Читать книгу Succeed Without University Degrees, Mentors or Money - Lucille Jr. Orr - Страница 3

I was born on 31^st August 1945 straight after World War II ended so I’m almost too old to call myself a Baby Boomer because most Boomers were born in 1946 after their fathers came back from fighting overseas.

My father, a carpenter was sent to Darwin to build hospitals when the Japanese invaded Australia. As a child I heard many horrifying stories about the Great World Depression and both the first and second world wars.

During the Depression my father had to go to work as a young teenager to financially support his family so he expected me to leave school as soon as I turned 14 so I could do the same.

My mother begged him to let me stay on to complete my third year at high school so I could gain my Intermediate Certificate. Dad only agreed to let me stay in school as long as I had a permanent job to go to the day my exams ended.

I walked the streets of Adelaide in the first term school holidays that year asking for a job at every office in the city. I was lucky when I walked into the offices of the Electricity Trust of South Australia (ETSA) they said they were aptitude testing school leavers. They were looking to train key punch operators for the new IBM 360 computer being installed in their new office building in Eastwood on the edge of the city the following year.

After explaining my situation they let me sit for the IBM aptitude test and a typing test the same day. I passed the IBM test with a B+ pass. My father had told me all my life only an A or 100% pass in an exam was acceptable in his eyes, so I felt I had let him down by not getting an A that day.

But to my surprise because of my accurate typing speed on the keyboard they told me I had a permanent position with ETSA as a typist/clerk and I could start work that December. It was in 1961.

I gained my Intermediate Certificate and started working at ETSA in the city offices in North Terrace, Adelaide. The following year the new Eastwood building was completed and the IBM 360 (one of only six computers in SA) was installed.

I remember the day a memo from Mr. Hamilton the big boss of the computer department went out to all typists who had passed the IBM aptitude test offering them the opportunity to apply for a position as a Key Punch operator. I didn’t apply because I only had a B+ pass on the test and knew I wasn’t good enough.

Within a week I was told to report to Mr. Hamilton’s office and he asked me why I hadn’t filled in the application to work in his department. When I told him why, he was surprised because the B+ pass was excellent according to him.

Ten years later when I owned one of the largest computer training businesses in Australia and I had personally called in to see Mr. Hamilton while picking up a data processing consignment from ETSA, he reminded me of this initial conversation in his office.

“Remember that young sixteen year old girl who thought she wasn’t good enough to apply for the computer department. Look at you today with businesses in three states and over 100 permanent staff, congratulations.” he said proudly like a father praising his own child.

I’m sure you must be thinking “How did Lucille do it?” I’ll do my best in this FREE e-book to give you my energy, inspiration and self-belief. This has driven me all my life to achieve my goals, regardless of the distractions and disappointments along the way.