The two-body problem part 8: Negotiations

Now the fun began!. Negotiations. Figuring out the conditions of the hire. This is the first point of success or failure on the TT. You need enough startup money to meet the expectations of the tenure requirements at your University. You need some kind of teaching release for your first semester. You need to spell out what you are going to teach, how often you will be making new classes, what your service expectations are. Where you're space will be, lab space, grad student space, computers, furniture, everything.

The first time, I was prepared for this. I had even read books about it. I had lists, I knew what I needed. The negotiations went something like this.

U: please send a list of your startup estimates
Me: Ok, specific equipment for just a lump sum
U: specifics
Me: Ok, here are the equipment estimates, I'd also like to fund a graduate student to startup, I don't how much that is at your institution
U: Don't worry about it. Your salary is $xx and $xxx is all the startup you can get. There is nothing more. Sign the papers in one week.

It wasn't quite that harsh, but it was made clear that I wouldn't be negotiating and that if I didn't sign soon (almost immediately) there wasn't going to be a job at all. The letter came, it seemed pretty standard, I read it carefully. But, if you'll remember correctly we were desperate, so I didn't argue. That was a mistake, and to be honest, it set the tone for my whole time here.

This time it was much different. It was actually a little bit fun. We started with salary, which we had talked about a little bit at the exit interview. Based on that conversation, I was worried that they weren't going to be able to match my current salary, which was all I really wanted. They came back with a substantial raise. We moved onto startup costs, I was again very honest. This is what I need to match what I have here and will need to leave behind. This is what I need to really get a solid program going. We discussed it rationally, and I got it all. We negotiated space, travel money, teaching loads, summer salary. Each point was handled rationally and fairly. Mostly everything I asked for was given or something else was given as a consession. (e.g. No grad assistantship because of current budget, but some money to hire an undergraduate lab tech).

I negotiated with the Department head, and in between dealing with the points necessary for me, he scheduled a visit for hub. Finally we got down to an agreement, which was contingent only on the outcome of hub's visit. It took several weeks, and it was so easy I was actually sad when it was over. It was really nice to be wanted and respected. A whole different tone right from the start.