tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post8232690970961735865..comments2024-03-28T16:15:19.319-04:00Comments on Saideman's Semi-Spew: Adjuncting MysterySteve Saidemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09881915512311951902noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-12334945603899750732020-08-26T15:10:27.484-04:002020-08-26T15:10:27.484-04:00Sunk money, yes; but don't forget "good ...Sunk money, yes; but don't forget "good money after bad." "Good money" here includes foregone salary, benefits & retirement; a lifetime of adjunct labor may kick back $1M or more to the employing college or university. (And still they won't name a building for you, after all this philanthropy.) <br /> Don't forget fear: OMG I hold the PhD in Medieval Icelandic Theology, I can't possibly do anything else in life. In 1985 after 2 years of adjunct teaching I quit. I went into the wine trade, as a salesman on straight commission. I learned something there I did not learn in grad school: how to sell refrigerators to Eskimaux. I didn't like the hustle; but I learned, I would never have to starve. That is something many academics never realize, and I think it keeps many tied to the adjunct life. (Eventually I quit sales too, even though I got good at it; the point is, I failed miserably at an academic career, but I did get a life. Priceless.)Michael A Cavanaughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16058930935302829319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-88553175695198855382020-05-30T19:54:25.574-04:002020-05-30T19:54:25.574-04:00In economics i have never seen the stigma against ...In economics i have never seen the stigma against non-academic-work that supposedly is so common in other disciplines. <br />On the contrary: outside experience is a huge plus and appreciated by students and faculty alike. Almost all the popular professors spend half their week at university and half their week at The Big 4 or some other prestigious employer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-57043529942505995412014-09-01T21:27:59.229-04:002014-09-01T21:27:59.229-04:00I had an revealing experience recently at UC Merce...I had an revealing experience recently at UC Merced as a summer term instructor. It became evident that everyone else on campus had greater job security and respect from the employer than short-term instructors. They did not even want to give me an office, or a computer so I could do the job. Whether it was a 20 year old secretary, or a 50 year old janitor, all others were given what they needed to do the job, and they knew that they would be there, gainfully employed, 6 months, a year, or 5 years down the line.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-29118436770899013612014-02-12T05:51:57.073-05:002014-02-12T05:51:57.073-05:00I don't want to let some things Frances said i...I don't want to let some things Frances said in her otherwise sharp comments go without reply.<br /><br />"teaching is intrinsically rewarding, it's high status, and once one has a stack of powerpoint notes ready to go and a backlog of old questions to generate exams and assignments from, the wage rate isn't punishingly low."<br /><br />Yes and no. Good teachers - the sort who get rewards from teaching - don't rely on old notes. They're continually updating their materials, which does turn the pay rate into something far less than it appears to outsiders.<br /><br />"Also, most students can't really tell the difference between contract instructors and full-time faculty, except for the greater size of the full-time faculty members' offices, and the differences between the quality of teaching."<br /><br />This gave me a chuckle. Any suggestion that tenured faculty are better teachers than adjuncts should be backed up. My experience is the opposite. Having tenure relieves professors from concerns over how their teaching is received, and relegates it to the time they leave for pedagogical development. For some tenured profs, that's zero. <br /><br />The far bigger issue is tenuring professors whose research is essentially worthless - the vast majority, in other words. That knowledge typically doesn't filter down into the broad run of educating<br />the rest of us do. It's a scam, one I am quick to point out to all of my students when have the opportunity.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-4204225752142272462013-04-16T18:42:31.236-04:002013-04-16T18:42:31.236-04:00This saddens me...decades ago my history major fri...This saddens me...decades ago my history major friend gets his PhD only to be stuck in Adjuct Twilight Zone (what we I.T. folks's today call Contracting!)<br /><br />How little has changed!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-84196434634296055562013-04-15T14:42:41.426-04:002013-04-15T14:42:41.426-04:00I had been an adjunct for just over two years and ...I had been an adjunct for just over two years and I recently decided to pursue a PhD. I moved my family from the U.S. to the UK for my pursuit. On one hand I chose a PhD to increase the possibilities of getting a full-time faculty position when I graduate. On the other, I pursue it because I want one. It's my selfish pursuit--that also allows me to feed my children and be some sort of a role model for them.<br /><br />While I pursue my PhD I will continue to write and to adjunct. Right now being an adjunct suits my commitment issues. Do I want to teach full-time? I enjoy teaching and would like the opportunity to teach less and make more; to have benefits; to be able to provide for my children; but to teach full time? I'm just not sure. <br /><br />When I graduate there are no guarantees: I know the PhD after my name will not guarantee I will have a job or an office but I will have the degree I want; I will have spent the time to write; and ideally I will have an idea of whether I want to teach full-time or not; and because I will have spent the time researching my studies also researching the job market, I will have an idea of other possibilties and a timeline in mind for how long I can afford to adjunct.<br /><br />I cannot afford to be a career adjunct but I will continue to make time to teach a class or two per semester regardless of where my future full-time employment takes me.<br /><br />Interesting discussion.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-11529949835964253992013-04-15T12:51:48.920-04:002013-04-15T12:51:48.920-04:00I had a one-year lectureship that turned into four...I had a one-year lectureship that turned into four years, with a little adjuncting to supplement it, then a couple of years to adjunct solely. Luckily my wife's salary meant we weren't wholly dependent on adjunct pay. Now it looks like even the adjuncting is drying up, and I'm finally looking elsewhere seriously. I think that part of it is the nature of the academic job-seeking process - nothing quite panned out this year, but keep your hand in the business, and a tenure-track job will come up next year. Another part is that it's difficult to change gears. I've applied for marketing jobs and banking jobs, and been turned down with lines about how I'm overqualified, and assuring me that I don't really want the job I applied for. No, actually, I do. I have to put groceries on the table for my kids. hrodbert696https://www.blogger.com/profile/08704462614091988621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-15814819208631107002013-04-14T21:17:46.550-04:002013-04-14T21:17:46.550-04:00I do think it's the pervasive prejudice on the...I do think it's the pervasive prejudice on the part of academics against non-academic work that compels adjuncts to stick it out - that and sunk cost bias. I think it's also the fact that too many people conflate their calling and their job. People might say: "But being a professor is my calling." No. Being a professor is your job. Education might be your calling - teaching a particular subject, or demographic of students even - but being a professor is only one way to live that out. If people focus more on what they see as their purpose and less on the conduit, it might give some adjuncts the clarity (and bravery) to bail out of a bad situation. If you're on a road trip, you can drive a Lexus or a Camry. Both will get you to your destination. And both have as much or as little value as you choose to assign to them. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-79351884214664763082013-04-14T21:10:59.562-04:002013-04-14T21:10:59.562-04:00I was asked not to go on the TT market by my then-...I was asked not to go on the TT market by my then-wife, who (as an attorney in a high-demand specialty in a high-demand market for that specialty) was inevitably going to earn more in 3 months than I would <i>possibly</i> be earning by the time I made Associate with tenure. The advantages of that arrangement included more flexible time for children and, as it happened, a better health plan from the Uni than her firm offered.<br /><br />The disadvantage is that, at some point several years further down the road, the itinerant professor was no longer a high-status enough spouse for the high-performing attorney, but by the time the divorce was finalized I'd been so long on the adjunct hamster wheel that I found I wasn't taken seriously by search committees, though I had managed a moderate publications output, a book contract, several grants, and 5 years academic program management experience in addition to a credible teaching record.<br /><br />And that's how I became a professional adjunct. 2013-2014, however, will be the last academic year for me. It's really tough in emotional and psychological terms -- sunk costs and all -- but it's time to hang up my gown and start selling real estate. Or driving a UPS truck. <br /><br />The irony being, of course, that I'll make far more driving a UPS truck than I do when teaching students about things that interest me, like International Security, American foreign policy, and the like.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-6827851483459281872013-04-14T21:00:41.326-04:002013-04-14T21:00:41.326-04:00Sure, but you make it sound easy. Transitioning is...Sure, but you make it sound easy. Transitioning is hella hard. And when your confidence is in the toilet and you've got zero financial buffer, your outlook can be pretty grim. At least adjuncting is a job you can continue getting, even if it pays below poverty wages, which is common south of the border. (This is not my situation, but I have enormous empathy.)Jenhttp://fromphdtolife.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-57325156981278774852013-04-12T23:17:46.303-04:002013-04-12T23:17:46.303-04:00Fascinating discussion.
I became an adjunct profe...Fascinating discussion.<br /><br />I became an adjunct professor over 20 years ago, for only one quarter (I date myself). No benefits, money was so poor I don't even remember if it was over $100. The reason I became an adjunct had nothing to do with what has been mentioned so far - and profoundly effected the supply and demand of teachers at my college. <br /><br />I became an adjunct professor teaching Networking, in Computer Science. (I had enough education for the job - a BS in CS). What was my compensation? I learned the topic better than the students, I got to grow by teaching a class, I got to help others, I was able to put adjunct professor on my resume (which was not very long at that time). I got to fulfill a long term dream. I would have worked for free.<br /><br />Obviously, the world runs through supply and demand. As college tuition increases faster than inflation, there is pressure to decrease costs. On the flip side, when you have a supply of people that will teach a class for free, that is not a good primary profession to go into. And this was Computer Science! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-87034546381382232812013-04-12T19:50:07.561-04:002013-04-12T19:50:07.561-04:00Last year, I taught 15 courses at two local colleg...Last year, I taught 15 courses at two local colleges in the Midwest and made $30K. My personal health insurance through Blue Cross is $629 a month. I have had my insurance for years, have no special conditions and take care of my health. After health insurance, I was left with a little over $22K for everything else from car and house bills, to food, to clothing and the rest. If it is not already obvious, I can aver that I barely get by. <br /><br />I don’t think it will pay for us to become overly romantic about the "stimulating" nature of teaching and dreamy about the perceived beneficence of academia. It is in fact a caste system and what many of us have seen in every other arena (for example, I just read that the wage gap between McDonalds' executive staff and its workers has doubled in the past ten years) is a kind of layering up at the administrative level and a stripping down at the professorial level. <br /><br />A recent WSJ article offered that across the country the average tuition increase was an unprecedented 8.3%. Why and where does the money go? Good question. I haven't seen a raise in years, and neither have my adjunct colleagues. <br /><br />Last week, I received two emails almost back to back from the one college where my "office" is also the kitchenette and interdepartmental copy room. The first email indicated that Obamacare is coming. The second indicated that our maximum course loads would now be cut in have.<br /><br />I don't teach history, but if I did, I might find the quality and persistence of my own professional servitude ironic enough to over a real life example to exemplify and illuminate at least one lesson on labor and labor rights. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-52347325829487446232013-04-12T16:54:16.159-04:002013-04-12T16:54:16.159-04:00If you're stuck in a small town with few job p...If you're stuck in a small town with few job prospects and you're adjuncting, I'd say you're not doing that badly. It's stimulating work, especially compared to what else is available, and though it should be paid better, you don't have the expenses of a large city and by definition you're doing better than a lot of people around you, otherwise you would leave. Saideman's question seemed aimed a different category: those who keep adjuncting when there really are better alternatives. So I still (I'm Anonymous from earlier agreement with TSGM) think the issue is that academics unreasonably look down on non-academic work. You may not, but many do.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-19610538186757175792013-04-12T13:35:18.551-04:002013-04-12T13:35:18.551-04:00One aspect of the adjunct problem is what Janet &a...One aspect of the adjunct problem is what Janet & Jane & Diana said: it is often a woman who has by need or choice, restricted herself to a geographic region with few alternatives. <br /><br />From the Universities' perspective it is incredibly cost effective, particularly in sciences, when even a new young faculty can command several 100K$ in start- up costs. You hire one superstar to get tenure and grants and glory and three adjuncts to do the teaching.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01479519087259937219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-77224870332976212132013-04-12T07:14:00.100-04:002013-04-12T07:14:00.100-04:00Jane, I found myself nodding at all of your posts....Jane, I found myself nodding at all of your posts. The differences in our scenarios are that I am now 50 years old and after adjuncting as the trailing spouse for 20 years, my tenured husband left me (for a former student, I might add). Note that 20 years ago I had a fine job offer--so did he, but at better pay and benefits so we pursued his golden carrot and I was the primary parent.<br /><br />We live in a small town--one child is in college, and other about to be launched. I'm still adjuncting--I love what I do. That's one reason I continue to do it. I also have other part time jobs that enhance my value at my institution (my dept caters to adult learners who appreciate my experience--however limited--in a business environment).<br /><br />So, I don't know what to do at this point...I've thought about going back to school (already paying tuition for my kids), but for what that would be of value, I've applied for tenure track jobs (I'm out of the academic world too long and my age is not attractive), move to a larger area (my children regard this small town as home for right now). So I continue to cobble and hope--all because my institution (and others like it) refuses to hire full time instructors and limits the # of courses I can teach per year (I should add that I teach predominantly online.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-63874602933659536972013-04-12T07:07:46.209-04:002013-04-12T07:07:46.209-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02770550976509781992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-10030239378980802942013-04-12T00:46:11.715-04:002013-04-12T00:46:11.715-04:00I have a non-academic spouse who has a job that su...I have a non-academic spouse who has a job that supports us both. For the past ten years, I have put almost 100% of my "pay" from being an adjunct into a retirement account. None of that answers the question. I became an adjunct because there are no full-time positions in my geographical area. At this point, I also have four children, including one whom I will call "high needs." Perhaps this discussion can be tied to another one appearing in the past week, that of the gender wage gap: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/labor/news/2013/04/09/59658/what-causes-the-gender-wage-gap/Dianahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05505540212599231697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-53521784579705581962013-04-11T22:36:38.848-04:002013-04-11T22:36:38.848-04:00I agree with TSGM. I bet if you queried how many ...I agree with TSGM. I bet if you queried how many PhDs with non-academic spouses leave academia, you'd fine the numbers are huge. I'm a recently minted PhD, my husband is not, and his job looks great to me (warts and all). I'm outta here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-54092124859608851032013-04-11T21:41:32.487-04:002013-04-11T21:41:32.487-04:00I agree with the above comment by TSGM. To remain...I agree with the above comment by TSGM. To remain relevant, PhD programs need to start acknowledging that very few of their graduates will become professors. They should begin preparing students for careers in the private sector or government: exposing them to all of the interesting career choices outside of academia, and giving them the skills necessary to compete for these jobs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-53794637740201212832013-04-11T16:18:13.684-04:002013-04-11T16:18:13.684-04:00The answer to your question is simple: adjuncts do...The answer to your question is simple: adjuncts do it because they were taught to believe that an academic career was the *only* respectable career.<br /><br />There is also a simple solution: professors need to inspire a passion from their undergraduate students for careers <i>outside</i> of academia. Read, for example, <a href="http://matt-welsh.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/why-im-leaving-harvard.html" rel="nofollow">Matt Welsh's</a> post about why he left Harvard for Google. <br /><br />The problem, obviously, is that most of the people who are doing the teaching have <i>no idea</i> why non-academic careers are just as fun as academic careers.TSGMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-20259267246608399902013-04-11T14:54:18.265-04:002013-04-11T14:54:18.265-04:00Don't get me wrong, it sucks and on my bad day...Don't get me wrong, it sucks and on my bad days I'm bitter. But I can't make $20-30 per hour anywhere else. I also work part time in an office at slightly higher than minimum wage. If you'd told me in undergrad I'd be taking a job away from a high school graduate in a county with 10% unemployment, I'd have laughed at you. Supposedly thousands of STEM jobs are going unfilled but it does people like me not a lick of good.Jane Smythenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-56362428223858365742013-04-11T14:31:06.966-04:002013-04-11T14:31:06.966-04:00Jane,
This is the kind of story that makes sense ...Jane, <br />This is the kind of story that makes sense to me. That the choices are few and the calculation is that teaching as an adjunct is better than working at Walmart. I do wonder if the math works out the same way for those teaching 5/5 loads. Thanks for providing your experience.<br /><br />Anon,<br />I have no doubt that there is a perverse incentive structure going on--that universities want bigger and larger PhD programs. Having said that, I think your math is slightly off, as a small program with 10 tenure lines is not going to produce that many new Phds. Still, that is a minor detail. The reality is that universities benefit in rankings and in funding if they can say they are producing heaps of PhDs even if they cannot place them. I still find that there are new PhD programs being set up these days despite the mismatch of supply and demand. I was not trying to avoid leveling blame at universities (see earlier blog posts), but still wondering about the folks who do not quit the racket after a few years.Steve Saidemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09881915512311951902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-7750998757241984492013-04-11T13:13:13.746-04:002013-04-11T13:13:13.746-04:00I am surprised by the lack of supply and demand an...I am surprised by the lack of supply and demand analysis. Universities are the primary beneficiary of a deep pool of candidates for their job openings. It all begins with their outsized acceptance rates for their PhD programs. Academia benefits from having low paid teaching assistants while they are in graduate school (some even paying for the privelege of working), then when and if they graduate, they provide more than ample workforce for their positions. Think about it this way: how many industries have the opportunity to have people pay them to learn how to do their jobs. It is one thing for very high ranking universities to have cohorts of 10-20 students per year. It is quite another for lower ranked universities to do the same. If your program matriculates more PhD students per year than tenured faculty in that department, there is something wrong with that equation. Even with a 50% or 75% attrition rate, graduating 5 to 10 new PhDs per year in a department with 10 tenured faculty members is flooding the market. Tenured faculty are notoriouly long lived, and the turn over rate is micro scopic. I graduated from my undergraduate institution 10 years ago, when I recently looked up the faculty from my program, there was only 1 person I did not recognize!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-78779274570907303622013-04-11T12:27:21.841-04:002013-04-11T12:27:21.841-04:00Why adjunct? In my case, I have little choice. I m...Why adjunct? In my case, I have little choice. I made a decision when I had children to pull back from my career to focus on parenting. My husband stayed on the academic track and got tenure at a 4 year college in a rural area. Now that my children are older, there are no jobs locally that require my education or skills and there's no institutional commitment to placing educated trailing spouses in viable positions on campus (unless said spouse is an almun, there actually seems to be a bias against hiring spouses). My options are to drive 60-90 minutes to work at institutions in larger towns (it's been rare to find a fit that hasn't been adjunct) or cobble together a series of part time adjunct gigs closer to home in order to supplement my husband's meager salary and do something that approaches intellectually stimulating. He's not going to leave his position and I'm not interested in having a long distance marriage (living either with or without my children) so what choice do I really have?Walmart? McDonalds? Go back to school to try to get a K-12 teaching degree in hopes of landing a job with the local schools and then praying to survive RIF layoffs every year until I manage to get tenure, racking up student loan debt in the process? If you've got suggestions for how to use an advanced degree in an economically depressed region with no options for mobility, I'd love to hear them. If I can make the same money in one third to one half the time by adjuncting, why would I go check groceries or stock shelves? Jane Smythenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-28633030850789767432013-04-09T20:44:18.613-04:002013-04-09T20:44:18.613-04:00Frances, I can absolutely tell you that having adj...Frances, I can absolutely tell you that having adjunct professor on your CV most definitely does not land you more consulting gigs. In fact, depending on the department, it might even cost you consulting gigs (few in business have as much respect for the academy as you suggest). As a former adjunct and consultant, I can tell you that it is correct outsiders know little of the differences in rank and title, but they certainly do know what it means if no one in the department knows your name were they to call for a reference. It also certainly means something to outsiders when you don't have business cards, an office, a secretary, or even a regular email address (adjuncts regularly lose contracts year over year, particularly when they are junior). It is also strange to outsiders when you have multiple teaching gigs at several universities.<br /><br />So no, the benefits you describe of adjuncting are not automatically accrued, particularly to junior adunctssam ladnerhttp://samladner.comnoreply@blogger.com