[47] Per day.

[48] No fixed hours.

1. Based on intensive technical training of 35 to 40 hours per week.

2. Practically all specialised positions in baking are properly based on a journeyman’s experience. In the case of men who have served only partial apprenticeships, or who have no training whatever, an individual determination is necessary in each case as to the amount of special education, technical school training, and shopwork required to equal the regular apprenticeship foundation.

3. The artificial limbs now available may in many cases enable the individual to meet the physical requirements where the above statement would indicate a difficulty. Each such case must be decided on its merits.

Disabilities—They Need not Disqualify

A study of the table of occupations will show that few soldiers, who feel they have an aptitude for this industry, will find themselves disqualified. Of course, the bakeshop is no place for a consumptive, nor for an invalid, but the loss of an arm, a leg, an eye, or facial or head wounds need not necessarily disqualify men for every occupation in a bakery. There are many occupations in a bakery which a man with these physical defects may fill with perfect satisfaction and success. Indeed, success can be obtained even under the most apparently serious handicap. Much depends upon the man with a physical defect. He must not let his mind dwell upon that fact. If he has not lost his head or his courage he most assuredly can qualify. What he thinks is a disqualifying defect may not be one at all. Certainly, if his mind is made up to overcome his defect, the battle is over half won already.

The Government Will Help You

Every soldier must know that this Government of ours stands ready to assist him to find a congenial occupation. You need not feel discouraged, therefore, because of your supposed disqualification. Instead, it may be the making of you, especially if your mind is positively made up to succeed and if you will accept your Government’s offer to help you to success. While you are learning to become a baker you will be paid a regular allowance to cover your living expenses and your family will be paid an allowance for their support, so that in fact while you are learning you are also earning.

The Chances for Success

The chances for success are as great in the baking industry as in any other. Look about you a bit. It is very seldom you hear or read about the failure of a well-established bakeshop. The people must have bread. Good bread making is not at all difficult. Your chances to make and to sell good bread are just as good as those of your competitor-baker. Baking is a stable industry. There are large profits in the industry when well conducted. Your chances for success, therefore, are good, because the proprietor’s chances for success have always been good. Many examples might be pointed out to you of owners of bakeries who 10 to 20 years ago began in a small way and who to-day are baking from 25,000 to 100,000 loaves per day.

Qualifications

For the owner of a bakery the personal characteristics required for success in a large way are about the same as for other occupations and professions. He must keep abreast of the times by constant study and application. Of course a man must be honest. He must be determined to give full weight. It seems so easy in a bakeshop to cut the weight of a loaf by one-half to 1 ounce and thus reap a temporary advantage, and so it is; but as in other businesses, “honesty is the best policy,” and the baker who has the reputation for giving full weight generally gains in the end, and the one who is known to skimp on his weight will eventually find that policy a losing game. A proprietor must be a hard worker; he is liable to be required to work at any time of day or night. He must be a man who can get along with men, one to win their confidences, cooperation, and best endeavors.

A master baker should be able to manage men so as to get the most out of them consistent with decency and fair play. He should have an intimate knowledge of flours and of the other ingredients used in baking. He should be well posted in the art of baking in all its phases, and have enough ambition to keep posted and abreast of the times.

The other employees of a bakery do not need so many of the qualifications possessed by the master baker so long as they are content to remain where they are, but if they are planning to become master bakers themselves they must make up their minds to obtain this very training. Many soldiers have already had considerable experience in field bakeries. They will find this experience of great value in commercial bakeries. However, previous training and experience in the Army is not an essential, inasmuch as sufficient experience can be had in several months’ study at a trade school to satisfy the requirements of beginners. Men who aspire to forge ahead in a bakery must have “pep,” be alert to learn, and must apply themselves studiously. They should have a natural aptitude for the work, for the best work can never be done in any line where there is no love and enthusiasm.

Training and Experience

Formerly, bakers learned their profession through the apprenticeship. While that system is also in vogue to-day, yet many men are being given a tremendous boost by first attending a trade school for bakers or a technical school, college, or university. In going through the apprenticeship stage, a man would be very greatly assisted if he had at least an eighth-grade education or better still a high school or college education. The trade school will in the course of six to nine months’ intensive training not only train a man to bake a good loaf of bread, but will teach him to know the characteristics of the ingredients which are used in baking and how to detect or determine their quality. He will acquire a chemical knowledge of these raw materials. He will also learn to have a thorough knowledge of baking machinery and how to handle ovens. After such a schooling, he should make fast progress as an apprentice.

Schools of Baking

Among the schools offering training for bakers may be mentioned the Dunwoody Institute at Minneapolis, the University of Minneapolis at University Farm, Minn., the Kansas Agricultural College at Manhattan, and a number of trade schools proper at Chicago—the Columbus Laboratory, Operative Miller, and Siebel Institute.

It should always be recognized that a general education is a great aid on the road to success, and that an ambition to keep pace with the improvements in methods, changes in materials and appliances will be rewarded by more rapid promotion. One of the best ways of maintaining the pace is to read the various journals devoted to milling and baking and to associate one’s self with societies specializing in milling and baking.

The bakers’ journals which will be found helpful are as follows:

Among the milling journals may be mentioned:

There are two societies in this country which are making special endeavors to study milling and baking problems, viz, the American Society of Milling and Baking Technology and the American Association of Cereal Chemists. Besides these journals and societies, from which considerable help and enthusiasm may be obtained, the Government, particularly the Department of Agriculture, stands ready to assist anyone along these lines. This department has accumulated considerable information on flour, bread, and the various cereals, and it is always glad to answer any questions that it can and ready to give out any information which it has.

Besides all these sources of help, much information may be gained by reading bulletins published by a number of experiment stations, and these bulletins may be obtained for the asking. Among the experiment stations publishing such bulletins may be mentioned the following:

Furthermore, a number of books on baking have been published in the English language, among which may be mentioned the following:

It is thus seen that for the man who is ambitious to learn about baking there are many sources of knowledge. The baker, or baking employee who aspires to become a baker, can find much assistance and inspiration from bulletins, books, journals, and societies, and by correspondence with experts of the Department of Agriculture. The disabled soldiers who believe they can qualify to become bakers have every reason to feel encouraged.

PLAN No. 1248. DENTAL MECHANICS AS A VOCATION

This monograph was prepared by Dr. Harold DeWitt Cross, director, the Forsyth Dental Infirmary, Boston, Mass., and Dr. Guy S. Millberry, dean, college of dentistry, University of California, Berkeley, Calif.

Mechanical dentistry has been practiced by individuals for over a thousand years, though its development in a scientific way can be said to date from the beginning of the last century.

It is a part of the practice of dentistry which is limited to working upon inert matter and does not include work of any kind upon patients. For this reason anyone can become a dental mechanic, for the laws governing the practice of dentistry in all States specifically point out that such are exempt from the licensing requirements and penalties of law.

In presenting this work as a possible vocation, care has been taken to give fair and accurate accounts of what may be expected, the qualifications, and the type of work done. It is not right to say that mechanical dentistry is extremely simple, or that the pay is magnificent. It is right to say, however, that with the proper qualifications, mechanical dentistry offers big returns upon the investment of time and effort required to complete this course of training.

Mechanical dentistry plays a vital part in maintaining and increasing human efficiency. Hence, the skilled dental mechanic may be proud of his work, and may derive a threefold satisfaction from it—the pleasure in the work itself, the gratification of being well paid, and the satisfaction that comes from the knowledge that it is of benefit to mankind.

Class of Work Done.—The work of a dental mechanic consists of making, in the laboratory or work room, artificial dentures and restorations such as plates, bridges, crowns, inlays, etc., for which the impressions have been taken from the patients’ mouths by the dentist, and the work done under his direction.

The work may be divided into two major classes, plate work, and crown and bridge work. Plate work may again be divided into vulcanite or rubber plate work and metal plate work. In addition to this there are a number of types of dental work such as pouring and trimming plaster models of the teeth, making metal dies and counter dies, gold and porcelain inlays and other kinds of incidental work, so that a variety is always to be found in any dental laboratory.

Plate Work.—Plate work by the mechanical dentist consists of assembling plaster or modeling compound, taking impressions of the mouth and teeth, pouring plaster casts from them, making bite plates and the mounting of the models on the articulator, and in the instance of metal plates, making dies and counter dies of zinc and lead or similar metals or alloys for subsequent work. Then the porcelain teeth are set up in wax for trial purposes and the wax is subsequently removed and replaced by vulcanite. In the case of metal plates, aluminum, gold, or platinum is used as a base plate which must be swaged or cast to fit each individual case. This requires a knowledge and skill in the working of metals and frequently includes soldering operations.

Crown and Bridge Work.—Crown and bridge work include the working and soldering of precious metals as gold, platinum, or similar materials, and porcelain or it may be a combination of both precious metals and porcelain. These two classes of work constitute the largest part of mechanical dentistry though each class may offer many different types of cases.

Conditions of Labor.—Mechanical dentistry attracts a very desirable class of men, and therefore the people with whom one is thrown in the profession are such as may be a source of inspiration and encouragement.

The work is all light, usually performed at a bench, either sitting or standing as the mechanic prefers. There is enough of a variety of work to break the monotony. The metals used are zinc, lead, tin, copper, bismuth, antimony, or alloys of them, and the precious metals, gold, silver, mercury and platinum.

Practically no machinery except a small polishing lathe is used and all the tools and equipment are furnished by the employer. While much of the work is done with steel tools, very little of it is done on steel.

Light and ventilation are usually of the best, though the laboratories are generally small, and the sanitary conditions are generally very good.

Hours and Wages

Hours.—The hours are in a sense variable, running from 40 to 50 per week, and may vary from week to week where the dental mechanic is employed by the individual dentist. The hours depend largely upon the amount of work on hand in the office each day and the urgency for its completion. Usually the dentist works about seven hours a day, and he seldom demands more time of his assistants. Under these conditions, overtime is not usually considered. In large laboratories where a number of mechanics are employed the hours are likely to be more uniform and exacting.

Wages.—The wages will range from $15 to $40 or $50 a week, depending entirely on the ability of the mechanic, his speed and careful workmanship being the determining factor. More than $20 a week can not usually be expected at the start, but progress will be rapid according to the ability developed.

There are no unions organized to include this branch of labor as nearly all dentists do their own mechanical work during odd times.

Dental mechanics who possess skill and good business acumen may establish laboratories of their own, and cater to the needs of a number of dentists who do not have enough work to employ a dental mechanic, and yet more than they can accomplish themselves along with their other work. In this way, on a basis of piece work, a dental mechanic may build a lucrative and independent business, employing a number of assistants, and produce a net income of from $3,000 to $7,000 or $8,000 a year. Of course the essentials for success in such a business are the same as may be expected of any man who expects to be successful in other lines of business.

Permanency and Opportunities of the Profession.—There is an ever increasing demand for honest dental service on the part of the general public. Fully 100 per cent of the children and adults in any country need some form of dental service at least once a year. There are not enough dentists now to supply this service except to a limited portion of the population, but many of these have a practice sufficiently large to justify the employment of several assistants, one of whom should be a dental mechanic.

On account of the lack in the past of facilities for training there has arisen widespread and urgent demand for qualified dental mechanics. Well-informed dentists, who have the interest of the profession at heart, appreciate the present necessity for men trained in this particular phase of dentistry.

There are in the United States alone nearly 1,000 cities of more than 5,000 population. The smallest of these would afford employment to one mechanical dentist or more, working on salary or independently. Of the total number of cities, 60 have populations ranging from 40,000 to 100,000; each of these cities will afford employment to a large number of mechanical dentists. Forty of the 60 have populations of 100,000 and over. New York is the largest and it is estimated that it alone affords employment for thousands of mechanical dentists. Each of the other 39 cities gives large opportunities for capable members of this profession.

Qualifications

Previous Training.—No previous knowledge of dentistry or experience in mechanical work is necessary to qualify the student for mechanical dentistry, though those who have had experience such as mechanics in the jewelry trade, metal working industries where small work is a feature, or photography will find that the former work is a good foundation.

Education.—An average education is all that is absolutely required for the student of mechanical dentistry, though a high-school training and a knowledge of physics, chemistry, and manual training is desirable.

Personal Qualifications.—A natural intelligence, a moderate amount of ability to work with the fingers, perseverance and neatness are the essentials for success.

Age.—There is no age limit for the man who wishes to take up this vocation.

Training

Time required.—The length of time required to train men for mechanical dentistry may vary, according to previous education, experience and his type of disability. In many places the training is not done by classes, but through personal instruction, and the completion of the course lies with the aptitude of the student. The average time required is believed to be about one college year unless, as in some special cases, an intensive course of four months or so is instituted. These have been opened in some places. This refers to the time required when a course is taken rather than an apprenticeship in some laboratory of a private dentist.

Type of Training.—A course in mechanical dentistry is a practical one in which the student learns by doing. The work is demonstrated by a capable instructor, and then the students themselves do the actual work. There are a limited number of lectures, and an effort is made to give a sufficient fundamental knowledge for all the ordinary manipulations required in the trade.

After his course is complete, he will continue to improve his general knowledge and skill by further study. He must learn, if he is employed by a private dentist, the particular methods of his employer, and keep up with the new improvements described in dental text books and journals.

Course of Instruction.—The course of instruction in dental mechanics include the following subjects:

Model making.

Rubber plate making.

Anatomy of teeth.

Saddles.

Crown and bridge work.

Gold plates.

Lingual bar plates.

Aluminum plates.

Metal casting.

Orthodontia or regulating appliances.

Special Fields.—There are special fields in dentistry where the dental mechanic may adapt himself to a new class of work now very much in demand, that of dental radiography, or the taking and developing of X-ray pictures. Persons having had previous experience in any branch of photography will fit into this work easily.

Other special lines are the making of orthodontia appliances, gold and porcelain inlays, castings, clasps, bridges, and plates, crown and bridge work, and gold plate work.

Disabilities.—The physical qualifications and disability restrictions of a dental mechanic are not very exacting.

Persons with one good eye and the control and manipulative ability of both hands or at least two fingers and a thumb on each hand; defective hearing, with one or no legs (provided locomotion is not impaired), such diseases as hernia, kidney trouble, affections of the liver or heart will not be too seriously disabled to enter this profession.

Tuberculosis, on the other hand, is a serious handicap, both on account of the sedentary life, and because it might be difficult to secure or hold permanent employment because of the fear of contagion. Other infectious diseases would be more suitable to some other type of employment.

Very few vocations are open to such a wide number of disabled men. The opportunity for them seems to be one which will continue to increase with the increase in scientific dentistry, and the growing comprehension of the people of the important relation of the mouth and teeth to their general health.


Each of the following plans has a specially arranged list of occupations and business opportunities which have not been placed in the main index and should be consulted in connection with the index.

      Page
Civil Service U. S., Index of Service— Plan No. 217 100
{ City, County, State and Federal Government,   487
Index of Service Plan No. 830-907 503
Forestry Pursuits—Index of Service 910 509
Wood Working Trades—Index of Service 928 556
Agriculture—Index of Courses 938 563
Agriculture—Index, Technical 940 566
Agriculture—Index, Experimental Station 942 569
Agriculture—Index, Extension Service 943 570
Navy Work—U. S. Index of Service 1050 624
Printing Trades—Index of Service 1238 826
Flour Milling—Index of Service 1246 849
Baking—Index of Service 1247 857

INDEX