July 2, 2008
Outside Employment
Most universities have policies that govern outside employment, such as consulting or second jobs. Those policies protect the institution against faculty members who would abuse the flexible work hours that are characteristic of the profession. Occasionally people will overcommit themselves in their off-campus work to the detriment of the university, or will engage in enterprises that may sully the “good name” of the institution.
As a dean I rarely have prospective faculty members ask about our policies on outside employment, but occasionally it does come up in a job interview. I always quote one of my mentors, who once said he gave his approval of outside work “as long as it advances the mission of the university, time-wise and reputation-wise.”
Have you had bad experiences with colleagues who abused the opportunity to secure outside employment?
By Gene C. Fant Jr. | Posted on Wednesday July 2, 2008 | PermalinkComments
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I am assuming these rules apply only (or mostly) to tenure-track and tenured employees? As an adjunct, I have found it absolutely necessary to keep a part-time job (or two) in the past year. These jobs are at times completely unconnected to the mission of the univ (as an example, retail). I would not say this is “enriching” but rather a survival strategy.
I do understand the complications involved in a tt person working a second, unrelated, or even conflicting job, though. I do think faculty may use their expertise to be of service in some professional arenas outside the univ (ngos, think tanks, etc) but I will be interested to hear about conflicts of interest.
I imagine that if (when) I am t-t, I will be putting 110% in and won’t have time to worry about a second job.
— phd Jul 2, 06:27 PM #
Although I also want to add that I felt a bit awkward about my “outside employment” even as an adjunct. When the provost came into the store where I was working to shop, I felt inexplicably ashamed, despite the fact that I was not getting paid enough at the university to not take the job….
— phd Jul 2, 06:45 PM #
I’m using a friend’s email address to preserve IP confidentiality; we’ve just read this, and we both have experienced holding academic jobs yet needing second jobs in order to survive. In her case, in a low-paying TT assistant professorship, she waited tables. Like the previous poster, she had her dean as a customer one evening. He acted shocked and tried to shame her, but she gave him what-for in front of his pals: “if you’d pay your professors enough, we wouldn’t have to do this,” she said (and guess what, he was a bad tipper, too). But the real reason I’m writing this and she’s not: I was a stripper to survive, and I made—-wait for it—-four times as much money part-time stripping as I did with my public-Ivy PhD & Oxbridge book contract. Stripping paid well, but it was almost as degrading as being an adjunct. Almost.
(No, no one from the U. ever turned up as my customer, or, not that I know of, anyway!)
I went back to school for my electrician’s license, and finally I have no money problems. Finally, also, I am valued and do honorable work for great pay. I leave it all at work at 5 pm, and I can finally afford to buy books, to travel, to have a decent car. And I can’t wait for the day my former dean or chair has a wiring problem: can you spell “double overtime”?
My real point:
When they pay a decent salary, they can restrict our outside work. Otherwise, it verges on slavery. (My friend denies all responsibility for this post, hah. Such a TT chicken!)
— jenna Jul 2, 08:09 PM #
I think it is absurd that academia thinks that it can restrict someone’ s right to outside employment. I am in the process of leaving a university since I was told AFTER I signed the contract that I would need to ask for permission in order to make money outside of my contract. I am a good instructor. However, this along with other things like checking my credit report is a VIOLATION of my rights as a free citizen of the USA and I will under no circumstances take a position at another university making SQUAT where they want me to ask permission to live a decent life. I have a PhD….not a bachelors degree and frankly I am sick and tired of being paid the same money as some of the students that I teach…many who by the way do not have the sense to calculate grade percentages without my help. So, BULL to the notion that I have to ask you for permission. When you start paying me a FAIR wage then you can start telling me what to do….otherwise go and find yourself another SUCKER!
— Anon Jul 2, 09:14 PM #
If a public school restricted your outside employment on your own time, they also violated your legal rights. Consult a lawyer and teach the clowns a lesson.
— Fernando Jul 2, 10:32 PM #
I also disagree about “academia” being able to control your outside employment, but you can thank your “union” for giving up this right for you. As a Ph.D. in education, I found out AFTER I switched over to a TT gig that I should have stayed in public education…I was making $20,000 more a year teaching K-12!!!
— A Lowly Assistant Professor Slave Jul 3, 01:27 AM #
While I agree in principle with those raising issues of rights to outside work, I wonder if they understand what the norms are in other sectors? It’s quite common in the private sector for contracts to limit ones outside employment — “no moonlighting” provisions. Not for lower-level hourly jobs true, but for salaried professionionals, absolutely. Not to mention “no compete” clauses that limit your mobility. In the federal government, employees are allowed to have only token outside income, must get approval (from both bosses and agency lawyers) for same, and for scientists, generally can not accept honoraria, consulting fees, or in many cases even your own book royalties.
Bottom line: univ policies are much more open to outside earnings than almost any other institutions, private or public.
— aprof Jul 3, 07:06 AM #
The problem is abuse of “research” time. As tt faculty we are paid to put in 40 hours a week during the summer to do research. I knew of one person who took a full time summer job and did no research. This is the equivalent of a corporate employee not showing up for work for three months and still collecing a full salary.
— Anonymous Jul 3, 08:58 AM #
Not only the faculty, but our adminstrators need outside employment.
We have an administrator that runs his own Winery in his home state and travels to his “outside” job at the university, in a different state. Talk about turning the tables!
— PyouSeaProf Jul 3, 11:14 AM #
In response to comment #7…I know the policies that the federal government has are along the same lines…however, these are still a violation of personal rights. The Federal government gets to abuse their power by checking things like credit reports and medical history when these checks in most cases are outside of the realm of the job. States, like the state that I work for, keep pushing the boundaries between people’s private lives and their public lives. Scientists (like myself) should be allowed to collected honoraria, consulting fees, etc.. as long as they are not quid-pro-quo. As it stands now, the governments both federal and state are only limiting the productivity of professional Americans in this country…so when politicians talk about the US and its lack of scientifically trained professionals and the lack of women in science (like myself) they should take a look in the mirror…for they, not us, are the reason for shortfalls. What I want to know is when are employees going to learn to stand up for their rights….the right to freedom in their personal lives, the right to pursue happiness, and the right to not have the government breathing down their necks and basically threatening them with firing if they persue their dreams. Buracracy is the problem with America, and it will ultimately be its demise.
— Anon Jul 3, 11:22 AM #
I nearly went bankrupt when my department chair told me I can’t work anywhere else, but allowed my coworker to do so and to even take the job I had. On top of that issue, that same coworker, who hardly showed up to work, received much larger raises than I did. This is despite the fact that I had outstanding student evaluations, publications, etc. Also, I was denied summer employment in the department, while this individual and other American born individuals where given 3 or 4 classes. I complained to the department chair and the dean and nothing was done about it for years. When I tried to move on into a different degree program in a tenure track appointment, the chair and the dean offered me $7,000 less than a new candidate with no publications or experience at a university, but was American born. When I complained to the Provost, the chair threatened me with my job. I got it on tape. I was smart enough to maintain all of the emails and many taped conversations. I knew I was being discriminated against, so I took steps to prove it to others if I had to.
I tried to fix the problem by going through the Provost and she told me I can’t do anything for you. I told her that I would go outside of the University if I have to. She didn’t care. I finally filed an EEOC complaint.
They increased the offer to the same as the other individual, but they have not done anything yet to compensate me for what they did. I pan to sue for millions, if I am not compensated for the lost wages and the discrimination I went through. The point I want to make is discrimination can take on many forms and keeping someone from earning a decent living while allow others to live the high life is another example.
Stop the abuse.
— Stop the abuse Jul 3, 12:25 PM #
Although many private and public sector work contracts limit an employee’s rights to outside work, it’s important to remember that there are more than contract rights in play. A person must earn a weekly living by working about 40 hours/wk. If the person can’t do that on what his/her primary job pays, then there’s no choice but to seek secondary employment. There’s even a responsibility to do so and thus a certain right to do so that is not always reflected in work contracts. It is telling that response #7 mentioned that lower level employees do not have limitations on outside work. So what we have in some areas of academia is a class of professionals whose salaries do not enable them to meet their basic needs. In those cases, it is certainly unjust for an institution to deny or penalize the person who seeks a second job.
— ethicsprof Jul 3, 01:40 PM #
dear stop the abuse, fight on and on! brave soul! you could make a difference, BEEN THERE
— bee Jul 3, 03:01 PM #
I am a graduate student in the humanities at a R1 university, and as a condition of my teaching assistantship, I cannot hold outside employment, even though the wage I’m paid barely puts me over the poverty line.
— Financially Insolvent Jul 3, 03:19 PM #
This seems to be a simple question, though perhaps only ethically speaking. If you are paid for and expected to put in 40 hours per week of research time in the summer, for example, then do that, one way or another. I would argue that it is reasonable to take advantage of the flexible scheduling of academia in that case, putting in the hours bit by bit throughout the year, or doing them in a concentrated fashion over the course of half the summer. I am coming into academia from another professional career where I made considerably more money than I will as a professor. This job also has a flexible schedule, and in one month I can make what it takes me a year to earn as a Teaching Assistant or Lecturer. This job will be unrelated to my academic position. Will I do this work if I get a TT job? If I can reasonably fit both in time-wise, and get both jobs done well (will mean missing out on personal time, I recognize, not work time), I will do so if I need the money. It sounds like, from the above posts, that I will need the money.
— not married to my job(s) Jul 3, 08:58 PM #
I work part-time in a department where a tenured full-time professor holds a job at another university and even has another outside job on top of that. The teacher was a burn-out this year and neglected teaching duties to such a degree that they almost never attended their classes. This behavior happened right after the conferral of tenure and the department covered so the administration doesn’t know any different.
Another full-time teacher I know also teaches at another university. It is unfortunate for part-timers who need to work at four colleges to make a decent salary when all these full-timers are moonlighting jobs that should go to part-timers. What really eats me is that these full-timers are already making so much more than I am being tenured, and then get to earn another $1000-$1500 per month while I go broke and am desperate for work.
— bob roberts Jul 3, 10:23 PM #
After a year of 70-90 hour workweeks between the three classes I taught and a full load doctoral-level coursework in a dysfunctional department at a research university, getting paid less than half of what I made in the corporate world, and getting s**t from the chair and others, I transferred to a comprehensive university to finish my doctorate. To make ends meet, I took a 40-hour per week classified position at a community college. The pay is better, the job comes with benefits, plus I actually have the time and energy to give my research the effort and attention needed. Best of all, I get treated with respect. After I finish my dissertation, I can work in an administrative capacity and not have to worry about being broke while watching my back constantly.
— Mina Neville Jul 3, 11:32 PM #
First, they can pretty much add anything legal to a contract that they choose. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to sign the contract. The only question would be if they added that stipulation after you started working there. They could not as an example require existing tenured professors to wash the windows in most cases.
Second, the clause in the employment contract is not about restricting how you spend your time. It is about ensuring that you will put in the time you promise to your current job.
Finally, I don’t know about other schools, but my summers are my own. I’m free to do as I wish in the summer. I could go dig ditches if I wanted.
— me Jul 4, 09:01 AM #
Business schools are interesting places in this regard. At my school (a public R1) many TT and tenured professors serve as directors, advisors and consultants. This time is not really serving the students or contributing to research… but it contributes to the prestige, reputation and connectedness of the school, so it’s allowed, encouraged and publicized. So, it strikes me that it’s not really a matter of detracting from your paid hours, but more a question of whether the type of work brings prestige to the school. An ethical morass!
— anon Jul 4, 10:42 AM #
I teach at a 2 year college where the typical faculty load is 15 hours per semester. We have a wonderful contract and are well-paid for our base load. The contract also allows for lots of overload teaching, which most of my colleagues take advantage of, and in some cases this increased workload can result not only in larger paychecks but poorer teaching. As someone who mainly instructs students in English composition, I can’t imagine teaching an additional 2 sections beyond the several I already have. To do so seems to me irresponsible to students, and enriches the coffers of the instructor while cheapening the experience of students.(I’m also an advocate of leisure time, something that academics, despite their relatively low pay, can enjoy to a greater degree than their corporate peers).
— orestes Jul 4, 01:49 PM #
To #2 – The provost should have felt ashamed, not you. There is nothing shameful in honest work. There is quite a bit shameful about the way that adjuncts are treated.
— Symbolic Jul 4, 02:27 PM #
@ Symbolic: “There is quite a bit shameful about the way that adjuncts are treated.”
Not to mention how waitresses are treated. That dean needs a swift kick in the butt.
And to the OP: I hope you’re reading all these comments. Faculty members, whether full- or part-time don’t take on extra work over and above their full-time load because they want to… It’s because they have to. Perhaps it’s time to solicit confidential comments from your faculty, and figure out what the real problem is.
— notorious Ph.D. Jul 5, 08:46 AM #
#8, TT faculty are paid to do 40 hours a week of research during the summer? I don’t think so. I like many TT faculty have a 9 month appt. That summer time is mine. Doing work to publish during that time may be a condition of p & t, but the university has NO claim on that time.
— S Jul 5, 10:40 AM #
to #8: everywhere I’ve worked, faculty have been on 9-month appointments and haven’t been paid over the summer. Yes, faculty usually need to spend the summer doing research to get tenure, but the university isn’t paying them a thing!
— Anna Jul 5, 11:48 AM #
Get a grip folks. What were your expectations going into education? I will hazard to guess that some of you would have financial difficulties no matter the income. I left university administration after 25 years and moved into faculty knowing that I would have half the paycheck. But I only work 9 months, get a ton of time off during that 9 months, my wife / kids get to go to college free, and I get to work with great folks, both students and peers. But then again it easy for me to speak, I only have a house payment to make. Our two cars, one truck, and my old shovelhead are paid for.
To be fair, you new folks do have a tough road to haul. Salaries have not kept up with the cost of living and making it in education is about political smarts not academic smarts. You will be used and abused, and don’t count on the folks in personnel to help you out. Remember they are there to protect the institution. Oh! And you are right, most administrators have risen to a level above their competency. That’s why most talented faculty, adjunct and tenured, are treated with distain. I don’t see many changes coming in higher education real soon so you will need to make a decision to stay in or get out.
And for those of us old timers who spend most of time where the sun doesn’t shine, that additional 40 grand a year you make teaching on-line for a proprietary institution is a “second” job and in direct competition with the institution you are tenured at. What’s that saying about glass houses?
— Dr. Bill Jul 7, 09:24 AM #
The more I read about TT positions, the more I don’t want one. I had an interesting convo the other day with a colleague – we were talking about the “stigma” that comes with accepting a Community College job. I mean, isn’t a TT, University level job what every terminal degree student dreams of? I can tell you, that at a CC, I make more than many of the average salaries of University faculty at my level. I just checked the Chronicle’s Salary listing and was amazed. Not to mention, I get phat benefits, my spouse and dependents can go to school for free, I get overload pay if I choose to teach more than my load, and the CC encourages work in your discipline. I come from the tech / design industry, and I can actually list freelance or consulting work on my Professional Development Plan and they applaud it. They consider it part of keeping your skills current. Would I take on a full time consulting gig AND full time teaching? No. But I do freelance and consult and feel like it keeps me at my peak. I cannot imagine not being able to practice while teaching. What good would I be to students? And for that matter – with adjuncts, we expect them to work in the field. In fact, I would be hesitant to hire an adjunct who is not working in the field. Again, they are an asset to our students if they are practicing. I guess my point is, that I’ll stay at a CC or Liberal Arts College most likely, even if at some point I do get offered a coveted TT position. I have no desire to be told I can’t work in my field and all I’m worth is the research I produce for a University. I would suffocate in that environment and my students would be no better.
— CC All the Way Jul 7, 04:35 PM #