Editing Eddie Rickenbacker (section)

== Career beginnings ==
Though his older siblings Bill and Mary were working, Rickenbacker felt a responsibility to help replace his father's lost income. He dropped out of the seventh grade and went to work full-time, lying about his age to work around child labor laws.<ref name=":17"/> He worked eight different jobs during the next two years. While working at the [[Oscar Lear Automobile Company]] in 1905, he took an engineering course from the International Correspondence School.<ref name=":17"/> Chief engineer [[Lee Frayer]] took Rickenbacker under his wing, giving him more responsibility in the workshop.<ref name=":17"/>

Two months later, when it came time to compete in the [[1906 Vanderbilt Cup]] race, Frayer brought Rickenbacker to New York as his riding mechanic. After two practice runs, their engine overheated and they failed to get to the starting line for their qualifying run.

Back in Columbus, Rickenbacker followed his mentor to the [[Columbus Buggy Company]] as a chief testing engineer, supervising upwards of a dozen men in his department. The sixteen-year-old Rickenbacker's hard work and mechanical acumen impressed [[Harvey S. Firestone]], his new employer. Firestone chose Rickenbacker for special assignments, including troubleshooting in Atlantic City and demonstrating at the 1909 [[Chicago Automobile Show]].

Later that year, Firestone sent Rickenbacker to Texas to figure out why the new Frayer-designed engines were overheating. Rickenbacker solved the problem and stayed on to head up Columbus Buggy's Dallas agency. At eighteen, he was the chief engineer, experimenter, demonstrator, mechanic, and salesman.<ref>Life Story, vol. I, p. 81, Eddie Rickenbacker papers, 1915–1972, Ohio State University Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Columbus, Ohio.</ref> During this time, he served as a chauffeur to the visiting [[William Jennings Bryan]], getting his picture and his cars in the newspaper. He made three sales as a result. In March 1910, Firestone sent Rickenbacker to direct the Upper Midwest Agency out of Omaha. At nineteen, Rickenbacker was in charge of six men, covering sales, distribution, and maintenance of Firestone-Columbus automobiles in four states. He earned $125 per week.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Concannon |first=Marie |title=Library Guides: Prices and Wages by Decade: 1910-1919 |url=https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1910-1919 |access-date=2022-09-01 |website=libraryguides.missouri.edu |language=en}}</ref>