An Adjunct Resigns

 Since I was let go from a full-time position in 2013, I have somehow survived as an adjunct. In those 13 years alone, I have taught over 115 classes, plus however many classes I taught at the very institution that let me go during a six-month stretch three years after the firing. As an adjunct, I have often had to decide between offers at two or more colleges. This happened again today. I was offered practically identical schedules at two of the five colleges where I have worked. Ultimately, I went with the college that has provided me more classes over the years. This required me to request replacement for the upcoming spring semester from the institution where I began working the earliest in my career. But, I did not just ask to be replaced; I resigned from the institution itself.

As an adjunct, I did not have to resign. I did so to draw a clear line in the sand that my time there was over. This calendar year I did not work for that institution, but earlier in the month my panicked brain led me to submit availability, even though I knew then that I did not want to return. It is scary to not know my employment future at any given time. At my current and now only institution, I led nine classes while writing my dissertation during the spring semester. Over the summer, I led four classes, and when the accelerated semester begins next week, I will officially have four classes for the fall. Seventeen classes in a year is pretty great for an adjunct, but not all years have been like that. Now, with only one institution available to me, I am facing a spring where, at this moment, I only have two classes. While an email from my dean does acknowledge that additional classes could be offered to any of us, I also compete with seniority lists. Even with my eight-year anniversary this weekend, at my remaining institution I am low on the lists. 

Since earning my doctorate over five months ago, I have tried to change the trajectory of my work life. As of this moment, I am still Doctor Adjunct. I hope that moniker does not last long. The desire to move beyond adjunct status is not about the prestige of the accomplishment. It is about finally finding some stability after so many years of living financially on the edge. It's open enrollment time for health and dental insurance for 2027, and even at the lowest possible tier to meet minimum coverage, I will be paying an additional $63.02 per month. I already require two to three courses per year net pay just to cover my insurance premiums. Additionally, I will soon be required to officially pay back the educational loans I borrowed for my doctoral program. I applied for the program during my spring break in 2023, hoping it would lead to something better. As of now, it has not. I still face the same financial anxieties, but now at a considerably more severe level. 

I have applied for positions and often have not received an interview. The kind of work I am fully capable of doing - a combination of creative work, coaching, and workshop facilitation - does not exactly align with advertised administrative roles. I have considerable experience across many fields but even with the almighty doctorate, that does not align with their required qualifications. My future likely does not align with posted jobs at the administrative level. It could align with posted teaching jobs, and I hope I can land something compatible in a full-time job with compensation that includes health and dental insurance.

But, in the meantime, I try to survive off the classes I am offered and gig work. I am currently in the process of developing a writing workshop and working with a doctoral candidate as a proofreader and format specialist. I want to be doing more, but they offer additional work as I try to move beyond Doctor Adjunct. I had a goal to be done with the adjunct life by next August, when I reach a milestone age. I cannot just be done at that point without the security of full-time work, however. 

In the meantime, the work continues. Please visit Matt Cogswell | directing to learn more about me.