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[knitknat]

A good situation to be in, but we aren't sure how to proceed. The setup:

Spouse and I are both science, and both interviewed at a 4yr state uni in the middle of nowhere. Ironically, the positions were both TT, but in different depts and colleges, and neither of us mentioned the spouse was a candidate during our own interviews, and as far as we know, they did not figure it out. I did not get the offer (no surprise, as I am ABD finishing in December), but spouse did, and his potential new dept is the area of my PhD (dept where i interviewed was adjacent field), so it would be an ideal fit for me. I have about 350K in grant money over the next 3 years to bring with me wherever I find a home.

We would like to get a position for me in his new dept. They cannot create a TT line for me, but have offered a research faculty post that would be 100% self-funded with soft money. We are trying to figure out what we can bargain for that will a) help me get settled in as a Research Faculty in order to be productive and position myself for a potential TT down the road, and b) not deplete my grants too fast. I would love to teach to help offset my salary (and dept is in constant need of lecturers), but not sure if this will help me get the TT I desire down the road. Basically, we're both fairly new at this game and aren't sure what we should try (or not try) and ask for.

Secondary question: should I contact the dept where I interviewed and find out if they have any classes I could teach? Or is this really weird considering I wasn't their first choice?

Recommendations? Many thanks...

[sibyl]

Getting a TT job down the road will depend mostly on your research productivity.  You don't need a huge amount of teaching experience.  Since you've already demonstrated your ability to win grants, there's really no need to conserve your funding; you just need to crank out the publications, finish your degree, and you will land a job.  In fact, at the rate you are going, you might get a job next spring after you earn your degree.

What you are not quite saying is that you seem to want a TT job at *this* institution.  There's no other reason to husband your funds.  If this is true, the specific institutional culture is going to decide whether you would be a viable candidate.  Obviously, you are good enough to have gotten an interview, but there's no way to know what they thought of you -- or whether they embrace or shun spousal hiring across, or within, departments. 

If this is what you want, then I would approach "your" department head, and possibly the dean, and explain the situation.  Explain that your spouse has been hired there; say you liked the department and considered it an ideal fit even before your spouse was hired.  Remind the head that you have grant money and ask whether there is a way to set you up in a combined lecture/research position in the hopes that a tenure line will open.  You might also ask "his" department head about the possibility of taking a class or two next year as a lecturer, and about what would be needed for you to get a TT job in the future.

The problem with tying yourself to this institution is that you run the risk of delaying your own TT search.  Suppose they keep you around for five to seven years, while your spouse progresses toward tenure.  You'd be four to six years post-PhD and you don't have a TT job to show for it.  Now you are even more tightly tied to the new area, and if they don't want to move you to TT then you have no leverage.  That's difficult (though not impossible) to overcome.

When you go on the market next year you should be up front about seeking a spousal hire for your spouse.  If you can get one then you have the leverage to go back to this institution and try to talk them into it.

Good luck.