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| Then I saw this slinky, and I knew it was a sign! |
Chatting with my fellow adjuncts, I have found many keep applying for full-time work, but have been adjuncts for decades. That just put the nail in the coffin for me—I am sick of not making a living wage despite my glowing accolades from the schools I teach at.
What’s an adjunct to do? Leave, clearly. I am getting career coaching and am planning on launching my own business. I’m more excited now than I’ve been in a long time. I control this, not some faceless committee. I will slowly leave teaching and walk out on my own within the next year or two.
Event number three? Finding out I’d lost posting rights on CM because I’d been too busy over the summer. That’s okay. As I send this to the RGM, I see it as confirmation. I love you all at CM and will keep reading. I just can’t keep adjuncting as my only job. Goodbye, higher education. You’ll find more adjuncts to take advantage of…but I don’t want to be one of them. I’m too smart to stay with a clearly broken system.
Event number three? Finding out I’d lost posting rights on CM because I’d been too busy over the summer.
ReplyDeleteHuh? Someone actually contacted you and told you they were removing your posting rights? ??? You didn't give them up willingly?
???
I think that you may have lost rights when Leslie K was updating folks. I actually lost rights then too (but got them back when I asked what was up). She posted that she had made a few mistakes because it was a confusing process, and anyone who had lost rights should just e-mail her and let her know. I bet that is what happened to you. If you want those rights reinstated, please let the RGM know!!!
ReplyDeleteBella remembers the "purge." Leslie K hates a messy house, and there were a great deal of people with posting rights who weren't posting at all, not for several months in a row.
ReplyDeleteShe endeavored to purge those folks from the rolls. But she got trigger happy and zapped a few folks who were not TOTALLY inactive. (She even purged Walter!) Many of these purged folks, of course, have no idea they've been purged, because most people culled really don't post very often.
The few who do, realized it, sent the mods a note, and got reinstated.
This event will apparently live on in infamy.
If that's the straw that broke the camel's back, I think we're dealing with an already-unsound dorsal structure, here.
DeleteSheesh. I got purged, I sent an email, I'm back. I spent to many years doing IT support to get in a twist about it. And, as I've said many times, adjuncting may not pay brilliantly, but even figuring for forty-hour weeks (not even close to what I actually work), I make over fifteen bucks an hour and can do the majority of my "hours" sitting at home in my underwear, watching "Mythbusters" on Netflix while I work. Approx. thirty grand a year ain't much given how much education I have, but since my PhD isn't in a STEM field, it's honestly not a bad gig compared to what else I could get.
More power to the OP for getting out of an unhappy situation, though. One less permanently dissatisfied colleague. They bum me out, man.
I think I got purged too, because I hadn't posted in a while. (My spring semester misery was being adjudicated over the summer, and while I wanted to post about it, I didn't feel it was wise.)
ReplyDeleteThat said, I'm glad the OP is moving on. I was on the verge of getting out when I landed a TT position (and then got tenure, for whatever that's worth in my state). This career choice is a burr grinder par excellence.
Kudos to BurntChrome, too!
DeleteI was in the same spot last academic year. Making peanuts adjuncting at a couple places, giving the TT job market one last go round. I was also purged in the summer as well. Nothing personal I know, it did make me sad for some reason. I'll re-up when I'm ready to jump back in a few.
ReplyDeleteI was lucky though, and I did land a TT job. But I was so close to leaving. I had a ton of other applications out there, and I could probably make more money still doing non academic things.
Some of us don't know when to stop throwing bad effort after good. But, based on your previous posts Ancillary Adjunct, I think the field and CM will be poorer for your exit, but I do really hope you find an excellent and profitable career.
Hey, great going Bison! I'm sure you're now suffering from survivor's guilt, the way I did. Don't worry, with the way academia will throw abominations at you, this will disappear, quickly.
Delete"I’m too smart to stay with a clearly broken system."
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you feel good about yourself and your decision. I was with you until that little snowflakey sentence. It is a bit arrogant and insulting to assume that those who haven't, or have not yet, made the same decision as you are acting out of ignorance or stupidity.
Plenty of smart people find themselves trapped in and exploited by broken systems. To pack up and traipse away from a way of life that you've been working towards for many years is difficult, and it can take time to extricate yourself in a way that leads to a satisfying and remunerative alternative. Don't insult people for not being you.
Thank you Surly for saying what I felt.
DeleteHope my earlier comments aren't misconstrued, I was referring to my own adjunct experiences in terms of effort. I don't think there are any good rules of thumb for adjuncts in terms of career planning (one way or the other). It's such a personal thing for all of us.
DeleteI hate to point out that number 1 on "100 Reasons NOT to Go to Graduate School" is "The smart people are somewhere else." If you take exception to how that's phrased, another way to look at it is how Peter Feibelman writes in his book, "A Ph.D. is Not Enough": "I harbor a secret hope: If enough of you start to act rationally, the system may eventually be rationalized." I wouldn't count on it anytime soon, but kudos to Ancillary Adjunct for acting rationally, I hope you have a fulfilling and lucrative career!
DeleteAt least three people have written to say that they thought they were "banned" from commenting because Leslie K deactivated their posting rights over the summer.
ReplyDeleteShe did this for a number of folks who were quite inactive with posts. (A handful of folks wanted back in and got back in with an email.)
Anybody with a regular email login can comment anytime, always! Unless you're a troll, and then we zap you.
Posting rights are given to folks who think they'll be a LITTLE bit active posting their own material, let's pretend 2 times a month is enough.
Some folks quite happily are active commenters and posters without actual posting rights. Some of our most active members simply send the mods their post when they have one. This frees them up from the format scrutiny of Cal's blurry yet exacting eye (fonts, spacing), etc.
We actually CAN'T stop anyone with any kind of computer login from commenting...that's why we have the occasional spam flurry or the odd troll.
Please move about the space and enjoy yourself. If you want to be a bit more "regular," make sure you have posting rights and then you can simply post your material whenever you want - and format in a way that pleases you and that won't send Cal off on an HTML seizure.
Fab
Surly and Darla, I was not trying to offend anyone with my "snowflake-y" final comment. I have nothing but respect for those on this blog and in my real life who work hard to educate students. I wish I could land a T-T job, and applaud those who do. I might even give my soul for one of those, even now.
ReplyDeletePlease understand, that final comment is what I keep repeating so I'll be brave. Right now, I don't feel very smart at all, having believed the Ph.D. school's smooth lines about funding and being such a strong candidate. Honestly, I feel taken for a ride.
I love all of you on this blog. If I've inadvertently offended, I apologize. It was not my intention to do so. I thought some of you would be happy for me, and maybe others might be inspired to check out other careers. That's all.
What you say here is nice and I wish you well.
DeleteEarlier you said something siimilar to what Yuri said a few days ago. "You adjuncts are dumb for sticking around. I'm outie."
I understand your explanation and, along with Darla, I sincerely wish you well.
DeleteThanks, Froderick, for your observations. I am trying to be rational. And with a spouse out of work and ineligible for unemployment, clearly a new approach needs to be tried, especially since we need health insurance.
ReplyDeleteAncillary, bravo to you. I got my TT job the very last year I was intending to be on the market, and 15 years later I still have survivor's guilt. Sometimes the last-minute save happens, and other times not, with no rhyme or reason to it. Academe will be a poorer place without your talents.
ReplyDeleteMy own opinion is that one should not adjunct for more than 3 years beyond the Ph.D., unless one is both happy doing so and has another income stream. I don't condemn anyone who is trapped, but I think academia's trap is vicious enough to get out sooner rather than later. 3 years is enough tries on the market, enough lost income and savings, etc., but not so long that you're unable to regroup. And having that in mind ahead of time preserves a certain amount of dignity and feeling of control over your life.
Chiming in very late, but I just wanted to say congratulations and good luck. People remain adjuncts for various reasons, and they leave for various reasons, but I really like the statement Frod quoted about rationalizing the system. We can't all be rational all of the time (I certainly wouldn't still be in my current job if I were), but know that you may actually help fix the system by leaving it (as well as almost certainly improve your own situation, though it may take a while).
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cassandra! I appreciate your response. I'll be teaching for a while yet (I still enjoy it), but as Frod said, there needs to be another income stream.
DeleteAs far as getting more education goes, without funding, a Ph.D. is not happening. Even with funding, I'm not sure how beneficial it would be in the long run. Now, if I spend some money on career counseling and the occasional professional workshop, those costs will be lower and the benefits more immediate.
And if I could help fix the broken system in some small way by my "defiance" that would be a lovely side benefit, as would getting my own financial house in order.