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I’ve asked my friend Katie to write an article on something she does to make some pretty good money in her spare time. My only reluctance to posting it on this site is that
it requires at least a Master’s Degree. However, since I don’t want to discriminate against all my readers with Masters Degrees, here it is. Who knows… It might even encourage a few
people out there to get a Masters?
- Are you an expert in something?
- Are you interested in sharing your knowledge with other people?
- Do you have a passion to be a mentor to students?
- Would you like to get paid for doing this all from the comfort of your own living room?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, online teaching is for you.
First and foremost before you read any further, you will need a Masters degree from a regionally accredited school.
Now, if you have a Masters degree, keep reading.
There are many different online schools that need instructors. Some schools you will facilitate the classroom and others you will actually write your own lessons and assignments.
Every school is different. Many of them look for past teaching experience; however for many schools it is not a requirement. As soon as you find one that will hire you, you will
have teaching experience and then you can be hired by others.
Working as an online adjunct faculty is not a full time job. You are only employed for the duration of the course which for online is usually 5-8 weeks. Once the class is over, so is your contract.
If you are re-hired for another class, then you will continue to be employed for the duration of your class. This is not a job where you will have health benefits or retirement options.
You are considered a part time employee with no other benefits. On the flip side, if you are just looking to make a little extra cash and enjoy teaching, this is a great option.
Typically you will make a few hundred dollars per week doing this. Your pay rate is based on:
- Your level of education ( Doctorate ect….)
- How many years you have taught.
- What level you teach at( undergrad, graduate, or doctorate).
A rule of thumb is that if you have a doctorate, you can teach at that level or the Masters level. If you only have a Masters, you will most likely teach at the undergraduate level. When I started, I had no prior teaching experience and I started at $1,000 for a 5 week class.
After I taught 9 classes, I went up to $1,100 per 5 class. On average, you will make $1,000 to $2,000 per class depending on the school and the level of teaching you are at.
There are many different sites that you can apply on to become an adjunct faculty member. For starters, you should post your resume on FacultyFinder.com
Many schools look there for instructors. If you want to be more proactive, visit the sites below to get you started:
- HigheredJobs.com-This will show you all adjunct faculty positions – online and traditional – currently listed, sorted by the school.
- Chronicle of Higher Education-In the Keyword field, enter on the phrases below and select “Match every word” in the drop-down box next to it.
- “online adjunct”
- “online faculty”
- “online instructor”
- Educause-In the Keyword field, enter the phrase below.
- “online adjunct”
- “online faculty”
- “online instructor”
Colleges to search
- University Of Phoenix
- Ashford University
- Capella University
- Kaplan University
- American Intercontinental University
- Walden University
- Colorado Technical University
- South University
- ITT Technical Institute
- Laureate Education, Inc-(Walden University, National Technological University)
- Corinthian Colleges, Inc-(Florida Metropolitan University Online, Everest College Online)
Once you have been contacted, you will need to provide the school with your resume, most likely fill out the schools application, and request official transcripts to be sent to the school directly.
Wait until you have the contact person from the school to request your transcripts as they need to be sent directly to the school and must have the schools official seal.
What are online schools looking for in an instructor?
- A directly related degree in the field you want to teach in
- Previous teaching experience(this is not a must, but it is preferred)
- Being an online student in some way in the past helps
- Work experience
- You own computer and high speed internet
- Willingness to complete a online training that you will not get paid for
- Proficiency with the internet and computers
Happy Hunting!
Stumble it!
