8 ms·

Why does he call out that he is 5'4" I wonder? The "Health: Excellent" seems amusing in today's context too.

elteto 4y ago
He is coming from an aerospace/military background so I assume he is providing this information in case the job requires working in confined spaces and/or lifting weights or other physically strenuous exercise.
- ghaff 4y ago
  Health: Excellent was also just pretty common to stick on resumes in that era.
jakeinspace 4y ago
Military
AlmostAnyone 4y ago
I've been to a military museum few days ago and I was surprised how incredibly small some of the cockpits are. I'm 6'3" and wouldn't fit in most of the fighter jets and other vehicles. Not that I wouldn't be comfortable with my legs pushed to something - my shoulders are literally too wide to get in, my thighs/ass are too wide to even try sitting there. Might be a problem for aerospace tech. And don't get me started on spaceships/capsules - I don't have any particular fear of confined spaces but this was a little too much (too less?).
- taude 4y ago
  Your comments made me wonder if there were height restrictions, found this verbiage on US Airforce site: "For pilot and aircrew positions, height specifications vary by aircraft and most applicants can successfully pursue a career in aviation with the U.S. Air Force. Applicants who are significantly taller or shorter than average may require special screening to ensure they can safely perform operational duties. Applicants of all heights are encouraged to apply."
  - thesuitonym 4y ago
    There were in the 80s, my dad wanted to join the Air Force as a pilot but was told he could never be one, he was too tall.
    - dijit 4y ago
      In my youth my mum said that I need to eat all my veggies to become tall and strong which would be required if I wanted to be an astronaut. I found it extremely amusing that in reality there are height restrictions for astronauts, and there is no height minimum.
  - onychomys 4y ago
    When I was an undergrad I thought about seeing what it would take to be an astronaut. Turns out that the largest spacesuit they made back then was 6', so even if I had Buzz Aldrin's CV I wouldn't have been able to go.
  - QuarterReptile 4y ago
    If you think much about the different platforms, it makes perfect sense that there are specific and varied requirements. Presumably they're pretty flexible about who flies a C-5, considering it's big enough to carry Chinooks or M-1 tanks [0]. OTOH, ejecting out of a fighter jet probably doesn't go very well if your knees are smashed up against the dashboard. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_C-5_Galaxy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_C-5_Galaxy
    - aidenn0 4y ago
      Sitting height is just as important for safe ejections as leg length. My dad was 5'10" but with a tall sitting height and he was just barely under the safety line for a seat in an S-3.
      - metadat 4y ago
        Having short limbs and a long body can indicate the presence of a medical condition known as "Hypochrondroplasia". > Hypochrondroplasia is a genetic disorder characterized by small stature and disproportionately short arms, legs, hands, and feet (short-limbed dwarfism). Short stature often is not recognized until early to mid childhood or, in some cases, as late as adulthood.
- FredPret 4y ago
  One day the cockpit will be the size of a microchip and then nobody would fit in there!
- ericbarrett 4y ago
  The New Mexico Museum of Space History has a Mercury capsule you can sit in. Even with most of the equipment removed (just the control panel and a bench) it's incredibly claustrophobic. To be strapped into that thing with full equipment, in a flight suit, on your back over tons of explosives, and launched into space for day or even a few minutes...I can't imagine.
jean_tta 4y ago
This is pure speculation, but I would guess it was simply expected information at the time. In some countries, it is still expected or at least common to see information such as: a portrait ; date and place of birth ; marital situation and number of children ; and so on.
- j33zusjuice 4y ago
  What!? Some countries force you to state your marital and familial situations!? That’s insane. It’s illegal for companies in the US to ask about that stuff. That said, some other people pointed out he had a military/aeronautical background, so height and health might come into play for certain jobs. That makes sense to me. You probably can’t work in the cockpit of a plane if you’re 7 feet tall.
  - jean_tta 4y ago
    It's not _forced_, but it is common that applicants include this information.
  - inanutshellus 4y ago
    Friend worked for the military overseas. Locals would send in resumes and include details such as their social caste and were horrified (or delighted, depending) when that information was redacted before being sent to hiring folk. On the upside, it apparently became an upward mobility avenue for "low caste" folk who would otherwise not be considered for valuable positions.
    - spywaregorilla 4y ago
      > On the upside, it apparently became an upward mobility avenue for "low caste" folk who would otherwise not be considered for valuable positions. I mean... yeah. Absolutely. That is a huge obvious upside, and as far as I can tell, there are no downsides to this at all.
      - inanutshellus 4y ago
daveslash 4y ago
I've been reviewing a lot of resume's lately that call out the candidate's exact date of birth and marital status. Many even call out their parents' occupation. I've seen more than one that say "Mother's Occupation: Homemaker". Although I now realize this is a cultural difference issue, it caught me off guard at first.
- chrisseaton 4y ago
  > Many even call out their parents' occupation. Are those German resumes? Very odd. Can't be used for anything except discrimination.
  - StudyAnimal 4y ago
    A German would point out, the very purpose of a job application is discrimination.
    - chrisseaton 4y ago
      Discrimination based on relevant skills surely - not irrelevant things like family situation? In other countries things like that are actually illegal.
  - morelisp 4y ago
    I've looked at a ton of German resumes and never seen this. Only once on someone from (and at the time of writing, in) South Asia. (German resumes frequently do have familial status though, and of course always with the fucking photographs...)
    - StevePerkins 4y ago
      Photographs are back. Either your resume contains a link to your LinkedIn profile, or else your LinkedIn IS your resume to begin with.
    - chrisseaton 4y ago
      For example https://german.dartmouth.edu/opportunities/working-germany/writing-german-resume https://german.dartmouth.edu/opportunities/working-germany/w... mentions family info, which seems bizarre to British and US people, as it's not something a candidate can control, so it seems unfair to discriminate based on this. I know German culture is different of course.
jpmattia 4y ago
My first real job was 1986: Having a "stable" personal life was something employers would "need" to know. And god help you if there was a gap on your resume; it was advertising your deviancy. Such attitudes all changed drastically just around that time, not in small part because the demand for EE and CS people started outstripping the supply.
- robocat 4y ago
  From my memory of Engineering School in the “colonies” in 1990, CS were very geek, EE were normal geek, mechanical engineers were normal engineers, and civil engineers were social deviants (to use stereotypes). There was a certain geek pride abnormality that was almost expected of the better EE engineers . . . or perhaps I thought that because I identified as a geek? I don’t recall noticing any strong demand for EE engineers. I think I noticed the uptick in demand for computer skills in the mid-90s, although I admit I surely was unaware of the world around me.
emptybits 4y ago
1. This is an "old" resume. I'm not as old as OP's dad but I definitely recall putting my gender, height, probably weight, definitely "health: excellent", etc. on my resumes in the 1980s. Different times. Times of discrimination? Probably. :-/ 2. As others point out, this gentleman was in aerospace and even though he wasn't a pilot, here's a fun fact for the morning ... I watched a documentary on the early years of fighter pilot selection and grooming. Russia apparently recognized and exploited the value of a short heart-brain distance in its pilots. If I recall correctly, pilots with shorter distances between heart and brain can pull higher G's (or maybe negative G's) before browning or blacking out in certain maneuvers. It makes sense when you think about it. So if you're an air force looking for every edge you can, you might select for this trait. Shorter men (specifically, shorter sitting height: reasonably correlated with heart-brain distance). Also some women, I would expect. Anyways, this is probably not why OP's dad shared his height, but sharing a possible TIL as it was for me... :-)
snorkel 4y ago
If we were to modernize that "Health: Excellent (for sitting in front of a screen all day)"
larrywright 4y ago
Going back a little farther it was not uncommon to list your religion and what church you were a member of. Going back a little farther than that, if you were a candidate for an executive position at a company, they might interview your spouse as well.
- maerF0x0 4y ago
  afaik the line of thinking were : religious people were more honest, happily married more stable (ie, your relationship wasn't a source of stress/instability), and being a parent made you seem more responsible. Nowadays cynicism has inverted those thoughts: Religious -- hypocrites. Married -- soon will be divorced, may get pregnant. Parent -- how irresponsible for the environment.

He is coming from an aerospace/military background so I assume he is providing this information in case the job requires working in confined spaces and/or lifting weights or other physically strenuous exercise.

ghaff 4y ago
Health: Excellent was also just pretty common to stick on resumes in that era.

jakeinspace 4y ago

Military

AlmostAnyone 4y ago

I've been to a military museum few days ago and I was surprised how incredibly small some of the cockpits are. I'm 6'3" and wouldn't fit in most of the fighter jets and other vehicles. Not that I wouldn't be comfortable with my legs pushed to something - my shoulders are literally too wide to get in, my thighs/ass are too wide to even try sitting there. Might be a problem for aerospace tech. And don't get me started on spaceships/capsules - I don't have any particular fear of confined spaces but this was a little too much (too less?).

taude 4y ago
Your comments made me wonder if there were height restrictions, found this verbiage on US Airforce site: "For pilot and aircrew positions, height specifications vary by aircraft and most applicants can successfully pursue a career in aviation with the U.S. Air Force. Applicants who are significantly taller or shorter than average may require special screening to ensure they can safely perform operational duties. Applicants of all heights are encouraged to apply."
- thesuitonym 4y ago
  There were in the 80s, my dad wanted to join the Air Force as a pilot but was told he could never be one, he was too tall.
  - dijit 4y ago
    In my youth my mum said that I need to eat all my veggies to become tall and strong which would be required if I wanted to be an astronaut. I found it extremely amusing that in reality there are height restrictions for astronauts, and there is no height minimum.
- onychomys 4y ago
  When I was an undergrad I thought about seeing what it would take to be an astronaut. Turns out that the largest spacesuit they made back then was 6', so even if I had Buzz Aldrin's CV I wouldn't have been able to go.
- QuarterReptile 4y ago
  If you think much about the different platforms, it makes perfect sense that there are specific and varied requirements. Presumably they're pretty flexible about who flies a C-5, considering it's big enough to carry Chinooks or M-1 tanks [0]. OTOH, ejecting out of a fighter jet probably doesn't go very well if your knees are smashed up against the dashboard. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_C-5_Galaxy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_C-5_Galaxy
  - aidenn0 4y ago
    Sitting height is just as important for safe ejections as leg length. My dad was 5'10" but with a tall sitting height and he was just barely under the safety line for a seat in an S-3.
    - metadat 4y ago
      Having short limbs and a long body can indicate the presence of a medical condition known as "Hypochrondroplasia". > Hypochrondroplasia is a genetic disorder characterized by small stature and disproportionately short arms, legs, hands, and feet (short-limbed dwarfism). Short stature often is not recognized until early to mid childhood or, in some cases, as late as adulthood.
FredPret 4y ago
One day the cockpit will be the size of a microchip and then nobody would fit in there!
ericbarrett 4y ago
The New Mexico Museum of Space History has a Mercury capsule you can sit in. Even with most of the equipment removed (just the control panel and a bench) it's incredibly claustrophobic. To be strapped into that thing with full equipment, in a flight suit, on your back over tons of explosives, and launched into space for day or even a few minutes...I can't imagine.

jean_tta 4y ago

This is pure speculation, but I would guess it was simply expected information at the time. In some countries, it is still expected or at least common to see information such as: a portrait ; date and place of birth ; marital situation and number of children ; and so on.

j33zusjuice 4y ago
What!? Some countries force you to state your marital and familial situations!? That’s insane. It’s illegal for companies in the US to ask about that stuff. That said, some other people pointed out he had a military/aeronautical background, so height and health might come into play for certain jobs. That makes sense to me. You probably can’t work in the cockpit of a plane if you’re 7 feet tall.
- jean_tta 4y ago
  It's not _forced_, but it is common that applicants include this information.
- inanutshellus 4y ago
  Friend worked for the military overseas. Locals would send in resumes and include details such as their social caste and were horrified (or delighted, depending) when that information was redacted before being sent to hiring folk. On the upside, it apparently became an upward mobility avenue for "low caste" folk who would otherwise not be considered for valuable positions.
  - spywaregorilla 4y ago
    > On the upside, it apparently became an upward mobility avenue for "low caste" folk who would otherwise not be considered for valuable positions. I mean... yeah. Absolutely. That is a huge obvious upside, and as far as I can tell, there are no downsides to this at all.
    - inanutshellus 4y ago

daveslash 4y ago

I've been reviewing a lot of resume's lately that call out the candidate's exact date of birth and marital status. Many even call out their parents' occupation. I've seen more than one that say "Mother's Occupation: Homemaker". Although I now realize this is a cultural difference issue, it caught me off guard at first.

chrisseaton 4y ago
> Many even call out their parents' occupation. Are those German resumes? Very odd. Can't be used for anything except discrimination.
- StudyAnimal 4y ago
  A German would point out, the very purpose of a job application is discrimination.
  - chrisseaton 4y ago
    Discrimination based on relevant skills surely - not irrelevant things like family situation? In other countries things like that are actually illegal.
- morelisp 4y ago
  I've looked at a ton of German resumes and never seen this. Only once on someone from (and at the time of writing, in) South Asia. (German resumes frequently do have familial status though, and of course always with the fucking photographs...)
  - StevePerkins 4y ago
    Photographs are back. Either your resume contains a link to your LinkedIn profile, or else your LinkedIn IS your resume to begin with.
  - chrisseaton 4y ago
    For example https://german.dartmouth.edu/opportunities/working-germany/writing-german-resume https://german.dartmouth.edu/opportunities/working-germany/w... mentions family info, which seems bizarre to British and US people, as it's not something a candidate can control, so it seems unfair to discriminate based on this. I know German culture is different of course.

jpmattia 4y ago

My first real job was 1986: Having a "stable" personal life was something employers would "need" to know. And god help you if there was a gap on your resume; it was advertising your deviancy. Such attitudes all changed drastically just around that time, not in small part because the demand for EE and CS people started outstripping the supply.

robocat 4y ago
From my memory of Engineering School in the “colonies” in 1990, CS were very geek, EE were normal geek, mechanical engineers were normal engineers, and civil engineers were social deviants (to use stereotypes). There was a certain geek pride abnormality that was almost expected of the better EE engineers . . . or perhaps I thought that because I identified as a geek? I don’t recall noticing any strong demand for EE engineers. I think I noticed the uptick in demand for computer skills in the mid-90s, although I admit I surely was unaware of the world around me.

emptybits 4y ago

1. This is an "old" resume. I'm not as old as OP's dad but I definitely recall putting my gender, height, probably weight, definitely "health: excellent", etc. on my resumes in the 1980s. Different times. Times of discrimination? Probably. :-/ 2. As others point out, this gentleman was in aerospace and even though he wasn't a pilot, here's a fun fact for the morning ... I watched a documentary on the early years of fighter pilot selection and grooming. Russia apparently recognized and exploited the value of a short heart-brain distance in its pilots. If I recall correctly, pilots with shorter distances between heart and brain can pull higher G's (or maybe negative G's) before browning or blacking out in certain maneuvers. It makes sense when you think about it. So if you're an air force looking for every edge you can, you might select for this trait. Shorter men (specifically, shorter sitting height: reasonably correlated with heart-brain distance). Also some women, I would expect. Anyways, this is probably not why OP's dad shared his height, but sharing a possible TIL as it was for me... :-)

snorkel 4y ago

If we were to modernize that "Health: Excellent (for sitting in front of a screen all day)"

larrywright 4y ago

Going back a little farther it was not uncommon to list your religion and what church you were a member of. Going back a little farther than that, if you were a candidate for an executive position at a company, they might interview your spouse as well.

maerF0x0 4y ago
afaik the line of thinking were : religious people were more honest, happily married more stable (ie, your relationship wasn't a source of stress/instability), and being a parent made you seem more responsible. Nowadays cynicism has inverted those thoughts: Religious -- hypocrites. Married -- soon will be divorced, may get pregnant. Parent -- how irresponsible for the environment.