Bell Telephone Laboratories and Further Education
After graduating from DeVry Technical Institute in 1960, Bill began working at Bell Telephone Laboratories. At this time, the company's current aim focused on the creation of a memory design that revolutionized the way phone systems operated known as the 101 Electronic Switching System, or #1ESS.
Prior to the 1960s, connecting a call was a mechanical procedure that required human input. From the 1870s to the 1950s, individuals called a local central office where an operator used a series of switch boards to plug an audio jack from their current caller into an input that connected them to the person meant to recieve the call. If the receiver of the call lived in the area of a different central office, the operator connected the call to the operator at the other office for them to connect the call to the receiver.
By the 1950s, automatic central offices using electromechanical actions replaced operators. As a caller dialed a number on their phone, electrical pulses generated by each dialed number told specific components within the phone's switching machinery the location and line to send the call to, similar to an operator looking at a switchboard and plugging into a jack.
With the #1ESS, Bell Labs hoped to use transistors to create the first computerized switching system. Instead of relying on the electromechanical act of the switching machinery that only allowed the input of one digit at a time, the #1ESS used computer memory to store entire phone numbers allowing calls to be speed dialed, forwarded, routed to different numbers or extensions, and delayed by putting callers on hold.
The #1ESS project was an excellent fit for Bill’s interest in transistors. As a technician assigned to work under the engineer developing the temporary computer memory for the #1ESS, Bill helped to collect and analyze data to create prototypes for the system’s memory devices.
Bill found that Bell Labs encouraged innovation from their employees, allowing him to receive several patents for the amplification and voltage regulation inventions he developed while working on the #1ESS project. Later in his career, he attributed his attainment of the principles of engineering to his time working at Bell Labs. The individuals that worked at Bell, and the level of discipline they displayed at work, helped Bill understand the processes of data collection, analytics, and prototype assembly. Working alongside colleagues that “came out of great schools with very good grades … in the region” quickly elevated Bill from the rank of technician to Associate Member of the Technical Staff (AMTS), the highest attainable level at the company that did not require a master’s degree.
Bill also found that Bell Labs prioritized the furthered education of their employees through their masters degree program. As an AMTS, Bill remained “a cut below” the Member of Technical Staff position. He recognized that without a master’s degree, his job assignments remained limited. Due to the advice from other Bell Labs scientists, Bill decided to return to school for his bachelor’s degree. Fortunately, the company paid for him to attend night classes at Monmouth College to achieve this. The timing seemed ideal. Bill was able to learn advanced mathematical and engineering principles during his night classes, and then observe those same principles in action during the day at Bell Labs.
As he neared graduation from Monmouth College in 1967, Bill set his sights on becoming a Member of Technical Staff (MTS) at Bell Labs and getting a master’s degree. Becoming an MTS would allow Bill to work on a much wider scope of job assignments, and grant him access to a program Bell Labs offered to MTS staff: a paid year off to attend graduate school.
Bill felt certain he of his acceptance into the MTS program. He maintained a high GPA in his undergraduate studies and authored several engineering patents. However, just before his last semester at Monmouth College, Bill’s manager informed him that he would not be offered an MTS position.
Shocked and upset, Bill felt betrayed by Bell Labs. Despite the opportunities Bell offered him up to this point, Bill realized that the company’s degree-oriented structure prevented him from future advancement in his career. He decided to leave Bell Labs and resolved to find a job working on computer memory projects at the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).
To prepare for his job interview at IBM, Bill set up interviews with several other companies: Ford Motor, Honeywell, Digital Equipment, and Data General. His last interview would be with IBM and would include a three-day visit to their headquarters. Complicating this plan, Bill received job offers from all the companies he interviewed for, making the decision process difficult.
Even after seven years at Bell, Bill still recognized that he preferred a commercial position over a position in the military. Commercial positions provided more opportunities for advancement and projects. Additionally, given the situation he currently faced at Bell Labs, he refused to work in another position that barred him from promotions and assigned limited projects that may not come to actualization. Working in a company where it was unclear whether the work would reach the designing and manufacturing aspects of engineering concerned Bill and dissuaded him from seeking future employment in such environments.
Despite his earlier determination to work for IBM, the things he learned during the interview process caused him to hesitate. Bill later said that he suspected that IBM was:
“Too much like Bell Labs…at Bell Labs [the school I went to] did matter. At least I perceived that it mattered. And I was not going to let that interfere with me at IBM.”
Instead of taking the job at IBM, Bill found himself drawn to Honeywell’s offer. Honeywell was a leader in the computer industry. By accepting a job there, Bill hoped to set himself up for career advancement, a graduate education, and the potential to continue working in the cutting-edge field of computer memory.
Bell Telephone Laboratories and Further Education
