The Vintage Career Girl vs. Today’s Career Girl

• In the 60’s and early 70’s women almost always majored in education, nursing, or sociology – today they have majors all over the spectrum and there are NO LIMITS to what they can accomplish.
• Employment ads in all the national newspapers were divided between female and male job openings. Today the job search takes full advantage of current technology with no indication of gender.
• All managers had secretaries and, of course, my first job (even though I was a college graduate) was secretary to a Personnel Manager (now known as Human Resources). Fortunately, I worked for a rather progressive female who I respected and learned a lot from.
• I’m not exactly sure what the college graduates are getting for starting salaries these days but I know it exceeds my $118.00 per week. I managed to live in Manhattan, New York on that salary in 1969.
• While living in New York in 1969, I shopped at Alexander’s and Orhbach’s for discounted clothing – today I think it would be Marshalls and Ross. I loved to walk through Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdales and look at all of the fancy apparel, accessories, and cosmetics. Saks and Bloomingdales were then unique to just a few cities, so shopping in NYC was a very big deal.
• In those days, you needed to be at least 26 with a good income in order to qualify for a credit card. Needless to say, we frequented banks, deposited our checks and were forced to live within our means. I think we all did. You could only spend what you had – it was all pretty simple. Frankly, it still is that simple– (if we forget about keeping up with the Jones’s).
• No Starbucks – just the best New York coffee anywhere – we would stand in the “to go” line at the delicatessen to purchase it on our way to work. Even the coffee carts had good coffee. Maybe I should mention the warm buttered corn muffins?
• I walked everywhere with comfortable shoes – I still do. How can these career girls wear the high heels day in and day out?