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[hesitant]

 I consulted all the threads I could find (yeah, the search option is really lousy, but we all knew that...), and I found out that (obviously) pay per course varies widely. It can be anything between 1,700 to 5,000 dollars per course (I assume three credit hour course?)

I understand that part of it should be how much I am willing to take but herein lies the problem since I have never applied for or held adjuncting jobs before. Some things you might need to know:

1/I live in (a seriously) expensive North East city, (and moved here recently, so I am not that familiar with pay scales around here);

2/I will not need benefits (thanks to spouse's excellent benefits package)

3/I am writing my thesis, so I will not attempt to patch together a semblance of a full time job, yet, I seriously need some money...

4/ I am in the humanities, if it matters...

So, given all that, would 3,000 be OK? Too low? (I personally rather ask for 3,500 but do not want to be ridiculously unrealistic)

I apologize if I have missed existing threads on this topic, so if you know of any, I would appreciate the links. Thanks in advance.

[prof_smartypants]

I can tell you that at my top public R-1, adjuncts make 7-10K per course (as an assistant instructor this year, I make 7K). And I am in cheap-ish southern city. This is social science, not humanities, but through the college of liberal arts.

[helpful]

I can't believe there isn't a standard rates of pay for adjuncts at the institution. Having each person negotiate adjunct pay would open the doors to a lot of problems.

[madhatter]

I agree with helpful. Exceptions may be made for "adjuncts" who are really visiting celebrity types or if demand exceeds supply for that course.

[hesitant]

Thank you for the comments and suggestions! I agree, as much of a novice as I am, this is strange to me as well. And of course, I am "no star" here either (i.e. to be able to negotiate a salary). Would you say it is best to avoid the question (and yet respond to the requirement) saying that I am flexible/comfortable  with whatever their range is? If their pay is  ridiculously low, I will of course reject the offer, if I ever get one.

On the other hand, what would you say is  reasonable pay per 3 credit hour course in the Boston area? I understand that it will vary from college to college, but let's say it is a small state college -- I am asking this for myself now, not that much to put in my letter. Thank you.

[zuzu_]

Since you are "no star" and you don't have a lot of teaching experience, I think it is good idea to explicitly state that you are flexible in terms of salary and ask for pay comparable to other adjuncts in the department with similar CVs. Then you eliminate the risk of aiming too low while still expressing your sincere desire to work for reasonably acceptable pay.

Then, I think it also reasonable to reject any offer below about $3k.
 
If you later sense that you are being paid unfairly relative to others, apply at other institutions, and hope that you get better offers that you can ask this department to match.

[jwormold]

Zuzu_'s advice seems spot on.

A few years ago, I was in a similar situation: humanities, expensive East Coast city, still a grad student.  I received $2600.  It is still painful to calculate what the hourly wage worked out to be... 

It seems being in the expensive East Coast city actually drove adjunct salaries down: there are lots of universities with lots of grad students and recent PhDs, so plenty of people willing to work for not much money. 

[hesitant]

It seems being in the expensive East Coast city actually drove adjunct salaries down: there are lots of universities with lots of grad students and recent PhDs, so plenty of people willing to work for not much money. 

I can't agree with you more! My friends back West think that since there are so many colleges around here, it should be 'Adjunct Paradise"; the problem is that (I think) supply exceeds demand (for adjuncts...) Thanks for sharing your experience: it puts things in perspective.

[hesitant]

Since you are "no star" and you don't have a lot of teaching experience, I think it is good idea to explicitly state that you are flexible in terms of salary and ask for pay comparable to other adjuncts in the department with similar CVs. Then you eliminate the risk of aiming too low while still expressing your sincere desire to work for reasonably acceptable pay.

Then, I think it also reasonable to reject any offer below about $3k.
 
If you later sense that you are being paid unfairly relative to others, apply at other institutions, and hope that you get better offers that you can ask this department to match.

Excellent advice, Zuzu! Thanks.

Slightly different question: do I even stand a chance of getting a job at a smaller and/or community college, given that I come from a large R1 and all my experience seems to be with undergrads of said large R1 (8 years of that), I actually have other teaching experience -- ESL, college level writing for ESL students, continuous education, etc, but it is all from Europe and I do not know how serious SC's will take it. It seems to be a vicious circle: to get a job like this you should already have experience teaching at Community Colleges, but given the job market here in the North East, you can't get the experience in the first place. Agghhh!

[phi_rabbit]

In the summer of 2004, I received a mere $1350 for teaching a humanities course at a notoriously underfunded community college.  I doubt it has gone up much since then, either.

[erzuliefreda]

I earned $2100 at a very expensive private school in the Tri-State area.

In Boston, there is a great deal of word-of-mouth adjunct hiring. If your school is there, your advisor should be able to plug you into that network.

[dellaroux]

It also depends a lot on what year it is, what fields have an oversupply of grad students nearing the end of their programs, and which departments are doing OK and which are not.

A few years ago, for example, there were suddenly no art history adjuncts anywhere, and you could have named your own price. A couple years later, that reversed itself and a course or two a semester was the best one could expect.

In one school, two sub-departments split and adjunct openings occurred for that year only, until the new split-off area had time to hire its own permanent faculty.

Etc., etc., etc....the point being, you can only ride the tides that are running at the moment, and you don't always know what they are until they catch your boat.

Ask for the moon and then negotiate for the green cheese, in my estimation.

[neutralname]

You should also bear in mind class size, which makes a big difference in how much grading you have to do.  Teaching 50 students is much more work than teaching 15. 

While our school has a standard pay scale for adjuncts, some adjuncts find a way to bypass that payscale.  But generally in order to do that, they have to be either lucky or in a strong position.

[hesitant]

I earned $2100 at a very expensive private school in the Tri-State area.

In Boston, there is a great deal of word-of-mouth adjunct hiring. If your school is there, your advisor should be able to plug you into that network.

Unfortunately, I am not "local". I moved recently from the West coast -- my advisor does not have this kind of contacts here.

[zuzu_]

Re: the OP's follow-up question about CCs hiring R1-types...

In your cover letter, you should absolutely draw attention to your experience with ESL and the other populations you described. That it was "Eurpoean" makes no difference in my mind.

Present yourself as someone who can make material accessible without watering down said material.

Also, check out this older thread about getting adjunct jobs via email:

http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,55030.0.html

Since you don't have local "connections," this should be a part of your overall strategy.