teaching college classes...Good PT job for moms???

[daisy1234]

I am a SAHM with my little one starting preschool next year. I was thinking about teaching one college class to both get back into the work mode and also make a little money. Wondering if it would just be too much work and maybe not worth the $? Any thoughts? It seems like it would be a great opportunity but now I am having secong thoughts.

[kransden]

Has your dc ever been in daycare before? The first year of daycare, school etc. almost all children are constantly sick. So do you have someone to watch dc when you have to teach class? If not, I would skip it the first year. If you do - go for it!

I decided to substitute in the local school district instead because of the flexible hours. Your district may not need subs though.

[katydid1971]

MY MIL has taught pt at a Jr college for 30 years and thinks it was the best job ever for a mom. She would only teach 1 or 2 classes a semester and when DH and his sisters were really young she would teaching them in the evenings so FIL could be home with the kids that night. She is very happy she did it and still teaches 2 classes a sememster now and takes care of SIL's DS's 4 days a week, he'll be one in a month. If you can get on part time I think it would be a great job.

[ThreeofUs]

If your DH - or other family members, who can take care of DCs for free - are home in the evenings, this is usually a great time to pick up classes to teach. Especially at local community colleges.

[jjordan]

I have done some adjunct teaching and generally the pay is pretty bad. It does depend on the school so your best bet is to check with who is hiring and find out how much they pay. Remember that you will, of course, have to put in some time outside of class, and that can vary a bit depending on the nature of what you teach, as well as the school's requirements (for office hours and so on).

If you can get a situation where you're teaching the same class semester after semester, then you can expect that after the first semester, there won't be quite the same time commitment because you know the ropes.

Also it sounds as if you have a very specific time slot in mind in which you will be available. It might be difficult to find a class you are qualified to teach that works with that time slot. In my experience as an adjunct,I was expected to teach evening classes.

You could try something like online tutoring as an alternative maybe?

Jill

[daisy1234]

You all gave me a much better prospective. DS will be in 1st grade...full day and my youngest will only be in Preschool 3 mornings a week. so I could only do a n evening or a Tuesday Thursday class (starting at 9-10am at the latest)....Which may be possible. I never tthought about if they get sick!!! Yikes....that could be an issue! I am thinking that I may just have to give this idea up unless I get an evening class. It would be nice to have the mornings free for helping out at both schools, doing some house projects, shopping and errands without kids in tow and if I get an evening class...prep time. The nature of this class would take a fair amount of prep time!

[niccig]

I'm used to work at a university and I'm taking night classes - just one a week. And I've thought about teaching once DS is older. I think you need to have a good child care plan and then a good back up plan.

My eg. I'm doing a day class this session, and I organized 2 baby sitters one for Tuesday and the other for Thursday, not a problem except the Tuesday girl is going away for a week and she arranged for the Thursday girl to cover. Well that girl forgot, so now she's trying to change her Tuesday work schedule, so she can babysit as she agreed. There's a chance she'll be stuck. But I'm OK. I've got several mum friends and we all swap babysitting. When I took this class on I talked to a few about being my back-up in case the paid sitter can't make it. As a student I can miss a class, but when I was teaching, I couldn't, unless I was deathly ill.

From my university experience, part-time teaching staff are on the low end of the food chain, and if you're only in at night, any of the day admin staff that can help you aren't there. So, you might need some face-to-face day time to get everything organized, learn how things are done in the department, where to get help if the projector/microphone doesn't work etc. The first few sessions might be a bit more work and time, but then it should get easier, especially if it's the same class all the time.

[scoop22]

DH teaches college classes. he puts alot of time and energy into his classes. he takes care of ds when he is not working. he has a full load now but he started small. it is alot of time and little pay for what he does.

[kellij]

I taught one class at the law school as an adjunct. I lived about 45 minutes away and had to pay someone to watch my ds 2 hours 3 days a week during the class. I think I broke even, so it definitely wasn't a money-maker for me. For me it was more about the experience. I mean the pay was very very low. Also, there was tons and tons of prep time. I think the only way that it would be worth it for me to do in the future would be to teach a class that you could teach semester after semester so you wouldn't have to spend so much time prepping.

Kelli

[cvanbrunt]

Adjuncts don't get paid well. If you are teaching to stay in the game, that's great. But you won't make any money. You usually get paid by the class and if you are teaching more than one, you are making just a tiny fraction of what regular faculty make. That's why they hire part timers. Cheaper than a grad student. A night class is a great option though, if you want to teach to get experience for a faculty position or to stay current.

[bisous]

I'll soon be finding out about this. I'm interviewing to teach history next fall, part-time. My hours would be when my mother or my DH can watch the kids so I won't have to pay any money for childcare. The payscale in my area is $50 per teaching hour. So while it may not be a lot of money for somebody who is used to working full time it sure beats childcare! I also really want to stay current in my field and at least part of my desire to do this is to have "a real life" away from the kids--just a few hours per week.

Jen

[jd11365]

I love teaching a class at my local community college.
BUT, I call it my pro-bono work since the pay is so low for adjunct. It is a wonderful experience though, so I would say go for it. :)

[cvanbrunt]

Good Luck! I hope you get the gig. I love teaching (usually).