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Looking for feedback from adjunct professors out there. I just finished teaching a class this past semester at a local State University, while still working full time at my "real" job. I have mixed emotions about the experience, but after some thought, I think I can say that it is not for me. It was a great professional challenge, and a great learning experience (I taught a course that was only peripherally related to my job, so it required a lot of new learning, which was cool). But it was the most amount of work for the least amount of money I ever did. I may revisit this again after I retire from my full time job (2 - 3 years), but of now I think I am one and done.
Just wondering how other who have done this feel. Thanks in advance.
But adjunct teaching is a whole different ball game - apples to oranges. I wish i knew how much the "real" professors made. Maybe they are overpaid, maybe not. No idea.
Looking for feedback from adjunct professors out there. I just finished teaching a class this past semester at a local State University, while still working full time at my "real" job. I have mixed emotions about the experience, but after some thought, I think I can say that it is not for me. It was a great professional challenge, and a great learning experience (I taught a course that was only peripherally related to my job, so it required a lot of new learning, which was cool). But it was the most amount of work for the least amount of money I ever did. I may revisit this again after I retire from my full time job (2 - 3 years), but of now I think I am one and done.
Just wondering how other who have done this feel. Thanks in advance.
The first time you teach any class is an enormous amount of work. The second time you teach the same class you only need to tweak it, and the third time there is no prep. From that point on, the hard work you did up front pays off in spades.
But adjunct teaching is a whole different ball game - apples to oranges. I wish i knew how much the "real" professors made. Maybe they are overpaid, maybe not. No idea.
That depends on the number of years post secondary education you have, and how many years of teaching experience you have. There's a pay schedule where each year of your education, and each year of your teaching experience (typically based on 600 hours) pushes you up the pay schedule. Additionally, there are all sorts of perks like professional development, free books and better benefits.
For each paid hour of teaching you receive one paid hour for prep. Suppose you are paid $46/hour, that translates to $92 including prep, so once you have the teaching materials sorted out, it's easy street.
Looking for feedback from adjunct professors out there. I just finished teaching a class this past semester at a local State University, while still working full time at my "real" job. I have mixed emotions about the experience, but after some thought, I think I can say that it is not for me. It was a great professional challenge, and a great learning experience (I taught a course that was only peripherally related to my job, so it required a lot of new learning, which was cool). But it was the most amount of work for the least amount of money I ever did. I may revisit this again after I retire from my full time job (2 - 3 years), but of now I think I am one and done.
Just wondering how other who have done this feel. Thanks in advance.
It's always a tremendous time and effort investment the first year, because you're designing your course, and developing course materials, tests, handouts, etc. But once you have all that stuff, it's done and it's in your files, so the next time, and the time after that, are fairly effortless. Except for the part about dealing with the live students in class, haha. But there's much less of a time expenditure involved, because you've already done the prep.
What I'd like to know is how do you deal with keeping a clear head for your full time job and not jeopardize it ? I was lucky that things went very smoothly and I had very few conflicts. But I had some conflicts, had a final exam for my class that ended at 11 pm and then get to work at 8:00 next morning, and I had numerous other times where I took vacation time in order to work on teaching. Using vacation time so I can work is nuts. I don't know that doing this a second time would go so smoothly.
What I'd like to know is how do you deal with keeping a clear head for your full time job and not jeopardize it ? I was lucky that things went very smoothly and I had very few conflicts. But I had some conflicts, had a final exam for my class that ended at 11 pm and then get to work at 8:00 next morning, and I had numerous other times where I took vacation time in order to work on teaching. Using vacation time so I can work is nuts. I don't know that doing this a second time would go so smoothly.
If you have a class that goes late, it is challenging to clear your mind - always normal to reflect on the class and think about how to improve. Try doing something that you would normally do earlier in the day, like stop at the grocery store. Doing something mundane and routine can help in terms of resetting the mind - then all you have to deal with is a bit less sleep. If you're experienced with your other job, chances are you can get it done on 6 hours of sleep, or 4 in a pinch.
Regarding the prep time that chewed up vacation time, realize that you only have to do that the first time you teach the class. Hopefully you were organized and kept each of the lecture materials organized by week. If you're using an LMS, your job is pretty much done because it's already organized. If the institution doesn't use an LMS, look at Canvas.
As others have stated, teaching a class the first few times is very time consuming, especially that initial class. It does get easier, from the aspect of lecture prep. Most of my classes were night classes and on those days, my mind was so wired after class that I couldn't fall asleep until midnight. That made the next day at the mortgage-paying job a little difficult, especially when the alarm went off at 4:15.
Still, I thoroughly enjoyed teaching. Great support from the dean and his secretary. Interesting, complex subject matter. A sense of satisfaction about "touching" young lives. There are few things more satisfying to have a former student from years ago come up and express appreciation for what was taught them.
Yes, it is a lot of work for little pay; but also extremely rewarding. I loved my time teaching.
Adjunct instructors are underpaid, have no job security and no full time job benefits. So although the teaching itself is rewarding, quite often financially it leads to major problems if that is the only job one has.
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