Page:The Girl Who Earns Her Own Living (1909).djvu/164

 The disadvantages are: A sedentary life, mostly copying, which is bad for the general health. As in teaching or the business field, the woman must do more work than a man to attract the attention of her chief, and men are advanced for less ability and on smaller pretexts than women. The routine deadens ambition in the average woman, who degenerates into a mere machine.

If a girl wants a fair income to spend on herself, it offers a fair prospect. If she is domestic in her tastes and wants a home, a husband and children, she is practically renouncing all those when she enters the Government office.

So much for the average clerkship. Now to girls who have specialized or who wish to do so. Some excellent positions are open to such girls. Examinations, salaries, age limitations and other details vary according to the work. The average limitation as to youth is eighteen years. The average age of appointees is twenty-eight years.

In Washington and other cities there are Federal positions open to expert stenographers and expert typewritists. The commonplace worker in either line should not waste time applying. Preference is given to the male stenographer or typist, and the ambitious girl must make a fine rating to secure the appointment. A few women bookkeepers are employed, but