Finding a community college position

After teaching high school, I find I am ready for a change. I would like to teach part-time at a community college. My MA is from a Big 10 school. Does anyone have any tips for securing a position? I'm interested in online teaching as well and have special training in ESL and reading/writing development. Do you think high school teaching experience will help get my foot in the door?

 

Yes, high school teaching experience will help get your foot in the door (HUGE ADVANTAGE against those without teaching experience). Most community colleges require 18 graduate semester hours in a subject. Securing part-time employment at a community college is more a supply/demand issue and timing. I suggest submitting your CV, unofficial transcripts and teaching portfolio to as many colleges as possible (even if they aren't advertising an opening). Bring your official transcripts to the interview.

Good luck!

 

If you have a master's degree in something the school teaches you will likely get a shot a teaching part-time. Adjunct positions are easy to get, while the fulltime spots are much harder to land. You might send an email to the head of the department in which you hope to teach. I sent one and heard nothing for about six months and then got a call just before the beginning of the next semester. Adjuncts are cheap and easy on school budgets.

 

That's an interesting question. Is there an online education employment service that lists these types of jobs along the lines of monster.com?

 

www.higheredjobs.com

 

And...

http://chronicle.com/jobs/100/200/9999/

 

I agree that HS teaching (or any teaching) experience will help quite a bit.

I also agree that it's a timing thing. I was recently hired to teach an online class for a community college this spring w/out formal teaching experience, although I've been in management and have trained subordinates/co-workers, given training seminars etc. Having done my Masters online helped too.

I found my job through networking -- a friend knew the dean. I basically walked in at the right time-- another instructor's sabatical made the position open and they had not yet advertised.

Try emailing all your friends/relatives/ professional contacts, you never know who might know someone.

Good luck!

 

At the risk of sounding cold - perception is reality.

Do a eye-friendly resume, dress professionaly, and go knock on some doors. Be prepared to give a 5-10 minute presentation on some topic at some point. And find out what they're needs are. Hint: History teachers are a dime-a-dozen.

And don't say "I'm looking for a change from HS kids".

 

Greetings Misty,

If you are specifically interested in teaching online courses at the community college level, one of the largest such programs is offered by Florida Community College Jacksonville. They have an online application process where you can upload cover letter, curriculum vitae, transcripts, etc.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Tug

 

Greetings Jimwe,

Three sources that come to mind are:

The Chronicle of Higher Education <http://www.chronicle.com/

Adjunct Nation <http://www.adjunctnation.com

Adjunctopia <http://www.adjunctopia.com

Hope these help.

Tug

 

Thanks, Tug and Jim, for your input. Although I love history, I have to agree with Jim that the field is saturated. My post graduate work was directed in the area of reading and literacy, so I am interested in a position teaching reading development, writing, and maybe ESL. As a high school teacher in a large urban district, I have advanced graduate level training in ESL/ELD, so that may also be a consideration. I want to stick with community colleges because I am more interested in teaching than doing research. Part-time and online teaching appeals to me because I like the flexibility and want to have greater availability to my own children.

 

You might go to the Search Function and do a Username Search for Tony Pina. He has a wonderful essay on what it takes to get hired as a professor. Also, you might search other boards where he may be found.

Yes, adjunct positions are much easier to land than full-time tenure-track positions. Yes, community colleges and small four-year colleges do emphasize teaching rather than research. So, yes, ANY teaching experience is a HUGE advantage in hiring for teaching positions in two-year colleges and small four-year colleges.

Of my eight undergraduate history professors, four of them had high school teaching experience before becoming college professors. Of the other four, three were very traditional age graduate students, taking their first professorships as, respectively, a 25-year-old MA, a 26-year-old EdD, and a 29-year-old PhD. The last one was a 43-year-old ThD who had prior experience in the military (World War II era) and in the Presbyterian ministry. He continued to pastor his church for the twenty years of his professorship. (Nota Bene: Three of my four professors with high school teaching experience were also World War II vets.)

For that matter, even four years of occasional tutoring on one's own account can be an advantage in landing an interview for a community college teaching position. Unfortunately for me, by the time I got out of the hospital and listened to my voice mail messages, they had already hired someone else for that position.

I believe that University of Phoenix requires a master's degree plus two years experience to get hired as an adjunct, and they have an online MEd program.

You might also try doing history and ESL tutoring on your own account. You might also look into non-credit extension programs as possible teaching venues.

 

Thanks for your input, Ted. I am trying to locate Tony Pina's essay, but nothing is showing.

I may have an adjunct position lined up that starts at the end of this month. One of my school administrators knows one of the deans from the local community college and suggested I call. So far, it looks promising.

 

Tony Pina's pertains more to full-time professorships. But it is living here: http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23206 .

 

Thank you for the link. I should have searched for "Anthony Pina" instead of "Tony Pina." BTW, I attended a workshop yesterday geared towards those aspiring to a career in postsecondary education and they moderators advised everyone to get some teaching experience as an adjunct before trying for a full-time spot. They told me that secondary school teaching experience and training is a huge advantage. I guess I need to work on preparing that eye-catching resume. Representatives from the community colleges said they want a resume no longer than 3 pages.

 

FacultyFinder.com

If you are looking for online teaching positions I would suggest FacultyFinder.com. That is a site that specializes in Online jobs.

It is free to create a profile on the site too!

 

Misty, I teach fulltime for a community college in Arizona. The way you break in is fairly simple: contact the division chair in the area you want to teach! Send a resume and ask to have a sit down. Now, going from adjunct to fulltime is much harder, but proving yourself as a parttimer is a good start. I was an adjunct at a C.C. for almost ten years just hoping for a fulltime opening. I finally figured out somebody would have to DIE for me to get a shot at a fulltime gig teaching speech communication. Soooo, I added computer information technology to my skillset and got a fulltime job that way (before CIS enrollments went down). Now I am in the system. I also am teaching speech!