Due to the temporary profile of this type of professor, the adjunct professor salary range is not that high…
Teaching careers hold a prominent position in the overall job industry. When we think of teaching jobs, the very first thing that comes to our mind is a professor or a teacher. Jobs as university and college professors are considered to be the ones which are more stable. Generally, professors are employed on a full-time basis. Nevertheless, there are some types of professors who provide services on a part-time basis as well. These are referred to as adjunct professors.
Job Description
Adjunct professors are those who are hired in order to fulfill specific teaching requirements for an educational institution. They are needed to teach students, in case there is a shortage of faculties in the institution. Their responsibilities include checking and grading papers and publishing academic journals. They also carry out academic projects related to a particular subject of study for the benefit of students in the department. Generally, their main purpose is to impart knowledge regarding career education and real-life job and work situations.
These professors usually conduct lectures to undergraduate students. Adjunct professors may even be required to work for the administration department, for tasks such as preparing training and development programs and representing the institution at graduation ceremonies. The adjunct professor job description comprises many other tasks as per the requirements at the educational establishment.
Salary Range
Since this is not a permanent position at the university or college, adjunct professors receive low remuneration. In addition, there are even no medical or retirement benefits provided in the salary package. The primary determinant of the overall pay package depends on the university and reputation of the candidate. For example, if the university decides to hire a famous political party leader to teach political science at the university for a year, they may have to pay an annual package in six digits.
On the other hand, if the university decides to hire an adjunct professor who is not so well known, the salary to be offered would be low. At present, adjunct professors earn a median salary of around $50,000 per annum. Another determinant of the salary range is the goodwill of the educational organization. If the university is recognized throughout the country, it would normally have a higher pay scale for adjunct professors.
For example, the salary paid by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to these professors is around $124,000 per year. And the median pay in other not-so-well known institutions may come up to just $40,000 per annum. Likewise, the pay range varies from university to university. In some cases, the income of adjunct professors also depends a lot on the subject to be taught. These professors can even be paid according to the tenures and work to be done. they can be hired for a small course, a semester, or a full yearly degree. Normally, for a 3-credit hour special education course, an adjunct professor may demand somewhere around $2,000.
Note that the salary mentioned above are just rough estimated figures and may change over time. Hopefully, by going through the above article, you may have got a basic understanding of how much adjunct professors earn. Due to a low profile and pay of adjunct professors, a majority of educational institutions are depending on the services of these contractual professors.