OMG!!!!! After all those applications, all those rec letters, all those interview meetings, all that uncertainty, all that time and heart and soul you put into these opportunities, YOU GOT THE OFFER! Congratulations! Now what?
To make sure you set yourself up for success in a faculty job, there are a few key categories to consider, which may vary in importance to you and in the university’s flexibility:
1. Startup and research funding[1]
2. Space and special facilities
3. Salary
4. Housing support
5. Partner accommodations and hires
6. Teaching requirements
7. Start date
The first thing to know is that the negotiation is between the dean of the school and the department chair or head, who is making requests on your behalf. This is nice for several reasons: the chair has every incentive to try to help you get everything you need to help you be successful and to help channel resources into the department; you don’t have to negotiate directly, but just need to make your needs clear to the chair, who has much more experience and can help advocate on your behalf; others in the department are motivated (or should be) to help you get what you need by sharing information with you such as salary and startup information that may not be public.
A helpful mindset when it comes to negotiation is to think about how what you are asking for will help the community and the success of the entire group, rather than just you. For example, (i) arguing that a given piece of equipment would open up a new area of graduate student research possibilities may be stronger than just saying you want it because it is state-of-the-art; (ii) asking for more salary or housing support because it will help support your family’s financial stability and your ability to put down long-term roots is stronger than saying you think you deserve more money; (iii) asking for teaching relief your first year so you can focus on launching your research program and mentoring your new students is stronger than just saying you want a break from teaching.
One of the first things the search committee or department chair will ask you is what you need for research space and startup. Think about any specific needs you have: how much wet lab space, what lab capabilities, what specialized equipment, what specialized facilities (greenhouse, vivarium, biosafety lab, insectary, core facilities). If you do computational work, think about server time, specialized computing equipment and software, etc. This is your best shot at getting large and specialized equipment and facilities that you need but which are hard to fund off of traditional grants. This is priority #1 for your startup and space request. If they don’t automatically offer it, ask if you can come back to campus for a second visit to check out the laboratory space and facilities available for you, and during this visit you can also check out housing options.
Startup priority #2 is funding for the personnel you will need to launch your research program. Anticipate that it may take at least 3-5 years to get your first major research grant and even then, it may not fund your entire lab. Plan for startup to fund the people you need those first 3-5 years (typically postdocs, technician/lab manager, and graduate students). You can also request some months of summer salary (assuming it is a 9-month academic year position that allows faculty to pay up to 3 months of summer salary from grants and other sources; this is the case for most US R1 institutions).
Make a combined, itemized list (spreadsheet form) that outlines these key needs for equipment, consumables, and personnel and their approximate costs.[2] For this step it is extremely helpful to ask other recent hires (ideally in the same department or at similar institutions) for examples of their request lists and what was ultimately funded. At many R1 institutions this ballpark number for an ecology position will be in the half-million to million+ dollar range[3], though this can vary substantially and is typically a major point of negotiation. If you have multiple offers, go through this process with all of them that you are feasibly interested in because it leaves multiple options on the table and gives you leverage. Make sure to ask whether there is a time limit or any other restrictions on how you spend it.
The school will typically make an initial salary offer, to which you can respond by asking for more if necessary. Again it is very helpful to have salary information from recently hired assistant professors in the department, either by searching online (if it’s a public university; also check ecoevojobs.net) or by asking trusted future colleagues (while it may sound awkward, this is commonplace). Many universities are limited on how much they can negotiate on salary because of equity and salary scales. This is where competing offers can go a long way: you can ask to match another university’s salary offer, especially if the higher offer comes from a less-expensive place to live. The same goes for startup requests.
More and more universities are offering some form of housing assistance for new faculty given the high cost of living in many places. This can be anything from a standardized program offered to all faculty to something that’s negotiated on a case by case basis, but if home ownership in the area is at all unaffordable, it is important to ask about housing support. For example, universities may offer low-interest or forgivable loans, bonuses toward a down payment, or subsidized campus housing for rental or purchase. Start by asking trusted faculty and the department chair what kind of housing assistance is typical, then ask more details from colleagues who are willing to share this information. Many people come into faculty jobs out of grad school and postdoc positions with very limited savings and well into their 30s beyond, so it is often reasonable to ask for assistance if you don’t think a down payment will be attainable otherwise.
If you have a partner who wants to negotiate for a tenure-track or other position within the university, this will be one of the most important points to negotiate and the conversation with the chair typically begins immediately. This often requires collecting application materials, coordinating with other department chairs and deans, and sometimes visiting an on-campus interview, all of which take time. If your partner wants a non-tenure track university job (e.g., an administrator, staff scientist, or lecturer position) this may be easier to negotiate but it is still worth discussing early on.
Teaching is not usually a big point of negotiation but there are a few important questions to ask. What is the regular teaching load (and does it change with seniority)? Is there any teaching release for new faculty? Are there any specific classes you expect me to teach or develop? How does sabbatical work, and is there any special sabbatical available for pre-tenure faculty to help prepare for tenure? If the department doesn’t automatically offer teaching leave in the first year, this is something you could consider asking for.
Start dates are often flexible, and it is not uncommon for people to defer their offer for 6 months, a year, or more to complete a postdoc position or for other reasons. Ask about this if it is a concern.
Finally, ask about the tenure process: what are the criteria, what is the timeline, what achievements are essential and most valued, and what is the balance of focus on research, teaching, mentorship, and service? Is there a mentoring committee put in place for junior faculty? Ask not only the department chair but faculty who are around that stage about their experience of the process. This is almost never negotiable, but it is good to know what you’re getting into, especially if you’re considering multiple offers. Many universities tenure nearly all of the junior faculty they hire (and this is typical in most ecology departments) but some universities and fields are notorious for low tenure rates.
Information is your friend in the negotiation process, so make sure to talk to as many trusted advisors, colleagues and future colleagues, and recent hires as you can to get a good sense of what is reasonable within the institution and what your top priorities for negotiation are.
[1] Note that I am primarily writing from the perspective of an R1-equivalent faculty job offer that is very research focused and prioritizes graduate students and postdocs. This category may be substantially smaller and less important for a liberal arts college or undergraduate-only research institution where the scope of research is different.
[2] The department may have an administrator who can help with this.
[3] The fantastic job search resource ecoevojobs.net has a Negotiations tab that has really helpful information showing the spread of startups and salary offers from across the range of positions. There’s really huge variation out there!