In the last few years more and more colleges are adding additional online classes. They make sense economically for the college and the students are demanding them. This means that either the current professors have to teach these online classes or new staff must be hired. Many full time professors have been teaching the same way for years. They may not be eager to change everything up and to learn to teach online. This provides an opportunity for a computer literate instructor with a master’s degree to pick up a few more classes to teach as an adjunct professor. Since it is all done online, you can work at any college no matter where it is located.
In the past, adjunct college professors would get a job teaching their subject at the local community college. Most colleges limit adjuncts to 8 credit hours a semester. Although the pay is pretty good for each class taught, it is not enough to survive on. Adjuncts would have to find another way to supplement this income. Many of these instructors tutor privately or work in the college’s learning lab. Regardless of what these instructors do to supplement their income, in most cases these jobs don’t pay as well as a permanent teacher.
Most towns don’t have numerous colleges around. An adjunct is really lucky if he happens to find another college near his home that is looking for an adjunct instructor in his field. With the growing popularity of online classes this professor can now apply and teach at any other college, regardless of location, that offers distance learning in his subject area. This makes teaching as an adjunct a feasible way to make a living.
