7. Switchboard Operator

When telephone was a new-ish item for household users in the 1960s, companies used manual switchboard operators. Switchboard operations connected calls through inserting phone plugs into applicable jacks. Before automatic exchanges were invented, an operator was required to connect every call except the ones routed in a shared party line.

The demand for switchboard operators were so high that there were private exchanges. These exchanges were equipped with call connecting devices and sold service to both government and private sector.

It is also worth noting that switchboard operators were almost always females – but you have seen enough World War II movies to already know that.