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[hyperbole]

Let's say we have an academic couple. Mr. Humanities is an advanced jr. tt faculty member making 75k, is bound for tenure, and loves his job. At his current school, he would typically make well over 115k as a professor. Mrs. Lecturer has a PHD and a few pubs in a hot new field, which their current employer has no immediate openings in. She makes 45k and could be promoted to make 50k. They like their institution. Mrs. Lecturer doesn't want to be a lecturer forever, but then again she rather likes having lots of extra time to pursue non-work related activities. Their current school (they both work at same place) also gives them the usual promises for future admin. opportunities for Mrs. Lecturer. The couple is happy and unwilling to split.

Now, Lecturer went on market and got a tt offer at a less desirable school, securing a spousal hire for Mr. Their salaries are now more comparable (65 for him and 55 for her). While both now have an opportunity for promotion, he will never make more than a 100 at full at this new school. Still, he is more than willing to take the personal step down in order to have their status as a couple improve. She is happy to have the offer, but is not looking forward to the expanded schedule or the service demands, and is now having second thoughts.

All other factors being comparable (regional desirability, housing costs, faculty collegiality, research resources, etc), what would you advise this couple to do?

[sciencephd]

Pray.

((Seriously, how could anyone, except a marriage counselor, presume to advise them on this ?))

[boringmember]

Have you told your current place that you have two tt offers?  Maybe that would make them think about giving Mrs. Lecturer a non-lecturer spot.  If not, I guess it depends on the cost of living in both places, the end goals for career etc.

[crowie]

Sounds like Mrs. Lecturer needs to decide if she wants to 'kick it up a notch' career-wise or not.  Mrs. Lecturer could keep in mind that some (of course not all) of the additional responsibilities of a full-time TT can also be fun and rewarding, both financially and intellectually.

If you only think of it in financial terms, surely that extra $15,000 at the top of Mr. Humanities' pay scale at current school is going to be more than offset by Mrs. Lecturers' increased earning power as she goes up the ladder at the new school?  I mean, am I missing something, money-savvy people out there?

[hyperbole]

The money issue is really only a small part of it, but because it offers an opportunity of quantifying with real numbers what is a much more abstract problem, it gets a lot of attention.

There is a very good chance that the money this couple would make over the next 20 years would end up being the same at either place (the high end cap on salaries is significantly lower in school 2; and school 1 is among the most generous of academic employers).

[malcha]

If you just want personal reactions to compare with your own personal reaction, I would take the job and make the move unless the university you are currently at came up with a tt offer for you (or, if you are genuinely interested in admin, the admin equivalent of a tt offer).  But I am overly sensitive to differences of professional status within a marriage.

I will also be the mouthpiece for the usual fora wisdom:  consider, always, the possibility that Mr Humanities' earnings might some day cease to be part of your household income, through death, divorce, disability.  Not that you have to make personal decisions based on fear of worst possible case scenarios, but there is a pragmatic argument for having the earnings of both partners be about equal, even if the total comes to less than the sum of a much larger salary A and a much smaller salary B.

[inthelab]

I would advise not to move, since you wrote that Mrs. Lecturer is not so ambitious and likes having time off to devote to non-career stuff, and Mr. Humanities is likely to reach the pinnacle and make more money where they are now.

Seems a no-brainer to me.

[sociological]

As others have said, it seems to me that this is really a decision about what Mrs. Lecturer wants for her future. I would think about what this means not just for now, but 5 or 10 years down the road. Is she willing to be the adjunct/lecturer faculty wife? Will she be happy with that life? If so, it makes sense to stay. But if she does see herself on the tenure track, this is an opportunity that may not come again.

[prytania3]

I would advise not to move, since you wrote that Mrs. Lecturer is not so ambitious and likes having time off to devote to non-career stuff, and Mr. Humanities is likely to reach the pinnacle and make more money where they are now.

Seems a no-brainer to me.

Chime.

[conjugate]

Here's a serious suggestion that's going to sound like a joke (but really, it isn't).  I once read that when you are conflicted, you should flip a coin.  Not to decide what to do; to gain a little insight.

When the coin is in the air, you realize which side you hope it comes up on, and realize what you want to do.  This works for me, I have found.  I say, heads is option A and tails is option B, and while the coin is in the air, I notice that I really hope it comes up tails (let's say).  Then I ignore the coin flip, and take option B.

If this makes no sense to anyone else, please feel free to ignore it.  Maybe it's a sign that I'm not introspective enough, or self-aware enough, or something.  Anyway, I'd advise the couple to go with their gut, and the coin-flip trick works for me to make sure I and my gut are in touch.

[undisciplined]

They should take the offer and move (or get the current school to come up with a TT line for Dr. Lecturer). With both partners in TT positions, there is no telling what will happen next. With research support in the new position, Dr. Lecturer may just take off in her career. Dr. Humanities may falter in his. There is no way to know. But one thing is certain: staying in the status quo position, Dr. Lecturer is sure to stagnate in her career and earning power.

[kamiakin]

Have you told your current place that you have two tt offers?  Maybe that would make them think about giving Mrs. Lecturer a non-lecturer spot.  

That was my first thought as well.

I would think twice about leaving an institution that you both love. There are a lot of snakepits out there.

[temporaryname]

Here's a serious suggestion that's going to sound like a joke (but really, it isn't).  I once read that when you are conflicted, you should flip a coin.  Not to decide what to do; to gain a little insight.

When the coin is in the air, you realize which side you hope it comes up on, and realize what you want to do.  This works for me, I have found.  I say, heads is option A and tails is option B, and while the coin is in the air, I notice that I really hope it comes up tails (let's say).  Then I ignore the coin flip, and take option B.

If this makes no sense to anyone else, please feel free to ignore it.  Maybe it's a sign that I'm not introspective enough, or self-aware enough, or something.  Anyway, I'd advise the couple to go with their gut, and the coin-flip trick works for me to make sure I and my gut are in touch.

I actually do this quite frequently: I promise myself I'll go with the decision that comes from the coin flip, but I wait to decide until I see the result. If I have doubts about the result, I go with the opposite. If I like the result, I go with the result. If I really don't care, I go with the result.

The scary thing is that it works better for me than all the agonizing over charts and such I've ever tried.

[mended_drum]

I'd move.  But I too am sensitive to inequities in marriage and have seen too many academic couples split, leaving one of them with no job security and desperate to get back on track career-wise.  And, of course, in the current climate tenure for both could be essential in maintaining income.

[imanonforthis]

OP,

You write that you do not want to be a lecturer forever, yet you'd be willing to turn down a TT job (at a school where your SO's needs would be met as well) in this economy?!?!  Sorry for the added punctuation, but that seems crazy to me.  The longer you remain a lecturer, the less likely you are to EVER get on the TT.  EVER.  Unless your current institution can offer you two TT jobs, I'd make the move.