and now what flies the Nations hospitals are constantly in need of  personnel of all kinds though there are a few positions such as receptionists which have no  specialized requirements most of those who are employed in hospital work have to undergo exacting  preparation in advance for the jobs they hold nurses have to go through three stiff years of  training and practical experience for upon the work they do human life constantly depends nursing  is not easy but it offers great opportunity to serve the public and those who practice it take  great pride and satisfaction in their profession if your interest is more in science than in people  there are other jobs laboratory technicians for example or if you are prepared to undertake the  years of training necessary to become a doctor you might specialize in some field like  pathology women doctors are no longer a rarity and many of them such as meroneer Farnum  occupy places at the top of their profession today this and practically all the  other professions are wide open to women first woman member of the Federal  Communications Commission is an example of women who have been successful  as lawyers [Music] Lisa meitner famed Atomic scientist is one of a much smaller number of  women who have won distinction as physicists a profession that continues to  attract women in great numbers despite all warnings and discouragements  is acting what a beautiful face pull it I was growing uh although it's a lovely little  baby and the uh has to be the future Queen Elizabeth still uh what the king wanted more than  anything else in the world was his son and so it's a tragedy to these people so the line should  carry a undercurrent of deep tragedy I see not one girl in a hundred who tries the stage ever  makes a really successful career of it [Music] like acting a career as a concert or operatic  artist is only for the girl who was willing to gamble everything on the outside chance that  all her hard work and talent will pay off [Music] the number of women who have made a name  and a living for themselves by their art such as moral limpiny noted British  pianist is necessarily small [Music] despite all difficulties  when some person of great talent comes along like Marian Anderson the  rewards of success may be enormous Happy Food Rising Sun oh Lord have  mercy on me let us pray together [Music] if you open [Music] from the rarely talented to the most  ordinary every girl in choosing a career can find within herself abilities that  might fit her for a number of occupations her chances of success are likely to be  greatly increased if with the proper guidance she concentrates on the career for which  she is best suited and in which she can get the training necessary to take  advantage of every opportunity [Music]