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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Jeff-</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>What is the point of your thread? Do you
think we're not aware of the conditions you describe?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Do you think we should not bother to try to improve
things?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Things were pretty messed up when the Guild was
organized. Do you think it was worth the bother of keeping up the Guild
for the last 50 years?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>And how about this RPT exam so many people have
worked to develop and maintain? Just another waste of time?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Are you saying the effort to create a CAUT
standard, and curriculum should be cancelled?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Do you mind if the people interested in developing
the concept dedicate some of their lifetime to it?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ed Sutton</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=jtanner@mozart.sc.edu href="mailto:jtanner@mozart.sc.edu">Jeff
Tanner</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=caut@ptg.org
href="mailto:caut@ptg.org">College and University Technicians</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, November 13, 2007 12:11
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [CAUT] CAUT credential vs.
academic program?</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>On Nov 13, 2007, at 9:18 AM, Jon Page wrote:</DIV><BR
class=Apple-interchange-newline>
<BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
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<BLOCKQUOTE cite="" type="cite"><FONT face=Arial color=#000000><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Bottom line for
Universities is that they will pay</SPAN></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite="" type="cite"><FONT face=Arial color=#000000><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">more only if they feel
they are getting enough return.</SPAN></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>I see that I missed a perfectly good opportunity</DIV>
<DIV>to stay out of this discussion but where some positions</DIV>
<DIV>don't even require RPT status what good are merit badges?</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Raise the bar on RPT for your desired recognition. In this</DIV>
<DIV>association, RPT should be reclassified to Apprentice status</DIV>
<DIV>and after the 'tests' a Journeyman, with Craftsman as the</DIV>
<DIV>next step to Master Craftsman. (bring back Allied Tradesman).</DIV>
<DIV>If the term RPT had real teeth to it there wouldn't be a need to</DIV>
<DIV>even have this discussion.</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>It doesn't matter how many clinics or seminars you attend,</DIV>
<DIV>if there is no budget for salary increase those certificates are</DIV>
<DIV>simply wallpaper. If the organizations thought your
services</DIV>
<DIV>were worth more, they'd offer more. But then if no one would</DIV>
<DIV>accept the positions, a larger salary would be put on the table.</DIV>
<DIV>Supply and demand economics.</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Any job opportunity has some sort of coping skills attached.</DIV>
<DIV>Time management and schmoozing are not marketable items</DIV>
<DIV>for a labor-oriented trade.</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Speaking of time management...</DIV>
<DIV>I better pound some bridge pins in...</DIV><X-SIGSEP><PRE style="WHITE-SPACE: pre">--
</PRE></X-SIGSEP>
<DIV><BR>Regards,<BR><BR>Jon Page</DIV><BR
class=Apple-interchange-newline></SPAN></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Unfortunately, Jon is absolutely correct. We are paid what we are
paid already because that is what human resources departments are finding the
market to be. That market value comes with the assumption that we are
already supposed to be equipped with the large palate of skills we are trying
to identify with an endorsement.
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV>As long as qualified piano technicians are willing to accept the current
pay levels, that is all we will be worth. And what is happening out
there is that there are very qualified individuals who are accepting lower
salaries because they are in unique positions of being able to live on lower
incomes. If we were to equate what is happening out there, it would be
like one RPT charging half or less for tuning prices than everybody else, just
because he or she doesn't require as much money to live on.</DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV>It is free market economics. But salaries are what they are because
CAUTs are too willing to lowball their worth. It has nothing to do with
qualifications or certifications or the lack thereof, and it has nothing to do
with how good a concert technician we are.</DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV>Guilty as charged. I made the mistake of taking a lower salary
during the first year until my skills had been evaluated with promises of
salary improvement if everyone liked my work. Nine years later, we are
finally starting to get the the salary to where it should have started.
That's my fault. I honestly didn't know any better at the
time. But that salary improvement is not coming about because in the
meantime I became an RPT. It isn't coming about because everyone likes
my work. That was established in year one. It is coming about
because I am threatening to leave because the university job is keeping me
from being able to properly provide for my family. The amount of
moonlighting I'm having to do to compensate is compromising the quality of my
work at the school, and I have made no secret of that. So far, that is
all that has worked. Flashing my RPT certificate didn't do a darned
thing. Getting rave reviews from visiting artists and comments along the
lines of "I'd fly him to Oklahoma to work on my pianos," or "your pianos are
better than at Eastman" had nothing to do with it. They don't want to
lose me because of the quality of work I've shown. But I've had to be a
real pain in the behind around here to get raises. But at the same time
there will be a brick wall in the process. At some point, the dean is
going to say, "no, I can get another technician for less than
that." </DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV>Because he's probably right. Somebody else will be willing to come
in here and sign up to work for half of what they're worth.</DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV>Jeff</DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV><BR><BR>
<DIV><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
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<DIV>Jeff Tanner, RPT</DIV>
<DIV>University of South Carolina</DIV>
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