Author: William

So this afternoon I’ve been looking at job openings for community colleges in the Denver area. Not many places have full-time openings (and the ones that do have an annoying tendency to not answer their email in spite of requesting applications through email), but there tend to be a small number of adjunct positions open at each college. So what leads to today’s rant? I was looking at the salary listings for one of the community colleges.  Lecture classes, like math, pay $609.00 per credit hour, which is disgustingly low; even if you taught a full 5 classes per semester, that’s only $18,270 per year for a job that requires a master’s degree! On the other hand, if you teach a PE class, that pays a somewhat more respectable $1,218.00 per credit hour. Seriously? Teaching someone to throw a ball is worth twice as much as teaching them to do algebra? Anyway, suppose a class meets for only fifteen weeks each semester, twice per week for 75 minutes each time. A math class generally has homework due every week; assume that the instructor is pretty efficient and can finish grading the homework in four hours. That comes to a total of 6.5 hours of work each week, not counting office hours. A class that meets 2.5 hours per week would be three credit hours; 15 credit hours would thus work out...

With the economy the way it is, many people are considering going back to school to brush up on their skills and improve their prospects in the job market. If this describes you, here’s what you’ll need to know. If you’re returning to school, we’ll assume you’ve been in the workforce for a while; if you’re going for an undergraduate degree, you may be able to receive credit for previous experience. Talk to an advisor at your school and find out if you can apply previous college credits or test out of lower-level classes. On the other hand, you might need remedial work in some areas, most likely in mathematics; your advisor can tell you how to set up a placement test to determine whether you’re ready for classes. A college education isn’t for everyone, but someone who’s been in the workforce and is making an informed decision to go back for more education is well-positioned to succeed. Going back to school after an absence isn’t easy; one of the largest challenges can be the financial issues. Remember that financial aid is available even for adult learners, in the form of Pell Grants and Stafford Loans. The trick is to cut down on expenses; it’s really difficult to go from earning a decent wage to living on a student budget! If you’re planning on going back for a graduate...

These days, it seems the conventional wisdom is that everyone should go to college. What nonsense! True, a bachelor’s degree is pretty much required for many entry-level jobs these days, but for other positions that pay just as well, you’re better off going to a trade school and learning a skill. I’m all for getting a well-rounded college education even if it has no practical relevance to what you’re doing, but if I’m hiring a plumber, I’d rather have someone who spent two years learning all about pipes. Face it, not everyone is suited for college. It requires the ability to follow simple directions, get your work done on time, and occasionally show up for class; many people seem to have a great deal of trouble with those requirements and end up dropping out after the first year, with nothing to show for the time spent. That said, I do believe that a college education is a valuable experience regardless of whether you actually need it for your job, and in fact I’ve written quite a bit recently with the goal of helping high school students who are thinking about going to college. The first question, of course, is are you ready for college? Almost everyone is capable of succeeding in college; the real question is whether you’re ready and able to put in the effort required. How much...