<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40" xmlns:v = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:x = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:excel" xmlns:p = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:powerpoint" xmlns:a = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:access" xmlns:dt = "uuid:C2F41010-65B3-11d1-A29F-00AA00C14882" xmlns:s = "uuid:BDC6E3F0-6DA3-11d1-A2A3-00AA00C14882" xmlns:rs = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:rowset" xmlns:z = "#RowsetSchema" xmlns:b = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:publisher" xmlns:ss = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:spreadsheet" xmlns:c = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:component:spreadsheet" xmlns:oa = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:activation" xmlns:html = "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40" xmlns:q = "http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/" XMLNS:D = "DAV:" xmlns:x2 = "http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/excel/2003/xml" xmlns:ois = "http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/soap/ois/" xmlns:dir = "http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/soap/directory/" xmlns:ds = "http://www.w3.org/2000/09/xmldsig#" xmlns:dsp = "http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/dsp" xmlns:udc = "http://schemas.microsoft.com/data/udc" xmlns:xsd = "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:sub = "http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/soap/2002/1/alerts/" xmlns:ec = "http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmlenc#" xmlns:sp = "http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/" xmlns:sps = "http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/soap/" xmlns:xsi = "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:udcxf = "http://schemas.microsoft.com/data/udc/xmlfile" xmlns:wf = "http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/soap/workflow/" xmlns:mver = "http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006" xmlns:m = "http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns:mrels = "http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/package/2006/relationships" xmlns:ex12t = "http://schemas.microsoft.com/exchange/services/2006/types" xmlns:ex12m = "http://schemas.microsoft.com/exchange/services/2006/messages" XMLNS:Z = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:"><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; 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mso-style-type: export-only } DIV.Section1 { page: Section1 } </STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY lang=EN-US vLink=purple link=blue bgColor=white> <DIV><SPAN class=079444515-17062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>I've been following this thread and I find myself agreeing with both sides of the argument.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=079444515-17062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=079444515-17062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>I've got three kids and I'm struggling to balance financial and parental obligations.  It would be very nice not to have to do side work to make ends meet.  On the other hand before the kids came along the extra hours didn't bother me at all.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=079444515-17062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=079444515-17062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>I came here from a dealership where I was getting full benefits and still took a hefty 15% pay cut.  Of course I moved from Maryland to Ohio so there's a bit of a difference in the cost of living, probably not that much though.  I'm pretty sure I could go back to the same dealer and and get back that 15% plus a hefty raise.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=079444515-17062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=079444515-17062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>For me what it boils down to is that I really didn't take this job for the money.  I do it for the atmosphere, when the administration and faculty are behind me (which they are) it's a great place to work.  Also I like Ohio and the location works for my extended family.  I think musicians and artists in general gain a lot of satisfaction from their work as well as their compensation so we end up working for less.  This may not be right, we don't deserve to be under paid just because we enjoy our work, it's just the way it is.  The situation isn't limited to us piano techs, most of the faculty need to do gigs on the side also.  There's a point though where you have to say enough is enough and maybe that's where some of us are.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=079444515-17062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=079444515-17062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>My two cents worth.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=079444515-17062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=079444515-17062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Mitch Staples</FONT></SPAN></DIV></BODY></HTML>