Page 12, Section II, Portland Observer, May 29,1905
Careers in jewelry
Jobs at Pacific Power
The work! o f Pacific Power, the
largest electric utility in the N orth­
west, is a dynamic, changing one for
the men and women who w ork there.
Pacific offers a variety o f opportuni­
ties for its employees in parts o f six
western states.
The company depends on the m ul­
tiple talents o f its employees for the
smixxh, efficient operation o f the
business. People make it work. Their
education or experience in science,
mathematics, engineering, business
administration and the human sci­
ences. among others, qualify them for
the demands o f their jobs.
The generation and delivery of en­
ergy is the heart o f the electric utility
business. Electricity is generated at
hydroelectric or thermal power plants,
and moved to distribution centers
for delivery to homes, businesses and
industry.
Hydro repairman Tom Harder is
part o f the maintenance crew in power
operations on the Lewis River in
southwest Washington. A 15-year
employee with the company, Harder
has been a repairman since 1970.
Power operations is also responsi­
ble for Pacific’s many recreational
sites by making the land around the
Removing old transformer after installing a naw one. PPf»L Journey
man lineman in "bucket" and on pole work high above street level
Linemen are skilled in safety measures as well as electrical procedures
Jama Ru. steam helper, calls computer program to screen. Ru is
preparing for career change, necessitated by closure of Lincoln steam
plant next year Steam helpers work beneath city streets, on system
bringing steam heat to downtown Portland since 1918.
generating sites available for public
use. Other opportunities in power and
thermal operations are for mechanics,
engineers, schedulers, and power
planners and analysts.
In field offices in communities
the company serves, it is the dedicated
service o f the local employees that
makes the company strong. These
employees have day-to-day contact
with customers, offering account in ­
formation and energy use assistance
and connecting electric lines to then
homes and businesses.
Por'land district steam helper
James Hu is taking business man­
agement and computet classes, pre­
paring for a new career when the
Portland Lincoln steam plant closes
next year.
Pacific's line personnel arc known
for their dedication to their customers
even under d iffic u lt, stormy condi
tions. They are recognized for their
expertise in often dangerous, heavy
work. Other opportunities in field
operations include estimating and
meter reading.
Inform ation handled by computer
make many Pacific Power operations
easier to handle. Inform ation sys­
tems rely heavily on computer science,
business administration and mathe­
matics. The department develops in­
form ation programs for the company
and for specific operations w ithin it.
In the computing center, the staff
provides instruction on machinery
and software and plans office auto­
mation and work stations for the
future.
A wide range o l professional, man­
ual and clerical positions, technical
and non-technical, are available at
Pacific Power, in addition io those
mentioned above. M ore than one-
half o f Pacific’ s employees are cov­
ered by union agreements. Other op­
portunities are available w ithin sub­
sidiaries o f PacificCorp, Pacific Pow­
er’s parent company.
W hen R ick M a r lin g ra d u a te d
fro m college, he knew a lo t about
je w e lry “ b u t not a blessed th in g
a b o u t m a k in g a liv in g . ” T o d a y ,
M a rtin teaches students the things
he wishes h e ’ s k n o w n w hen he
finished school.
M a r tin is o w n e r o f The Snow
O w l, a small jewelry shop located in
West Slope, on Canyon Road. He is
P o rtla n d C o m m u n ity C o lle g e ’ s
je w e lry in s tru c to r in the co lle g e ’ s
p ro fe s s io n a l s k ills p ro g ra m . The
program consists o f six terms o f in ­
tensive hands-on tra in in g in M a r­
tin ’ s shop, where students w ork all
day, four-days-a-week, learning the
skills that w ill enable them to make
a living in the jewelry industry.
M a rtin works w ith six students at
a tim e , a ll at d iffe r e n t levels.
P lacem ent o f grad u a te s o l the
program is 100 percent.
" T h is program is designed to give
students m-shop training in skills
the industry wants,” says M artin.
Students study gemology through­
out the program, while they learn
rendering, fabricating, casting, and
mold making. There is heavy empha­
sis on setting gem stones and jewelry
repair, according to Martin.
The in stru cto r attended Portland
State U n iv e rs ity where he studied
painting and drawing “ I wanted to
teach h igh sch o o l, so I to o k some
jewelry and ceramic classes for high
The first silk thread to bo sold on
spools appeared in 1849 Pravi
ously. silk thraad had baan sold in
skains
school a r t ,” he says. He lo u n d he
e n jo ye d the c ra fts m ore th a n the
painting and drawing
He continued his education at
Lewis and Clark College, graduating
with a master’s in education. “ While
there, I took more ceramics and
jewelry classes," he says.
When M artin got out o f school,
he said the real need for teachers
had disappeared He w o rke d fo r a
m a jo r d o w ntow n je w e lry store and
gradually began teaching classes for
PCC and o th e r lo ca l c o m m u n ity
colleges
" A s my own stu d io got busier, I
had to cut back on the num ber of
classes I was teaching," he explained
Now, through the professional crafts
program, M artin is able to teach and
run his own business simultaneously
Since he loses a stu d e n t o r tw o
through graduation each term , M ar­
tin is constantly on the lo o ko u t fo r
new enrollees in the p ro g ra m He
cautions that it is not always easy to
get in.
M a r tin sa id , to d a te , the
profession has been d o m in a te d by
m ales, b u t in d ic a te d there is no
reason fo r this other than tra d itio n .
H e ’ s try in g to encourage m ore
women to become jewelers. " A t one
tim e , fiv e o u t o f m y six stu d e n ts
were wom en,” says M artin. They all
graduated and got jobs.
What do you mean I'm fired?
F ire d ! W h a t am I g o in g to do?
M y m ortgage! The house! M y car!
What about the children? What w ill
my w ife say? W ill she leave me? I
wonder i f ...? I f you fin d yourself in
th is p re d ic a m e n t, here are some
steps to lake that m ig h t lend some
s ta b ility to this tra u m a tic period in
your life.
• E xa m in e y o u r present cash
position. Include cash at hand, like
s a la ry , sick pa y, and severance
monies owed to you. A lso include
assets which can be easily converted
to cash, i.e bank accounts, savings
bonds, stocks bonds, leases (cash
va lu e ), la n d c o n tra c ts , and cash
value o f insurance policy.
• C ontact your creditors and in ­
fo rm them o f y o u r sta tu s. M a n y
decent c re d ito rs w ill a llo w you to
reschedule yo u r debt paym ents so
that they meet the realities o f your
new financial position.
• Register at the unem ploym ent
o ffic e im m e d ia te ly i f yo u are e n ­
title d to receive b e n e fits . These
benefits, i f due you, begin the firs t
day you are out o f w ork.
• C o n ta c t a F a ir E m p lo y m e n t
Practice agency i f you feel you were
wrongly dismissed and have enough
grounds fo r suing the company. So
this im m ediately because it usually
is a drawn-out process.
• Contact friends in your field o f
w ork to have them look out fo r o p ­
p o rtu n itie s that m ight interest you
Some may owe you favors that can
be re p a id w ith a good lead to a
prospective jo b .
• C all on your contacts in the in ­
d u s try w ho m ig h t be able to in ­
tro d u ce you to fre e la n ce o r c o n ­
sulting work.
• Rewrite your resume and send it
to the com panies o f y o u r choice.
You m ight need assistance in doing
th is , i f so, there are m any
professional em ploym ent services
that w ill help fo r a small fee.
Tektronix
COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE
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