Reliable Shorthand & Typing Speeds Got Best Jobs

When writing my mother’s eulogy recently, I was enhancing the rather stale and very unexciting notes my elder sister had provided about Mum’s early life.  We all remember her talking excidedly about her early days working in the City and London in general.  She left school in 1944 with her school certificate – no staying on to get higher certs or go to college.  Mum was of the ‘leave school & go out to work, get a career to let you earn your keep for life’ brigade.  And by golly she did just that.  She took commercial subjects at school – we took that to mean Pitman’s shorthand and typing.  the easier RSA style of learning had not become a thing yet.  Mum excelled at short hand and took additional lessons after leaving school.  This got her speed of taking down the dictation up to phenominal speeds and then being able to transcribe onto the typewriter, also at very impressive speed, allowed her to pick and choose her secretarial jobs.  She was in demand even at the young age of 17 back when having a first class short hand secretary was still a  boasting point!