Salary Negotiation for Part-Time work and Telling an Employer my "Minimum Salary"?

[11Q13]

I hope this is the correct place to ask this. I finished a Master's in May at Harvard and am returning to my undergrad, a small private college, to teach one or two classes, and hopefully pick up another part-time job as a Graduate Writing Assistant (that is, assisting graduate students with their writing, not being a graduate student that is a writing assistant). I'm pretty sure I know the answer to my first question so I'll get that out of the way. In the humanities adjunct market there is next to no room for salary negotiation, is that correct?

My primary question is about something I think is a bit odd on the Graduate Writing Assistant application, they ask me to fill in a line with my "minimum salary." I have no idea how to answer this question...I feel like giving my "minimum salary" is going to handicap if not eliminate any negotiation for competitive pay, whatever that is. Has anyone here been a writing assistant, or know how much one makes?

It is part-time, so I'm assuming they want an hourly wage. Google returns nothing in terms of what a part-time Graduate Writing Assistant makes, let alone anything about specific qualifications such as having a Master's from an Ivy that was writing focused. I also have experience in about half a dozen languages if that is relevant.

[TakeruK]

I can't give any advice about graduate writing assistant specifically as I have no experience in that. But there is a general tip that might be helpful. On most universities' HR webpages, there are tables of salary grades and ranges. Sometimes you can even see current job postings, which usually list the salary grade/range for that position. Maybe you can find a job posting with a similar level of responsibility (and education) and match your "minimum salary" to the posted salary grade -- i.e. it sounds like you should match with a job that requires a graduate degree but isn't a supervisory position. I'd pick a number in the lower range of the salary grade since it is an entry level position?

Alternatively, you can also consider the salary of tutors working in writing centres in your city/university. Private tutoring usually pays more than those who work in writing centres though, so if you see those numbers, be sure to scale appropriately.

Finally, usually on forms that ask for a minimum salary, if you know that the line isn't absolutely required, I'd put in something like "to be negotiated upon interview" or whatever. That kind of just moves the problem down the road, but at least in an interview, you can have a dialogue about the number instead of just a figure without context. Usually I am noticing more and more jobs requiring you state a minimum salary though!

Edited August 6, 2012 by TakeruK

[Joseph Richards]

I agree with Macchiato, try to avoid giving a minimum salary if at all possible.

Payscale.com says the average hourly wage for Graduate Teaching Assistant in NY is $13.04.

I can help you do the research for your salary negotiation as well: http://www.salarynegotiators.com/

[kateausten]

I'm not sure how it works with universities specifically, but I work in recruiting for private companies. In the current market sometimes you will simply not be able to not be the first to name a number, unless you are a more senior and specialized employee. They'll move on to the next person who is. It's always in your favor to name something higher than your absolute minimum because if you're a little above what they can offer, they will try to talk you down before taking you completely out of consideration. I would guess in this case the salary range is somewhat fixed and asking the minimum is a formality but still err on the side of too high.

[ZeChocMoose]

In the humanities adjunct market there is next to no room for salary negotiation, is that correct?

That seems to be the consensus on the Chronicle forum.

My primary question is about something I think is a bit odd on the Graduate Writing Assistant application, they ask me to fill in a line with my "minimum salary." I have no idea how to answer this question...I feel like giving my "minimum salary" is going to handicap if not eliminate any negotiation for competitive pay, whatever that is. Has anyone here been a writing assistant, or know how much one makes?

It is part-time, so I'm assuming they want an hourly wage. Google returns nothing in terms of what a part-time Graduate Writing Assistant makes, let alone anything about specific qualifications such as having a Master's from an Ivy that was writing focused. I also have experience in about half a dozen languages if that is relevant.

Personally, I would leave it blank. It doesn't sound like you know enough about the job to give a minimum hourly wage.