Teaching possibilities for me

[cookderosa]

I have a number of disabilities, but I'm wondering if it makes sense to pursue being an online adjunct CC teacher. I wouldn't rely on it being a steady source of income. Consider it more like a "bucket list" thing for me. I really want to see what it's like, as I've sometimes done certain types of tutoring and enjoyed it, and for other personal reasons. Please try not to think about the money as you answer my questions. (If the opportunity were there for me, I could see myself doing it every term for years, but I'm interested even if it's sporadic.)

I know that the adjunct positions are competitive, especially online positions. I don't want to put time and money into this teaching possibility if I'm not going to be somewhat competitive compared to other applicants.

Obviously I'd have 18 grad credits in the subject area. I would probably have a Masters degree in something unrelated (but I am very interested in a knocking out a Capella M.Ed degree... especially if I think I could earn back the money I spend on it through adjunct work). I might have certification(s) in the area or volunteer work. But volunteer work I do will generally not be as impressive as most other applicants' because of my limitations.

I could consider doing in-person teaching a little, just to help me get the online position (if it would). However, I'm thinking only like 1-2 classes for 1-2 terms which I know isn't much. They would prefer years. (I think that it would be pretty difficult for me to do the face-to-face teaching but I think I could do ok, especially if not back-to-back terms. However, maybe I would end up being below-average for face-to-face. As an online teacher I think I could do well.)

My question is, if I have never had employment in the field I'm looking to teach, I know this makes me unattractive. What if I freelanced in the field, or had a related business? Do you think schools would consider that similar to people who were employed in the field? For some fields, it's kind of hard to prove the freelancing. Would I show a portfolio in those cases? I think my best bet would be being published. Do you think schools would consider it "good experience" if it's only something like: consumer-level magazine articles, brochures, small part of someone else's book, self-published book?


And, how much more would my application be considered if I added a Masters in the field, or had 30+ credits in the field, doctorate in the field, or doctorate not in the field? If my experience was still limited like I just described. I mean, having a Masters or doctorate still might not get me hired? I understand that might be the case, so I would have to switch to a totally different plan.

Go to http://www.higheredjobs.com and set up alerts for online adjunct positions. You'll get somewhere between 50-100 each week (I have this as one of my alerts). This will give you the best insight about which fields are in greatest demand, and after reviewing job requirements for a few weeks you'll have a great idea of what they want.
Don't waste your time on being published- not a thing at the cc level.
edit to add: job experience in the field. For EVERY degree that is an AAS, they want experience, the more the better. For degrees in AA / AS there isn't that same expectation. (How does one have job experience in English Comp or History? You don't, you have a masters or doctorate. For the AAS paths, these are job skills training tracks, and managerial level expereince is expected)