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Glenn, a Marketing Mondays reader, writes: "I have a BA in Art and an MA in Education and am trying to figure out how to land an art adjunct teaching position. Do you have any specific advice, given your background and experience, on how I might be able to go about this?".
I’m not the best person to address this issue because whatever teaching I’ve done in the in the past few years has come through referral or invitation. That doesn’t stop me from having an opinion, of course, but consider my comments just the beginning of a larger dialog that depends on you. If you teach, or if you’re an administrator, please weigh in.
Filling a Need
Frankly, I think the best way to get an adjunct job is to know someone who’s already teaching at the institution you want to teach at. You do have to have a resume with the requisite degrees and some teaching experience, and it helps if you have some visibility in your field. But while full-time positions or fixed-period appointments typically require search committees and many hours of meetings to consider hundreds of resumes and then, winnowed, dozens of interviews, the adjunct passes through far fewer hoops. If you’re referred, if you’re networking and your name comes up, you may well be invited to teach a course—or at least invited to submit a resume for consideration. Do a good job and you’re likely to be invited back.
Getting on the Institution’s Radar
. If you’re looking to teach and you don’t know anyone in the institution, put the department head on your postcard mailing list. Don’t ask for anything; you just want the person to know you’re a serious working artist. Regular postcards will keep administrators and department heads apprised without any kind conversation
. Success breeds success: If you’ve just gotten a well-placed review or some regional recognition, that might be the time to drop a note saying that you’d love to share your insights (on getting a grant, receiving a commission, whatever) with the students. There are visiting artist programs for which you might be perfect, and for which you would get paid
. Let the department head know you’re interested in serving in an end-of-semester crit. Not all institutions maintain such programs, but many do depend on artists outside the institution to offer a fresh perspective on students’ work. There’s usually an honorarium, and of course the opportunity to distinguish yourself with insightful and helpful comments. ( Don't grandstand.)
Caveats
. It makes a difference whether the institution is private or public. Private institutions answer to their board of directors, of course, but publicly funded institutions must hew to specific criteria for each and every job. If you don’t have the appropriate degrees and experience, you’re likely to be passed over for someone who does
. There are no guarantees with adjunct teaching. If your course doesn’t attract a requisite number of students, it will not run. If you count on adjunct teaching to pay your bills, you may find yourself unhappily unemployed for the semester
. Some institutions cover adjuncts’ wage schedule in their union, some don’t. Either way, you won't get rich on an adjunct’s salary
. Even though you're adjunct, you may be asked (or required) to attend faculty meetings or help with registration
. New York City is a different beast when it comes to adjunct teaching. There are, oh, 17 million artists for every teaching job. In my observation, the pay is poor and the artists are not treated well. I'd rather eat dirt than work here
Continuing Ed Programs in Degree-Granting Institutions
Many degree-granting institutions have continuing studies programs. Typically they’re run by a different department.
. The good news: It’s usually easier to get a teaching job here. For one thing, while the regular academic departments have specific course requirements, the continuing ed administrator is usually looking for new, fresh and unusual courses to attract new students and to bring back students who have already taken other courses. Come up with some good ideas and proposals, and you’ll probably get a call
. The bad news: Typically the salaries are not up to even adjunct level. And since continuing ed must turn a profit, you’ve got to pack your classes. Also, you don’t think about this until you’re hit with it, but every institution has its own administration, protocols, paperwork. And equipment. You may have mastered the digital projector in one institution, for instance, only to find that you’ve got to learn a whole different system in another
. Once you’re in, however, you can propose related courses, or explore your interests with other, different offerings. Popular teachers with a following remain happily employed
. Sometimes regular faculty members teach in these programs, and it's possible that networking will lead to a referral
Is it likely that a continuing ed course will lead to an adjunct teaching job?
Filling a Need
Frankly, I think the best way to get an adjunct job is to know someone who’s already teaching at the institution you want to teach at. You do have to have a resume with the requisite degrees and some teaching experience, and it helps if you have some visibility in your field. But while full-time positions or fixed-period appointments typically require search committees and many hours of meetings to consider hundreds of resumes and then, winnowed, dozens of interviews, the adjunct passes through far fewer hoops. If you’re referred, if you’re networking and your name comes up, you may well be invited to teach a course—or at least invited to submit a resume for consideration. Do a good job and you’re likely to be invited back.
Getting on the Institution’s Radar
. If you’re looking to teach and you don’t know anyone in the institution, put the department head on your postcard mailing list. Don’t ask for anything; you just want the person to know you’re a serious working artist. Regular postcards will keep administrators and department heads apprised without any kind conversation
. Success breeds success: If you’ve just gotten a well-placed review or some regional recognition, that might be the time to drop a note saying that you’d love to share your insights (on getting a grant, receiving a commission, whatever) with the students. There are visiting artist programs for which you might be perfect, and for which you would get paid
. Let the department head know you’re interested in serving in an end-of-semester crit. Not all institutions maintain such programs, but many do depend on artists outside the institution to offer a fresh perspective on students’ work. There’s usually an honorarium, and of course the opportunity to distinguish yourself with insightful and helpful comments. ( Don't grandstand.)
Caveats
. It makes a difference whether the institution is private or public. Private institutions answer to their board of directors, of course, but publicly funded institutions must hew to specific criteria for each and every job. If you don’t have the appropriate degrees and experience, you’re likely to be passed over for someone who does. There are no guarantees with adjunct teaching. If your course doesn’t attract a requisite number of students, it will not run. If you count on adjunct teaching to pay your bills, you may find yourself unhappily unemployed for the semester
. Some institutions cover adjuncts’ wage schedule in their union, some don’t. Either way, you won't get rich on an adjunct’s salary
. Even though you're adjunct, you may be asked (or required) to attend faculty meetings or help with registration
. New York City is a different beast when it comes to adjunct teaching. There are, oh, 17 million artists for every teaching job. In my observation, the pay is poor and the artists are not treated well. I'd rather eat dirt than work here
Continuing Ed Programs in Degree-Granting Institutions
Many degree-granting institutions have continuing studies programs. Typically they’re run by a different department.
. The good news: It’s usually easier to get a teaching job here. For one thing, while the regular academic departments have specific course requirements, the continuing ed administrator is usually looking for new, fresh and unusual courses to attract new students and to bring back students who have already taken other courses. Come up with some good ideas and proposals, and you’ll probably get a call
. The bad news: Typically the salaries are not up to even adjunct level. And since continuing ed must turn a profit, you’ve got to pack your classes. Also, you don’t think about this until you’re hit with it, but every institution has its own administration, protocols, paperwork. And equipment. You may have mastered the digital projector in one institution, for instance, only to find that you’ve got to learn a whole different system in another
. Once you’re in, however, you can propose related courses, or explore your interests with other, different offerings. Popular teachers with a following remain happily employed
. Sometimes regular faculty members teach in these programs, and it's possible that networking will lead to a referral
Is it likely that a continuing ed course will lead to an adjunct teaching job? Maybe. It certainly seems possible, but I don't know. Who can answer this?
..
Is it likely that adjunct teaching will lead to a full-time position?
Here, I think, the answer ranges from “probably not” to "definitely no." I've never sought a full-time teaching job, so I'm basing my answer on observation. The artists I know who are in adjunct positions have remained in those positions, sometimes for years, even after getting the MFA. My guess is that once seen as adjuncts, that's where they remain in the the perception of colleagues and administration. They'd have to move out to move up. Who has experience with this?
Art Centers–Or Your Own Studio
If an academic affiliation is not important to you, there can be opportunities at nonprofits. (Don't be a snob: Some nonprofits have great facilities, good gallery space, and a constituency of enthusiastic students.) You don't necessarily have to have an advanced degree, just good ideas and proposals. A popular teacher with a following can earn a nice little income. Come up with ways to distinguish yourself:
. Propose an exhibition of your class’s work
. Propose an exhibition of your own work and organize a forum or panel on themes relating to what you’re showing and/or teaching
. Create a blog that the institution's administrator can use as a promotion tool for the institution. Your students will love seeing their work online, and you and your courses will benefit from the visibility
The increasing popularity of Open Studios means that you can create a mailing list of people who might be interested in studying with you. You may not need an institution at all.
Now, as they say in Italian , tocca a’ te. Your turn.
Here, I think, the answer ranges from “probably not” to "definitely no." I've never sought a full-time teaching job, so I'm basing my answer on observation. The artists I know who are in adjunct positions have remained in those positions, sometimes for years, even after getting the MFA. My guess is that once seen as adjuncts, that's where they remain in the the perception of colleagues and administration. They'd have to move out to move up. Who has experience with this?
Art Centers–Or Your Own Studio
If an academic affiliation is not important to you, there can be opportunities at nonprofits. (Don't be a snob: Some nonprofits have great facilities, good gallery space, and a constituency of enthusiastic students.) You don't necessarily have to have an advanced degree, just good ideas and proposals. A popular teacher with a following can earn a nice little income. Come up with ways to distinguish yourself:
. Propose an exhibition of your class’s work
. Propose an exhibition of your own work and organize a forum or panel on themes relating to what you’re showing and/or teaching
. Create a blog that the institution's administrator can use as a promotion tool for the institution. Your students will love seeing their work online, and you and your courses will benefit from the visibility
The increasing popularity of Open Studios means that you can create a mailing list of people who might be interested in studying with you. You may not need an institution at all.
Now, as they say in Italian , tocca a’ te. Your turn.
