Phil: As Ed said, each tuning you do comes from someone else. How you get that tuning is important. There are both ethical and unethical ways to do it. I am a contractor where I am (saves benefits, you know) and as such anyone could under bid me at any time to try to get the work. Costs are precise, and easy to compare. Value is not. Someone could propose tuning for $1.00 less than I charge, but they are still an unknown. How well would they do? How reliable would they be? How responsive to emergencies would they be? How well would they get along with faculty, students, administrators etc.? These are qualities that are more difficult to evaluate than just the price. Since the current tech is a known, and you are an unknown, that is your big hurdle to overcome. The best way to get this kind of work is to do some investigating. Is the school unhappy with there current arrangement? Is the current tech unhappy, burned out, ready to retire, etc.? If the school is happy, and the tech is happy, you'll probably do little but damage some relationships if you try to "cut in". Find a place where they need a good tech, and there is dissatisfaction with the current arrangement. Actually, you don't want a job where you displace a well liked tech. You'll be the "bad guy" and that will be a difficult image to overcome. Perception and relationships are a very important part of these jobs. It's much nicer to come into a job as a conquering hero (following a previously bad working relationship) than as an interloper who displaced everyone's favorite tech. dave -- _______________________________________________ David M. Porritt, RPT Meadows School of the Arts Southern Methodist University Dallas, Texas _______________________________________________
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