Old-Fashioned Jobs
Tools of the Trade
At the Workplace
Jobs you don't see anymore
Working Memories
100

This person delivered letters and packages before the days of email and online shopping.

Mail Carrier

100

A carpenter commonly uses this tool to drive nails into wood.

Hammer

100

This person is responsible for answering incoming calls and greeting visitors at many offices.

Receptionist

100

Before automatic telephone systems, this person connected callers to the person or business they were trying to reach.

Telephone operator

100

Before direct deposit, many workers received their wages in this paper form.

Paycheck

200

A person who operated the switchboard and connected callers to the correct telephone line had this job.

Telephone Operator 

200

A plumber uses this tool to grip and turn pipes and fittings.

Pipe wrench
200

This document traditionally lists a person's education and work experience when applying for a job.

Resume

200

This person delivered bottles of fresh milk directly to homes, often leaving them on the doorstep.

Milkman / milk deliveryman

200

Workers traditionally punched this at the beginning and end of their shifts to record their hours.

Time Clock

300

Before supermarkets became common, this worker often measured out goods such as flour, sugar, and coffee for customers.

Grocer

300

This tool, commonly associated with electricians, is used to measure electrical voltage, current, and resistance.

Multimeter

300

In an office, this machine makes paper copies of documents.

Photocopier

300

Before modern vending machines and automated bowling equipment, this person manually reset the pins after each frame.

Pinsetter / Pin Boy

300

This phrase describes the traditional 9-to-5 working schedule.

Working a day shift / regular business hours

400

This railroad worker was traditionally responsible for signaling trains and helping control their movement.

Signalman

400

A tailor or seamstress uses this measuring tool that can easily wrap around a person's body.

Tape Measure

400

Before computers became commonplace, office workers often used this machine to produce multiple copies of a typed document.

Mimeograph

400

This worker operated an elevator manually, opening and closing the doors and stopping at the requested floors.

Elevator Operator

400

Before electronic cash registers, many stores used these books or machines to record purchases and calculate totals.

Cash register

500

In the days of newspapers being printed with movable metal type, this worker arranged individual letters into pages.

Typesetter

500

This woodworking tool uses a narrow blade stretched between a frame to make precise cuts.

Coping Saw

500

This early office machine used a keyboard and an inked ribbon to put letters onto paper.

Typewriter

500

Before modern printing technology, this highly skilled worker arranged individual pieces of metal type to create the pages of a newspaper or book.

Typesetter

500

In many workplaces, employees used this system to request a day away from work while still receiving their regular pay.

Paid vacation / vacation leave