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[Jennifer]

Does anyone know how competitive it is to find a full-time tenure track Mathematics faculty position at a community college? I have looked in my state (Michigan), and I don't see any, and that concerns me. I have a year to go in my Masters in Math - and I have a Masters in Teaching with a major in Math and secondary certification. I am currently an adjunct - I got lucky and was practically hired over the phone - but there are tons of adjuncts in my dept, so if there was a job, I'd be up against a bunch of them, plus others! I've searched some of the boards, but I haven't seen too much for math. I thought math would be easier than some other subjects, but now I'm not so sure.

If there are opportunities you know of, please share! What states are there more jobs in?

Also, I have four semesters as an adjunct, a teaching credential with student teaching, and roughly three years of part-time tutoring and teaching gigs (summer school, workshops, etc...). Do you think I stand a chance of getting something?

Also - I know this is long - should I consider a non-tenure track position if it became available? Can you switch to tenure track if you do a good job?

Thanks!

Jennifer :)

[CC adjunct]

First, try searching for CC faculty positions in math with the Chronicle search function (you can use the advanced search to do this).  There are lots of places looking for math faculty at CC's.  Virtually every CC that I applied to this year was also looking for math faculty, but that may be because places that are growing in science also tend to be growing in math.  I actually see more math than science positions, since many places are looking for multiple math faculty.  You will probably need to look at places where the student population is growing, and there is more growth going on in the southern states (though there are many positions in more populous states).  

I know that some CC's prefer faculty that have some experience in teaching at the secondary level in math, and that may help you in gaining a full time position, particularly if you have experience in teaching the remedial math there is so much demand for.  As far as the tenure track issue, that really depends on your situation and the institution.  Never assume a non-tenure track position will lead to a tenure track position at that institution, but it may be a good stepping stone.  Good luck, and it's good to see you're trying to prepare yourself early.

[Professor 7/7]

You should be able to find a good position if you are proactive about it.  Be aware of one thing, CCs are less likely than other institutions to not advertise in the higher-profile sources, because of budget, etc.  So, if you want to stay in your own stay, hit the websites for all of the CCs in your state (50states.com keeps a fairly reliable list of the 2 year colleges in most states).  I found my current position by just checking the websites of all colleges in states I felt I might like to live in.

But, CC adjunct is correct, for all its competitiveness, higher ed for mathematics, sciences, and technologies is as much like a growth market as you see in higher ed.  And you certainly have some experience to enhance your marketability.  Good luck!

[anon]

When did you start looking?  The bulk of the tenure track market usually happens before summer starts.  (adjuncting is still in full swing)

[EC]

Is there any reason that you want to teach at CC rather than high school? The pay at high school is much better.

[tenured cc]

In my state the pay at  the CC's is way above the High school rate.

[prytania3]

I don't know if my CC is the picture for the world, but we've been having retirement waves and we're due up in a couple of years for another retirement . That said, we do need new math professors though I don't know if they are hiring. I don't know if this is typical of math departments in general or not, but ours is bifurcated. We have absolutely fabulous math teachers and we have just awful math teachers. There's nothing in between. No one that you can say, 'he's ok." what's up with that?

[Jennifer]

Hi everyone!

Thanks for all the responses! I have looked diligently in my state - Michigan - during the past two months becuase I thought it would be the hiring season - and I have not found one single position open for math. I have seen positions in other states, but none of which I'd care to move to! I thought it would be more open than that! But in general, Michigan is suffering large unemployment rates...

Anyway, I did teach high school this year - and sad to say, I quit! It was the worst experience of my life! I chose a very poor school district over some better ones, thinking so nobly that I wanted to help less-advantaged kids. Well, they gave me three very low level math courses in a row - with over 35 kids per class and over ten special ed kids in each. These kids were so wild - no management strategy I tried remotely worked. I sought out advice from my mentor teacher and anyone else willing to help, but whatever I did just did not work! I was so overwhelmed, I couldn't take it anymore! And I feel horribly about that, but I guess I don't have what it takes -although I could perhaps develop it - to deal with behavior problems of that magnitude. So, I did a lot of soul searching, and I realized in my community college classes - I had taught three already in two semesters - I never, ever had a behavior problem! I could go in there, focus on the students and teaching - without any trepidation of dealing with this and parents who were unsupportive, etc... In comparison, community college teaching to me is like heaven! Now, a lot of people I have talked to have told me to give it another try in a better district - and there are some really good districts hiring right now near me - including my old high school - but if I'm honest with myself, I think my niche is community college teaching...

I have had such favorable reviews by students. One kid who was very quiet last semester came up to me and told me I had taught him more about math in three weeks than he had learned in all of high school. Another girl said I was the best teacher she'd ever had. A lot of the students told me that I was one of the only teachers they had had there at the community college that they felt really cared about them as people and wanted them to be successful. I was teaching Prealgebra, and a lot of the students were very nervous at first because they hadn't had a math class in a long time. I really held their hand through a lot of it, constantly encouraging them to keep trying, and mostly the entire class stayed and passed. What a wonderful feeling! I just really know, the more I think of it, that this is the right decision! As for salary, at least from what I've seen, community college is slightly higher than high school teaching - but I guess it depends on the area you're in.

Anyway, thanks all for your help and advice! I'll keep my eyes out next year at this time because I should be done with my Masters in the spring term and would be eligible for a full-time job in the fall - keep fingers crossed!

Jennifer :)

[anon]

Michigan might be on the ball about CC hires-- ask at the places you adjunct when they usually start the hiring process for t-t.  It might be as early as late fall.

Also, you might want to consider public magnet and charter schools-- you get the bonus of helping bright disadvantaged kids who want to be helped.  (I know there are a lot of these in Illinois-- IMSA, Whitney Young, McCleary Elemetary etc., where I'm from, but I don't know so much about Michigan).

[Jennifer]

Anon-

I really do not want to work at a charter school in my area. I've heard more horror stories about them. I have a lot of people I currently work with who are working at them, because they couldn't find anything else honestly, and it's really a bad situation. No protection from union, they can fire you on the spot for anything. One lady I work with said last year, they came to the English wing and got rid of everyone - in the middle of the school year - because one of the teachers was griping about not getting a raise that year, which she was entitled to. And many of them are dangerous - my good friend went on an interview at one and there was a gun situation the principal had to excuse himself to attend to. She ended up at another one, and there have been numerous bomb threats and gang violence! I think it would be even worse than where I worked, and I'm just not having that! Thanks anyway though for your suggestion!

[anon]

Maybe you should move to Illinois.  IMHO Chicago is much cooler than Detroit.

[EC]

It is interesting that the salary at CC is better than high school. I know people in Math earning more teaching in high schools than in universities and they lived in Michigan as well.

[tenured cc]

My state is not Michigan.

[EC]

tenured cc: Thanks for the info. I was responding to Jennifer since she is in Michigan.

[Dr. Zarkov]

Jennifer wrote:

> Hi everyone!
>
> Thanks for all the responses! I have looked diligently in my
> state - Michigan - during the past two months becuase I thought
> it would be the hiring season - and I have not found one single
> position open for math. I have seen positions in other states,
> but none of which I'd care to move to! I thought it would be
> more open than that! But in general, Michigan is suffering
> large unemployment rates...
>

If, by two months, you began looking in April, then that is toward the end of the hiring season.  While each college differs, Dec-Feb seems to be the period with the most ads in the Chron.  In fact, many schools even advertise in the fall for next fall's hiring.  (Probably fewer CCs in this category, but you never know.)

IF you are set on MI, ask the HR department of a couple of CCs when they typically send out ads, and if they advertise in the Chron.  

Good Luck!!!