CAUT

  • 1.  Full-Time Technician Position Opening, St. OIaf College

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-19-2022 16:28
    Hello all-

    After 35 years it is now my turn to retire.  It took a while for the listing to get officially posted on the College website but that is now complete so I can share the news. This has been a wonderful and supportive department to work with so it was easy to dedicate my entire professional career to this institution.  I can even say we are proud of our inventory of about 150 good to excellent pianos. We have chosen not to be a representative of a specific manufacturer so the inventory is primarily a mixture of new or reconditioned Steinway, Mason & Hamlin and Yamaha. Our #1 Concert Grand is a new Bösendorfer 280VC that we selected in 2019 at the factory in 
    Wiener Neustadt, Austria. I have copied a link to the official HR posting below. If interested please respond directly to HR, but I'm willing to answer any specific questions of a technical nature about the position if helpful.  My retirement will be effective Sept. 1, 2022 and I believe they hope to hire a replacement for the position starting sometime in August.  

    Thank you,

    Dennis Johnson. 

    https://stolaf.hiretouch.com/job-details?jobID=2011&job=piano-technician

    --
    Dennis Johnson
    Piano Technician / Music
    Office: 507-786-3587| Mobile: 612-599-6437 
    1520 St. Olaf Avenue Northfield, MN 55057



  • 2.  RE: Full-Time Technician Position Opening, St. OIaf College

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-19-2022 20:17
    Dennis.

    Congratulations on your retirement. I’m thoroughly enjoying mine. But don’t put away all your tools. Before you know it, you’ll be back twisting pins again. But this time for pure enjoyment.

    Good luck.

    Wim.

    Sent from my iPhone


    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Full-Time Technician Position Opening, St. OIaf College

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-19-2022 20:23
    Congratulations, Dennis!

    There have been a lot of recent retirements in cautdom during the past couple years, and in some cases no replacement was found, leading either to the retiree staying on for a while or to an interim filled by contract work.

    I think we are experiencing what we have known was in the wind for some time now: there aren’t enough qualified candidates, and caut salaries are so low that it is difficult to attract even borderline candidates.

    Fred Sturm
    fssturm@comcast.net
    www.artoftuning.com
    http://fredsturm.net
    "Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." -Gustav Mahler


    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Full-Time Technician Position Opening, St. OIaf College

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-20-2022 00:38

    Yes, congratulations Dennis! 

    Fred, good observations. It sounds as though Dennis has had a MUCH better experience than I. I had very, VERY good job performance scores & revues for pretty much my entire time at Texas Tech. I spoke with the director on several occasions during my time there about the possibility of getting my salary out of the "near poverty" range…and he REALLY seemed sincere in wanting to help "convince the bean counters". In the end the biggest raise I received was neatly a dollar an hour one time…accumulative during 11 years was less than 2 dollars an hour. My annual income from there barely broke the 50,000 mark. I had to do tons of side work just to survive. My point is that until large numbers of SOMs realize how important great service & reliability is…there will probably continue to be an increase in contract techs, etc. I just think it's a crying shame and doesn't have to be this way. 



    ------------------------------
    Kevin Fortenberry
    Registered Piano Technician
    Longview, TX 75602
    806-778-3962
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Full-Time Technician Position Opening, St. OIaf College

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-20-2022 11:52
    I'm one of the recent retirees Fred mentioned, and I agree with him.  Cornell wound up with someone who looks like a very good hire, but the pool of applicants was small and disappointing in general, despite the fact that they sweetened the deal significantly.
    good luck to you Dennis, and let your department know how hard it's going to be to replace you.

    ------------------------------
    Kenneth Walkup RPT
    Trumansburg NY
    (607) 279-1440
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Full-Time Technician Position Opening, St. OIaf College

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-21-2022 10:29
    Thank you all for the kind words and as usual Fred offers a spot-on commentary.  I think many of us end up in the position of feeling the extra outside work is necessary to compensate for our salaries.  We accept that and mostly enjoy the service, but over time it definitely takes a toll on the body.  I look forward to the luxury of working when I choose at a more casual pace and having time to do other things, like actually playing piano again and maybe some writing.  For what it's worth, this morning HR also officially posted the opening for an Assistant Piano Technician.  My former assistant, Paul Klitzke, decided to retire this summer also so now the College has 2 open positions in our piano maintenance program.  The Assistant position is posted at .5 FTE, working about 25 hours/wk for 10 months between August 15th and June 15th.  That's the way it was set up the past 10 years in any case.  If you know of a worthy candidate who might be interested in either position please share the news, especially if they are not on this list.  A link to both positions are copied below.  

    cheers!

    Dennis. 


    --
    Dennis Johnson
    Piano Technician / Music
    Office: 507-786-3587| Mobile: 612-599-6437 
    1520 St. Olaf Avenue Northfield, MN 55057




    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Full-Time Technician Position Opening, St. OIaf College

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-20-2022 09:22
    Dennis,

    Congrats on your upcoming retirement! I have no doubt that your replacement will be more than delighted to take over the care of "your" instruments. Will you continue to work privately?

    ------------------------------
    John Minor
    The Piano Shop Inc
    Champaign IL
    thepianoshopcu@gmail.com
    www.thepianoshopcu.com
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Full-Time Technician Position Opening, St. OIaf College

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-21-2022 12:00
    While I agree with Fred, we have to keep in mind that when some of us started at our respective positions 25 - 40 years ago, we were "fresh" and didn't know a whole lot, at least not as much as we know now. Many of the newer and younger technicians who apply for this, and other CAUT positions, they will be satisfied with the compensation offered, and look forward to working for a university. As retired techs, we should be willing and able to offer support and assistance, if the new tech asks for it.

    ------------------------------
    Willem "Wim" Blees, RPT
    St. Augustine, FL 32095
    Tnrwim@aol.com
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    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Full-Time Technician Position Opening, St. OIaf College

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-21-2022 17:52
    Congratulations Dennis, a great run! Also, thank you for your contributions to the CAUT community over the years through your participation on the CAUT Committee and the online forums. It was a pleasure working with you on the CAUT Committee. It seems like such a long time ago!

    ------------------------------
    [Don] [McKechnie,] [RPT]
    [Piano Technician]
    [dmckech@ithaca.edu]
    [Home 607.277.7112]
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Full-Time Technician Position Opening, St. OIaf College

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-23-2022 09:33
    Hey Don-

    Thank you, and indeed that was a very long time ago but I remember it well! You've been retired a while now and hope all is good there, both with Ithaca and yourself.  And Wim, of course you are correct too.  Sometimes sharing our hard-earned skills and knowledge can be the most rewarding part. 

    best,

    Dennis. 





    Original Message