I'm an adjunct professor who teaches five classes. I earn less than a pet-sitter(theguardian.com)
theguardian.com
I'm an adjunct professor who teaches five classes. I earn less than a pet-sitter
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/22/adjunct-professor-earn-less-than-pet-sitter?CMP=share_btn_link
4 comments
It appears to me that someone with two law degrees, and sufficiently accomplished to teach law school and to be invited to conferences, could practice law. Not necessarily at a big firm with big pay, but paid enough that adjunct work would be a nice supplement to his income, not the bulk of it. The writer might have excellent reasons for doing what he does, but it's not as if he has a Ph.D. in Hittite.
As long as there is supply surplus on the labour market, of people willing to work for any wage, this will keep driving the wages down. I am indeed a little surprised adjuncts are still paid at all.
And pet-sitting and bagging groceries as a way of supplementing one's income? -- Being so bent on finding the least-paying part-time work, perhaps the angle should be, minimum wage enforcement should have more teeth?
And pet-sitting and bagging groceries as a way of supplementing one's income? -- Being so bent on finding the least-paying part-time work, perhaps the angle should be, minimum wage enforcement should have more teeth?
So stop teaching and start pet sitting.
I've never tried to be a tenure track professor. Instead, my approach -- for what it's worth -- is to make adjuncting my passion.
Instead of "being a professor," my profession is software engineer. As a result, being an English professor gets to be my hobby. I teach one course a semester and I love it. It allows me to be a member of an academic community, I can participate in talks/lectures/conferences, I can publish, and I can do all the other "academic" things I want to do and no one has ever told me I'm not qualified or made me feel unwelcome. Usually, the opposite is true. I get at least half-a-dozen invites every semester from my university and neighboring schools asking me to come lecture about my work. In addition, I can bring real-world experience and expertise into my classes every day, which my students appreciate.