Kid-friendly career (teaching) X-posted

(ted) wrote:
I'm looking for 'Adjunct Instructor' kind of positions.
How exactly do I go about applying for these?

Check the schools' websites for instructions and application forms.
Look under "faculty". Or call them and ask. Write a cover letter
saying what kinds of courses you can/would teach. They may need
you to teach sections of their regular service courses (such as
introduction to computers, or basic writing) or a whole new course.
If the latter, they will want you to develop a proposal complete
with sylabus and have you give them a demo class.

Flexible schedule, not really. The deal is your hours are less than
full time, but your class and office hours schedule will be dictated
by the availability of rooms. Expect to share an office; expect that
as a new adjunct you will get absolute last choice of classrooms and
class times (to the extent that such things are ever the instructor's
choice).

Do not worry about not having a PhD; for adjunct instructors a PhD
makes a marginal difference. PhDs are paid slightly more, but the
pay is so low that it hardly matters.

A typical course meets 2 or 3 times a week, for a total of about 3
hours. Then expect an equal number of office hours per week. And to
prepare for each hour of class expect to spend 5-15 hours (you write
the lectures, prepare the A/V aids, design the homeworks and exams,
grade them, etc.). The first time you teach a course, 15 hours is a
normal preparation time (this is based on published surveys of hours
used by actual adjunct instructors); 5 hours is feasible after you
have the course down pat (and are going crazy with boredom, teaching
it over and over again). On top of this you commute to the campus 2
or 3 times per week. A semester runs 16 weeks. Okay, now add it up:

3 + 3 + 3*15 (ignoring commute time) = 51 hours per week for a total
of 816 hours per semester.

For all those hours, you can expect to be paid about $2000, or $2.45
per hour. You can expect no benefits.

Adjunct teaching is a terrible way to "make a little extra"; do it
only if it is a stepping stone to a future better career (for this
you need a very concrete plan), or if you can collect unemployment
(ie, underemployment) insurance on the difference. If you are the
mother of a new baby it may be hard to prove you are able to work
(and hence are allowed to get unemployment), unless you do work at
least part time.

Pologirl

In article ,
Phoebe & Allyson wrote:
ted wrote:
I want to
teach college level. The issue is, I don't have a PhD.

The junior colleges here will hire folks with only a Master's. I
suspect they don't pay well, though.

It depends on your field. One of the local colleges (community
college) was advertising a tenure-track position in computer
science; the minimum qualification was a bachelor's degree -- not
even a master's! Of course, with a master's or PhD in CS you
can pretty much write your own ticket.....

- marty

Marty Billingsley wrote:

In article ,
Phoebe & Allyson wrote:

ted wrote:

I want to
teach college level. The issue is, I don't have a PhD.

The junior colleges here will hire folks with only a Master's. I
suspect they don't pay well, though.

It depends on your field. One of the local colleges (community
college) was advertising a tenure-track position in computer
science; the minimum qualification was a bachelor's degree -- not
even a master's! Of course, with a master's or PhD in CS you
can pretty much write your own ticket.....

Depends on your area. Around here, there are
a *lot* of unemployed CS majors with graduate degrees
competing for those sorts of jobs--even though the
pay isn't very good. I know several of those people
who started teaching at the local community colleges
and left to work at Home Depot or service stations
because they paid more!

Best wishes,
Ericka

(ted) wrote in message . com...
half years apart. I'm currently working fulltime in IT. It's a good
job in a great work place. Yet, it's not my dream job if there's one.
I have undergraduate degree in Engineering and an MBA in Marketing and
Finance. Since my kids are so close in age (I always wanted it that
way), I'm seriously considering taking a break from my job for two
years until my kids are old enough to communicate well and play with
other kids.

Make sure to consider how a several-year gap in IT industry employment
may affect your future employability.

I'm assuming that being an adjunct instructor in a college will
be more conducive to my family. I'm assuming I will have
holidays/breaks when my kids do. I'm also assuming that the hours are
rather flexible. I know I will be earning considerably less than what
I'm earning now but that's a trade off I'm willing to take.

Uh, adjuncting is really something to do for love or for future
career-building, NOT for money. In any way shape or form.
"Considerably less" doesn't even begin to describe it. Think of it as
doing the job for free with bus fare thrown in as a bonus :-P Not
only does it often work out to less than minimum wage, it is just a
part-time position, too, so it is not even like the paycheck you'd get
from a 40-hr work week flipping fast food burgers.

Adjuncting typically pays a couple thousand dollars per course (not
per credit-hour... per COURSE).

For a typical lecture-only course of ~3 hrs lecturing per week, you
can expect to invest a something like a total of 8-20+ hrs of work per
week. *EVEN IF* you are teaching from a syllabus and detailed notes
that someone else has previously put together, for every hr spent
lecturing you should expect to spend between 1-2 hrs on prep
activities (including writing exams, preparing handouts, figuring out
how to present things, updating examples, etc). In fact if you are
just given a general syllabus of what the course should cover and left
to develop the actual material yourself, plan on literally 4-6+ hrs
PER HR OF LECTURING the first time you teach that course. I am not
kidding. (If you want to do a decent job, anyhow.) If the course
includes you teaching or recitation sections in addition to the
lecture, the work required increases accordingly.

Then there is the time spent commuting - don't ignore that (or the
cost of the gas or bus fare). Then there is time spent on office hours
-- you will, at best, probably share one cubicle desk with a bunch of
other adjuncts, so for practical purposes you may not *have* an office
and may prefer to hold your office hrs in a lounge or cafeteria
somewhere on campus. AFAIK most colleges/universities want an
instructor to have at least 2-3 hrs of office hrs per week, where you
have to be there irrespective of whether any students actually come to
see you. And then there's the time spent grading papers and exams.

All this for a couple thousand dollars per course. Not much of a deal
(well, the college/university gets one heck of a deal!).

As I say... people don't adjunct for the paycheck. They usually do it
in hopes of staying in the game and accumulating CV mass til they can
land an actual tenure-track job in academia. Honestly, the only other
reason to do it is a great love of teaching and the financial
independance to not care that you're not really making anything like a
salary.

The hours you teach are NOT likely to be flexible - the school will
basically TELL you when you are teaching a particular course, based on
room availability and conflicts with other courses required for
majors. Not infrequently, adjuncts end up teaching night courses or
other awkward time slots. Though you *will* be the one who decides on
your office hrs and when to do your prep work and grading.

College or university holidays do sort of vaguely match K-12 school
holidays but not really all that well in many cases... your spring
break and your schoolkids' will probably not match up, and you won't
have as many one- or two- day holidays as they do, and most colleges
or universities in the US start the Fall semester a couple weeks
earlier than school districts do.

If, after learning all that, you still think you *do* want to see if
you can land a job as an adjunct:

teach college level. The issue is, I don't have a PhD. Since I don't
want to do research, I don't think I need a Ph.D (please correct me if
I'm wrong). I'm looking for 'Adjunct Instructor' kind of positions.
How exactly do I go about applying for these? Should I expect
rejections based on the fact that I don't have a PhD? I want to teach
Marketing/IT or a combination of these two.

In the US in biology (my field til 2 yrs ago - resigned from assistant
professorship to marry Canadian husband and start family), there are
virtually no adjunct positions given to people without PhDs, because
of the overabundance of unemployed starving PhDs who will do anything
for dollar and a line on their CV ;-)

However I have no idea about the marketing or IT fields. One lazy way
to try to find out would be to go to the websites of the relevant
schools in your area and see if they've given their adjuncts space on
the 'meet the faculty' type page for each department. Not all schools
put adjuncts on, but some do, esp. those that use relatively few
adjuncts or have very well-developed webpages. See how many of the
adjuncts are PhD vs Masters (or "Dr" vs "Mr/Ms").

If you find that adjuncts without PhDs sometimes *are* hired at one or
more school within your commuting area, I would second another
poster's suggestion that you start attending seminars etc before you
think about applying for anything. THis achieves several things.
First, it gets people used to seeing you around; second, it makes you
seem like an actual real well-rounded person not just a name on a CV;
and third it may give you opportunities to suss out which way the wind
blows on important issues such as the department's beliefs about what
subject matter is most important or which faculty members loathe which
other ones or what subjects should NOT be broached under any
circumstances ;-)

Once you've been going to seminars etc for a while you can catch
faculty members in conversation before or after, and ask what the
department's adjuncting needs are expected to be in the next year. If
you learn that they will be hiring, see if you can set up a short
appointment to talk to relevant person about how the course is
currently taught etcetera. Not only will this give you a better idea
what you might be getting into, and help you avoid major errors in
planning, but it will also (again) make you a PERSON in their minds,
not just a name on a file. Which, believe me from experience in
faculty and staff searches, makes a very definite difference in how an
application looks!

Your application should probably highlight what you will personally
bring to the position that's so special -- I assume this would be
something involving your experiences out there in the real world. Make
sure it isn't written in a too-generic or too-fanciful way, though.
Also, since you are coming from outside academia, not direct from grad
school, be aware that a well-known problem with part-time instructors
from the private sector is that they often are absolutely clueless
about how to teach. I am not kidding, I could tell you horror stories.
(While some folks in academia are nearly as clueless, at least the
first time around, this does not really change the Conventional Wisdom
which is to be reaaaaaallly cautious when hiring temporary instructors
from the private sector. It may not be fair, but it's something you'll
have to deal with). In addition to clearly highlighting your grad
school teaching experience and talking about what you learned from it
regarding the demands of teaching and what works or doesn't work, it
would also be good if your application includes more material than
might otherwise be expected regarding how exactly you would teach the
particular course you are applying to teach.

In fact, if you can find out how the course is currently taught and/or
what their wish list is for the future, do so *before* writing your
application so that the information can do you some good!

Good luck whatever you decide to do,

Pat
missing academia but figuring that after dealing with years of faculty
meetings in a department that eventually fractured into two, raising a
toddler should be no big deal in comparison ;-)

(ted) wrote in message . com...
(I know there are a few PhDs on mkp and mkb. That's why I'm
crossposting)

I have a masters and spent about four years as adjunct faculty
teaching technical courses at a local university. I did it in
addition to working full time, to supplement my income after a
divorce. Paid off all the bills and saved enough for a down payment
on a car.

It's possible to do it. Remember that you'll be competing against all
those folks with PhDs so depending on where you live, you may well
face a lot of rejection.

It helps to have a track record with a department. Did you get your
degrees from schools near you? Let them know that you're interested.
Someone else mentioned applying to technical universities/commercial
learning centers - that's a another venue where they're looking for
applicable technical expertise, not book learning.


Also, I'm assuming that being an adjunct instructor in a college will
be more conducive to my family. I'm assuming I will have
holidays/breaks when my kids do. I'm also assuming that the hours are
rather flexible. I know I will be earning considerably less than what
I'm earning now but that's a trade off I'm willing to take. Please
correct my assumptions.

You must have little kids. I haven't been assured of having the same
break schedules with two kids in different schools in the same
district!

The hours may be flexible but be prepared to work harder than you've
ever worked in your life. I only taught the same course twice. That
meant that as soon as I finished my lecture and lab, I immediately
started prepping for the next. It usually took an entire week to put
together a decent lecture. They'll ask you at the last minute to
teach a course so you can't always plan it out during the summer. Or
worse, they'll assign you the department head's pet class and you'll
have to do it his/her way which of course needs lots of behind the
scenes tweaking.

There's no job security. If the budget is tight, you'll be the one
cut. There's usually not a lot of salary negotiation either. You'll
be paid according to the school's sliding scale.

I'm assuming from your userid that you're Theodore, not Theodora. If
you're the one about to physically bear the child (as opposed to the
one resiliently supporting the mother), don't even think about doing
this until you're done breastfeeding. You won't have the time or
energy to put into doing both properly.

Good luck,
Susan B.

(sueb) wrote in message . com...
(ted) wrote in message . com...
(I know there are a few PhDs on mkp and mkb. That's why I'm
crossposting)

I have a masters and spent about four years as adjunct faculty
teaching technical courses at a local university. I did it in
addition to working full time, to supplement my income after a
divorce. Paid off all the bills and saved enough for a down payment
on a car.

It's possible to do it. Remember that you'll be competing against all
those folks with PhDs so depending on where you live, you may well
face a lot of rejection.

It helps to have a track record with a department. Did you get your
degrees from schools near you? Let them know that you're interested.
Someone else mentioned applying to technical universities/commercial
learning centers - that's a another venue where they're looking for
applicable technical expertise, not book learning.


Also, I'm assuming that being an adjunct instructor in a college will
be more conducive to my family. I'm assuming I will have
holidays/breaks when my kids do. I'm also assuming that the hours are
rather flexible. I know I will be earning considerably less than what
I'm earning now but that's a trade off I'm willing to take. Please
correct my assumptions.

You must have little kids. I haven't been assured of having the same
break schedules with two kids in different schools in the same
district!

The hours may be flexible but be prepared to work harder than you've
ever worked in your life. I only taught the same course twice. That
meant that as soon as I finished my lecture and lab, I immediately
started prepping for the next. It usually took an entire week to put
together a decent lecture. They'll ask you at the last minute to
teach a course so you can't always plan it out during the summer. Or
worse, they'll assign you the department head's pet class and you'll
have to do it his/her way which of course needs lots of behind the
scenes tweaking.

There's no job security. If the budget is tight, you'll be the one
cut. There's usually not a lot of salary negotiation either. You'll
be paid according to the school's sliding scale.

I'm assuming from your userid that you're Theodore, not Theodora. If
you're the one about to physically bear the child (as opposed to the
one resiliently supporting the mother), don't even think about doing
this until you're done breastfeeding. You won't have the time or
energy to put into doing both properly.

Good luck,
Susan B.

OP here!
Sorry if my post was ambiguous. I meant to say "I will quit my present
job and wait for my kids to grow up a little bit and then try for
adjunct instructor position assuming it's kid-friendly". I DIDN'T
mean to say I'll do this only for few years and go back to my regular
IT job.

I am the one having the baby (blush). As I mentioned, I'm planning to
stay home doing nothing but raising the babies for the first two
years. Adjuncting comes after that. I was wondering how good of a plan
that is.

Thanks for your reply. I really appreciate it!

ted wrote:
(I know there are a few PhDs on mkp and mkb. That's why I'm
crossposting)

A bit of background before I ask you the question. I'm 29. I have a
one year old and a baby on the way (EDD sept). They will be one and
half years apart. I'm currently working fulltime in IT. It's a good
job in a great work place. Yet, it's not my dream job if there's one.
I have undergraduate degree in Engineering and an MBA in Marketing
and Finance. Since my kids are so close in age (I always wanted it
that way), I'm seriously considering taking a break from my job for
two years until my kids are old enough to communicate well and play
with other kids....


You may want to consider looking into online universities and the online
programs offered by standard brick & mortar schools.
I'm currently attending University of Phoenix, one of the first online
schools, but in the years since its inception, the medium has grown
exponentially.
UoP gears its program toward working adults, and hires facilitators that are
working professionals in their field of expertise. Semesters are completed
in an accelerated format, 5 weeks for undergrad, 6 weeks for grad courses.
UoP (and many others) is fully accredited, not a "degree mill" like some.
Undergrad facilitators are required to have Masters degrees and some number
of years working in their field of specialty (don't recall how many off
hand). I suspect that the appeal for instructors and students is the
same -- you can attend/teach from home, without the burden of commute time,
and courses are concentrated and challenging. If you can function in a
newsgroup environment (which obviously you can), you can handle the format
for online learning. I can't speak with any authority about compensation,
but I recall hearing that pay is something like $1000-$1500 per 3 credit
hours at UoP. My instructors have spoken highly of the experience, since it
allows them to teach while maintaining their "day jobs". Some instructors
have spent their careers teaching at university level, some are retired from
teaching, others haven't been teaching long, but have been in their
particular line of work for any number of years. UoP has a strong IT
program, as does DeVry, and both are well regarded in the corporate world.
Perhaps this avenue would work for you?

Good luck, regardless.


--
Deirdre, in the company of Baby Beastie

(ted) writes:

I have always wanted to teach. I taught graduate level courses as a
teaching assistant for a professor during my MBA days. I have a
commanding presence in the class and students listen to me. I want to
teach college level.

Instead of being an adjunct professor, is there any way that you could
hire a mother's helper and work from home as a help desk consultant or
something like that? That way, you'd get time with your babies, but maybe
you'd make decent money and have reasonably predetermined hours.

(ted) wrote in message . com...

Any advice is very much appreciated.

Seconding everyone else's comments. Plus, it's amazingly erratic.

At the community college level, you may not get any sort of office at
all in which to hold office hours, which pretty much condemns you to a
lot of email. You may get an override for four classes one semester,
on two different campuses, and then no classes at all the next
semester. You may get a call on the first Tuesday of the new semester
asking where you were this morning as your first notification that you
are, in fact, scheduled to teach this semester. Locally, you'll get a
check every two weeks for about US$100 for one three-credit hour
class. If you are teaching a Intro class for the 15th time from the
same textbook, this may not be too much of an imposition on your time.

Universities pay a little better, and are more likely to have an
office, but they are also more likely to have current graduate
students teaching the classes or former graduate students on the
market and teaching as adjunct while they wait to see where they're
going next.

DH picked up a year-long position at a university with just his
Master's about five years ago, before he started his PhD program.
IIRC they paid US$21,500 plus health insurance for four classes in
Fall and four in Spring -- i.e. grad student wages.

--
C, mama to seventeen month old nursling