Teaching possibilities for me

[cookderosa]

Thanks for this thread!

The amount of online/remote options in teaching interests me. In general, what are compensation and benefits like?

The pay is almost always flat rate and the benefits are zero. I've never even heard of adjuncts getting benefits, though I'm sure someone somewhere will say they do- it's certainly not the norm.

GOOD flat rate would be $2500-3000 per section per semester. Adjunct faculty are not part of bargaining unit, but the rates for public teachers (CC) are set by the state in advance, so there is a budget that your college will follow. When I ran a dept, we paid our adjunct $1850 per section per semester. When I left that college 18 years later, we were up to about $2250 per section per semester. I get a flat rate now that is better, BUT it's a 4-year private university and I'm paid on a 1099. Again, benefits are zero. Expect to only get 1 section until they know and love you. Even then, you can't exceed a certain amount, and I won't even venture a guess about how many that is- it used to be 4 sections per semester, but I can't remember if that was *our* policy or a state policy, and if a state policy that may be due to regional accreditors....there are big differences between adjunct and full time rules, so using adjuncts as full-timers is a BIG NO-NO and the college will certainly be called out for attempting to do it.

Our sister forum has many who post regularly who also do adjunct work, there is also a couple who say they are earning a living.... but I can't wrap my brain around that being true based on my own experience. Even if you're getting a nice pay check, you still have to provide your own health/vision/dental insurance, set up your own retirement, and pay taxes which may or may not be withheld (mine aren't now on my 1099). The only way the math works is if you have multiple employers who each max out your schedule AND you're doing a lot of it online as opposed to on campus. There physically aren't enough hours in the day to teach 10 sections in person. If you can get gigs at 3 colleges though, and all throw you work EVERY semester AND it's online, 10 gigs per semester x 3 semesters could support my family. (the insane work load and low quality level at that pace hurt my head)

Adjunct is not most people's goal - it's an entry level or stepping stone job. For those of us who are full time mothers or those who are retired or single, it's a perfect job.