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Adjunct Instructor Job Search in Higher Education

Adjunct Instructor Job Search in Higher Education

This is a Guest Blog Post

Are you conducting an Adjunct Instructor Job Search in Higher Education? Teaching is a life-long career that can be rewarding and a lot of fun. Yet, many get stuck into one type of teaching job and fail to develop their careers as time goes on. One person may be a kindergarten teacher, even if their interests have moved on to different parts of the profession.

One of the most alluring teaching jobs is a post at a college or a university. Making a move from teaching children to adults is difficult, though, and it’s important to undertake it deliberately.

Consider your specialization.

The most important aspect of this move is determining what your specialization or concentration is going to be. While all teachers have focused on higher education, you will need to become highly specialized in your study area.

On the one hand, having an opportunity to specialize and think deeply about a subject you’re passionate about can be great, as it allows you to build up a great deal of comfort with the material and develop research interests to supplement your teaching. This is one of the main perks of teaching at this level, as it will allow you to become an expert in the field. That said, it is important to choose wisely as you may spending years honing your expertise in your chosen field.

Also, ensure that you have a significant amount of knowledge of your field going in; you need to prove to institutions that you can teach their students something unique, interesting, and useful.

Manage your search.

Once you have determined your chosen field or subject area, you can start looking for jobs. The best way to do this is online: institutions will often list vacancies on their websites, while job sites will list a wide variety of roles. There are even portals set up specifically for Higher Education jobs, so be sure to check those out. If the internet fails you, there is no harm in picking up the phone and calling an institution or department you are interested in: they may not have a job opening, but they might know someone who does.

Perfect your resume.

As you start this application process, be sure to update your resume. You will need to emphasize your teaching experience but also bring out any papers you have written, conference presentations you have given, awards you have won, workshops you have attended, and of course, your own achievements in the field of Higher Education.

If you make this transition, you will be opening up an entirely new career. The basic skills of teaching are still the same, yet you will find working at this level much more cerebral as students will be able to engage with you on complicated issues as their own expertise with the subject matter develops. You will also find pupils much more engaged as those who move on to Higher Education are more likely to be passionate about learning and committed to their education.

If you are making this change, be sure to note that you will be embarking on a very different career path. Teaching children offers a set of rewards not found being an instructor in higher education. If you truly love working with kids, you should stick to elementary or high school jobs. If you are bored and want to take on a new, more cerebral challenge, this might be the perfect decision for you.