Occasionally, a stakeholder or spin doctor bent on presenting university life and academic psychology in the best light possible will complain that my web site and I are light on evidence and long on rhetoric. It has always been my position that if we needed to charter a survey or experiment before we can make any point, there'd be no speech. When you frequently confront the same realities or when you are repeatedly trained that a particular reality is a requirement of membership in an academic or professional community, I think it's safe to say no experiment is required. Occasionally, I like to argue that two facts are related in a certain way or point to a less tangible reality we call an idea. Research may be very useful in lending weight to an idea, but I would need a few lifetimes just to design enough research projects to address the ideas developed within the past five years alone. Sometimes, you just have to put your perspective out there and allow others to decide which ideas they'd like to research or weigh in with their own experience and expertise.

But the worth of some low-end inferences from elementary observations can be ascertained simply from determining whether these same things dwell in the minds and lives of others. Take some listserv discussions for example. Forums hosted by the flagship Chronicle of Higher Education and Adjunct Nation have witnessed a critical mass of support for what I have been saying about academic communities and university life:

"I've just started my 3rd year TT at an R1 and while I love teaching, the pressure of research, not just to get tenure, but more generally, is just overwhelming. I can't see myself doing this forever. The research is not fulfilling and when I do it I feel more neurotic. It's like my life is passing me by."

"I think you should apply for full-time tt jobs. Once you hit against the wall of bulls@it the hiring process entails, including hundreds of rejection letters, you will be more appreciative of your particular situation."

"I once wrote up a list of all the things I knew I'd love about getting out and all of the things I knew I'd regret. One of my biggest envies/regrets is that I won't be able to write the one wonderfully fantastic seminal work that would transform my little corner of academic interest, and then receive plenty of kudos from a group of mutual admirers. When I go occasionally to the academic conference (it's been a few years now), I'd feel envious about seeing "famous" people who've been famous for the past 30 years and were able to become famous because they were able to get a tenure track job and then have a flourishing career. (And probably will have a great retirement too!) ... Aside from the regret about not being able to write a paradigm-shattering book in my field, and an occasional desire to have a more flexible work schedule, I really have no other regrets over leaving academia. All of the pluses of leaving academe (better pay, better geographic location, better quality of life, greater connection to reality - this last one is very important to me) I really enjoy and would not want to give up in order to return to academe. I also like the fact that my higher pay could allow me to self-fund some small research projects, if I plan well and play my cards right ... Because I did have the good fortune of working as an assistant professor for one year (full-time, but non-tenure track), I haven't found myself saying "What if I'd gotten a full-time job as a professor - how would've I liked it?" I am grateful to have had that opportunity, because otherwise I'd be asking myself that also. It was during my one year as an assistant professor - at a very financially troubled college, with low faculty morale and a debate over the future of tenure at that institution - that I decided I was better off getting out. Or at least until things started to improve - like, ten to twenty years from now."

"I left academia after earning tenure and its been very important to me to distinguish between the work activities that really fulfill me and the self image that a professorship afforded me. (I personally loved teaching; felt oppressed by the book project that hung over my head for years. Now I am a university program administrator who teaches.)"

"There are lots of ways to "make it," but when you've been living in the university bubble, only the tenure-track or tenured professorship seems to count. I think we overvalue academic work sometimes, and our own significance in doing it, because we often have to make huge sacrifices. You'd better get something in return for: separated spouses, delayed child-rearing, remote locations, financial instability. . . I think what we often get is an ego-ideal. And that's hard to give up. Of course, I don't know if that self image is what you are struggling with. But I've seen this in myself and some others who have left academia. Good luck."

"Ironically, there is now a college right across the street from me. Ideally, I'll make decent dough day trading (and I'm getting pretty good at it, folks) and be able to adjunct across the street. What I miss the most (and this sounds conceited) is getting worshipped and adored by students. It's not easy giving up the part of goddess, although, I will gladly traded it for solvent mortal. I think what's hard to give up is that academia becomes an integral part of our identity. If we aren't THAT, then what are we?"

"Maybe you can't let go because thoughout the school years (PhD, masters, postdoc) we are trained that academia (esp. tenure at a prestigious U) equals success, and the "leftover" or the non-thinking crowd go into other fields. Not true. The real questions are: Is your reason for not letting go that other still expect you to get an academic job? and more importantly: What do YOU want to do? I say whatever others think is not your problem, but you still need to answer the latter."

"Actually, when I read what you wrote I didn't see envy as much as wistfulness for what might have been. Perhaps much like we have for our first loves - you know the ones we actually dated... In graduate school at the level we have been or are we are brainwashed into thinking that a TT job at an R1 is nirvana. From what I've seen - and as I'm finishing my dissertation I beginning to think that I may not want it (but don't tell anyone!). That won't mean that when my ego needs boosting later on, or if something just doesn't work out job wise, that I won't have my own wistful moments. I think that's ok."

"There are some really crappy things about academia: low salaries (in comparison to one's student loan and credit card debt); a grueling application and interview process that can take many years before one is offered a decent position; lack of options in where to live (one goes where the jobs are); the constant ego, ego, ego of colleagues; departmental politics; the boredom (at least for me) of teaching the same class each semester; students who just don't care, etc. and the list could go on."

"I chose to work in the corporate world for a while. I can tell you I absolutely loved the salary and the perks, and the respect I received for having a Ph.D. I recently returned to academia as an administrator and enjoy that too. I work closely with a specific academic department and its professors at my institution. Every time I attend a faculty meeting, I'm so glad that I'm not part of the 'club.'"

"I think that the "real world" desperately needs Ph.D.s who can think in new ways. The problem is that there is such ego within academia. If you have been in it for any length of time, you have had the little microchip implanted in your head that reads, "You aren't meeting your potential and you have failed if you aren't a professor." My advice: enjoy the life you have, see it as valuable, flaunt your title, and just to satiate your longing for academia, attend a conference once in a while and keep up a little research on the side."

"Ditto!! I'm an adminstrator and sit through faculty meetings, often cringing at the displays of ego, bad manners, inattention, and arrogance. I too am very glad I'm not part of that club anymore."

"Me too! The things you list here are EXACTLY my list of pros/cons with regard to academia. Like you my list of "cons" seems to outnumber my list of "pros." I finally admitted to myself (today) that I hate teaching, and that it is obvious to my colleagues. Now I'm trying to figure out what else to do with my life."

"It sounds like you are happy with your current situation, so most academic jobs would not be worth considering. I really doubt that you have fantasies about tenure in a town of 8000 people on the opposite side of the country. Then cross off the places that would never hire you. If there is an opening at one of the remaining schools, apply for it. You can always turn down an offer if it comes. My guess is that your final list will have about three schools on it [emphasis added]. If so, that means you are happy doing what you are doing."

"Being in an academic environment tends to make the world a much smaller place. I have always felt like I'm not good enough because I don't have X number of publications and that I'm a failure if I'm not consistently achieving in academia. I even felt like a failure saying I didn't want to stay in academia because people tend to assume you're giving it up because it's not working out. The academic world does not allow for alternatives. As a result, the pressure on grad students to follow an academic pathway is very high ... By last year, the stress and constant crying was starting to drive me nuts. That was when I decided to go and have Myers-Briggs and Strong tests done. Before that, I wasn't even able to question whether I wanted this lifestyle or not and why. Seeing on paper that I had other interests tthat did not fit with the pursuit of academics gave me the push I needed to decide to move on from the old dream of becoming a professor. It no longer fits who I am now, which is someone who wants balance in their life and to follow their passions and not just the path of least resistance in front of me. I still have lingering doubts about leaving due to expectations and the fact that other colleagues are pursuing academia, but working from home while writing my dissertation has certainly helped to solidify my decision. I can breathe away from the institution. Also, reading this thread has been a help. Thanks!"

"Research is terribly boring. Does not relate with real world problems. Lack of normal human beings around me. Too many words. Too little need ... Teaching is fun, but I'm training students in something that I've never quite believed in ... So now I'm a misfit! I'm working 9-5 in an IT dept. Around me people ask, what are you doing here with a PhD. Living, I tell them. I am a little goalless after work, but happy to have the free time to be in the presence of loving people."

"What field are you? I feel the same in mine. Wanna just finish the Ph.D. then figure out what I will do with my life. Academia is silly. So called theories have little to do with real life."

"I hear a lot of bad points about teaching as an adjunct. It seems bleak - no it seems bleaker than bleak. My question to everyone is: If everything is so bad then why do you do it? Why not get a another job that will probably pay more? Also, can someone tell me exactly how much some of you make a year teaching P/T adjuncts? I am very interested in all of it."

"Bad part about being an adjunct is that they may offer you a course to teach during the next semester, and then two weeks before it begins say that you won't get this course because "enrollment is low." Without even apologizing. In my case, it was stipulated in the contract, so I can not really complain. I may just state that it feels really bad ... As far as salaries go, I have been earning around $13,000 a year."

"i have trained with one school and they messed up the paperwork so I haven't been given any classes. I emailed the person in charge of the file, got them all the information and asked for them to tell me when the file is complete. Well, no response. I am supposed to teach for another school, they were all over me when they wanted my information, but once I got it to them, no calls back or emails back. At this point I would just like to know what is going on, and I find it dificult to accept that a professional at a school cannot respond to an email or phone call. Does anyone else find this frustrating and annoying?"

"Ya, I find it frustrating, too. I posted somewhere here about my experience with SOU (I was even recruited from this message board). Trained in November of 2004, never received a class. Have communicated my continued interest but no one ever gets back to me.It would just be nice to at least be told, "Hey, you know we appreciate your going through the training, but right now we have a large pool of faculty and we don't need your services. Thank you. Just want to know if 1) they over-recruited or 2) I'm not a good fit for any of their classes, even though I got a good recommendation from the trainer. When I was an employer I NEVER let people twist in the wind. It's a pet peeve of mine."

"You think that's bad, try teaching for a school and when they can no longer extend your contract, they just abruptly stop scheduling you for classes and after unreturned voicemails and emails, you just never hear back from them. I had a school recently do this because they lost their ability to hire adjuncts in my state, well in the beginning the work was steady, but when they found out they could not use me, the course scheduler just didn't return any of my inquiries. I happen catch her in the office and she finally explained why she hadn't scheduled me for a class. I found it very unprofessional to duck and dodge me, when a simple explanation in the very beginning would have saved me the frustration and the worry that I had done something wrong to not be invited back to teach. My issue is this, when they needed me to teach, I responded hour on the hour to their inquiry, but suddenly when I wanted an explanation as to why I had not been scheduled for a class, all I got in return was the spin move. You would have thought they were the Four Tops the way I got spent for several weeks trying to determine what the hold up was. All I can say, is build your basket with plenty of schools so that you don't have to be hard prest when these dime a dozen schools get flaky on you!"

"This seems to be common. I had the same problem. I went through a faculty assessment where I was asked to build an entire class and facilitate for a week. I had very positive reviews-per the email, which I have kept. I did everything they asked within minutes of receiving requests through email, such as sending in official transcripts. I never heard back. I sent many emails to find out what was going on. I should charge them for my time and the cost of the transcripts for treating me like this. We should do something about this."

"I agree something does need to be done to garner the respect of those Universities who use our time as if it were worthless. Please send any issues, concerns you would like addressed on the upcoming website for Adjunct Practitioners. First, we need to voice our concerns, issues, in a format that will be heard. I have started an International Association of Adjunct Practitioners. I will not post any names just issues and concerns that have been expressed. The website will be up in about a week."

"If you truly want to enter higher ed, earn a PhD from a traditional university. Most profs are educated traditionally and do not respect distant learning in this regard. Once you get the degree it will not be easy to go back to your old occupation."

"Thanks for the reply. What I'm worried about, though, is whether or not I'll be able to find a full-time teaching job after I go back to school, go into debt and totally rearrange my life to get a Ph.D. Both the Modern Language Association and the American Historical Association just came out with less-than-inspriring reports about junior faculty employment in their respective fields. Any other words of wisdom? Advice?"

"I find the student clients want the real world experience. Let's be honest, "piggybacking" publishing exercises are simply an excercise in publishing to satisfy tenure issues and egos. None can refute the fact that data can't be extracted without practical experiences from those engaged in the subject matter to be researched ... In the workplace, you find all sorts of resentment and jealousy of those with higher education credentials. Insecurity seems to be at the root of this conduct."

"You are among the few, I think, who feel fairly compensated. For the most part, adjunct faculty work to subsidize full-time faculty pay, lower tuition costs and profits for the university. Cheap labor is every employers fantasy. It results in pure profit. Fair pay, then, is not what the employer thinks is fair, but rather what the worker thinks is fair. If you, then, feel fairly compensated, you are. The problem, of course, is that you are not speaking for the majority of adjuncts."

"I'm glad to hear that you receive a respectable salary but I think it is not typical of what most adjuncts are paid. I recently had an increase to $2100 per course which is the norm in public colleges in the Atlanta area. A few private colleges pay around $3000. I do not consider this adequate for the education we have, the commuting, and the time in preparation and teaching."

"I just finished paying off over $160,000 worth of graduate student loans, which gave me the credentials to teach. It has taken me 25 years to do this. I have suffered from student loan callers threatening me and making my life absolutely miserable the whole time. It took me ten years to get my Ph.D. ... $4,200 times however many courses does not pay my rent plus student loans. Go figure!!! I work like a dog, at least twice as hard, as tenure track professors, and I have no health insurance, life insurance, or disability insurance. I get no graders or teaching assistants. Heck, I'd be lucky to get an office -- I don't have one at ANY of the places I teach at ... I am a middle-aged woman, and there's no telling how much longer anybody is going to want to hire me. I was recently offered a job to replace a 65 year old woman whom the department chair was sick of and he frankly told me she was "too old." ... Going to a few meetings a week is *no big deal,* and I sure wouldn't mind doing it if I could get a real salary and create some security for myself. I have no retirement. Women over 65 are TWICE as likely as men to be POOR, and HOMELESS ... Tenure-track professors get paid four times what I get paid to teach the same course, and they get graders, offices, amenities, and benefits ... I teach 14-15 courses a year, most of them paying $3,000 a course. The average rent for a one-room apartment where I live is $1,400 a month, and I have a son in college. I am in debt, and struggle to make ends meet. When I have kidney stones or an infected tooth, I order antibiotics from Mexico, and pray a lot. I was once offered a job teaching in the local state prison for $1,750, and they apologized, saying that it's considered "volunteer work." ... When I was a graduate student, I never imagined I would be so close to homelessness - in fact I have been homeless twice in the past ten years ... Who is going to help me when I'm broke, homeless, and have nothing to live for anymore? My students? I think work is work, and women should get paid the same as men. A part-time professor who teaches the same load as a full-time professor should get paid the same for the teaching, which is the main part of the job. Isn't teaching what being a professor is all about? I put in an average of 10 hours a day, including weekends, whether I'm "teaching" or working at home."

"Having read your question carefully, I am inclined to object to your light-handed way of tossing off the inequalities of teaching a single course for so little pay. While some adjuncts would be thrilled to make so much for just one course, it is nevertheless true that $4,900 does not pay the rent or doctor's bills if all you are teaching is that one course, with no other job on the horizon. I believe you should relinquish this course, since you already have a full time job and it's just icing on your cake, and leave this boon to some unfortunate "part-timer" who desperately needs an additional course just to pay for basic living expenses."

"Many of the people who responded are trying to make a living by teahcing part-time; that is a problem. Part-time work, by virtue of the fact that it is part-time is not supposed to provide a full-time wage."

"I think [NAME DELETED] makes an interesting point which has to do with how we adjuncts are pitted against one another--the old "divide-and-conquer." We are why we don't have full time jobs. More than once in my 11-year career as an adjunct (I teach at several colleges, but at one in particular my position ranges from part time to 3/4 time w/ benefits) I was slated for a full time position, when at the last moment the institution was able to find another part-timer, whether it be another like myself, a Ph.D. struggling through years of adjuncting in the hopes of landing a full time job, or, even worse, a retired prof from another institution, willing to teach part time, thus relieving the institution of having to offer me a full time position in order to fill its classes. Naturally, when this happens, I resent the other part-timer whom I feel to have robbed me of the full-time job I truly deserve. If so-and-so hadn't come along, hadn't been available, the institution would have had to hire me full time."

"I often hear the criticism on the campus I teach at that adjuncts just "teach and run" and are not available to students. Along with most of my colleagues, I also teach at another institution and frankly cannot afford to set aside office hours for which I would not be paid. And let's not even talk about the fact that I don't have an office. I even share a mailbox. Even so, I feel it is unfair to my students not to be available to them if needed and so I often meet students over lunch and spend a few hours each week e-mailing them. Again, this is unpaid time. But it isn't the student's fault."

"I am curious if anyone out there has had a personal relationship affected by your status as a part-time faculty member, especially if the other person has perceived you as not having or being unwilling to get "a real job." (My marriage is disolving, in part, because my husband is convinced of both. He is an attorney.)"

"I'm married, no kids, and my adjuncting is a huge issue-for me. I feel all sorts of guilty all the time about the particulars of being an adjunct. I have always been much more worried about this than my husband. When we met I explained the adjunct life to him and he has always known what to expect. I don't think he loves it, but he knows teaching is my life. Teaching in CT pays OK, but I still wish I could do more for our little family."

"His loss. Teaching isn't like corporate. You don't apply for a job today and be in the seat tommorow. Educational institutions take a lot of time before they warm up to you. I finished my doctorate in September 04. However I was applied for jobs a year in advance. Only now December 04 am I beginning to see any real results and offers."