Some Good News
Today, I was offered (and accepted) a position as an Adjunct Professor of Science at a local community college. I will teach an Anatomy and Physiology lecture/lab and I somehow managed to convince them to offer me a second class, a Chemistry lab for nursing students. Classes start Thursday. Thursday, as in, less than 48 hours from now.
After making sure that I would be paid enough to cover my rent (and believe me, rent will be ALL that my stipend will cover), I accepted the position. According to this college's policy, because I will be working nine lecture hours per week on these two classes, I will be paid for ten lecture hours. I will be busy three days per week (Tuesday-Thursday) and will devote the other four days per week to working on my research and scientific papers. And blogging, of course!
I will still be cat sitting, tutoring and freelance writing to cover my other expenses (food for me and my birds, power, cell phone, and MTA cards). And I still will not have any health insurance. I'm happy that I enjoy good health (fingers crossed)!
Welcome Hedwig, to the adjunct schtick. It's a survival job, but not a living.
© 2004, 2005, 2006 by GrrlScientist
posted by GrrlScientist at
17:55
7 Peer Reviews:
Haha, PZ! Yes, indeed, I would say that exuberance got the best of me, but it was blogger that did it! Blogger is making a fool out of me! And don't worry about my trying to get out of the adjunct rut, I can guarantee that I will do my best (although I do view this as a fertile land for many blogged rants to come regarding the "adjunct schtick")
Hey, that's great news! I know it's only a first step, but it's a ray of hope. Glad to hear it.
Thanks Joe! Yes, it is indeed, a ray of hope! I was really getting scared about how I was going to afford my rent without resorting to illegal activities.
Congratulations! Onward & upward! :-)
Thanks waxwing, Kattia and Dani and everyone who sent me email! It's true that even though this is not "THE JOB", this is a step forward. It will extend my survival time in my beloved home while I look for something that is a better suited to my talents, pays a little more and has a little more security (and benefits!). I'll have more news today, after I meet wih them and pick up my text books! (Mmmmmmm, books! I love books! And they're FREE -- the best kind!)
congrats!! don't stress, this is definitely what I would call a good problem (having too much work to do for a new job). just make sure you rest up because you're certain to run into things you can't possibly have planned for, and you will need your strength.
I think you can get health insurance for cheap through some professional societies (e.g. the American Chemical Society). I would strongly recommend finding out what you can get for the price of membership, because it will also help with networking to move up to the next level. I think teaching Chemistry qualifies you to join, even if you weren't a chem major.
I think it sucks they only pay you for 10 hours of work, when you're sure to spend more than that preparing your lectures. I don't suppose there is a union you can join? That might be another option for insurance.
Ms.PhD: Payment for prep time instead of by lecture hour?? That's what tenure is for!
I'll have to check the health insurance options that you mentioned. Even though I don't have a spare dime at the moment to pay for anything but the most basic needs that I mentioned (I even had to allow all my professional memberships to lapse for this reason), things can change fairly quickly so who knows what the future holds?
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