Adjunct faculty: the job of your future

July 8, 2:46 AMCollege ExaminerAndrew Lambert

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Some of the brightest were adjunct faculty

Although Albert Einstein never worked full time for any single university, he is still considered one of the greatest "PhD earning Doctors" in history. (Sidenote: some historians argue his time at Columbia as a PhD candidate constitues full-time faculty status. For the sake of this article, let's assume not.)

What many people didn't know was the before Einstein became a big name, he used to visit college campuses as a guest lecturer.  He would present information on science, physics, and math, and then would work on his own studies at night. 

Keep in mind, the university setting wasn't as politically entrenched as it is today, but there were those who worried about future of their schools being taught by outsiders.

Flash forward today, and many universities are still holding that same debate.  What do we do with the adjunct faculty?  Should we keep them, or should we get rid of them? 

I'm going to buck the system and make a compelling argument for why you might consider heading back into the education world after graduation.  Many full-time tenure faculty will be screaming at this information, but it's important for those folks to understand that as they continue to research students are falling behind in their education.

The three main reasons why an adjunct faculty position might be right for you are: (1) online universities are growing quickly, and are looking for people with real world experience to teach; (2) universities are putting more pressure for full-time faculty to research, which is taking them away from the classroom; and (3) the education world is looking for fresh minds to inspire the current learners.

Yes, I know that there is strain on current universities to watch their budget, just like what has happened in Iowa, but many universities are going to find themselves in trouble as the current generation of faculty start to retire, and the number of students heading to school start to increase. 

You have to understand that many faculty are starting to fight among themselves to get the next pay raise, and want to be respected by their peers.  In the meantime, students are looking to find the one faculty member that can help them get motivated. 

If universities continue to grow, then jobs will be needed to get filled.   As you continue to move through your education, I hope you consider going back to school and work as an adjunct faculty member.  The rewards are very much worth the risk.  Please feel free to check out other education job possibilities as other Examiners have given their reasons why you might want to stick around in the education world.