How to become an Adjunct Professor?

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OnBoard
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How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by OnBoard »

Many posts regarding side hustles (the most recent one included) have members of our Bogleheads community saying they have side gigs as adjunct professors at universities or their local community colleges.

It got me thinking… how does one become an adjunct professor?
z06ray
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by z06ray »

I’m in to hear responses to this as I am considering this as well.

I am going to review with a mentor at work who has done it but haven’t scheduled yet.

To my knowledge the only requirement is a masters degree. Then I think relevant work experience would be key.

I should also add that, it is my understanding, the pay is not that great. So if you are solely doing for a side hustle and money, there are probably better avenues to go
oldfatguy
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by oldfatguy »

You need to have the appropriate education and experience for the field you want to teach in, and then you apply for the job. Like most jobs, your chances would be improved greatly if you have some connection or contact with the department you want to teach in.
stan1
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by stan1 »

Some are probably working at online for profit universities. That's a different process than at a brick and mortar research university or university affiliated medical center. At least where I live the community college side gigs are very hard to come by. You basically have to wait for someone to pass on.
Last edited by stan1 on Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by livesoft »

1. Offer to teach for free and/or at no cost to the university.

2. Be a well-published expert in the field to be taught.

3. Have friends in the department (not just the school) who are decision makers where you want to work.
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djpeteski
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by djpeteski »

Do you have a PhD? Without that it is not worth it at most schools.

I looked into Adjunct teaching at a community college as I only have a masters. They desperately needed people to teach some advanced programming classes, and I could do so in a few different areas. The problem was the pay. Working at McDonalds would have been more lucrative and less stressful.

It might be better now with online classes, as these would have been in person classes. But still the pay was low.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by stoptothink »

oldfatguy wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:27 pm Like most jobs, your chances would be improved greatly if you have some connection or contact with the department you want to teach in.
I never had to do a thing, interested parties reached out to me. The pay is, in general, very poor and it might be a lot more work than you expect. I did it as a side hustle for 4yrs and was relieved to stop. I might consider doing it again (at some point in the future) if it was solely online.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by oldfatguy »

stoptothink wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:35 pm
oldfatguy wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:27 pm Like most jobs, your chances would be improved greatly if you have some connection or contact with the department you want to teach in.
I never had to do a thing, interested parties reached out to me.
Your experience is atypical.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by 123 »

z06ray wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:25 pm ...it is my understanding, the pay is not that great...
+1 But if the work is for a public college or university the work may be under a public retirement system with pension benefits.

Additionally teaching at a college can add a lot towards your professional creditability and visibility. Doors can open to consulting opportunities and jobs elsewhere.
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oldfatguy
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by oldfatguy »

123 wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:42 pm
z06ray wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:25 pm ...it is my understanding, the pay is not that great...
+1 But if the work is for a public college or university the work may be under a public retirement system with pension benefits.
Generally not as an adjunct.
Afty
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by Afty »

I was asked at one point to adjunct but, as others said, the pay wasn’t worthwhile. As far as qualifications, I think they are mostly looking for relevant experience and some aptitude for teaching. I think most people do it for the prestige, or because they enjoy teaching.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by adamthesmythe »

Most of the adjunct professors are recent graduates, trying to stay employed and hoping that someday, somehow they will get a shot at a tenured position.

Some are people who are gainfully employed elsewhere or retired and just want to teach. And don't care, really don't care, about the money.

As noted, pay is bad and job security is nonexistent. Adjunct professor may be the worst job at a university (even compared with buildings and grounds crew). Can you say exploited?
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by Colorado14 »

Search higheredjobs.com. Hundreds of positions are posted there.

Teaching is a skill; not every subject matter expert can do it, but some can. Accreditation agencies in many disciplines define the minimum requirements for faculty credentials, but not all programs are accredited.

Easiest way to obtain this job is to be a retired professor.
GlennK
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by GlennK »

oldfatguy wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:42 pm
123 wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:42 pm
z06ray wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:25 pm ...it is my understanding, the pay is not that great...
+1 But if the work is for a public college or university the work may be under a public retirement system with pension benefits.
Generally not as an adjunct.
Not entirely true. As an adjunct, I do contribute to a defined contribution plan. In fact, it is a requirement at my university. 14% of my pay goes in, and they match 7%.

As others have said, the pay is bad. Whenever I get a new class to teach (about every 3 years), I figure I earn about $7 an hour because of all the time I have to put in. But the next 4-5 semesters teaching the same course is a breeze and worth the time.

I taught as a Math adjunct in the evenings while working full time in the IT field. I first got the job by a tennis partner learning I had a masters in Math and he asked me to consider it. He is a full time professor. They are always looking to add adjuncts. At least, in all the universities near me. If someone has a masters degree and wants to teach, simply look at the university's employment listing online and apply.

After being forced to retire, I am continuing to adjunct teach but in the day time. Not because I need the money, but because I enjoy it. Especially the banter with the students. I hated when I had to teach online this past year.
Last edited by GlennK on Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
fposte
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by fposte »

adamthesmythe wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:44 pm Most of the adjunct professors are recent graduates, trying to stay employed and hoping that someday, somehow they will get a shot at a tenured position.

Some are people who are gainfully employed elsewhere or retired and just want to teach. And don't care, really don't care, about the money.

As noted, pay is bad and job security is nonexistent. Adjunct professor may be the worst job at a university (even compared with buildings and grounds crew). Can you say exploited?
That's generally true, but there can be exceptions to that; grad schools with a professional degree often hire professionals for a course or two, for instance, and for whom the relationship is far more equitable.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by jbdiver »

I’m going into my 5th year as an adjunct in a graduate engineering school at a university.

I attended this program to get my grad degree, and a few profs recommended me to the Dean. He approached me shortly before I graduated and asked if I would be willing to teach. I was already in my mid-40’s and a recognized expert in my engineering domain. Teaching wasn’t something I sought out, but I was willing to try.

I created a little elective course, and now it’s the most popular class in the program with 4 sections taught each semester. I only teach 1 section in the fall semester now due to time demands.

You can’t do this for the pay because it’s silly low. You will spend at least 2 hours outside the classroom for every hour in the room. God help you if you have to build the curriculum yourself.

Business, Law, and Engineering graduate programs pay more. Those are usually big money makers for schools.

Schools are constantly recruiting new adjuncts because the turnover rate is high. Most lose interest after a few years. Call or email the dean of the school you are interested in teaching at. They usually have a short list of people to contact for possible openings.

Being an adjunct has been a positive for my career, especially consulting work. It’s always a conversation topic with prospective employers and clients.

Teaching online is harder than in person, but the commute is better.

I’ve taught hundreds of students and it has been really rewarding. That being said, I don’t know how much longer I can do this as I near early retirement.
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JPH
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by JPH »

I briefly considered this when I retired. I was a professor at a major university. But when I considered how much time would be involved in preparing new lectures and instructional materials for the first time I realized that the in-class instruction would be a minor part of the job.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by chiliagon »

At my institution, you need a grad degree. A master’s is fine for most fields (e.g., computer sciences, art, music, religious studies, clinical psychology, and all areas of business). You email the department chair and tell him or her about your desire to teach. If the department has a course that needs an instructor and you look like you can teach this course, then the department chair will ask for an interview. At that point, your odds are very good.

Even if the department doesn’t need you right away, they might need you for a semester down the road. So telling them that they can contact you in the future is worthwhile.

Pay is terrible. Job security is nonexistent. But, if you like teaching in your area and helping people learn, it can be very fulfilling.

Other institutions might differ from mine in how they handle adjuncts (I.e., my info might not generalize).
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by alex_686 »

z06ray wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:25 pm To my knowledge the only requirement is a masters degree. Then I think relevant work experience would be key.
The requirement is that you have a terminus degree. That would be a masters degree in many subjects. However if the subject terminates as a 2 year AA degree, which many technical degrees do, than a 2 year AA degree will work.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by Teague »

My neighbor does lots of work in this field.

Mondays and Wednesdays he teaches a class at one community college 20 miles away.
Tuesdays and Thursdays he teaches a class at another, 25 miles in the opposite direction.
Friday he teaches a morning class at one, an afternoon class at another, then back to the first one for an evening class. With all that driving his quite old car is often breaking down.
(This was pre-pandemic, I don't know how his schedule works now.)

Thankfully his wife is a nurse and makes a living wage, as well as providing for their health insurance and (hopefully) retirement savings.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by Mike Scott »

Besides checking the usual local and national adverts, call the department chairs or any people you know at your local colleges to see if they keep an application "pool" or not and also ask what they pay. As has been referenced already, fast food jobs can be better options if you need money and job security. There are probably exceptions, but public Higher Ed in general is in the worst shape it has been for decades. In our state the last couple of years, the adjuncts went first and there are 500+ tenure track / tenured faculty eliminated and looking for work.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by grok87 »

livesoft wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:31 pm 1. Offer to teach for free and/or at no cost to the university.

2. Be a well-published expert in the field to be taught.

3. Have friends in the department (not just the school) who are decision makers where you want to work.
try attending functions (if open to public) in the department you want to teach in. or offer to give a talk to the students about your job and what you do.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by rjbraun »

It would be helpful for OP to explain why they are interested to become an adjunct. Assuming they are not a renowned expert in their field (preferably in a lucrative industry like banking, etc.), money will be peanuts and as others have said OP may not find the workload trivial.

I have taught as an adjunct in the continuing ed division of a university. Maybe the person who contacted me saw my name on some conference I participated in, I no longer recall. Anyway, having taught before, in addition to adjunct work, (and coming from a family of teachers (university-level)) I think the rule of thumb may be something like 3 hours of prep (at least) for every hour in the classroom. Obviously, people do less but quality instruction takes time and effort, imo.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by Godot »

123 wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:42 pm
z06ray wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:25 pm ...it is my understanding, the pay is not that great...
+1 But if the work is for a public college or university the work may be under a public retirement system with pension benefits.

Additionally teaching at a college can add a lot towards your professional creditability and visibility. Doors can open to consulting opportunities and jobs elsewhere.
In NY teaching two courses a term qualifies you for health insurance. No small thing.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by student »

You can simply send your cv/resume to the chair/head of the department. When I was the chair/head of my department, I received such cv/resume a few times a year and I interviewed all the candidates. However, the pay is likely bad, especially if a place does not have a union. There are exceptions, of course, based on supply and demand. At our school, one of the exceptions is accounting.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by stoptothink »

oldfatguy wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:40 pm
stoptothink wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:35 pm
oldfatguy wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:27 pm Like most jobs, your chances would be improved greatly if you have some connection or contact with the department you want to teach in.
I never had to do a thing, interested parties reached out to me.
Your experience is atypical.
Certainly. I have several friends, colleagues, neighbors, and 3 family members who have (or did recently) teach adjunct at one of two local universities. Except for an uncle, all were in the position of having recently finished grad school and without a career plan; dipping their toe into academia.

The way fast food is paying right now, you may be better off (financially) going to work at a drive-thru, but there are some specific positions that pay very well.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by rjbraun »

Godot wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 3:27 pm
123 wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:42 pm
z06ray wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:25 pm ...it is my understanding, the pay is not that great...
+1 But if the work is for a public college or university the work may be under a public retirement system with pension benefits.

Additionally teaching at a college can add a lot towards your professional creditability and visibility. Doors can open to consulting opportunities and jobs elsewhere.
In NY teaching two courses a term qualifies you for health insurance. No small thing.
Interesting. You mean in NY state by teaching at least two college / university classes, the school needs to provide health insurance? Are the coverage terms supposed to be the same as those offered to full-time staff?

Thank you in advance.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by Godot »

rjbraun wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 3:41 pm
Godot wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 3:27 pm
123 wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:42 pm
z06ray wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:25 pm ...it is my understanding, the pay is not that great...
+1 But if the work is for a public college or university the work may be under a public retirement system with pension benefits.

Additionally teaching at a college can add a lot towards your professional creditability and visibility. Doors can open to consulting opportunities and jobs elsewhere.
In NY teaching two courses a term qualifies you for health insurance. No small thing.
Interesting. You mean in NY state by teaching at least two college / university classes, the school needs to provide health insurance? Are the coverage terms supposed to be the same as those offered to full-time staff?

Thank you in advance.
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ResearchMed
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by ResearchMed »

Is your goal the title "Professor", even if "Adjunct" is part of that?
Or is your goal to be able to teach at the college/grad level?

There are other appointments, such as Lecturer or Instructor, and those convey status and responsibilities that can vary a lot from University to University, or perhaps among schools/departments within a single University.

Another potential route "in" would be to offer to be available if they ever need a replacement for even a single semester. That happens, albeit not too often.
But once "in", if things go well, they may want to find a way to keep you around, or at least keep you in mind for the future.

As mentioned, there would be bad pay, no job security, and probably (most places) no benefits.
But "what's not to like about it?" :wink:

If you have *any* teaching experience, make sure that's very obvious.

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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by Ollie123 »

As others have said, definitely not something you do for the money in this circumstance. Generally speaking, if they are willing to pay something meaningful they would reach out to you. In this scenario you are <usually> looking at a few thousand per semester at best.

Also agree with them that the best approach is to reach out to department chairs to mention your experience and indicate your interest.

Honestly, it depends on your field but it would probably be far more lucrative to put your effort into developing continuing ed things as an independent shop (online, in-person or both). Not really viable in every field, but I think the upside potential is immensely higher.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by JupiterJones »

z06ray wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:25 pm I’m in to hear responses to this as I am considering this as well.
Ditto. I've been thinking about it as something to do after I'm FIDWIP* or maybe for the few years before that if I can "coast" on very little money.

Specifically, at the community college where I went myself a gazillion years ago, sort of like "Welcome Back, Kotter." I know for the fact the pay is not great, since it's a public institution and salaries are all available online. But I'd be doing it mainly as a personal challenge and to give something back to a school that wound up really making a difference for me.

One thought I had was along the lines of what's being discussed here. Go talk to the head of the department early on to let them know of my interest, and to identify any gaps in my qualifications or experience that I could maybe work on filling during the years until I'm ready to apply.


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hank-johnson
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by hank-johnson »

I’m starting as an adjunct at the end of August. My experience is probably atypical. The graduate program director where I’ll be teaching at (public state school) approached me and asked if I would teach - no interview, didn’t even apply. I knew him by sitting on a panel for a friend’s class (another instructor) for a few years critiquing his students end of the year projects. So for me it was very much a network effect type of deal. Certain programs are probably starving for instructors, so depending where you are located, what programs are nearby, and your specialty, something as simple as reaching out to the program directors could be a start.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by 22twain »

Around here (small town small college in flyover country), most adjuncts are younger people: recent PhD's, or finishing a PhD at a nearby university. They're looking for teaching experience and letters of recommendation to help them land a full-time (ideally tenure track) position, usually elsewhere.

Some are older people with other jobs (e.g. a church organist / music director who teaches organ or other keyboards in the music department), or have a spouse with a full-time local job. For those, we usually require (or required, before I retired) 18 hours of courses at the graduate level in the field being taught.

There are academic job listings that include such positions: field-specific professional magazines and web sites, the Chronicle of Higher Education, etc.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by deserat »

jbdiver wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 3:01 pm I’m going into my 5th year as an adjunct in a graduate engineering school at a university.

I attended this program to get my grad degree, and a few profs recommended me to the Dean. He approached me shortly before I graduated and asked if I would be willing to teach. I was already in my mid-40’s and a recognized expert in my engineering domain. Teaching wasn’t something I sought out, but I was willing to try.

I created a little elective course, and now it’s the most popular class in the program with 4 sections taught each semester. I only teach 1 section in the fall semester now due to time demands.

You can’t do this for the pay because it’s silly low. You will spend at least 2 hours outside the classroom for every hour in the room. God help you if you have to build the curriculum yourself.

Business, Law, and Engineering graduate programs pay more. Those are usually big money makers for schools.

Schools are constantly recruiting new adjuncts because the turnover rate is high. Most lose interest after a few years. Call or email the dean of the school you are interested in teaching at. They usually have a short list of people to contact for possible openings.

Being an adjunct has been a positive for my career, especially consulting work. It’s always a conversation topic with prospective employers and clients.

Teaching online is harder than in person, but the commute is better.

I’ve taught hundreds of students and it has been really rewarding. That being said, I don’t know how much longer I can do this as I near early retirement.
First, to OP - are you sure you want to do that????

What jb diver said is spot on, however, I will add my anecdotal experience as well as some pay numbers for you to use in your decision.

I have two masters degrees, one in the area in which I teach an online graduate engineering course at a state university. I have averaged 20+ students each time I have taught it. I am reviewing the content right now to see if it needs to be updated for this fall semester - luckily I will not need a content overhaul (the current plan with the university is to teach my class in their degree program every other year, however, they have squawked about possibly doing it yearly).

I was contracted (hired) and paid for separately to build the class/content and then have it loaded into the online platform. This allows the university to hire someone else to teach it if they want to do that. I am a university employee (which was another conversation as I thought I was a separate contractor when doing this work, initially). With regard to the content, look carefully at your contract for your copyright rights. In my contract, I essentially grant the university free lifetime license rights to use the content, however, it is still mine and I can go take that content and teach somewhere else, if I wish to do so. My contract also required that 'if I was teaching the class' I was responsible for updating said content as required. Otherwise, I do not have to update it, for example, if they hire someone else to teach it.

I was paid $7500 to develop the class and am paid $5300 to teach it over a 14 week semester (there are online graduate programs that use an accelerated semester of 7.5 weeks per 3 credit hour class). I was told by my father those rates were on the high end in general for online graduate teaching.

I have calculated that I am earning less than minimum wage when teaching the class and that was about the same for developing the content. Right now I see it as a 'give back' to my profession. As many have said, you will not get rich doing this. Depending on the school, you may be eligible for retirement and healthcare benefits, which might be something you can do to possibly bridge the cost of those items during a gray area if you are an early retiree. Also, the university that I teach for has a union which represents the adjunct faculty and staff. They negotiate the rates as well as the benefits.

I may not teach after this semester due to my desire to retire early as well as the fact that I don't enjoy doing this much in the way in which it is done. Online has its advantages and disadvantages. I have found that I prefer working one-on-one with students versus the one-to-many approach that is even more highly prevalent in online teaching.

Other aspects are the environment and politics of academia are much different from those of either government or private enterprise; dealing with the academic bureaucracy at the university and state level has been an eye-opener for me as well. Since I teach at a university in a state where I don't live (I'm actually living overseas now), there have been some misunderstanding/issues that have needed resolution at higher levels.

With regard to my consulting business, the only extra positive I've noted is when I mentioned it to my EU clients they hurriedly added that 'credential' onto their listings regarding me. I think it has more cachet over here in Europe, but then I've found here in the EU a lot of people have a lot of education but not necessarily a lot of practical experience. I have not received nor noticed any change in the types of projects and/or the reception of my clients with regard to the quality of my work. I suspect they value the practical experience a bit more as that is what is lacking many times in the projects I support.

With regard to how I got this 'job,' it was evolutionary. I was doing a 2 day seminar on parts of this content four years ago for a program I graduated from over 30 years ago. The university where the credential came from has changed from when I was in the program, however, as they migrated the program to a more formal credentialing, I was asked to build out my content to become a graduate class. So, it was probably networking, experience and affiliation that got me the opportunity.

With regard to doing this during retirement, it does tie you down for the time you are needed during the class times (semester, quarter, etc). You do need to keep up with the work: grading, office hours, etc.

It is a job and you will be graded on it by the students and through them to the department head and Provost, etc. I find that the students have a lot more power now than they used to with regard to how professors are evaluated and as an adjunct with no tenure, you are at the mercy of that student eval. This has been difficult for me as I have an ethical dilemma with grade inflation and standards with regard to demonstration of the content mastery by the students. If the student is unhappy with that, they can make your life miserable through the evaluation process. Moreover, I've found the educational standards now at the bachelor's level are much lower so that my expectations with regard to preparation and/or work quality need to be lowered even for a graduate course. I'll be honest, I would not necessarily immediately hire anyone from this program before asking to see some work product from class or an internship to determine if they can do what I would want them to even at an entry level.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by stoptothink »

deserat wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 6:23 amOther aspects are the environment and politics of academia are much different from those of either government or private enterprise; dealing with the academic bureaucracy at the university and state level has been an eye-opener for me as well.
Even though the pay was a joke, I genuinely enjoyed teaching. This is why I quit; if I went into detail, this thread would get shut down.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by SteadyOne »

I read all these comments and wonder where all these tuition moneys are going if universities pay in fact below minimum wages to adjuncts who teach so many courses these days?
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stoptothink
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by stoptothink »

SteadyOne wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 7:45 am I read all these comments and wonder where all these tuition moneys are going if universities pay in fact below minimum wages to adjuncts who teach so many courses these days?
Administration and amenities to attract students. FWIW, the school I taught at is among the cheapest public universities in the nation and the school that many of my friends and family have taught at is the cheapest private in the country - they still have tons of administrative bloat and pretty insane on-campus amenities.
Last edited by stoptothink on Wed Jul 28, 2021 7:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
deserat
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by deserat »

SteadyOne wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 7:45 am I read all these comments and wonder where all these tuition moneys are going if universities pay in fact below minimum wages to adjuncts who teach so many courses these days?
Hehe - I've had that conversation with a few of my peers who do what I do in the program we are in...we've calculated the ROI for the university and it is eye-watering. Essentially the online graduate programs are subsidizing many other programs and/or administrative overhead. Interestingly, for the program I teach in, it would not be there if the adjuncts, who are notable in their areas of expertise throughout the profession, were not involved. As I said, I consider it a 'give back' but I will only be 'giving back' for a short amount of time. My interests in my upcoming retirement are going in a very different direction.

Side note: it can be hard to give up something like this as it is a kind of professional perk to have that influence over the future of a profession as well as being thought of as an expert in the field. However, I'm at the point of having enough and having had enough :-)
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by gtd98765 »

Make sure you understand your motivation for wanting to do this, and that motivation is not money. I will be starting this term teaching at a public university as an adjunct. I hope it will be fun - this is why I signed up when I was approached - since I have always enjoyed lecturing young people who are not afraid to challenge me. We'll see. In my HCOL area I will be paid around $4K for the term, which is considered quarter time. So a full-time adjunct earning $16K is well below the poverty level.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by fleetwdl »

I taught as an adjunct for several semesters at a public two-year college. I did so for the satisfaction of teaching others, as the pay did not begin to cover the time devoted to developing, prepping and delivering the classes. Student reviews can have an effect on your work as an adjunct. A student torpedoed me on the end of year assessment because I would not give him credit for a clearly unsatisfactory answer on a test question. A young staffer in the Dean's Office included that data in a "statistical analysis" of my assessments(class size of 14) and determined that my pedagogy skills needed a lot of work. I found other ways to volunteer my services after that.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by finite_difference »

1. Send an email introducing yourself to the department chair, explain you are an expert in XYZ, resume attached, and that you are interested in teaching a related course as an adjunct.

2. Be an expert in the field to be taught.

Slightly modified these two from lifesoft. Adjunct professors are paid so little that it’s a great deal for the university. Offering to teach for free might suggest you are unqualified.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by adamthesmythe »

SteadyOne wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 7:45 am I read all these comments and wonder where all these tuition moneys are going if universities pay in fact below minimum wages to adjuncts who teach so many courses these days?
The abuse of adjuncts becomes more predominant as you move down the hierarchy of institutions, and is probably the worst at undistinguished liberal arts schools. These are the most financially strained and have the most reason to cut costs to the minimum. There is a near-infinite supply of fresh Ph.Ds. who didn't look carefully at the job market before following their hearts.

As mentioned, sometimes high-level distinguished institutions will pay more or less fair compensation for adjuncts that fill and important hole.

(Reminds me of the time I visited an Ivy and found that they had an adjunct for a particular engineering specialty because...it wasn't academic enough to hire a regular faculty member).

The pay for adjuncts looks particularly bad because it is based on classroom hours and not time spent in preparation, grading, travel, office hours, etc. BUT this helps with the averages and makes the institution look better when the state legislators complain about how much faculty get paid.

And yes, my impression is that administrative and non-teaching overhead has become much more of the cost. Not to mention facilities and student support services. At Well-Known Computer U we went from a decaying physical plant to grand student athletic facilities in a few decades. From a stripped-down administration to associate heads for this, that, and the other thing everywhere.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by student »

SteadyOne wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 7:45 am I read all these comments and wonder where all these tuition moneys are going if universities pay in fact below minimum wages to adjuncts who teach so many courses these days?
It is the facilities and a big group of student support staff. You can look at some numbers about faculty compensation here. https://www.insidehighered.com/aaup-compensation-survey You can lick different tabs for averages of different ranks. Of course, these are averages and faculty members in business and engineering earn much more than those in the humanities. Higher administration pay can be high. You can check the salaries of presidents of many universities. https://www.chronicle.com/article/execu ... ivate_2018

At my institution, about 37% of the budget goes to faculty compensation, 18% goes to financial aid and 8% goes to student services.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by Godot »

finite_difference wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 9:45 am 1. Send an email introducing yourself to the department chair, explain you are an expert in XYZ, resume attached, and that you are interested in teaching a related course as an adjunct.

2. Be an expert in the field to be taught.

Slightly modified these two from lifesoft. Adjunct professors are paid so little that it’s a great deal for the university. Offering to teach for free might suggest you are unqualified.
Agreed. I've been in higher ed for 35 years and have never seen anyone get an adjunct position by offering to teach for free.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by Godot »

gtd98765 wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 8:19 am Make sure you understand your motivation for wanting to do this, and that motivation is not money. I will be starting this term teaching at a public university as an adjunct. I hope it will be fun - this is why I signed up when I was approached - since I have always enjoyed lecturing young people who are not afraid to challenge me. We'll see. In my HCOL area I will be paid around $4K for the term, which is considered quarter time. So a full-time adjunct earning $16K is well below the poverty level.
16K (4X4k) for one term is certainly a low salary, but it is not below the poverty level. In addition, some schools now use 8 or 10 week terms, so F/T (12 courses a year) might well be 48K a year.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by DoTheMath »

student wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 3:30 pm You can simply send your cv/resume to the chair/head of the department. When I was the chair/head of my department, I received such cv/resume a few times a year and I interviewed all the candidates. However, the pay is likely bad, especially if a place does not have a union. There are exceptions, of course, based on supply and demand. At our school, one of the exceptions is accounting.
+1 I have been closely involved in my department's adjunct teaching for a number of years now. There is no big secret. The hiring is very often done by the chair/head of department or someone they delegate. In departments with a large number of low level service courses (e.g., math, english) they will typically have a pool of adjuncts to cover classes as needed on a semester by semester basis. If you're interested in teaching a class at this level, contact the chairs of the relevant departments at your local institutions. If you desire to teach higher level classes or in field which doesn't have the large volume of service classes, then it will be much harder to get your foot in the door.

One should be aware that the supply and demand of teaching can vary a lot from year to year and semester to semester. For us fall is the busy semester and the number of students can vary a lot from year to year. Right now we have classes which are starting in a month which do not have an instructor. If we can't cover them with any of the people in our adjunct pool our desperation (= willingness to give a new person a try) will quickly go up. In the spring we are usually in the opposite position of trying to spread around classes so that all our dependable adjuncts get at least a reasonable amount of work.

You need to have both content knowledge and demonstrated teaching skills. Someone who was an engineer for 30 years who rolls in and wants to teach for us as a fun side hustle in retirement is going to have to work hard to be taken seriously. Teaching is a skill and we're not interested in someone hacking their way through it with our students. Without getting political, it's already too easy for students and parents to complain that their professor "doesn't know how to teach".

P.S. In a rare disagreement with livesoft, if someone offered to teach for free that would count against their application. It would only show that they have no idea what they're getting into. We pay little enough that the delta between that and zero doesn't make a make a difference :-).
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by jmk »

djpeteski wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:33 pm The problem was the pay. Working at McDonalds would have been more lucrative and less stressful.
I've found this too. Very low salaries with all the stress of grading and classroom management. The business model of many universities relies on exploiting adjuncts, which matters less in retirements but still isn't ideal as a side hustle.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by dh »

oldfatguy wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:42 pm
123 wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:42 pm
z06ray wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:25 pm ...it is my understanding, the pay is not that great...
+1 But if the work is for a public college or university the work may be under a public retirement system with pension benefits.
Generally not as an adjunct.
As mentioned above, adjuncts do not receive contributions to a retirement system. In addition to low pay, most universities do not pay for adjunct parking (could be expensive at some schools). Adjunct teaching would be a lot of work (class prep time, commuting 3x per week to campus, teaching time, and grading assignments) for the pay. Still, many adjuncts view it as a labor of love, a way to contribute to their field, or contribute back to a program they attended. If it fills esteem needs, it could be intrinsically rewarding work.
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by getthatmarshmallow »

SteadyOne wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 7:45 am I read all these comments and wonder where all these tuition moneys are going if universities pay in fact below minimum wages to adjuncts who teach so many courses these days?
Technology, shiny gym buildings, administrators and advisors, student programs, and so forth.

OP, typically, the pay isn't great and the prep for one's first course is often a lot. But typically, as an adjunct, you'd be teaching either a specialist class that no one else can offer (typically, they reach out to you for that - usually clinical/law) or you're teaching a lower-division general education or introductory course. The initial start-up/prep time is hard, but if you're at all talented/prepared subsequent courses are easier.

The process differs by university, but typically, you'd send your c.v. (academic resume) to the department chair of the relevant department, along with a cover letter that describes what you're qualified to teach. Qualifications vary, but usually at least a master's degree in the relevant subject. There also is sometimes some HR paperwork to fill out. Then, you may be offered a class, but that's going to depend on the subject and demand. (Math & English are usually safe bets.)
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by quantAndHold »

For my job at the for profit college, it was word of mouth. I was a friend of one of the full professors at the school, and he recommended me to the dean. It is a low paying job that, if I were doing it in the Community College district, I wouldn’t meet the minimum qualifications (I don’t have a masters degree). But since it’s a poorly run for profit college, they take pretty much whoever they can get. I regularly just do the parts of the job I like and skip out on the parts I don’t (staff meetings, mandatory training, etc), and they let it slide, because they know if I quit, they have no one to teach the class.

I actually like teaching and I’m good at it, but I’m definitely not doing it for the money. I basically make minimum wage.
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