“It’s amazing to finally have weekends off for the first time in my life. When you work weekends, you constantly have to miss important events such as weddings, anniversaries, cookouts, etc. because you can’t afford to take the time off since you have no benefits such as vacation days.”
I have been an Adjunct Faculty at 4Cs since 2003. Only once in all of that time have I been offered more than 1 course per semester, and then it was only 1 other course. Consequently, I have had to supplement my income with a wide variety of other jobs. Despite having multiple W2s and 1099s every year, I never earned enough to be above the federal poverty level. Only recently, when I should be retiring, have I finally landed a part-time job on campus that allows me to keep my head above water financially.
Prior to that, I nearly always had a part-time restaurant job either bartending or waitressing.
In addition, here is a small sample of other jobs I’ve held in my 21 years as an Adjunct Faculty:
- Substitute Teacher
- Crisis Intervention
- Census Worker
- Dinner Theater
- Puppeteer
- Dancer/Musician/Actor/Costumes/Playwright/Stage Combat
- Fortune Teller
- Art Model
- Seamstress/Tailoring
- Newspaper Delivery
- Musical Instrument Salesperson
- Amusement Ride Operator
- Dance/Aerobics/Fitness/Martial Arts Instructor
- Home Improvements (Painting and Wallpapering)
- After-School Youth Arts Programs
- Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Counselor and Hotline
- Customer Service
It’s amazing to finally have weekends off for the first time in my life. When you work weekends, you constantly have to miss important events such as weddings, anniversaries, cookouts, etc. because you can’t afford to take the time off since you have no benefits such as vacation days.
I hear full time instructors complain about teaching 6 or 7 courses and can’t understand why those extra courses aren’t given to starving Adjuncts. Perhaps allowing faculty to teach across disciplines could alleviate this imbalance.