Compton spent a year as a physics instructor at the University of Minnesota in 1916–17, then two years as a research engineer with the Westinghouse Lamp Company in Pittsburgh, where he worked on the development of the sodium-vapor lamp.
Compton a petrecut un an ca instructor de fizică la Universitatea Minnesotei în 1916–17, apoi doi ani ca inginer cercetător la Westinghouse Lamp Company⁠(d) din Pittsburgh, unde a lucrat la dezvoltarea lămpii cu vapori de sodiu⁠(d).