Answering some email questions

I got some email questions about work. So I decided to answer here. I also am going to put up my spreadsheet of online schools for anyone on the job hunt you can find my spreadsheet here. I have not updated the spreadsheet since August of 2007. I update it periodically. Right now there are 176 on the spreadsheet. Not all of the schools are an there, but I try to put as many as possible on the sheet. I also put a place on the sheet where you can make notes to yourself. I believe in following up so the spreadsheet can help you as a reminder.

I also highly recommend checking out Teach Online Blog that can be found here. I frequently visit that blog and it has a wealth of knowledge about life in the trenches! Now some questions.

(From the Email)

Here are a few questions I have for you that I wasn’t able to find online.

1. How do you feel about your job security? I know that I am taking a risk. Please see my post on Online Education Bubble. I am willing to take this kind of risk because I love what I do, and I think it provides a valuable service. However I know that I take a risk and do not have guaranteed income.
2. For example, when you finish teaching a 5-week course does that institution usually offer you another class or are you constantly sending out your resume to other schools? Well very few schools have five week courses. A few have five week courses, but I think by and large they are 8 weeks. Usually when you are starting up you will teach a course then have to take a term or two off while they approve you and get you into the system. Then some schools are very structured and you get the same classes term in and term out. Some schools are not, and you are constantly calling and chasing down a job from a school that you always work. At this time I am content with the workload I have and am not sending out resumes.
   
3. In other words, how loyal are online schools if you are a quality adjunct? The only honest answer here is that it depends. Perhaps you have been a loyal employee for 3 years your boss might leave. this means you have to establish a rapport with someone to continue getting a schedule. This can be difficult because you are a distance faculty member.
   
4. Are you able to stay busy in the summer? All year round? Summers are the slowest. I had a freak accident that resulted in not having 7 of my summer classes that were scheduled last year. (I gave one class up because a professor was not going to have any, they reorganized the department, three of my classes did not make, I decided to teach something else and changed my mind too late in the scheduling process so did not have any courses scheduled so I could move to a different course...I did this schedule change and gave up a class to the other faculty member BEFORE I knew about the reorganization and the classes not making...) Summer is usually slow. This summer I am loaded up...in Summer 2006 I was turning classes down. Summer 2007 was totally slow.
   
5. Are you at the point that you have to turn down work? Sometimes. I do turn down classes that I don't care for. However I have been doing this for quite a while. Thankfully I know most of my schedulers and get along with them well. They like me and know I do a good job. I continue to get classes. At some schools I get first dibs on classes because of seniority so that helps.
   
6. General school calendar? You are joking right? I have no idea. Not a clue. In general I have classes starting in January, March, June, August, October. I am hardly ever off. I work 6 to 7 days a week. (I don't mind I am a workaholic). I am usually off the month of December. Although that is not always guaranteed. I take my computer and work on holidays and weekends. I just schedule my work time so that I can maximize my vacations etc. I have good weeks and bad weeks. (A good week is when a class is in that magic time like week 2 and week 3 after the flurry of activity that is the first week, and before the anxiety that is midterm). If I have several of those at the same time that is a good week. A bad week is when midterm and final and all that grading lands at the same time.