<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1170" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV>Tom:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I really appreciate your openness and candor.  I am looking at some of these same issues.  One advantage I have is 17 years of history with these people.  I'm very fortunate in that regard in that this is a very collegial group and the infighting and ego-posturing is really quite minimal.  The piano faculty are very nice human beings.  I do hear some of the horror stories from other technicians at other schools, and I'm thankful for the people with whom I work.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I am past some of the issues you have in that both of my kids are now on their own, everything but my newest car is paid for.  The very highest regular expense I have is my health insurance.  The next highest is the tax bite, much of that the self employment tax.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I am trying very hard to look at real figures and not just kid myself about the issues. Sometimes it does seem like comparing apples to oranges and to some extent it really is.  We're both probably looking for some magical spreadsheet where we could plug in the various numbers and have an answer appear at column X row 73!  If I find one I'll be sure to let you know.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>dave<BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********<BR><BR>On 6/14/2003 at 2:32 PM Tompiano@aol.com wrote:</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid"><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">Dave,<BR>I am one of those younger energetic techs who currently puts the long hours in and can crank up the annual income into respectable figures. I have just put 1 child through college, one more graduating in the fall, and 2 younger ones in private school (5th and 7th grade).  When I add up all the perks I have to provide for myself (health insurance, schooling,nice neighborhoods to live in, vacations, etc) there's price that comes with the territory. At the end, there's obviously a net gain in the form of lifestyle I have become quite accustomed to.<BR>But on the other end of the argument comes having some true time off without the worry of "I need to be working".  Plus having the collective benefit of provided health insurance. Plus the added benefit of tuition tradeoff if you are a state university employee. Those come a very steep price and I'm trying equate how much is that worth.  <BR>And then there are the music school politics which can be an issue within themselves. Just ask any tech who has a disgruntled faculty member always second-guessing them.<BR>And then there is the obvious gross reduction in net pay one has to learn to live within. I assume that those who do work in the university sector also subsidize their income with outside work.<BR>So it with this I find myself doing some very deep soul-searching and wonder if I could (in fact) , make a major change and find solace in that sector.<BR>Yes, the grass does look green on the other side. Red-rose glasses are off and I'm trying to see the true colors.<BR>Tom Servinsky, RPT</FONT><FONT size=2 Arial></BLOCKQUOTE>**************** END MESSAGE FROM Tompiano@aol.com *********************</FONT> </FONT></BODY></HTML> <PRE> _____________________________ David M. Porritt dporritt@mail.smu.edu Meadows School of the Arts Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX 75275 _____________________________</PRE>