Page "Frederick Winslow Taylor" Paragraph 3

Instead of attending Harvard, Taylor became an apprentice patternmaker and machinist, gaining shop-floor experience at Enterprise Hydraulic Works in Philadelphia ( a pump-manufacturing company whose proprietors were friends of the Taylor family ).

He left his apprenticeship for 6 months, and represented a group of New England machine tool manufacturers at Philadelphia's centennial exposition.

Taylor finished his 4 year apprenticeship, and then in 1878 he became a machine shop laborer at Midvale Steel Works.

At Midvale, Taylor was quickly promoted to time clerk, journeyman machinist, gang-boss over the lathe hands, machine shop foreman, and then research director and finally chief engineer of the works ( while maintaining his position as machine shop foreman ).

Taylor's fast promotions probably reflected not only his talent but also his family's relationship with Edward Clark, partial owner of Midvale Steel.

( Edward Clark's son Clarence Clark, who was also a manager at Midvale Steel, married Taylor's sister.