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[_veritas_]

Good morning!

I am about to finish up coursework and will be studying for comps this coming semester, as well as TAing.  A part-time instructor position has just opened up at a nearby two-year college, however, and I am trying to decide if teaching while studying for comps is a good idea (because of the experience) or a bad idea (because it may ultimately mean I don't have time to study for comps at all, and end up putting them off an extra semester).  Can anyone please offer any advice/personal opinions on this? 

Thank you!

[stanwyck]

My instinct: don't do it if you don't have to do it. 

The advice I was given by someone deeper into the program was this:  take one course (or, if forced, T.A. one course instead) during the time you're studying for comps.  It will pull you out of bed in the morning, make you to stick to a daily schedule, and encourage you talk someone other than the (legendary on my campus) talky-chatty lady at the circulation desk.  Anything more than that, however, and it just turns into one more excuse not to do your reading for comps.

[marigolds]

Agreed.  Don't teach more than you have to.

[sinenomine]

Does your school even allow you to teach elsewhere?  The question may be moot.

[charlesr]

No.  You'll have plenty of opportunity later.

[skippityskipskip]

It would be experience, but it might be counterproductive in applying for teaching jobs later.  If you're too stressed out from overextending, you won't teach well & will likely get poor evaluations.  If you want to assemble a teaching portfolio for job applications (in my field, they're often requested), you would have to explain why your evaluations were so awful that semester.

You'll get lots of opportunities later - just keep your eyes open for them.

[anon99]

Studying for your comps and TAing (even if only teach 3 hours a week) will be more than enough.  Adding a part time job at another institution is not a good idea.  You will get teaching experience from your TAship.

[egret]

You don't mention whether or not you've taught a class independently before (as opposed to TAing), but if you haven't, don't underestimate the amount of time it takes to prepare a class, particularly if you're new to teaching. I agree that studying for comps and TAing will be plenty.

[polly_mer]

You don't mention whether or not you've taught a class independently before (as opposed to TAing), but if you haven't, don't underestimate the amount of time it takes to prepare a class, particularly if you're new to teaching. I agree that studying for comps and TAing will be plenty.

This.

Class prep in a topic that you know well and have taught, but not this specific class is time consuming.

Class prep in a topic that you know well, but are teaching for the first time and you have teaching experience is time consuming.

Class prep in a subject that you know, but have no experience teaching is a killer.

[glowdart]

I dunno... we all had to do this, and it was designed to be great practice for surviving the jobs we all landed.  And, frankly, it was good practice.  (Consider that thread about prepping a course outside your area during the semester; taking comps while teaching is similar.)  We all had a staggered set of new preps & staggered comps, but during the comp years, we had new preps and none of these classes had a set syllabi or approach.  There was simply no getting away from taking classes & teaching (often new) courses & taking exams at the same time.

But, we were teaching on-campus, which meant we didn't need to learn new institutional ropes or commute any extra distance.  

So, for me, the issues are: What kind of comp system do you have?  And, does your department do comps leading to ABD status or do you also have a qualifying exam & dissertation prospectus to do after the comps?  Do you need to study material that is different from your coursework?  Do you need to study material you've never seen before?  Does it overlap with teaching course content?  Do you take one comp each month or is this a week-long sit and spew?  How far away is this campus?  What does "part-time instructor" entail on that campus?  Adjuncting or attending meetings?  Are you in a discipline where not having stand-alone teaching experience is going to be a problem, and do you have time to get that experience later?    

[_veritas_]

Thank you all very much for your comments! 

My former advisor is the person who suggested the job to me, through the department admin, so although we are not technically supposed to teach elsewhere if we are on TAships, there seems to be an unspoken acknowledgment that we don't earn enough money to support ourselves on stipends alone.

As for comps, it is a one-shot set of written exams and then a week later, a four-hour oral exam.  I plan to take them at the end of the summer/early Fall.  The material for the potential class I'd be lecturing for is not really part of my comps material, although it may come up in a tangential way.  The school is nearby, perhaps a 20-minute commute.  And to my knowledge, there will be no responsibilities outside of actually preparing and delivering lectures, grading, and meeting with students.  I really want to think I can do this and study for comps, but it seems that most people on here (who I am assuming have been through comps, and so know better than I do) believe it would be too much work for minimal payoff.  I am oddly okay with taking written comps - the part that simply terrifies me, however, is the oral component.  So I tend to seek out any practice in public speaking that I can, but perhaps comps time is not a good time to tackle that beast.

Thanks again!

[polly_mer]

And to my knowledge, there will be no responsibilities outside of actually preparing and delivering lectures, grading, and meeting with students. 

O...K..., but you do know that for just one section of just one class, these activities alone can take more than 10 hours a week, right?  Especially if you have to prep the lectures for the first time and you assign any assignments or tests that aren't scantron or other easy right/wrong, the actual time in the classroom for an instructor is almost none of the job. 

I really want to think I can do this and study for comps, but it seems that most people on here (who I am assuming have been through comps, and so know better than I do) believe it would be too much work for minimal payoff.  I am oddly okay with taking written comps - the part that simply terrifies me, however, is the oral component.  So I tend to seek out any practice in public speaking that I can, but perhaps comps time is not a good time to tackle that beast.

If what you want is practice public speaking, then join Toastmasters.  That will be a better use of your time and give you good practice without all of the problems associated with teaching at this point.  Delivering the prepared lectures is almost none of the teaching job for many cases.

[marcus_welby]

You are at risk of overextending yourself and the stakes are very high.  I'm not sure how your department works but where I completed my Ph.D you were allowed one failure on a comp and one re-write.  It was well known who failed and not helpful to the person's academic reputation.

I taught a course (60 students, a lot of marking) the summer I studied for my two comps (which were written a few months apart).  The course did line up with the subject matter of one of the comps, but of course at a much more introductory level.  I did pass both exams on the first attempt, but it was probably the most stressful period of my academic career.

I can't imagine TA-ing a course and also teaching a separate off campus course and studying for two qualifying exams.  Maybe it will work out for you, but I don't recommend it.

Those exams are very important if you are serious about earning your degree.  Studying for them is extremely time intensive and stressful.  This is true even if there is nothing else on your plate.

You know better than we do what you are capable of and how much research and preparatory work you already have completed to date.  Good luck with your decision.
 

[iclaudius]

I have to agree with most posters here that it probably is too much work. I remember when I taught my first class completely by myself, it took me hours and hours every week to prep for it. I taught a TTH class and basically spent every Monday and Wednesday prepping and grading. I even had TAd for the same class before and I still spent about 15 hours a week on class prep and grading. The second semester went much better though.

[pink_]

Don't do it.
Don't do it for all of the reasons already mentioned, but don't do it also because as is, you have a good deal of time to dedicate solely to your own interests and work.  You will rarely have this opportunity, and you should take advantage of it while it presents itself.  Maybe you will have a fellowship year once you get into your dissertation.  Maybe you will be eligible for a research leave once you get a tenure track job (if you decide to go for a tt job).  Maybe you will get a sabbatical at some point . . .

But life as an academic is a three ring circus disguised as a balancing act.  Don't pile onto yourself if it isn't absolutely necessary.