Hey gang, Dan Reed here. Dallas Texas area. I'm new to the list. I am a heavy service tech...light on the shop work. Average 4+ calls a day during the week..2 on Saturdays...50 weeks @ year. What's that ringing in my ears? It comes to mind, that there are other aspects of comparing salaried to the self-employed, that further make just dollar comparisons a complex task. For example, the self employed person can take a home office deduction, a certain % of the mortgage, utilities, home improvements, auto expense etc. These 'living expenses' are deducted off the gross income, reducing tax $. Anyone contemplating the self-employed route, I'd suggest an 'Enrolled Agent' , a tax specialist whom has taken a 16 hour test given by the IRS, ( ideal for the self-employed, IMO,) to help navigate these waters. Also, this person is authorized to represent us in the event of an audit. The whole ball of wax may come down to...do you want to run a business? After 32 years at this, my wife still frets every year about this time, when recitals and lessons are over, and there is a lull in business. Me? I'm grateful for the break. Great to be able to read about what other techs are doing, and an honor to be here. Dan On Jun 13, 2008, at 7:24 PM, Willem Blees wrote: > 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 >>> > Get the Moviefone Toolbar. 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