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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>
<DIV>Ralph Onesti wrote:</DIV>
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<DIV>This time...their qualification expectations are a bit
afield in my opinion...for example...they want to know exactly how many
pianos the tech will do each day, they don't need to be Registered with
the PTG, but they do require a college degree.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>I was hoping you could help Vincent write a reasonable job description
for the new tech as you are in the trenches and who knows where they
are.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Also, you might give input on normal salaries, etc. West Chester, PA is
close to Philadelphia in a no-so-cheap residential
area.</DIV></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Thanks Ralph! That first statement copied
above is hilarious!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>The void of knowledge and understanding about our work
that exists among musicians of high calibre is indeed amazing.
Wow. We have a lot of work to do.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Requiring a college degree is not only silly, but it weeds
out many of the brightest and most talented piano technicians in the
country. I have my personal convictions about college "education"
which would be better to not be expressed.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>The salary calculation is easy: Make calls in the
local private sector to the most respected technicians in the area. Find
out what their average normal "tuning equivalent" rate is and multiply that by
20 per week (which is a reasonable workload for a 40 hour week -- see NOTE
below). Adjust that figure by the number of weeks of annual leave, sick
leave and holidays are in the benefits package (typically about 8, so you'll
likely be multiplying the "tuning equivalent fee" by 880) to come to a total
compensation value including the value of benefits. Then adjust again for
the actual dollar value the employer contributes to health insurance,
retirement, Social Security and FICA match, etc., and you can come to a
reasonable salary figure with which to begin negotiations. Factor in
whether it is considered a "high profile" position and adjust accordingly (i.e.,
presidents are generally better compensated than governors are
generally better compensated than mayors - same basic job, different
level of visibility and expectations).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>NOTE: By the way, just to clarify, just because 20
tuning equivalents a week is a reasonable workload for 40 hours by no
means implies that a college technician will be able
to actually "tune" 20 pianos every week, and in fact will likely
rarely tune that many a week. By the time you navigate the schedules of 50
or so very busy teaching studios, classrooms and rehearsal spaces, touch up
concert tunings 3 to 5 times a week per venue, spend time on necessary repairs,
regulations, voicings, shop work, and then more time keeping records of
your activity, it would be optimistic to hope to work
in "tuning" more than a dozen pianos a week and yet be
completely brain fried at the end of the day.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>How's this for a job description?:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>============</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Piano Inventory Maintenance Director</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>The Department of Music at West Chester University is
seeking a person trained in the art and craft of piano technology to
oversee and maintain our inventory of XX pianos in recital venues, faculty
studios, classrooms and rehearsal spaces. Desirable candidate should
be a responsible self-starter who will report directly to and work
closely with the music department head to formulate and implement a
strategy for the ongoing maintenance and replacement program of the entire
piano inventory.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>The responsibilities of the successful candidate will
include maintenance of our (x number of) concert pianos at a level expected by
professional touring artists, (x number of) piano teaching studios at a
level that will promote and inspire development of advanced pianistic skills of
students and faculty, (x number of) additional teaching studios, classrooms and
rehearsal spaces to promote and inspire musical development of all other
advanced music students. The successful candidate should have a minimum of
5 years of professional experience as a working piano technician, to include
some form of professional skills assessment or training evaluation such as
Registered Piano Technician status in the Piano Technicians Guild or
equivalent. Experience with piano maintenance in a college setting is
highly desireable, as is experience in preparing pianos for the
professional concert stage and rebuilding/refurbishing of artist grade
instruments implementing philosophies consistent with
their manufacturers. Inventory and operations management skills
are essential, to include evaluation,
planning, scheduling, procurement, supervising employees and contract
assistance as well as budget management and record
keeping.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Candidate should generally expect a normal daily work
schedule with exceptions of extreme rarity for events of high
visibility, showcasing the entire department. The percentage
of inventory the candidate will be expected to personally maintain will
depend on results of the evaluation process and available funds
for employee and contract assistance. Salary will be competitive with
earnings of similarly qualified and established full time
self-employed piano technicians in the private sector local to the
university with aggressive annual cost of living and
performance adjustments, and includes a generous benefits
package.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Minimum of three (3) references should include at least
one experienced piano technician of high reputation.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>===========</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>NOTE 2: An absence of professional concert experience
is NOT a measure of any technician's ability level. It is merely an
indication of geography and/or opportunity (as Franz Mohr will preach). It
doesn't mean a technician is not CAPABLE of concert preparation, and this should
be noted to any search committee. Any committee which requires such
experience is obviously compensating for the inability to otherwise objectively
evaluate the skills of a piano technician.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>NOTE 3: Others may not agree with me, but it is my opinion
that the piano technician's personal primary responsibilities should focus
solely on pianos, and should not include the maintenance of harpsichords and/or
other historical keyboard instruments UNLESS the entire inventory is less than
40 pieces, or else risk the neglect of pieces of the piano inventory at its
expense. If the university desires that harpsichord maintenance should
fall under the responsibility of the piano (or keyboard) technician, it
should be considered that that is an entirely different skillset, and the salary
should reflect that persons who specialize in harpsichord maintenance generally
charge exponentially higher fees for that service than do those in the
piano service market. It is no different than expecting the piano tuner to
service a digital keyboard or even a pipe organ (any of you paid for a pipe
organ tuning lately?). Those may well be skills a particular individual may
have accumulated, but it should not be expected that the overall title of
piano technician should encompass those skills.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Jeff Tanner, RPT</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>BBA (with music studies), UGA 1993</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>formerly FTE, University of South Carolina and University
of Georgia</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>currently providing maintenance for Claflin
University</FONT></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>