I know that salary negotiations are one of the bread-and-butter, boringly common posts on this sub, so thanks for even opening this post. TL;DR in bold.
I've got a really weird situation on my hands. I've been a US federal government contractor for nine years. The project I work on is one of a kind, and there's no equivalent position to mine outside of this project. In fact, I've been contacted by recruiters who thought they had an equivalent position, and it ended up being completely different. I have an excellent reputation all around; with my company, with adjacent contractors, and with my federal agency. I've made a name for myself by helping to improve the way we do our work, mostly through software bug reporting and feature requests, but I'm known as someone who understands the project and on a regular basis I have higher-ups asking me questions and sending other folks to ask me theirs.
I got a call yesterday from one of the adjacent contracting companies, they work on our in-house software. Our federal agency told them to reach out and hire me in a new position. The position is roughly equivalent to a QA analyst, only they're wanting to hire me because of how thoroughly I understand the program I work on, not my coding skills. The new position entails relocating 2700 miles. Initially, the contractor reached out just to make sure I was interested, now they're working with the agency to come up with a relocation package and job description. While they're doing that, I've been asked to come up with a compensation request.
How much can I expect? I currently gross around $57k. My wife adds another $20k, and she may or may not be able to make a transfer. In addition, the cost of living is higher (it's scheduled twice what my salary is currently based on), and we'd need to pay for a second car (I currently have a work car). If look at QA analyst positions (again, rough equivalency) in that part of the country, I'm seeing $70-133k depending on experience. I've been working on this project for almost a decade, but they're hiring me for a job doing something completely different than what my experience is in. My BATNA is staying where I am, where I'm happy, and where I'm likely to get a promotion in a few months.
My plan is, benefits being equal to what I make now, to accept no less than $100k, to hope for $120k, and to ask for $130k. The agency specifically asked for me by name, and are building a new position suited to the contributions I've been making. I'm not sure if the new contractor knows how much I'm likely to be making now, but it's likely that they're going to pass on my cost to the agency, and they definitely know how much I make. Is it okay to expect to double my salary?
TL;DR can I expect to double my salary if I'm moving to a higher cost area, if my wife is losing her job, and a new position is being created specifically for me?
You guys rock.
EDIT: I think this is helpful: If I turn down this position, they will not hire someone else. In the past, they've tried to arrange things so that I can attend high level meetings, but due to the way the contract is written, I can't do that in my current position. I believe that this is a stepping stone between my current position and taking over the position of one of the folks at the agency that I've been working most closely with.
I actually just realized I can look up that person's salary, because government. They started 15 years ago making $85k (115k adjusted for inflation), now they make $140k.
Submitted July 16, 2019 at 07:32PM by new-job-throwaway https://ift.tt/2NYj5F8
