I QUIT!!! On Mon, 15 Jan 1996, Boylan P wrote: > I am sure that your very interesting data is true in relation to federal > Government policies and practice, and is very useful to me in respect of > both my international Human Resources Management in the Arts and Museums > Master's course here and for wider comparison purposes. However, there > is no obligation on other employers to follow such scales and standards > in most countries, nor in this country nothing to stop even national > museums deliberately recruiting people wildly over-qualified in relation > to the salary grade fixed in advance for the vacancy. (We have some > national museums employing people at doctoral level on high level > academic curatorial work but employing them on a salary scale for which > the minimum entry qualification is just four middle grades in the national > age 16 school certificate. > > In fact, even these guidelines will disappear at the end of March as all > national museums and galleries are being totally "de-coupled" from what > is left of the national civil service salary grades and conditions on 1 > April 1996. > > The other growing trend, at least in Anglo-Saxon countries is towards a > rapid and massive widening of salary differentials between the lowest and > highest paid employees throughout both public and private sectors. For > example, while in France, Germany, Scandinavian countries, even Japan, the > highest paid levels of professional or senior manager in a for-profit, > governmental or non-profit enterprise may receive no more than two to three > times the salary of the newly qualified professional, and perhaps no more > than five times the pay of and unskilled manual worker in the > organisation, differentials at least twice these are now common in the UK > (and I believe in the USA as well) and are widening markedly every year. > (I am sure that the mysterious three or four directors reporting quarter > of a million dollar salaries to the annual AAMD survey are not paying > a quarter to a third of this - say $60K to $80K - as entry level > salaries to recently qualified professionals.) > > We even had a senior UK government minister who expicitly argued in the > late 1980s that pay has to be cut to increase incentives for the lowest > paid (to make them work harder) but increased markedly to increase > incentives for the top management and professional levels. (He never > explained where the cross-over point occurred in this remarkable > process!). However, the effect sought is being achieved by stealth, > through a combination of twice inflation pay rises for senior business > executives (whose pay forms the benchmark for top salary comparisions), > below inflation rises (or total freezes) for the lower paid, plus regressive > tax policies greatly increasing the total taxation of the low paid with > even greater percentage cuts for the highest earners - hence the near > doubling of differentials in just 16 years. (As a final step to > establish a new benchmark before the national salary civil service scales > are - in effect - abolished on 1 April, the discretionary "performance > related" maximum of the highest civil service salary grade has just been > increased by 45%.) > > Patrick Boylan > > ============================================ > > > > On Fri, 12 Jan 1996, Dick Morris wrote: > > > My job as a classification specialist with the Federal > > Government (one who evaluates and sets pay levels for > > Federal jobs) allows me to persue my avocation as a > > volunteer and board member of a museum. I can't speak to the > > salary levels paid to museum professionals across the > > country, but the assumption underlying this thread is > > incorrect. If the salary level is correct, the position > > listed is NOT a professional position. $15,000 per year for > > a full-time position equates to the pay for an entry level > > GS-3 in the Federal Government. This would compare to a > > clerk-typist, receptionist, or technical support person with > > pretty limited experience. To qualify for this level, a > > person would need little or no experience above a high > > school diploma. > > > > Most journey level professional positions (i.e., requires an > > appropriate degree and several years of experience for > > qualification) such as biologists, engineers, and > > librarians, start at the GS-9 level (around $30,000). An > > entry level professional going into a training position > > could be as low as GS-5 (degree, no experience) ($20,000). > > > > Technical support positions do not require a degree to > > qualify. Most of the positions I work with typically range > > from GS-4 to GS-7 ($18-26,000). Many of the people I am > > familiar with are degreed and are using the positions to get > > work experience and exposure to make themselves better > > qualified for professional positions. > > > > I hope this very short course clarifies things a little. > > > > Sorry - I don't have any inside track for getting a Federal > > job. With the ongoing downsizing and turmoil for Federal > > employees, few permanent positions are being filled from > > outside and many of us aren't very secure that we'll have a > > job this time next year. > > > > Dick Morris > > Volunteer and Board Member, > > Museum of Alaskan Transportation and Industry > > >