Adjunct Teaching

Although teaching as an adjunct professor full-time is not financially viable in most cases, adjuncting part-time can be a great way to keep one foot in a classroom while pursuing one of the other options listed above. (Some of the testimonials in other categories include references to adjuncting.) For those who do not depend on teaching for the majority of their income, it can offer fulfilling interaction with students and continued connection with the scholarly world.

✦     ✦     ✦

Dr. Brittany Kim

Adjunct Professor

North Park Theological Seminary (Chicago, IL) and Northeastern Seminary (Rochester, NY)

Adjunct teaching has allowed me to connect with students and stay active in the academic world while giving me the flexibility to be the primary caretaker for my three young children. Although many women have successfully navigated tenure-track positions during their childbearing years, I didn’t want to try to juggle a demanding career while my children were little, even if I were able to land an elusive job. And since my husband was supporting our family with his pastoral work, I didn’t feel any pressure to secure a livable wage after graduating. As an adjunct, I have complete control over my schedule, so I’m able to adjust my teaching load based on the changing needs of my family, as well as my writing commitments and other projects. When it became clear that my older children’s needs would (at least for a time) be best served by homeschooling, adjuncting gave me the freedom to do that. And since I’ve taught in several schools, I’ve developed relationships with many wonderful professors, administrators, and students. I love being in the classroom and engaging with students as we wrestle with the biblical text and explore new ideas together.

Adjuncting is not without its challenges. I don’t have much choice about what I teach, and a high percentage of my classes have been new preps—some in areas outside my field of Old Testament, such as the Gospel of John and the Pauline Epistles. The silver lining is that I have now prepared a wide array of notes and classroom materials that I have been able to draw on in other contexts, such as church classes and small groups. Another challenge is that I’m not fully integrated into the schools where I teach, though I have much appreciation for the various ways that some administrators have tried to include me in the larger community. And unlike tenure-track professors, whose jobs provide them some time to write (at least over the summer), I get paid only for the time I’m teaching and prepping for my classes. So I have to ask questions like, “Can I afford to write that?,” given that much academic writing doesn’t pay me to hire a babysitter.

Despite these difficulties, I can’t imagine not adjuncting. The learning that I do as I’m preparing to teach and my interactions with students are incredibly life-giving. And I’m thankful that adjuncting has made it possible for me to teach during this season of mothering young children without all the added burdens of a tenure-track position.

✦     ✦     ✦