We discussed the salary/compensation problem several years ago. As Scott stated, just the insurance coverage makes working for a university a great deal. I'm paying close to $800 a month for my wife and I, and that's going to go up by the end of the year. That's almost $10,000 a year right there. Add that to the $50K, and now the annual income is $60,000. And, as Scott said, we get Holiday and vacation days. Considering that in private tuners do not get paid anything when they take a holiday off, much less vacation days, it is money that private tuner do not get, unless they happen to work a holiday. At UA, I got a week at Christmas, a week for Spring Break, and 12 days per year, and the usual Holidays. That's getting paid 5 weeks per year, for doing nothing. At $960 per week, that's another $4800. Now we're up to almost $65,000 a year. Add to that 12 sick days per year, and the total will be close to $70,000. And the last thing is the retirement. I didn't make it, but at UA, they took 3% of my salary for retirement, If I had stayed with them for 10 years, the state would have doubled that. That's $1500 per year taken out, with a return of twice that when I retire. Bottom line: A university tech making $50,000 will have to make net at least $70,000 in the private sector, that's only working 40 hours a week. Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT Piano Tuner/Technician Honolulu, HI 808-349-2943 www.bleespiano.com Author of The Business of Piano Tuning available from Potter Press www.pianotuning.com -----Original Message----- From: Scott E. Thile <scott.thile at murraystate.edu> To: 'College and University Technicians' <caut at ptg.org> Sent: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 8:38 am Subject: Re: [CAUT] Louisiana State SOM Position Hello Jim, They did not indicate a range on this one. Most of the time it's well under 50K, especially for this type of position, which is under a "senior technician". My guess is it will be more like 35K to 45K. Some positions start out low, yet can be brought up with good work and communication skills, but that's only if you're working with good folks. Sounds like Jeff's situation at USC was not working out at all well that way! Mine really has. My salary is 2K lower than his, but my take home is about $100 a month more, but I have felt well compensated. I think housing here must be about as cheep as anywhere in the country. I don't have a formal system for time I put in, but the general understanding is it should average out. I work pretty long hours at times, but I can take off some comp time too. Most Public schools are looking at serious funding problems due to the recession. I imagine it will be lean times for many of us for a few years at least. That may impact private sector work too, at least for some... One thing we've got to keep in mind while looking at what appear to be low salaries when compared to private sector work is retirement, insurance, vacation time, holiday time etc... It took a while, but I now have 3 1/2 weeks of paid vacation time (and it's about to be 4). One of those weeks is just about to start--hurray! Hmm... maybe it has, come to think of it... That's another benefit. I' guess I'm being paid for this ;) I also get a week off between Christmas and New Years, and another 3 days off for Spring Break, plus 3 days off for Thanksgiving week, 3 Monday holidays, more sick days than I'll ever use, etc... and all of that is paid! I've heard that it costs the average University nearly twice our salary to actually employ us. I'm sure it varies, but I can well imagine that we would need to net nearly twice our salaries in a private practice to end up even. That's net, as in after car expenses, supplies, phone expenses, shop expenses, etc... You can't just look at your salary versus what you can put in your pocket after a day of tuning in the real World. Yes, it does seem like there have been a lot of openings the last few years, but I've still heard from some techs looking for positions that are not getting interviews, so apparently there is still a decent pool of techs applying for these positions. All the best, and happy weekend, all! Scott -----Original Message----- From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Jim Busby Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 12:30 PM To: College and University Technicians Subject: Re: [CAUT] Louisiana State SOM Position Scott, What so you think the salary might be? I know, it depends… Seems like all these full time CAUT jobs are around 50K give or take 5K or so. I know there’s no way to know that info, but Jeff’s post really got me to thinking. What should a fulltime CAUT make? What do other “professionals” who do high level service type jobs make? Seems like a lot of openings lately. Jim Busby From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Scott E. Thile Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 10:29 AM To: 'College and University Technicians' Subject: [CAUT] Louisiana State SOM Position Scott, would you please post this add on the CAUT website?Bradley Hello Folks, This just in, I assume for the website, but thought I would send it to the list as well. All the best, Scott -----Original Message----- From: Bradley M. Snook [mailto:email at bradleysnook.com] Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 8:31 AM To: scott.thile at murraystate.edu Subject: RESEARCH SPECIALIST 2 RESEARCH SPECIALIST 2 (Piano Technician) LSU School of Music The LSU School of Music serves over 450 music majors with approximately 50 faculty and 75 graduate assistants. It sponsors nearly 300 recitals, concerts, operas, and lectures each academic year. Degrees offered include the Ph.D. (with concentrations in composition, music education, musicology, and music theory), D.M.A. (concentrations in choral conducting, performance, wind conducting), M.M., B.M., B.M.E., and B.A. (Liberal Arts). LSU has an enrollment of over 28,000 students and is located in Baton Rouge, the state capital of Louisiana and a city with a metropolitan area population of approximately 500,000. The city supports a symphony orchestra, a ballet company, and a professional theatre. Required Qualifications: Bachelor's degree OR equivalent combination of professional level experience. Additional Qualifications Desired: Certificate from a certified piano technicians’ training program and substantial experience as a piano technician in a college/university setting. Responsibilities: tunes, regulates, voices, and repairs the School of Music piano inventory under the direction of the senior piano technician. Salary is commensurate with qualifications. Anticipated hire date is August 2008, or by mutual agreement. An offer of employment is contingent on a satisfactory pre-employment background check. Application deadline is June 27, 2008 or until a candidate is selected. Candidates should submit a letter of application, a curriculum vitae (including e-mail address), and names with contact information for three references: Dr. Sara Lynn Baird, Interim Dean College of Music & Dramatic Arts Attn: Search, Ref: Piano Technician Louisiana State University Ref: Log #1158 Baton Rouge, LA 70803-2504 Phone: (225) 578-3261 FAX: (225) 578-2562 E-mail: sbaird at lsu.edu LSU IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/EQUAL ACCESS EMPLOYER -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/caut.php/attachments/20080613/ad5c7d9c/attachment.html
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