The electrical engineer of today who has confined his work entirely to theoretical fields has, comparatively speaking, very little chance in competition with his brother worker who, in addition to much practical experience, has been trained in commercial ways. It was not very long ago that the salesman handling electrical apparatus was of the ordinary type, that is to say, his success depended entirely upon his ability as a salesman, and the engineering side of his education, admitting for the sake of argument that he knew the difference between a shunt motor and a rheostat was one of the smaller considerations. Engineers at that time were not considered as possessing the requisite instincts of good salesmen, and such men did not have, and were not expected to have, commercial training. Then there came into the field the theoretically trained engineer, with practical experience in the actual handling of apparatus, and in whom the commercial instinct was strongly developed. In competition with such a man the mere expert salesman had no chance. Slowly but surely the change has been made, and we find that our salesmen of today are all trained practical engineers who are constantly called upon to use their engineering knowledge in connection with their work. We could mention several names today which have become famous simply because the owners, besides being capable engineers, are good business men. These men have interested themselves not only in the engineering of many projects, but have had the financial side under their care, with the direct result that matters entrusted to their attention have turned out successfully. The young man as he comes from college today with his diploma has two serious handicaps, both of which must be overcome before he can be successful even in a modest may. In the first place, he thinks, to use an old explanation, that all it is neces sary for him to do is to announce the fact that he is ready to take a position, and then put a placard outside his house, reading to the effect that the line will please form to the right. This clearly is a mistake, and it is not long before the young engineer makes a radical change in his opinion of his own importance. When the immediately expected position at $5000 a year dwindles down to a six months' wait at the end of which he finds $30 a month, the effect is very beneficial, and our engineer "finds" himself. The other point is lack of practical experience, and this experience can be obtained only through years of hard and constant work. To our mind the ideal engineering education would consist of a public and high school training, which would be followed by about two years in college. Then our man should enter upon an appreticeship course, such as can be obtaineed in the shops of several of our largest manufacturers, and should spend at least three years at this work. The remuneration is small and there are many stumbling blocks, but without strenuous work success cannot be obtained. On the completion of his shop course the engineer should go back to college and there finish his education, taking, as the case may be, either one or two years more according to the calendar of his college. If he has in him the inherent qualities of a good engineer he will leave his college a first-class man in every respect. His education may have taken seven or eight years to complete, and he will be pretty well along in years, comparatively speaking, when he is ready to start his life's work, but the time will not be wasted; for such a man the $5000 position is waiting, and the $30 a month job need not enter into consideration. The young engineer should never for one moment overlook the importance of the commercial side of engineering, for without this side the technical part of the business would be non-existent. He may be inclined to consider that commercialism is below him, and if such be his attitude he would probably be better in some other line of work, unless of course he be aiming at a professorship in some college. One of our leading consulting engineers advised us not long ago that every year at the close of the midsummer college term, he receives anywhere from twenty to thirty applicants for positions in his office, and upon advising such applicants to enter shop work or work with a commercial company, has almost invariably received replies to the effect that consulting work was desired. Where such a notion originates is difficult to say, but our colleges should make every effort to eliminate such high-toned ideas from the minds of their graduates. The statement so often made that the electrical profession is overcrowded is absolutely untrue. There are thousands and thousands of $30 and $50 a month men, and a lamentabley small number of five and ten thousand dollar men. For each of the latter there are dozens of positions waiting and there always will be, for the demand exceeds the supply, many, many times. Therefore we say that an engineering education, to be worth while at all, should be complete, and no young man entering college who has made resolutions to really complete his education, fully and thoroughly, need have any fear of his future in electrical engineering.-"Kuhlow's German Review."