Klarinet Archive - Posting 000125.txt from 1996/05

From: Jack Dannenberg <music@-----.COM>
Subj: Instrument Repair as a Career Change
Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 13:50:59 -0400

I may be leaving my lucrative high pressure job which I really
do enjoy. I naturally would prefer to continue working doing something
else that I enjoy and where doing the job correctly is appreciated.
Instrument repair appears that it would meet both of these criteria.
I would like to hear from the repair people on this group as to their
thoughts on this. This may not interest a lot of people so you could email
me directly if you can or will take the time to do so. Some of the questions
I have are:

Is quality work appreciated? It was in another specialised service business
that I owned. There will always be the individual who wants quick and cheap
but I would think most people would prefer the job done right at a slightly
higher cost.

Do you work for a dealer, are you a dealer? Are you self employed and is that
in conjunction with a dealer? If you are employed is it a salary or commission
basis? What kind of salary range can one expect doing this?

Can you specialize in woodwinds or do you do brass as well?

How flexible is your work schedule? If there is an ICA meeting can you get
the time off to attend? I realize that is shop dependent but I am looking
for an industry generalization here. I shall elaborate on this. I have
worked as an exempt engineer for over 20 years. I have had a somewhat
flexible work schedule that has always required a lot of overtime. But
my start-stop times have for the most part been of my own choosing as has
the methods I use to accomplish the job requirements. I am not sure how
I would do in an environment where you "punch a time clock" and/or have
a supervisor over your shoulder telling you how to work.

How do you acquire the skills and knowledge for this? Does anyone know of a
school offering training in this field? I am thinking of something
accelerated rather than a 2 year curriculum. This training could be in any
English speaking country. I love to travel and have lots of frequent
flyer miles saved.

What are the best and worst parts of the job in your opinion?

What are the benefits of belonging to NAPBIRT?

And I would appreciate any other inputs you could give on this subject.
Thanks in advance for any advice and information you can give me.
--
JackD.
music@-----.com