How to Become an Adjunct Professor

Last Updated on: 13th June 2024, 05:03 am

The COVID-19 crisis is already increasing the market for adjunct professors. As the crisis brings to light a lot of the economic uncertainties that a lot of schools have, many full-time positions are being put on hold or going away entirely.

But schools will still have to offer the classes once taught by full-time faculty. So they use adjuncts to fill those gaps.

While that news is less-than-welcome to full-time faculty, if you’re wondering how to become an adjunct professor, it may be good news to you. There’s no better time to become an adjunct professor than right now.

So how do you become an adjunct professor? First, let’s look at your qualifications.

What Qualifications Do You Need to Become an Adjunct Professor?

Education

Generally speaking, adjuncts must have at least a master’s degree, though there are some exceptions. For example, technical colleges may allow a combination of a bachelor’s degree and relevant work experience. However, generally speaking, you should have a graduate degree to become an adjunct professor. Some institutions and departments require a PhD.

If you have a doctoral degree (or a terminal degree in your field), this gives you an advantage. They get to count an adjunct with a terminal degree as a terminally qualified faculty member for their accreditation, which helps them.

Expertise

Schools will want to know your area of expertise. If you’re really interested in teaching 18th-century British history but you have a degree in geology, it’s going to be hard for them to hire you. If your area of professional expertise is in line with your degree, you’ll have a much 

Publications

Academic publications aren’t usually required, but they certainly help–especially  If you have publications let them know. This will give you a leg up, especially for more competitive positions.

Competition for Adjunct Professor Positions

I remember my mother telling me they had a full-time teaching job in English in the community college she taught at in upstate NY. They had over 300 applications–for a little community college. The last time I was on the job search committee at a university, we had over 200 applications for a job in the finance department.

Jobs are getting more competitive. When I got out of school, I was in a highly specialized area of business. I went to a conference and had maybe 15 interviews and there were 6 or 7 places where I was invited for an on-campus interview. I had five job offers. Today, that doesn’t happen.

There aren’t that many positions open because there are more people who have graduated. Plus, professors never retire. Once you’ve been there 10, 20, 30 years, it’s a really good part-time job. Spend 9 hours in the classroom and get paid full time.

So, even though an adjunct position is not as prestigious as (nor does it come with the benefits of) a full-time professorship, competition can still be fierce for adjunct positions. You have to do the best job that you can to be the fit that you think they’re looking for.

How to Become an Adjunct Professor

Look for Available Positions

If you’re considering applying to local schools, the first thing to do is find out if they have positions. Go to the website of local schools and apply that way. However, if there aren’t any open positions, don’t fret. There are other ways of becoming an adjunct professor.

Apply

If you’re looking for an online position, many times you’ll be going through HigherEdJobs or Indeed. You’ll be one of many people applying, so there’s much more competition. Many times schools use software to evaluate the initial round of applicants. Make sure you answer what they’re asking in their job posting. Use the keywords you think they’ll want to see based on the question. It may be a computer reading your answers the first time around.

Reach Out

Contact the Department Chair

Even if there aren’t any open positions posted, you can still contact the Department Chair for the department you have a desire to teach in. You can say something to the effect of, “I’m interested in adjunct teaching, what’s the process for that? Here is my background and my CV. This is what courses I think I could teach, what I bring to the classroom.”

You can even offer to stop in and meet in person. It’s easier for people to like you and remember you if you meet in person, and it’s harder to say no to your face.

Get to Know the Person Who Makes Hires

The Department Chair can also tell you who makes the hiring decisions. This is a person to develop ties with because even if they do not have a position now, something may come up that you’d be a good fit for. It’s easier for hiring managers to go with someone they already know than to filter through a long list of applicants. 

Remember: jobs are easier to get when there are no other applicants. The only way to achieve that is to put yourself forward when there are no open jobs. You may be surprised by how successful this strategy can be if done correctly.

Follow Up

If you don’t hear from your contact in 8 or 9 months, you can contact them again (in a respectful, no-pressure kind of way). You can say something to the effect of, “Just curious if anything’s come up… I’ve added this skill… I’ve finished my doctoral degree…” 

Offer Free Lectures

Talk to the department chair and say you’re willing to come in and do individual lectures for free about specific topics. That lets them become familiar with you, and you become a resource. It’s easier to hire someone who has already demonstrated their value.

The Interview Process

Adjunct professor interviews are not anywhere near as intense as the interviews for a full-time professorship. Traditionally, for a full-time job, there will be three finalists who go through extensive panel interviews. 

However, for adjuncts, you’ll have a less extensive interview with one person. It’s basically to see if you’re a good person and can handle the material.

Online Positions

If you’re applying for an online position, they’ll also want to make sure you have computer competency and literacy. (Make sure you have sufficient bandwidth on your internet connection for the interview!).

Also, have an answer to the question, “What is your background in online teaching?” There are some places that will offer certificates in online teaching, which may give you a leg up.

Other Ideas

The other thing to do is find out who the president of the university is and get pictures of him or her in compromising situations. Just kidding. Don’t do that.

Adjunct Professor Salary

Adjunct professors actually don’t get a salary, they’re paid per course. I’ve seen schools pay anywhere from $1,800 to $10,000 for an adjunct class.

In my experience, online schools pay about $1,800 to $3,500 for a semester course.

If you did five or six classes for a semester, which is a huge course load, and were paid $3,500 for 6 classes that’s $21,000 for a semester. Also remember, there are no benefits. 

However, this isn’t feasible for most people. In fact, Glassdoor’s data indicates that the average yearly earnings for adjunct professors is $26,082. 

Advantages of Becoming an Adjunct Professor

There are some advantages to adjunct teaching:

• For some people, adjunct teaching can be a transition from full-time work to part-time retirement.
• For others, adjunct teaching can be a transition from part-time teaching to full-time teaching.
• If there are no full-time jobs available, it’s a way to gain experience and “get your foot in the door.”
• It can provide supplemental income.
• Guiding young people in the classroom is rewarding.
• The university may look at the adjunct pool first when hiring for full-time positions.
• In an in-person setting you may be given a book and maybe the exams, but you’ll rarely be told what you need to cover in each class. That’s an advantage because it gives you more freedom and helps you build your teaching skillset, and it’s a disadvantage because you have to do more work. Personally, I would consider this an advantage. 

Disadvantages of Becoming an Adjunct Professor

There are also some significant disadvantages to adjunct teaching, many of which have been well-publicized. 

• You won’t get rich as an adjunct.
• You’re a contractor so have no job security.
• You don’t receive benefits.
• You’re last when it comes to course choice. Full-time people get that choice first. So if there’s a cool course you want to teach, you may not get it.
• You’re last in line for parking (which is a big deal on most campuses, which have limited parking).
• You’re also last in line when they ask for suggestions. Even though adjuncts may teach a percentage of the classes, they’re not as involved in college/university life, so they don’t get asked to play.
• Many times, especially for online adjunct professors, there is very little flexibility in what you do. “Here is the book, here are the text, here’s the rubric, etc.” 

Help Becoming an Adjunct Professor

As an academic career coach, I help people achieve their career goals in academia. I’ve been through the process of getting an academic job many times, and I’ve helped dozens of people get their dream jobs. If you’d like to jump on a free call with me, I’ll give you personally-tailored advice for getting your next job. If you find that useful, you may want to sign up for my services. If not, that’s fine too!