How to become an Adjunct Professor?

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palaheel
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by palaheel »

My CC lists job openings for Adjunct Instructors. Just find your niche and apply. Courses that have articulation agreements with the state university system have different academic requirements than courses that don't transfer, so don't be unnecessarily put off from applying. For example, our Intro to Java course transfers, and must be taught by someone with a Masters in CS or a closely related area. Advanced Java, on the other hand, does not transfer and a Master's isn't officially required. For non-transfer courses, my division traditionally takes a more industry-like attitude--"what have you accomplished in this area recently?"

The applications go into a pool, and a few months before a semester starts the administration goes through them to match courses needing instructors with the available talent. Some departments are always short of instructors (e.g., Computer Science). A candidate with strong credentials will almost always get a call for an interview. I'm sure that some disciplines aren't always short of instructors, but I can't speak to that situation.

Among our adjuncts, we have retired people who want something to do, we have industry people who enjoy teaching as a side gig, and we have some who don't want a full-time job (one Mom wants to be home with her kids).

If you're interested, many full-time instructors started off as Adjuncts at my school.

Also, my school has a tutoring center that hires subject-matter experts part time. Again, for some disciplines I think that a strong application has a very high chance of being called back, and the academic background hurdles will be lower.
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Colorado14
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by Colorado14 »

Godot wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 2:06 pm
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.

I've spent decades working in higher ed. An adjunct theoretically could could teach 12 courses a year at multiple institutions, but that's incredibly rare and bordering on impossible. The value of an adjunct to a university is primarily cheap labor; sometimes the value is specialized expertise. Either way, adjuncts by definition are part time employees. So the adjunct would have to work at multiple universities to get a course load of 12 per year.... Not a realistic scenario.

The exception: online for-profit schools, which do not pay $4K per course, may enable someone to have a near full time teaching load. However many organizations will want to ensure that part time employees do not work so much that they become benefit eligible.
afan
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by afan »

I have been told that there are some adjuncts in the humanities who are excellent to outstanding teachers and who would love to teach full time. They are not eligible for tenure track jobs because their scholarship will not get a foot in the door. But universities are happy to have them teach at bargain rates.

I have known lawyers and accountants who do adjunct work. They consider the pay trivial. They could make far more money spending the same time at their day jobs. Universities want them because they have more real world experience in litigation and auditing, for example, than one can get by being a full time faculty member. They do it because:
They like it as a hobby.
Looks good on a resume and that helps bring in the business at which they make their living.
For those in big firms that are always hiring new grads it gives them an inside look and helps with prospecting for junior people. I have one friend who did it regularly while they were at a big firm and used it to help with their class of associates every year. When they started their own small firm not only did they not want to spend the time but they were not bringing in fresh grads, so that motivation went away.

All have said they lose money on the adjunct work.

Being an adjunct at an R1 university is absolutely not a route to a tenure track job. Quite the reverse. A CV that showed time as an adjunct would pretty much eliminate one from consideration from the full time faculty.
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Godot
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by Godot »

Colorado13 wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 5:02 pm
Godot wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 2:06 pm
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.

I've spent decades working in higher ed. An adjunct theoretically could could teach 12 courses a year at multiple institutions, but that's incredibly rare and bordering on impossible. The value of an adjunct to a university is primarily cheap labor; sometimes the value is specialized expertise. Either way, adjuncts by definition are part time employees. So the adjunct would have to work at multiple universities to get a course load of 12 per year.... Not a realistic scenario.

The exception: online for-profit schools, which do not pay $4K per course, may enable someone to have a near full time teaching load. However many organizations will want to ensure that part time employees do not work so much that they become benefit eligible.
I've spent 35 years in higher ed., tenured, contingent, and as an adjunct. I've seen many adjuncts teaching 12+ courses a year at multiple institutions, both public and private. More common than you think, especially online.
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Ependytis
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by Ependytis »

I knew a colleague at work that had a side gig as a instructor at the local state college. He suggested I apply with my certifications and I have had the job for >10 years. To those that say it doesn’t pay well, my experience has been completely different. I receive $120 per hour of teaching so for me it’s definitely worthwhile financially. I teach roughly 150 hours per year and have a very flexible schedule with the school. My plan is to do it in retirement until I can no longer teach. YMMV.
infotrader
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by infotrader »

I was an adjunct professor from 1998-2011, and was terminated due to program cut during the financial crisis.
I got the job simply because of the referral from a colleague who was not interested in the job.
The pay was good: about $80 when I left, and the most amazing part is that I got 7 years of service credit for it, so there is a pension: I would receive about $1700 a month if I were to retire today.
Colorado14
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by Colorado14 »

Godot wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 5:25 pm
Colorado13 wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 5:02 pm
Godot wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 2:06 pm
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.

I've spent decades working in higher ed. An adjunct theoretically could could teach 12 courses a year at multiple institutions, but that's incredibly rare and bordering on impossible. The value of an adjunct to a university is primarily cheap labor; sometimes the value is specialized expertise. Either way, adjuncts by definition are part time employees. So the adjunct would have to work at multiple universities to get a course load of 12 per year.... Not a realistic scenario.

The exception: online for-profit schools, which do not pay $4K per course, may enable someone to have a near full time teaching load. However many organizations will want to ensure that part time employees do not work so much that they become benefit eligible.
I've spent 35 years in higher ed., tenured, contingent, and as an adjunct. I've seen many adjuncts teaching 12+ courses a year at multiple institutions, both public and private. More common than you think, especially online.
As I indicated, online teaching is an exception.
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legio XX
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by legio XX »

Godot wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 3:27 pm . . . In NY teaching two courses a term qualifies you for health insurance.


There are many schools in NY City/State and each has its own rules. Don't know the current situation for CUNY/SUNY adjuncts. My institution gives 401K w/ (before pandemic) 5% matching to all faculty, but you have to teach six courses per academic year to qualify for medical.

The availability of jobs varies from field to field, and each field has its own pipeline/network/opportunities. As is often said for folks asking for portfolio review, "Without more information ...."
namajones
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by namajones »

JPH wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 3:03 pm 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.
Former teacher here. I've long said that there's no such thing as a part-time teaching position--only part-time pay.

I loved teaching and still long to return. But you have to pick your spots carefully, if possible. Luck helps when it comes to finding a good situation. I've had mostly good to amazingly good situations.

On the original question: becoming an adjunct is easy, in my experience. You just contact the appropriate department head. That's assuming you're qualified.

Speaking of qualifications, that's a kind of funny topic. Qualifications: many. Pay: maybe.

Such a sad situation these days for academics. Read this:

http://100rsns.blogspot.com/p/complete- ... -date.html

http://100rsns.blogspot.com/

In 2013 I adjuncted in the evening at an elite private university about 5 minutes from my place. I think the parents had to pony up 60 grand a year or so to send their kids to that place. Anyway, with the exception of a few, all the kids had evidently come from educational environments that allowed them to get good grades despite their poor skills in the subject. The result: students that some teachers might say had an attitude of "privilege"--we pay the money, and you give us the grades, if you will. I'll never teach there again.

I'll never forget one kid in that class--a real privileged jerk. This guy, who was planning to go into politics, was too stupid to turn over the final exam and address the questions on the back of the paper. I was nice enough (stupid enough) to give him a second chance by meeting him in the library on the weekend with a new set of questions. Otherwise, he would fail the test. Guess what? He didn't show up. Reason: he was with his girlfriend and overslept.

If all kids are that way these days, I have no inclination to teach again at all. I don't think all kids are that way, though. I'd probably prefer teaching kids from working class backgrounds or ones that know the value of hard work and true mastery of subject.

Teaching overseas was far and away the best of the teaching experiences I've had. I frankly have little interest in teaching in the United States again--well, perhaps in schools with a large immigrant/mixed population.

Near or far, though, teaching certainly gives you stories to tell. And how could it not? You end up with hundreds of "kids" in your life, even if only temporarily.
SteadyOne
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by SteadyOne »

namajones wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 4:27 am
JPH wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 3:03 pm 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.
Former teacher here. I've long said that there's no such thing as a part-time teaching position--only part-time pay.

I loved teaching and still long to return. But you have to pick your spots carefully, if possible. Luck helps when it comes to finding a good situation. I've had mostly good to amazingly good situations.

On the original question: becoming an adjunct is easy, in my experience. You just contact the appropriate department head. That's assuming you're qualified.

Speaking of qualifications, that's a kind of funny topic. Qualifications: many. Pay: maybe.

Such a sad situation these days for academics. Read this:

http://100rsns.blogspot.com/p/complete- ... -date.html

http://100rsns.blogspot.com/

In 2013 I adjuncted in the evening at an elite private university about 5 minutes from my place. I think the parents had to pony up 60 grand a year or so to send their kids to that place. Anyway, with the exception of a few, all the kids had evidently come from educational environments that allowed them to get good grades despite their poor skills in the subject. The result: students that some teachers might say had an attitude of "privilege"--we pay the money, and you give us the grades, if you will. I'll never teach there again.

I'll never forget one kid in that class--a real privileged jerk. This guy, who was planning to go into politics, was too stupid to turn over the final exam and address the questions on the back of the paper. I was nice enough (stupid enough) to give him a second chance by meeting him in the library on the weekend with a new set of questions. Otherwise, he would fail the test. Guess what? He didn't show up. Reason: he was with his girlfriend and overslept.

If all kids are that way these days, I have no inclination to teach again at all. I don't think all kids are that way, though. I'd probably prefer teaching kids from working class backgrounds or ones that know the value of hard work and true mastery of subject.

Teaching overseas was far and away the best of the teaching experiences I've had. I frankly have little interest in teaching in the United States again--well, perhaps in schools with a large immigrant/mixed population.

Near or far, though, teaching certainly gives you stories to tell. And how could it not? You end up with hundreds of "kids" in your life, even if only temporarily.
Excellent point. I went to private sector after getting graduate degree, I was told straight by my academic advisor : our school does not hire own graduates. It was a major flagship state school in the East. The best and brightest PHDs ended up in no-name colleges in small towns in the West or MidWest making nothing. The rest scattered around the area working for low paying NGOs. I was lucky by reorienting into data analytics and market research and then finance. And I was getting old.

One former student whom I failed in class I was teaching for the same reason - he did not show up for finals much later found me on LinkedIn and wanted to connect. He became a career advisor lol. Offered me some job opportunities. Sad state of affairs.
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Nebraska_Drought
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by Nebraska_Drought »

As a faculty member in Academia at a state/flagship University, these positions are becoming more and more available to the outside world. It does help a great deal if you have a PhD, but there are MS level people that are getting opportunities, depending on the subject and the course level being taught. The funny thing about being in Academia, through the PhD process, you are never "taught" how to "teach". Unlike those who become K-12 teachers, there are no requirements to student-teach or even job shadow. You can get a PhD and never had taught a single student prior and none of your program to get that PhD is dedicated to preparing you for that aspect of the job (at least in the physical sciences that I am in). That is why so many college students will have experiences with classes that are all over the place, from very good instructors to very bad instructors. There is no benchmark (other than class evaluations) used to provide feedback to instructors. With all of that being said, more and more universities (due to budget cuts) have started utilizing adjuncts and others to get classes taught. Tenured professors have too much power to say that they will not teach beyond what they are required to by their appointments and these classes need to get taught, especially 100 entry level classes. A lot of parents out there paying for college educations have many of their freshman and sophomores being taught by people who at best have a Masters and if they do have a PhD, they are very new and have not been hired for any other job, which is why they are going to the teaching route. Edited to add, most of these are contracts for a class, not an hourly wage. The pay is poor and the expectations are high.
Last edited by Nebraska_Drought on Thu Jul 29, 2021 12:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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RickBoglehead
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by RickBoglehead »

An acquaintance was teaching in one of these positions and I was surprised at the low pay. Prep work, transportation, and time spent make it like working for minimum wage as mentioned. I believe he likes the attention from the students as "PROFESSOR". 🥱
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namajones
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by namajones »

Nebraska_Drought wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:00 am A lot of parents out there paying for college educations have many of their freshman and sophomores being taught by people who at best have a Masters and if they do have a PhD, they are very new and have not been hired for any other job, which is why they are going to the teaching route.
So true, and that's why I have advised all of my friends to save some money by sending their kids first to a community college and then transferring those credits over to a participating 4-year university. In the 4-year, the kids are likely to get a lot of lousy teachers (TAs) anyway in the first 2 years, while in community college they will likely get Ph.D.s who actually like to teach (otherwise they wouldn't be in community college).

The surfeit of Ph.D.s in academia has created this strange world where community colleges are filled now with Ph.D.s (used to be you could get a fine, tenure-track community college job with an M.A.). The result is community college is not only a better value but a smarter choice from an educational standpoint.
Beehave
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Re: How to become an Adjunct Professor?

Post by Beehave »

I've been a liberal arts community college adjunct for 11 years after retiring from a career in IT. I have a liberal arts MA and TA'd at that time, many years ago. So I found it easy to get an adjunct job.

The posts above paint an accurate picture of variations on the theme of adjunct teaching. I'd add two thoughts.

First, yes, it's kind of nice to be called "professor." More important though is the positive influence you can have on young students who need good advice about navigating through life. I craft all kinds of letters of recommendation for admission to four year schools, support of scholarship applications, support of job applications, and even one character reference letter to a Federal District Court Judge for a student who told me "he'd done something wrong and now had to pay the price and his lawyer said a letter from his professor might help." I always interview the students asking for a letter carefully, I never lie in my letters, and am very happy when the students write or come back to me (a high percentage of the time) to tell me of their success of their application.

Second, yes the pay is surprisingly low - - laughably so if you've worked a career and retired with a solid middle class or above salary and accompanying nest egg and Social Security. But there's an interesting psychological aspect to teaching a couple of courses a semester. Supposing you enjoy it (where I teach the pay is low, but as long as you cover the required course material they let you do it the way you want), and supposing you are paid about $2000 per course and teach two semesters per year (no summer classes for me), then you gross about $8k per year. Supposing you pay about 20% in taxes, you net about $6k per year, because the where I teach they also withdraw 7.5% for 403b retirement, so about $600 which is unmatched by the school, and which you can simply put into index funds and let it ride. Since you are working, even if you must take RMDs from any other 401k or IRA account, this account is exempt.

But here's the thing. Net of taxes and 403b contributions, you have $6000 of cash and you have about $7400 of Roth contributions you can make. So say you must take $30,000 in RMDs. At 20% tax, there's $6000 in taxes due. So you actually net $24,000 on RMD after tax. But you have $6K net from your part time work, and that can go straight into a Roth account. So the overall effect is that the pay from the part-time job is the equivalent (in some sense) of being able to withdraw your RMD and having the taxes paid on the withdrawal re-invested into your Roth IRA. And you also have a growing 403b.

Even though the pay is low, there are lots of feel-good aspects to adjunct work, and you actually can do some tangible good to your financial situation and be helpful to some fine, young people who can really use your help.
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