price this job

[Seth Gordon]

My wife is leaving her job at MIT (as of the end of April), and she's 
helping them look for her replacement.  Her bosses are clueless about 
the market and she wants to provide a reality check on how much to offer.

This is the job description:

> The Materials Processing Center seeks an individual to handle all 
> aspects of its information, publicity, and publishing efforts. Areas 
> of primary responsibility include developing a broad communications 
> strategy, managing publications production and distribution (both 
> traditional and electronic), developing professional display and 
> presentation materials, design and production of marketing 
> collateral; coordinating information distribution within and outside 
> MIT, and administering our database-backed website complex. Specific 
> tasks include development of story leads, researching, and writing 
> scientific articles for our website-based newsletter, collection and 
> web/CD-based distribution of our annual research digest in materials, 
> frequent electronic and physical distribution of information products 
> to MIT faculty and industry affiliates; management of periodic 
> mailings; development of website functionality; administration of our 
> Unix-based web server; updating of web pages on a regular basis, 
> including management of the page design process; providing computer 
> "help desk" services to MPC headquarters staff. In addition, will 
> participate in MPC headquarters events such as symposia and proposal 
> submissions. The position requires close collaboration with the 
> Associate Director in addressing industry's changing needs and 
> responding to specific requests from MIT's industrial partners, as 
> well as a willingness to pitch in on other tasks as required. 
> Requirements: degree in a science; proven writing and editing skills, 
> particularly for technical prose; experience maintaining an 
> Internet-exposed *nix/Apache web server containing confidential 
> information; experience with a web scripting language and relational 
> database interaction (PHP/MySQL preferred); working knowledge of 
> HTML/CSS; Adobe layout and graphic design software, FileMaker, MacOS 
> 9-X (support familiarity with Windows helpful), Microsoft Office 
> software. Some graphic design experience would be helpful, as would 
> familiarity with MIT. Must be flexible, have excellent people skills, 
> and able to work independently and in a team and assume 
> responsibility in a fast-paced, informally-structured environment.

Question for those of you familiar with the market conditions: How much 
should the Materials Processing Center expect to pay for someone who 
fits this job description?

(Note that this is an administrative job at MIT, so it comes with a 
35-hour work week, good benefits, family-friendliness, and relatively 
high job security.  MIT in general is going through layoffs and a hiring 
freeze, but this job is exempt.)

If you want to *apply* for this job, PLEASE WAIT until it's cleared 
through MIT's Human Resources department, which should take until the 
middle of next week.  If you want to tell me what range you personally 
would accept for it, let me know, and I will pass along your numbers 
without your name.  (Or, if you don't trust me, ask a friend to email me 
the numbers on your behalf....)

// seth gordon // sethg at ropine.com // http://dynamic.ropine.com/yo/ //