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[quote=Anonymous]Look up the Tooling up columns in Science Careers (www.sciencemag.org) but there are probably countless blogs discussing this ("Fumbling on the tenure track", "female science professor" etc.) Everything depends on the type of institution. A private R1 will have deeper pockets which means a reasonable if not lavish startup,  most public R1s can come up with good startup funds as well. Although you do have to figure out whether this startup is for equipment and personnel or does your summer salary as well as lab renovation is included. While salary is often not negotiable, whether you get the first two years fully covered (i.e. no expectations of grant support to cover summer salary) is negotiable. Teaching loads are reasonably sparse and you can negotiate some time off teaching in the first 2-3 years.

At R2s, SLACs etc you will be expected to teach a 2+2 load (or 2+1) which can be negotiated down for a couple of semesters as you set up. I have no idea about startup funds etc. although research is expected at these places and harder to get done with the teaching loads and with undergraduates (or limited numbers of graduate students). It also pays to ask about the Office of Sponsored Programs and their efficiency.

If you will have a lab, you should figure out the renovation schedule. If it is outrageously long, negotiate a later starting date if you can. Not having a functioning lab means that you are wasting vital time as your tenure clock ticks. Some schools cheap out and negotiate your startup by asking you to use shared facilities which may not be practical.

Finally, the most overriding concern is the expectation of extra-mural funding. Funding rates at almost all Federal agencies are abysmal. So it pays to figure out whether a Federal grant (or whether a RENEWED grant) is a pre-requisite for tenure. There are probably a lot of additional issues but almost everything is covered in one of the blogs above.[/quote]

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