Job Discussion Forums

[peripatetic_soul]

Hello, Indogal,
As someone who has taught decades in the U.S. as a licensed ESL teacher at secondary schools and also at tertiary institutions in the US as well as overseas (with M.A.), you should know:
Due to the current ACA regs (2015), adjuncts' hours have been shaved for compliance. Licensed ESL p.s. teachers actually earn $10-15K more per year than college teachers plus benefits, although those too are being reduced. Yes, there are many college positions advertised but mostly for EEO compliance, as they already have a preferred internal candidate in mind and salary range is often $30-40s whereas in p.s. it is often $50k+. I sent you a PM.
Good luck.

[aviator1x1]

I just wanted to add that adjuncts in my college district are limited to 9 hours of instruction per week. (this is the district's contract limits) This means you may have to hustle across freeways to other campuses in order to make a middle class wage. I have been doing this for two years as a freeway flyer, but there are many others who have been doing it for over five years. I've even heard from some adjuncts with k-12 teaching credentials that they are going to look for full time teaching positions in primary and secondary education. I forgot to mention that I live in CA and the job market sucks for ESL instructors.

[peripatetic_soul]

Aviator,
Yes, adjuncting can be time-consuming and stressful but as we know, everyone must have health coverage or incur a penalty. Sometimes the latter is more economical in the long term. I think Indogal is leaning towards public school which may be much more lucrative. It's all a matter of the tradeoffs one is willing to accept.

PS

[santi84]

[peripatetic_soul]

To all,
Yes, many ESL instructors must have at least two jobs to make ends meet in the U.S. As for adjuncting, one often must wait until the last minute (after already having spent countless hours preparing a syllabus and schedule of assignments) to learn if one's class has sufficient enrollment. It's a precarious life. I had pieced together various college gigs at night and like many of you, decided to become licensed as a p.s. ESL teacher by daylight. It's difficult to imagine being able to retire at age 65-66. Many of my colleagues at the college are well beyond that age. I'm sure you've read about the female Ph.D. who was an adjunct at Duquesne University for years and couldn't afford to pay her electric bills. I'll spare you the rest. When you read all those adverts on tesol.org, it's mind-boggling that the institution requires "some evenings and weekends" with committee participation, curriculum development, testing administration, blah, blah for a pathetic salary of $30-42k annually (before taxes). It seems being licensed to teach p.s. or pursuing a Master's in Technology would be more lucrative these days. Also, states with teacher unions pay much more than states which ban collective bargaining (compare $96k vs. $55k annually)!
PS

[mitsui]

And then there are states with the Right to Work law, like Arizona,
which must mean that unions are weak there.

What about private schools? What websites have job listings?

[nomad soul]

[esl_prof]