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[OTOH]

You'd think three years on the job market would have answered this question for me, but I wonder whether anyone else has more wisdom: When do you askk about the salary of a t-t job? Usually salary is not advertised. You can always guess, of course, or make inferences from what others are getting. But should job-seekers always wait until the last interview (e.g., meeting with dean) to find out your real worth? Does anyone ask sooner, even prior to applying?

[me]

I've never asked about salary.  I've waited until they brought it up.
I noticed last year that several schools were upfront about the salary
when they did the initial interview.  This was actually quite nice.  I was told the salary was $45,000 for one school and $36,000 for the other.  Big difference.  However, the first school was located in NYC and the other one in a rural area where houses cost the same amount as the salary.  If the first school had waited until the end of the process, I would have been a little peeved to have wasted all of that time for a salary I can't begin to support myself on in NYC.

[anon]

Isn't it bad form in any setting (academia, corporate America, wherever) to ask about salary before getting an offer?

Once you have an offer, you are free to negotiate it up, and employers definitely expect that from you. But to ask about salary before they've even offered you a position is naive at best, presumptuous at worst. Also, a general question about salary in no way tells you "your real worth," as you put it. Your worth is determined through a combination of the amount you're specifically offered and the amount you are able to push that number up through negotiation (and if you've already been working in a t-t job, your worth is also dependent upon whatever your current salary is).

At my institution, for example, starting assistant profs in the humanities make anywhere from $40K to 60K, depending on experience and negotiating ability. Asking "how much does this position typically pay," or something similar, won't tell you how much they are likely to offer YOU, anyway.

[anon2]

You don't ask about salary.  It's considered bad form in the academic world.  If a school decides to make you an offer, they will mention a salary figure to you when they make the offer.  At that point, you can try to negotiate for a higher salary.  About all you can do is check to see what average salaries for different faculty ranks are at a particular school.  You can actually do that through the Chronicle's website.

Prior to making me a formal offer, my current department head called to ask what sort of salary I had in mind.  I told her my ideal salary range.  She came back with a formal offer in the middle of the range I had given her.  As it turns out, the advertised salary for the position was originally $36,000.  By being honest about my salary expectation, I actually ended up getting an offer about 10 grand higher than that.

[kw]

If the salary is absolutely dazzling, sometimes they will tell you that during the interview.

[anon2]

Usually, wait until you have an offer (which will include salary). The only exception -- the year in which I got my current job, I was moving as an advanced assistant. I had my first offer in early January and was deciding whether I would go on additional campus visits. At that point, I did call places and say I have an offer for X dollars and ask if the range they were considering for the position would match that, as their was no point wasting their time or mine with a campus visit if they couldn't match the salary of my existing offer.

So, the only case where you ask rather than waiting for an offer is when you have a competing offer in hand.

[Zarkov]

Sometimes, HR or the head of the search committee might tell you the salary range, especially when inviting someone to a campus interview.  This is not the time to negotiate, but it gives you an indication of what they will offer.

[ABD3]

I do not understand why salary is such a taboo question.  I was selectively on the market this year for the first time (as an ABD) and considered/applied to a couple of dozen positions (a mix of postdocs, visiting, and t-t positions). In half of these cases I e-mailed the chair of the search committee or the HR upfront before applying and asked about salary range and teaching load (two taboo questions), so I can figure out if it is worth applying (In all cases I got responses). In the other half of the cases I asked about salary during the interviews. (BTW, I accepted a postdoc).

[2 More Cents]

You wait until an offer is made to discuss salary, in the US anyway, because that is the the way it is done in American society.  It's no different than any other job.  You wait until they bring it up.

[IndianaProf]

Here's an idea for those hiring:

Put the salary range in the ad; if your place won't do that, at least put it in the acknowledgement letter that is sent after receipt of applications. I do both for our department. Ditto for teaching load. This saves everyone time and grief.

[anon]

I have worked in a variety of businesses during my career.  At interviews I've always asked the salary range and received responses of general ranges, usually with a caveat of 'depends on the individual's experience".  I think it very strange that this is seen as an inappropriate question at the interview.  My only concern was whether to ask the chair or the dean or both in case there is a discrepancy. Also, why is it wrong to ask the teaching load??  That's like interviewing in business but not asking what the job tasks include. I don't get this at all.  Academia is strange.

[tt_3938]

2 more cents to add to the discussion:

I interviewed for tenure-track positions at 4 research universities this past spring, and 3 of the 4 involved departments brought up the topic of salary at some point during the interview.  The topic of teaching load was brought up by all 4 departments.

So while the topic of salary may be something to initially tip-toe around, in my experience it was something the departments were generally quite open about.  

The topic of teaching load, in my opinion, is such an important aspect of most academic positions that it should be discussed no later than the interview stage.  Don't be afraid to ask for specifics by that point.

TT

[%sig%]

[voxprincipalis]

I have worked in a variety of businesses during my career.  At interviews I've always asked the salary range and received responses of general ranges, usually with a caveat of 'depends on the individual's experience".  I think it very strange that this is seen as an inappropriate question at the interview.  My only concern was whether to ask the chair or the dean or both in case there is a discrepancy. Also, why is it wrong to ask the teaching load??  That's like interviewing in business but not asking what the job tasks include. I don't get this at all.  Academia is strange.

Wow, possibly the oldest zombified thread to date.

Provided you are for real (apologies, but we get a lot of trolls here who like to resurrect old threads), you might get better results by starting a new thread. We do like to have continuity here but very few threads successfully stretch unbroken back to 2005.

VP

[systeme_d_]

It's a spammer who hasn't yet figured out how to link correctly, VP.

The post contents have been cut and pasted from a post above.

[voxprincipalis]

It's a spammer who hasn't yet figured out how to link correctly, VP.

The post contents have been cut and pasted from a post above.

Thanks; I didn't bother to check, but I assumed the signature non-link was suspicious.

VP