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[drifter]

I worked as an attorney and adjunct for several years before finding a tt position.  I was motivated by option 4, all the above.

Thanks

[dr_dre]

To fulfill my masochistic tendencies. To experience all the fun of teaching without the burden of an office and a pesky desk--why be conformist? To see how many miles I can log on public transportation. To see the light in the eyes of the students when I change their lives by telling them about the Spanish-American War. To read exams like the one I received last term, which explained how Kennedy ended the war in Vietnam by dropping the bomb on Hiroshima...

Option 1.

[snarls]

First, ignore my alias (snarls). It was assigned by the website; I didn't choose it. It isn't meaningful.

I'm the author of "Never Had a Job?" in this week's Chronicle. I chose the category "other" as my answer to the question "Why do you adjunct."

First of all, I teach. I don't adjunct. I wouldn't know how to adjunct. But I gather that the verb "to adjunct" has, with increasing frequency, been applied to the category of employment in which I am engaged.

I do not consider teaching a supplement to my income, but a component of my income. The notion of a "supplement," if I understand it correctly, is a synonym of "secondary," as though one must have a primary source of income to which teaching compensation is a supplement. For me, teaching is simply one source of income. Usually it is a major source of income; sometimes it is one of many sources.

As I said in "Never Had a Job?," I have not wanted a tenure track position for a long time now. I am fairly certain that many who read that article don't believe me when I say that. But securing a tenure track job and then prospering within the constraints of a tenure track job require a disciplinary commitment -- in my case, to the discipline of history -- that I do not share with "tracked" historians. I do not envy them. I do not wish to be one of them. I like doing things that historians do not consider history.

So why do I adjunct? It is one part -- not a supplement, but a part, a component -- of my income. I like to teach, and I am damned good at it. I like to interact with undergraduates. I like the way that unexpected opportunities to teach new courses require me to "bone up" my knowledge.

Moreover, I love academia. I prefer thoughtfully planned college and university campuses above all other built environments. I like being around people who are thinking. I love good conversations with colleagues.

That's why.

[dr_dre]

Hello, snarls. I read your article when it appeared and found it interesting. Do you frequent the forum regularly? There is a long thread "The Adjunct Problem" that you might enjoy--it shows the range of views here on the topics around teaching as an adjunct.

[mdwlark]

I finally dropped my "no more exploitive adjuncting" stance because (1) I need any extra money I can get, and (2) it has been a few years since I taught, and what I have taught more recently doesn't match college's teaching needs, so I need to get some current teaching credentials.  I just started adjuncting again.   I'm keeping my day job for the insurance and money, so I will have almost no free time for a while. 

[snarls]

Hello, young_adjunc. I have sampled some of the "Adjunct Problem" topic. Quite a range indeed. In fact, speaking momentarily as an Aristotelean, I'd say that a category with that much range has no essence.

At the place where I taught full time the longest -- nine years, year-to-year -- to be an "adjunct" you had to have published a book, received the vote of the faculty, and the approval of the dean. Hardly the same "adjunct problem," is it?

My "adjunct problem" is that I panic that I'll never get to teach again every April and find myself teaching every September. You'd think I'd learn after 15 years, but I haven't.

My other "adjunct problem" is that everyone assumes that I'm unhappy because what I should really want is a conventional tenure track position. I don't. Not even a little.

Now, an unconventional tenure track position, I'll consider. I will, for instance, accept the position of Pope if asked to serve ....

[neutralname]

The survey lacks an important category:

Gain experience while searching for a tt position 
Supplemental income 
To make contacts as a consultant 
All the above 
Other

What about "Major source of income"?  For many grad students, especially those who have used up all other sources of funding from their universities, it is just about their only income.  We also have some adjuncts who teach at 2 or 3 different schools in order to make a living. "Supplemental income" implies that there is a separate source of income, but for many, there is not.

[drifter]

Thanks neutralname, I realized after reading snarls posting that I should have included "primary source of income".  I should have caught it considering the numerous threads relating to that issue!

[infopri]

I did a lot of adjunct teaching while I was in grad school.  In addition to gaining generic teaching experience, I built up a nice repertoire of courses and an impressive-looking teaching section in my CV.  But then I got a TT job, so, obviously, I gave up the adjuncting.

Five years ago, I quit the TT job (which required two hours of commuting every day) to finish my dissertation.  Once I graduated, I started looking for new full-time work.  Until now, I didn't want to go back to adjuncting because it was way too much work (time commitment) for way too little money.  But at this point, I just want to get back into the classroom, in part for the reasons articulated by mdwlark.  As it happens, I met with the appropriate administrator at my alma mater just this week to discuss adjuncting (and other) opportunities.  I'm not really doing it for the paltry money, although of course I'll take it.  I just don't want to get any more stale than I might already have become--and besides, I really miss it.  I love teaching.  On a more practical level, adjuncting is also one of several strategies I'm using to stay professionally active while (otherwise) unemployed.

[rekishi]

I adjuncted while I was a graduate student. I felt I needed something that would give me teaching experience-- something to give me an edge over my competition. The pay was lousy, but needed. I have a tt, but would adjunct over the summer if I could.

[agnes_strickland]

I was able to get an adjunct position where my SO has a TT job.  We have a young child, so we can share baby duties without getting daycare.  We both love the arrangement!

[_touchedbyanoodle_]

I was able to get an adjunct position where my SO has a TT job.  We have a young child, so we can share baby duties without getting daycare.  We both love the arrangement!

How do you cope with the little time spent together? I'm considering taking a night schedule to avoid day care, but I worry it would strain my marriage. I think I'd miss him an awful lot.

[tamiam]

Adjuncting is a great part-time job. For many people, including myself sometimes, part-time work is ideal.

[agnes_strickland]

I was able to get an adjunct position where my SO has a TT job.  We have a young child, so we can share baby duties without getting daycare.  We both love the arrangement!

How do you cope with the little time spent together? I'm considering taking a night schedule to avoid day care, but I worry it would strain my marriage. I think I'd miss him an awful lot.

Noodled,
We have our evenings together.  Little Agnes goes to bed around 7, so we spend our quality time together then.  SO is finishing up a manuscript for publication, so he works a lot right now.  Admittedly, I've cut back on a lot of the work I used to do, so I have time for SO and Little Agnes.  When she's in school, I'll try to find more work.  If you do take a night schedule, would you work every night?  My SO's night courses only meet once per week, so I still get to see him.  Good luck with your decision!

Agnes

[adronzek]

I have to confess the that options seemed sort of limited to me. I put "other," because I'm adjuncting in the city where my husband works. I was in a tt-position for three years (and a different tt-job for four years before that) but we got sick of living apart. However, we're not sure we're going to stay in this city, either, so I'm probably applying for more tt-jobs this fall. I'm certainly not looking for experience prior to a tt-job since I have plenty; as a medieval historian contacts for consulting aren't really an option; and as it's my only salary, it's not really supplemental income (which sounds way too close to "pin money") - of course my husband makes money, but this isn't really supplemental, we're just the usual two-income household. While I certainly wanted the money (such as it is), I'm adjuncting more so I can stay active and part of the profession while looking for another job (since gaps in one's employment aren't supposed to look very good).

(I should also add that this is a full-time but non-tt gig, and I know different people mean different things when they say "adjunct" and not everyone would describe my position as "adjuncting," but it certainly is contingent.)