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I recently had a postdoc interview that went well. The appointment was originally set to start in September, but shortly after the meeting they sent me an email asking if I'd be able to start sooner, in July. I said yes and asked if it would be possible for me to do my teaching remotely (in another country) until September, as I originally planned.

Now I've received the written contract, and I will accept the position, but I never got a response for this request. I have the following questions:

1) Is my request reasonable? I think that given the current state of affairs my physical location shouldn't be too relevant for the university, at least until late August/September.

2) Does it hurt to ask?

3) If the answer to (1) is yes, how should I go about asking this? Who would be the right person to talk with? If (1) is a no, thoughts and comments are also welcome.

Edit: the postdoc is in a public US university.

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    Whether or not we think it is reasonable has little bearing on whether your new work place finds it reasonable...
    – Jon Custer
    May 4, 2020 at 21:05
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    @JonCuster I understand, but I don't want to come up as someone asking for crazy things.
    – user347489
    May 4, 2020 at 21:35
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    Well, if couched as wrapping up your current duties, and that it would not interfere with the time you could devote to your new position, there doesn't seem to be a reason to not bring it up with your new advisor. If instead (as an extreme example) you would be spending July-September teaching 40+ hours/week for your old institution while being paid by your new institution, well, that likely isn't happening.
    – Jon Custer
    May 4, 2020 at 21:38
  • If you don’t want to be at the new post in July why did you agree to it - you surely understood what was being asked...
    – Solar Mike
    May 5, 2020 at 4:51
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    @SolarMike I wouldn't say that. I'm definitely nervous about such a big change given the current global situation, but I will be there when I'm asked to be. What I'm looking for is some advice on whether I should try to continue this conversation with my employer or not, and if yes, how to do so. I'll think on how to edit the question to make this more clear.
    – user347489
    May 5, 2020 at 8:02

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1) Is my request reasonable? I think that given the current state of affairs my physical location shouldn't be too relevant for the university, at least until late August/September.

The request is reasonable for multiple reasons: 1. since it's for a limited time during your post-doc, 2. since you agreed to an earlier starting date than originally planned, and 3. due to the current pandemic.

2) Does it hurt to ask?

Assuming that your future employers are reasonable, it won't hurt. If they are not reasonable, now (that you have not signed the contract yet) would be an excellent time to find out.

3) If the answer to (1) is yes, how should I go about asking this? Who would be the right person to talk with? If (1) is a no, thoughts and comments are also welcome.

You should ask the same person who asked you if you can start earlier (probably the PI?) - as you already did. I was not nice of them not to answer your question. Probably, they either did not read the question or forgot to answer it. It's absolutely advisable to send a friendly (one-sentence) reminder about your question.

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