Israel & List, <br>
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Interesting point, about stressing the management aspect vis a vis
reclassification. A testimonial to reinforce it. Several years back,
during one of my many pushes for greater compensation, I was told that
in order to pay me more, they would have to reclassify me to the same
level as middle management. (And this in a PRIVATE institution, which
on one hand is less rigid that state institutions but, on the other, is
not as well funded.) I was not savvy enough then to grab that stick
and run with it, by telling them that that is where my position
belongs! Long story short, I got the bump, but am still doing X work
for Y salary. (Sadly, most everyone here is under compensated.) Hey,
does anyone know what that Director of Piano Services job at New
England Conservatory pays? <br>
<br>
Cheers, <br>
<br>
Alan Eder <br>
<br>
-----Original Message----- <br>
From: Israel Stein <<a href="mailto:custos3@comcast.net">custos3@comcast.net</a>> <br>
To: <a href="mailto:caut@ptg.org">caut@ptg.org</a> <br>
Sent: Tue, Nov 13 5:47 PM <br>
Subject: [CAUT] CAUT job description vis-a-vis salary level (was: <br>
<br>
Tue, 13 Nov 2007 14:37:56 -0500 Eric Wolfley wrote: <br>
<br>
>State systems don’t recognize merit, they go mainly on job
descriptions and are supposed to align job <br>
>responsibilities with salary levels. If your job description says you
are a mechanic that works on pianos, <br>
>they will equate your position and salary to the state car-pool
mechanic. If your job description says you direct <br>
>and manage budgets and inventories, advise and consult with faculty,
supervise student help, prepare <br>
>instruments for visiting artists, etc, etc, they’ll be comparing you
to supervisory or managerial positions. <br>
>In the past you’ve said that you are the only piano technician in the
state system…you’ve got to convince <br>
>them to look at other state institutions for comparisons. That’s what
they did here for me. In the end, they <br>
>had to create a new position in which to put me because I didn’t fit
anywhere else. <br>
<br>
Eric, <br>
<br>
This is an interesting perspective, which perhaps has been neglected in
the current discussion, and may have broader implications. Perhaps we
have been barking up the wrong tree all along, thinking that by proving
ever higher-level piano skills - whether through testing or curriculum
certification - we may someday convince "management" that we are worthy
of a professional-level compensation. Perhaps the CAUT accreditation -
whatever form it takes - needs to stress management skills in order to
position the job description in a higher paying classification. As you
imply, the most skilled mechanic is still just a mechanic... <br>
<br>
There are many precedents where practitioners repositioned themselves
into higher job descriptions by augmenting the skill set associated
with their profession. The classic example would be nurses who in the
early part of the 20th century raised their job description from bedpan
carriers and bandage changers to direct deliverers of health care - by
developing a science-based curriculum. Just about any other
"profession" raised itself to its present status by a similar expansion
of its skill set beyond the craft itself. Fact is, we piano people are
still working and presenting ourselves the same way as just about all
other professions did in the 19th century... <br>
<br>
So perhaps the CAUT credential needs to stress ancillary skills - such
as management related to pianos - that would push us above being mere
mechanics. Because as long as we try to be only the best possible piano
technicians that we can be - well, great piano technicians are still
just very specialized mechanics... From what Eric writes above, perhaps
we need to be thinking beyond that... <br>
<br>
Just food for thought... <br>
<br>
Israel Stein <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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