#2 I'm no expert

[Jay Banks <banks@darwin.bu.edu>]

Since my posting in YSN #1320 about "the salary question" and related
matters, I have received two private e-mail requests for advice on
such things.  (Within the first hour after the digest arrived in my
mail!)  This disturbs me a bit, since it seems to imply that people
think I know what I'm talking about.  (Yes, I know, there's plenty of
evidence, in other posts on YSN, that at least some people have no
such illusions.)  I really make no claim to expertise.  I based my
remarks on what little I've learned from (a) the good luck I've had in
playing "hardball" and getting what I asked for, and (b) what MAY have
been mistakes I made in NOT asking for enough.  But asking for a lot
can obviously backfire.  I'd hate to see someone take my advice and
end up losing a job opportunity.  Basically, you have to develop a
sense, both from general experience and the particular personalities
and circumstances of a prospective employer, of how much you can get.
It's more than a little like a poker game, and since I'm not usually a
very good poker player, maybe I have just gotten lucky a few times.

So please don't sue me if my advice doesn't work!

jay

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