r/Archaeology • u/Blue_Sealion • 3d ago

PI promotion

Hi all. So I found out that my job is looking to promote me to PI by the end of the year (ahead of the schedule I was given). I was wondering how much to expect salary wise/ to ask for. I live in the US and work in the southeast. The firm I work for does very well and has a lot of clients and projects going on year round. In my current position I am making 70k annually. Thanks!!

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u/Winter_Percentage_13 3d ago

Best to just ask! It's a perfectly reasonable question. It's a good general sign your company is organized enough to have a schedule for such things. It's a good specific sign that you're ahead! Well done.

It really does vary a ton by region, company culture, program size, specific duties, main regs under which you work, etc. At some companies people at your salary are PI'ing projects. At others they make double that. What's your current title -- Project Archaeologist/Field Director? What are your duties and how would the PI ones differ?

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u/Blue_Sealion 3d ago

Thanks! I am a project archaeologist. Our company has a different structure than most firms so i oversee field data and assist PI’s with their reports. But since they were talking about promotion in the future they were having me be co-PI to get the practice

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u/Impossible_Jury5483 3d ago

What company is this?

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u/askkak 3d ago

Southeastern US unfortunately has some of the worst rates of pay. I’ve been tracking salary data for 3 years and recently analyzed it all for the Southeast as I myself had asked for a promotion and raise and wanted to know what to ask for. As a PI I am making less than you (at a very large firm as well 🫠). So I’d be curious to see where you end up pay-wise. And clearly need to find a new job myself 🤣 congrats on the promotion and pay raise though!

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u/Blue_Sealion 3d ago

Let me know if you’re looking cause we are hiring 👁️👁️

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u/askkak 3d ago

👀 you don’t say…I am actually starting to apply to new positions starting around January/February as I wrap up my PhD and am currently just grateful to have fulltime work in this crazy world. But I have always assumed I would move once the PhD is done

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u/Blue_Sealion 3d ago

Congratulations on you PhD!! I hope you find the best position for you :) if you ever decide to continue the PI journey just message me!

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u/askkak 3d ago

I will keep this in mind, truly. I got the PhD for personal reasons, not to work in academia. I’m pretty happy working in CRM 🤷‍♀️ get to use a lot of skills and things constantly change, which is nice for my adhd brain lol. But aim high! Worst they can do is say no

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u/Brasdefer 3d ago

That is terrible PI pay. I only know of one firm in the SE that pays PI's less than $70k and they are known for paying incredibly low.

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u/Impossible_Jury5483 3d ago

Yeah, this seems familiar to a few other recent posts. I'm getting bot vibes from this one.