PLAN No. 1047. OFFICE WORK
In addition to the trades and occupations carried on in the construction, repair, and maintenance work of the navy yard, there are a number of office and clerical occupations. In general, these occupations are carried on in the same manner as in the office of any business concern. The special forms and methods of doing the office work that are followed in the navy yard must, of course, be learned. These occupations include stenography, typewriting, filing, bookkeeping, cataloguing, general clerical work, library work, messenger work, telegraph and telephone operating, and various lines of special work.
Miscellaneous Occupations
The navy-yard list of occupations includes, also, a considerable number of miscellaneous occupations not mentioned among the regular mechanical “shop” and “yard” trades. Among these are glassworkers, glass molders, lens grinders, and instrument makers. In connection with work in the yard and on the buildings, a certain number of brick and stonemasons, pavers, house carpenters, dock builders, cranemen, house plumbers, stonecutters, and gardeners are employed.
PLAN No. 1048. CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT IN NAVY YARDS
If you are interested in the possibility of working in a navy yard you will want to know something about the demand for men in each line of work done in the different yards, the wages paid to each class of workers, and other conditions of employment.
Demand for Labor
Navy yards and naval stations vary greatly in the amount and kind of work done and so vary in the number of men employed and in the different occupations carried on. The yards at Boston (Charleston), Mass.; Brooklyn, N. Y.; Norfolk, Va.; League Island, Philadelphia; Bremerton, Wash.; and Mare Island, Cal.; do all sorts of construction and repair work, and employ the largest working force in the greatest variety of occupations. The Washington Navy Yard, or Naval Gun Factory, does no shipbuilding and not much repair work. Its equipment and labor are practically entirely employed in making naval guns and all sorts of ordnance supplies so that it employs no men in shipbuilding and but few on repair occupations. The naval torpedo station at Newport, R. I., is almost wholly confined to the manufacture and assembly of torpedoes and torpedo appliances. Most of the other yards generally carry on only repair work and refitting, and employ men in most of the ordinary trades and occupations. At present there is little or no demand for regular navy-yard occupations at Pensacola, Fla. Of course, in all yards the working force is increased or decreased according to the amount of work that is going on in the yard. Naval stations employ fewer men and offer chances in fewer trades than do the navy yards proper.
In general, navy yards employ in the shops more men in the metal trades than in the woodworking trades. In the shops more machinists are likely to be employed than any other class of workers. Relatively few persons are employed in the offices in clerical work. The Norfolk, Boston, and Philadelphia Navy Yards offer more opportunity in these lines than any of the other yards.
In the yard trades the number of men employed depends largely on the amount of shipbuilding going on. Where shipbuilding is going on the greatest demand is for riveters, bolters up, chippers, and calkers, and drillers and reamers. Compared with the number of men employed in these trades relatively few men are employed in the mold loft, and in such occupations as crane operators, locomotive crane operators, firemen, and locomotive engineers.