I copied this from a press release I recieved from Craig Gulka of NCSLi. The link is not functional, but once up and running I'll reply to the thread with the working link. This is an excellent vehicle to draw attention to ourselves, what we do, the criticality of our occupation, obtain statistical information from being a classified job description and hopefully at the end of the day, drive up all of our salaries to a realistic living wage. We all need to get involved.
NCSL International Announces
A CALL TO ACTION
"The US Dept. of Labor rejects petition to recognize Metrology job descriptions in its proposed 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System"
We know that Metrology is the bedrock upon which all U. S. commerce and manufacturing is built and that persons engaged in metrology / calibration activities provide services vital to the U. S. economy and national defense. It is also widely known that in the United States there is a critical shortage of technical personnel posed to replace retiring baby-boomers. The U. S. Dept. of Labor's SOC provides formal recognition of job descriptions which are the basis for its Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) used by educators and counselors to inform students about career opportunities. If the SOC does not include Metrology job descriptions neither will the OOH. The following is the reason given by an SOC administrator as to why Metrology job descriptions were rejected;
"The three occupations that you proposed, which I believe were Metrologist, calibration technician, and calibration engineer, were not accepted at the workgroup level, and the SOC Policy Committee accepted the workgroup's decision. This was in part because of concerns that Census and BLS would not be able to collect and report data on those occupations. "
Proposed 2010 SOC changes may be found at:
www. bls. gov/soc/soc_structure_2010. pdf.
Note: The SOC is updated once every 10 years. The proposed changes to the 2010 SOC has a comment period of May 23 thru July 21, 2008. We need your help to convince the U. S. Dept. of Labor that Metrology job descriptions should be included in the 2010 SOC.
Please e-mail your comments to: soc@omb. eop. gov with the subject line: 2010 SOC
Your comments should include the logic and reasoning as to why the SOC should include Metrology job descriptions because this is the focus of SOC administrators when evaluating comments. Some compelling arguments for including Metrology job descriptions in the SOC are:
"There are no existing standard occupational classifications that describe what tasks Metrology / Calibration practitioners perform. "
"Searching the SOC for 'Calibration' and 'Metrology' finds no standard occupational classifications. Searching the SOC for 'Calibrate' finds two unrelated standard occupational classifications that erroneously use the word 'calibrate' to describe 'alignments' they perform. "
"Metrology / Calibration practitioners provide services critical to the U. S. economy and national defense. "
"There are thousands of people in the U. S. employed in Metrology / Calibration positions. "
You may also contact Katherine K. Wallman, Chief Statistician, Office of Management and Budget, 10201 New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503, telephone number: (202) 395-3093, fax number: (202) 395-7245.
It is critical that the SOC hears from you! Please send this e-mail to all interested parties and encourage both those in the metrology profession and those familiar with the profession to e-mail the SOC.
We can make a difference if we all get involved!
See OlDAVES post in salaries forum, sorry big guy not trying to override you, just didn't read it. More people who see this the better!
QuoteMore people who see this the better!
Agreed!!
If you are a member of a union, voluntarily or not, get your union to push it...with job descriptions, the MEO cannot under bid Gov't contracts with someone who says "Yes, I've used a multimeter"..it has happened
I don't favor unions, but I do want us metrologists recognized
Mike
Lets bump this back up to the top of the pile and see if anyone besides myself has taken the time and effort to write an email and try to get our occupation recognized by the Department of Labor.
If you haven't, why not? It will only benefit us all. We have all complained at one time or another about our profession being misunderstood and/or undervalued. Well here is an opportunity for you to DO something about it instead of just whining about the problem.
So how many of you have put fingers to keyboard and sent a thoughtful, factual email to the DOL?
How's about you post a copy of the letter you sent? That way we can kind of take a look at what you had to say and see what direction we want to go with our letter.
I'll be glad to share what I wrote if it will help spur everyone here into action. I'm not an english major so there may be a few errors, but at least I did my best and gave them something to think about.
I'll challenge EVERYONE here to send something, we all have good ideas so lets say our piece.
Dear Sirs
I am writing to express my deep disappointment and extreme amazement that the Department of Labor has rejected the Metrology and Calibration job descriptions submitted to be included in the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification System.
The value of calibration and metrology affect us all, every day of our lives. It is the Calibration Technician that ensures you receive a gallon of gasoline from the pump or a pound of hamburger from the grocer. He maintains the critical time synchronization needed to ensure that your cell phone operates or that your debit card can be processed. He ensures the sterility and purity of your pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
The Metrologist calculates the necessary tolerances allowable so that fair trade and interoperability can be maintained between companies, states and nations. He ensures we all receive fair measure for our dollar and are assured that parts and products can be sold globally with assurance that a component made in Canada will fit with the part made in Mexico and will all work with the car made and sold to us here in America.
I have been involved with Metrology for almost 35 years now. I was initially trained as a Calibration Technician (Precision Measurement Equipment Specialist) by the U.S. Air Force. After retiring from government service I became the Metrologist for Midwest Research Institute, one of the premier independent research institutes in the United States.
It has always bothered me that my occupation has traditionally been misunderstood and ignored. As a government employee I was classified as an Electronic Mechanic. Did that accurately describe my duties and responsibilities? No. But no job classification did. Calibration and metrology was, and continues to be, ignored by the federal classification system. This exists even though Congress recognized the need for standardization, calibration and metrology in 1901 when the National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology) was chartered. The FDA in their auditing process defines the need for calibration of equipment and processes as a critical component. So you see there are many departments within the government that recognize the need and value of the calibration process and the need for trained technicians. Why can't the Dept. of Labor join these other agencies in this recognition?
As we evolve even more into a truly global economy the need for calibrations become even more critical, even as the tolerances required become smaller and more challenging to measure. The economic success of countries depends on their ability to manufacture and trade precisely measured and tested products and services. The promise held by advances of nanotechnology can only be realized if these breakthroughs are reproducible and repeatable. And this requires measurement, which requires Metrology, which requires the Calibration Technician.
In order to achieve this, we need trained people with a passion for this work. If this occupation continues to be ignored in the SOC and these job descriptions are absent from the Occupational Outlook Handbook, we stand no chance of meeting this challenge because our educators and counselors will be unaware of the need or the criticality of these jobs.
Please reconsider the decision to reject the petition to include the job descriptions for Metrologist, Calibration Technician and Calibration Engineer in the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification System.
I'd still like to see some official link about this as I'm sure most would. Also when it comes to Government contracts there already is a classification. There has been for about two years now.
So as I thought I said in this thread perhaps the other... the only document I could find on this topic is from a year or two ago.
Yes I'd like a classification but I've already seen one which makes sending a letter to somebody a moot point unless there is a current need that can be clearly cited as a reason.
I'm not really sure if you are expecting an engraved invitation or what, but go here and tell me if you find Metrologist, Calibration Technicion or Calibration Engineer.
http://www.bls.gov/soc/soc_structure_2010.pdf
Or you can go to http://www.bls.gov/soc/ and read more than you ever wanted to read.
"All workers are classified into one of over 820 occupations according to their occupational definition. To facilitate classification, occupations are combined to form 23 major groups, 96 minor groups, and 449 broad occupations. Each broad occupation includes detailed occupation(s) requiring similar job duties, skills, education, or experience.
"
http://www.bls.gov/soc/
We are in a broad category and have been. So yes we are listed but not individually as some would like. Not sure where the descriptions are for Metrology Technician offhand but there are some out there which I was e-mailed a year ago.
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes173023.htm
"Apply electrical and electronic theory and related knowledge, usually under the direction of engineering staff, to design, build, repair, calibrate, and modify electrical components, circuitry, controls, and machinery for subsequent evaluation and use by engineering staff in making engineering design decisions. Exclude "Broadcast Technicians" (27-4012).
"
I'm glad you are satisfied with that job classification Broken_Wings. If that is a fair and accurate description of your duties and responsibilities then I would say you are one of the lucky ones here. That does not describe what I do though, it doesn't even come close.
Quote from: OlDave on 06-25-2008 -- 05:32:41
I'm glad you are satisfied with that job classification Broken_Wings. If that is a fair and accurate description of your duties and responsibilities then I would say you are one of the lucky ones here. That does not describe what I do though, it doesn't even come close.
Careful what you wish for...I think last timie the did this with the Dept of Labor, metrologist came out lower paying than Electronic Tech.
Careful what you wish for...I think last timie the did this with the Dept of Labor, metrologist came out lower paying than Electronic Tech.
As a matter of fact, here in GA that is exactly what happened. Metrology Technicians I, II, and III are classed lower than Electronic Technicians under the new wage determination.
www.wdol.gov
I've heard some banter here (and elsewhere) about the dirty U-word-- that if we had a labor union, we'd have more leverage, but that's not the way I look at it. I see our profession as more of a craftsmen's guild: a close-knit group of experts with a cultural identity, similar to piano tuners and watch/clockmakers. Both of those professions have organizations (Piano Tuner's Guild at www.ptg.org, and watch/clockmakers have the American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute, www.awci.com). They have annual conventions and have a certification program for registered practicioners.
We have our own organization as well (the NCSL), our annual conventions (the NCSL conference), and our certification program (the ASQ CCT exam), do more precise work than piano tuners and clock makers (How accurate is your lab's atomic clock?), but unlike other guilds, the work we do is critical enough to be held to international standards like ISO 9001 and ISO 17025, and gets scrutinized as much as operating a nuclear power plant (all nuclear power plants have metrology labs, BTW.)
Yet we rank lower in pay than general purpose electronic technicians, much less piano tuners and watch makers... Sad.
"Careful what you wish for...I think last timie the did this with the Dept of Labor, metrologist came out lower paying than Electronic Tech."
Ditto. I know of a certain employer of lots of Calibrators that is rewriting the job titles from Elec Meas Tech to Metrologist and the pay is depending on what is a going rate in your city. Not a bad deal if you don't work in a city that has a few rinky dink cal outfits, but I know of at least one location that is going to lose a few bucks an hour here soon if it goes through......
I agree with inlikeflynn.
As I am prior PMEL K1/K8 specialized whenever I crossed over to the civlian world I was told by a certain senior master seargent in DC to apply as an GS-0856 electronics technicians. I am now a GS-1670 Equipment Specialist but my duties are strictly Metrology related. I work on everything from gas flow to RF.
I attended the NCSLi Conference in DC a few years ago and even then you could tell that this was a big deal to NIST and a lot of the other metrology employers.