His entrepreneurship started at a young age
Andrew Carnegie first worked as a messenger and later as a telegrapher in 1849. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company's Thomas A. Scott hired Andrew Carnegie as a secretary/telegraph operator in 1853 when he was about 18 years old for a beginning wage of $4 per week. Carnegie chose to work for the railroad over the telegraph business because he believed the former offered more opportunities for professional development and experience. At the age of 24, Scott questioned Carnegie's suitability to serve as superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railroad's Western Division. Carnegie assumed his official role as the Western Division's superintendent on December 1, 1859.
When William Carnegie passed away at the age of 20, Andrew took over as the family's primary provider. He started making investments with his salary from his employment. Investment in the Woodruff Sleeping Car Company served as the catalyst for this. He would later organize a union of the Woodruff and Pullman Car Companies.
He then went on to work in the railroad sector, rising to the position of superintendent while gaining important commercial and investment skills. These entrepreneurial abilities would be the cornerstone of Andrew Carnegie's success in his later years as a business magnate.
