[CAUT] Reasonable job descriptions

[Dennis Johnson]

Hi-
I'll try and throw a quick few cents worth also then....   There are clearly
lots of separate skills and factors that go into a successful and mutually
happy relationship with our employers. It's been noted several times that
one the things that make it more difficult for us is that we are so easily
isolated and most of the people with power and influence to make these
decisions of value and classification are not very familiar with what we do.
 Consequently, it is up to us to present ourselves and our case in a
compelling way above and beyond the actual work that we do on a daily basis.
 I sometimes joke that being in a profession that has a stereo-type of poor
social skills can be turned around to work to our advantage. The truth is,
that if we don't make the compelling case for ourselves no one else is going
to do it either.  Why should they?

If you are in a situation without administrative support or value for our
programs then it is going to that much harder and perhaps you are in the
wrong place.  Not every place is worth your career.  I believe most schools,
however, are much more reasonable and want to be equitable.  Please don't
presume that just because some of the faculty or customers or whomever do
not complain about sub-standard work to our measure, that it follows then
they do not comprehend or appreciate the difference.  People do recognize
mastership and experience even if they do not understand each and every
detail.  We use the same instinctive judgments ourselves regarding other
specialized fields all the time.

It was a lot of work to prepare the detailed report that ultimately made my
recent upgrade possible. Clearly it was worth it.  The salaries we are
talking about are not that impressive by today's market.  We know that, and
so do the administrators. We probably all know 20 something kids who are
starting out making as much if not more than we.... without unique, special
experience.

good luck,

Dennis Johnson
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