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[wilbrish]

in case there was any doubt.  I am waiting to see if I receive a section for a class that starts in less than 1 week.  Am actually really hoping to get it! What madness is this?  However, I really want to work and love teaching.  I am waiting by the phone like a lovesick teenager. 

Must be a better way...

[zuzu_]

Like waitin' by the phone for your booty call....

:)

[mathguy]

wilbrish,


It is indeed madness. Adjuncting within the Academy is (for the most part) a losing proposition for the following reasons (in no particular order):

1. slave-labor wages
2. virtually no prospects of career advancement
3. administration, TT faculty treat adjunct lecturers with contempt
4. no job security
5. use/throw away mentality of the Department

Unless there is a compelling reason why you are an adjunct lecturer, I think that it is better for you to eventually look to greener pastures. While teaching and the love of subject are great, they alone will (probably) not be able to sustain you through a life of adjunctdom.


Mathguy

in case there was any doubt.  I am waiting to see if I receive a section for a class that starts in less than 1 week.  Am actually really hoping to get it! What madness is this?  However, I really want to work and love teaching.  I am waiting by the phone like a lovesick teenager. 

Must be a better way...

[bms2000]

Here we go again with the "Adjuncting is Evil" chorus.

Mathguy, I know you mean well. But really, it is the right thing for some of us. Call us foolish masochists if you must, but for heaven's sake, it's not like they are impressing us off the streets at gunpoint and beating us every third lecture. Truly, although it seems demented, some of us (gasp) like it.

[watermarkup]

Hey, I like what I'm doing, and it was the right choice--or only choice--for me this year, but everything Mathguy says is true.

[educator1]

Mathguy,

You seem to be hearing from some happy non TT folks (myself included) who are getting tired of the chorus of negativity. I agree with your first two points, but the last three are far from true at my institution (an R1). Non-TT instructors in my department are respected for their teaching ability, the good ones have good (but not guaranteed) job security, and are not thrown away.

I have great sympathy for those who teach in departments with other cultures, but please don't generalize beyond your experience.

[zuzu_]

Mathguy,

You seem to be hearing from some happy non TT folks (myself included) who are getting tired of the chorus of negativity. I agree with your first two points, but the last three are far from true at my institution (an R1). Non-TT instructors in my department are respected for their teaching ability, the good ones have good (but not guaranteed) job security, and are not thrown away.

I have great sympathy for those who teach in departments with other cultures, but please don't generalize beyond your experience.

educator1, your non-TT position sounds lovely. It really does. And on rare occasions, I've seen similar non-TT positions that work well for everyone involved. I don't necessarily believe that TT status is the be-all end-all in academic career fulfillment.

But please realize that your experience is the EXCEPTION. These negative generalizations, albeit not 100% applicable, are, "generally," TRUE.

And I acknowledge that educated people have other choices and that anyone who is truly miserable and has no prospects of the adjunct job leading to anything better should just quit the adjunct job and shut up already. But pretending that these poor working conditions are NOT the norm is naive.

[educator1]

But please realize that your experience is the EXCEPTION. These negative generalizations, albeit not 100% applicable, are, "generally," TRUE.

On what basis do you make this statement?  Is it your experience (which is probably not any broader than mine) or is it based on actual data regarding adjuncts being regarded with contempt, having less job security than most employees in business (i.e. can be dismissed at any time unless union agreements prevail), and being treated as throw aways.

Keep in mind that salary studies will not do, as I have agreed to the low salary and no advancement prospects portion of mathguy's post.

[zuzu_]

But please realize that your experience is the EXCEPTION. These negative generalizations, albeit not 100% applicable, are, "generally," TRUE.

On what basis do you make this statement?  Is it your experience (which is probably not any broader than mine) or is it based on actual data regarding adjuncts being regarded with contempt, having less job security than most employees in business (i.e. can be dismissed at any time unless union agreements prevail), and being treated as throw aways.

I base my generalization on my personal experience adjuncting at seven  institutions (of various types, sizes, and locales), my friendships with dozens of adjuncts at other institutions (of various types, sizes, and locales), and my years of discussing these issues with hundreds of adjuncts (of various types, sizes, and locales) on these fora. I will add in my current experience as a TT instructor at an institution that treats its adjuncts similarly horribly. So while this admittedly non-scientific, it is a broad, broad sample of anecdotal evidence.

I do think you've raise some important points in various threads, and I do think that your experience SHOWS how non-TT can be a win-win situation. Rather than focusing your energy on disproving tbhe "myth" of the exploited adjunct, perhaps you could advocate for a reform of the system so that others may someday find similar fulfillment in a non-TT position.

[educator1]

You have me beat by one institution (I have taught or been an administrator at six) and we probably have the same amount of friends in the business. I don't think that these fora can be seen as representative in any way. Therefore, we are both discussing from our experiences and do not have the ability to make valid generalizations.

My concern regarding these points is that it hurts our cause when we focus on the negative rather than the positive. For example, I strongly believe that, in general, dedicated adjuncts are generally better in the classroom than many tenured faculty (my dept. chair would agree with this).

 A common view of adjuncts is that they are just losers in the TT competition, are desperate for any teaching assignment, and that they are therefore inferior (there was one post on another thread that made exactly this point).  This hurts the ability of happy and successful adjuncts to make the case that we provide a very positive contribution to the institution and that positions such as full time teaching assignments should be recognized, honored, and compensated appropriately.

[dismalist]

This subject comes up again and again, and that is good. I made my living as an adjunct for 12 years, and was generally quite content after a meager start. At one stage I taught at four institutions simultaneously; sequentially, I count six. The institution with the most repulsive students paid me most.

The present situation of adjuncts is a passing phenomenon. The TT system is good at discovering and promoting frontier researchers. It is a phenomenal waste of money to have non-frontier teaching undertaken by such people. We, the adjuncts, can indeed be better at that.

Economic conditions for adjuncts are as poor as they are--and there is great variation by field--because of the endless supply of adjuncts. Word is getting around how miserably paid an adjunct can be for teaching, and for essentially insuring large institutions against the vagaries of the market. That supply will lessen. Institutions are already beginning to offer medium term teaching contracts to individuals. This will spread, and that is the future of college teaching.

Some of us are too old to benefit from this, but that's our bad luck!

[zuzu_]

 A common view of adjuncts is that they are just losers in the TT competition, are desperate for any teaching assignment, and that they are therefore inferior (there was one post on another thread that made exactly this point).  This hurts the ability of happy and successful adjuncts to make the case that we provide a very positive contribution to the institution and that positions such as full time teaching assignments should be recognized, honored, and compensated appropriately.

I think you make an excellent point here. And you are right: wallowing in loser-ness isn't going to solve anything.

[educator1]

Thanks. You all have also helped me realize that looking at the non-TT situation from my own experience does not reflect the full reality.

[untenured]

wilbrish,


It is indeed madness. Adjuncting within the Academy is (for the most part) a losing proposition for the following reasons (in no particular order):

I see where mathguy is going, and he makes some sense.  Allow me to offer a different perspective.

1. slave-labor wages

... that are freely accepted by the adjunct.  No one forces prospective teachers to accept low wages.  The low wages simply reflect that there are many more people that want to adjunct than there are positions available.  If someone, maybe even you, is willing to teach for that little money, then that's what the University will (and should) pay.

2. virtually no prospects of career advancement

If one's time as an adjunct is used judiciously, this can be avoided.  Adjuncting is not a holding pattern for a full-time job.  Rather, you must use the time adjuncting to aggressively publish, market yourself, and get good teaching scores however possible.  Nothing is guaranteed, but if you follow these steps you become increasingly attractive to full-time employers.

3. administration, TT faculty treat adjunct lecturers with contempt

No doubt this exists in places.  However, in my ten years of teaching both as an adjunct or full-time lecturer, I have never been treated nor seen anyone treat an adjunct with contempt.  Benign forgetfulness maybe, but never contempt.

4. no job security

Just like 85% of the U.S. working population, so this is not necessarily a grevious loss.

5. use/throw away mentality of the Department

Again, 85% of American workers are subjected to an at-will system where they can be 'thrown away'.  This is a risk most people take.

Adjuncting can be used skillfully to increase one's chances for a full-time job.  Fixating over the difficult conditions or encouraging oneself to feel exploited is unproductive and demoralizing. 

Focus on what you can do to suceed and not what might cause you to fail.

Untenured

[erzuliefreda]

I think one challenge of adjuncting is to balance a healthy critique of the often flawed system with an eye toward your own success (however you choose to define it). I have never and will never let anyone piss on my leg and tell me that it's raining.

Best wishes to all adjuncts.