Being an Adjunct
So, after being liberated from teaching high school, I've dabbled in the adjunct world. I'm waiting to dabble right out. Everything you've heard is TRUE! There are no benefits, working conditions can be dismal at best and there is no such thing as job security. But you already knew that. The good news is that, adjunts across the nation are rallying together for better work conditions. Take for example, a new adjunct organization, The New Faculty Majority. They are a new group that formed in 2009 who support contacting your senator and writing letters to your local news and radio to educate the public about the atrocities of higher education pay for adjuncts.
If you're considering being an adjunct, RESEARCH first. Know what you're getting into. It makes that sad paycheck doable . . .well almost. You also have to somewhat like teaching if you plan to be a full time adjunct, which happens to be the most ironic oxymoron in existance. Don't get me wrong, I like teaching. But being exploited for money because you don't have a full time contract is an external stresser, especially if you are trying to make full time pay out of multiple part time jobs.
I don't care about tenure, I don't have to have it. My longest job at one employer was 2 years. So, you don't have to promise me a job at the same place for 30 years. No thank you. I'll just take a 10 month contract . . . .with benefits and we'll see how it goes from there.
In lue of my experience as an adjunct teaching foriegn languages. I've come up with the Adjunct Manifesto or guiding principles to help you guide your way through the adjunct process. Enjoy and good luck!
Adjunct Manifesto
1. Make a budget. Find out what is the minimum amount of money you need to make to pay your bills. Then find the combination of schools that pay enough to make that happen.
2. Never give into a school because they are desperate. Adjuncts come a dime a dozen. If you say no, they'll find another one. Probably from the stack of cover letters and CVs they receive on a regular basis. Otherwise the dean or some other administrator will teach the course until the next adjunct is located. They will survive with or without you!
3. Don't count on getting a full-time teaching job based solely on your adjunct status. The internet is full of adjuncts working for pennies who dream about a full time position with their current employer. Why buy the cow when you can work it basically for free? Publish. Speak at conferences. Network. Travel abroad. Do anything and everything you need to do to stand out.
4. Overbook yourself. Schools cancel their courses and their offerings leaving you high and dry and UNEMPLOYED. Believe me, they don't feel sorry for you. Get a commitment from a school with that usually is good for booking its classes (usually 10 students is the minimum). Get a list of schools that have been good to you. Go back to those with whom you've made contact with the dean and have a good working relationship. If they like you, they'll give you first dibs on the schedule.
5. Since you are probably not going to get a full time position, go private for-profit. Yeah, it's not traditional academia, but if you're reading this you probably already knew that. So why not get paid at some fo the highest rates possible? The majority pay better than the local community college or 4 year liberal arts college. They also have modified semesters. Why make $1,600 for a 16 week class when you can make $2,500 for a 8 week course?
6. Go online. This will allow you save you on gas money. I've known adjuncts to travel over 60 miles a day for a position that pays pennies! This is not economically savvy. If that's you, stop it right now!
7. Just because you work in education doesn't mean you have to starve. Get off this "helping students" motto that has kept this female run sectore underpaid for DECADES. It never was about the students. If it were, there would be no such thing as a full time adjunct with dismal pay.
8. Don't be a fool! Tuition costs keep rising but your sad pay check stays the same. Adjuncts at your school haven't gotten raises since the school opened. SOMETHING ISN'T RIGHT!
9. Consider administration. Get over it. Teaching doesn't pay, but being an administrator does. Many deans work during the day and teach later in the afternoon or vise versa. You can have the best of both worlds if you play your cards right and think outside the box. You also can bring in six figures. CHA CHING!
10. Be prepared to step away. So, many of my adjunct friends aren't going to agree with me here, but that's ok. In a job, like a personal relationship, when a person seems desperate, people usually take advantage. I've been offered pay so low it was laughable. To top it off they required a Masters degree! Can you imagine? So, I said "No thank you!" and stepped away. You know what happened two weeks later? Another job offer appeared elsewhere right in the middle of a recession! It's scary to be without a job, I've been there and done that. But don't let that fear force you into a job that you know won't meet your basic financial needs, especially if you have children, a mortgage, etc. Keep your dignity and respect your own education. In this new academia world you have to be creative. You may have to give up your dream of teaching full time for a moment. Non profits, hospitals, educational contractors, travel agencies, and government agencies all need your language skills. You are wanted! Keep the faith! A teaching career may be in your future, just not right now. While you're waiting, use those educational benefits as your non academic job to go back to school and get it paid for.
Like I said earlier, I like teaching or else I'd find something else to do with my time. I'm cheap with what I spend because the money I make is precious. I pour my sweat and time into teaching, and those pretty pennies I get are well earned. I don't throw away money. If I'm required to have an education, I'm going to get the cheapest and best quality I can afford, so that my money stretches as far as it can. That is why, I am the Cheap Educator!
If you're considering being an adjunct, RESEARCH first. Know what you're getting into. It makes that sad paycheck doable . . .well almost. You also have to somewhat like teaching if you plan to be a full time adjunct, which happens to be the most ironic oxymoron in existance. Don't get me wrong, I like teaching. But being exploited for money because you don't have a full time contract is an external stresser, especially if you are trying to make full time pay out of multiple part time jobs.
I don't care about tenure, I don't have to have it. My longest job at one employer was 2 years. So, you don't have to promise me a job at the same place for 30 years. No thank you. I'll just take a 10 month contract . . . .with benefits and we'll see how it goes from there.
In lue of my experience as an adjunct teaching foriegn languages. I've come up with the Adjunct Manifesto or guiding principles to help you guide your way through the adjunct process. Enjoy and good luck!
Adjunct Manifesto
1. Make a budget. Find out what is the minimum amount of money you need to make to pay your bills. Then find the combination of schools that pay enough to make that happen.
2. Never give into a school because they are desperate. Adjuncts come a dime a dozen. If you say no, they'll find another one. Probably from the stack of cover letters and CVs they receive on a regular basis. Otherwise the dean or some other administrator will teach the course until the next adjunct is located. They will survive with or without you!
3. Don't count on getting a full-time teaching job based solely on your adjunct status. The internet is full of adjuncts working for pennies who dream about a full time position with their current employer. Why buy the cow when you can work it basically for free? Publish. Speak at conferences. Network. Travel abroad. Do anything and everything you need to do to stand out.
4. Overbook yourself. Schools cancel their courses and their offerings leaving you high and dry and UNEMPLOYED. Believe me, they don't feel sorry for you. Get a commitment from a school with that usually is good for booking its classes (usually 10 students is the minimum). Get a list of schools that have been good to you. Go back to those with whom you've made contact with the dean and have a good working relationship. If they like you, they'll give you first dibs on the schedule.
5. Since you are probably not going to get a full time position, go private for-profit. Yeah, it's not traditional academia, but if you're reading this you probably already knew that. So why not get paid at some fo the highest rates possible? The majority pay better than the local community college or 4 year liberal arts college. They also have modified semesters. Why make $1,600 for a 16 week class when you can make $2,500 for a 8 week course?
6. Go online. This will allow you save you on gas money. I've known adjuncts to travel over 60 miles a day for a position that pays pennies! This is not economically savvy. If that's you, stop it right now!
7. Just because you work in education doesn't mean you have to starve. Get off this "helping students" motto that has kept this female run sectore underpaid for DECADES. It never was about the students. If it were, there would be no such thing as a full time adjunct with dismal pay.
8. Don't be a fool! Tuition costs keep rising but your sad pay check stays the same. Adjuncts at your school haven't gotten raises since the school opened. SOMETHING ISN'T RIGHT!
9. Consider administration. Get over it. Teaching doesn't pay, but being an administrator does. Many deans work during the day and teach later in the afternoon or vise versa. You can have the best of both worlds if you play your cards right and think outside the box. You also can bring in six figures. CHA CHING!
10. Be prepared to step away. So, many of my adjunct friends aren't going to agree with me here, but that's ok. In a job, like a personal relationship, when a person seems desperate, people usually take advantage. I've been offered pay so low it was laughable. To top it off they required a Masters degree! Can you imagine? So, I said "No thank you!" and stepped away. You know what happened two weeks later? Another job offer appeared elsewhere right in the middle of a recession! It's scary to be without a job, I've been there and done that. But don't let that fear force you into a job that you know won't meet your basic financial needs, especially if you have children, a mortgage, etc. Keep your dignity and respect your own education. In this new academia world you have to be creative. You may have to give up your dream of teaching full time for a moment. Non profits, hospitals, educational contractors, travel agencies, and government agencies all need your language skills. You are wanted! Keep the faith! A teaching career may be in your future, just not right now. While you're waiting, use those educational benefits as your non academic job to go back to school and get it paid for.
Like I said earlier, I like teaching or else I'd find something else to do with my time. I'm cheap with what I spend because the money I make is precious. I pour my sweat and time into teaching, and those pretty pennies I get are well earned. I don't throw away money. If I'm required to have an education, I'm going to get the cheapest and best quality I can afford, so that my money stretches as far as it can. That is why, I am the Cheap Educator!
Yes, by all means join the New Faculty Majority (http://www.newfacultymajority.info/national) and work toward changing staffing practices in higher education. When adjuncts receive $6,000 per course with benefits and job security, the whole dynamic changes!
ReplyDelete$6,000 a class! Sounds like . . . the pay a full time professor makes per class . . imagine that!
ReplyDelete