In shock and don’t know what is next

[Teacher Terry]

I retired at 58 from the state in human services because I was sick of the rules, rigid , etc. After a year was bored despite volunteering and was offered a opportunity to teach a online college class that paid great and I didn’t have a boss. It became my new identity and I loved it. It’s done in a month after 6 years because the university is revamping courses and got rid of all the part time people and hired more full time staff. I have looked at other universities and they pay a third and micro manage you. I started my career late at 40. I am really mourning and lost:

[Scuba]

Sorry this opportunity is being eliminated. Perhaps you could try guest lecturing or mentoring at a local university. Little or no pay, but if the interaction with students is your motivation, you get that and since it’s volunteer work, you can control the time you spend to suit your needs.

I think many people who ER because of a lay-off feel as you do, but after the initial shock, perhaps you can view it as an opportunity to reinvent yourself. After all, you didn’t discover how much you would enjoy the online teaching until after retirement, so perhaps there is another great adventure out there for you, waiting to be discovered.

[COcheesehead]

I’ve taught Junior Achievement in the past. Nothing grounds you like teaching first graders. Maybe look into JA.

[target2019]

Same happened to me, but I did not go into shock. I also had a full time gig, so it did not affect me monetarily.

Next for you might be a local substitute teaching role.

Good luck with your search. Change is the new whatever.

[Lewis Clark]

As a part time online college teacher myself I feel your pain. Declining enrollments across the country are forcing colleges to dump their Adjunct faculty. The college I currently teach for is planning to get rid of about 200 part timers - about 20% of the total Adjunct workforce.

I've not heard of a college dumping part time faculty and hiring more full time faculty. This seems to be opposite the usual trend, since part time faculty are usually less expensive because they don't get benefits.

This website lists all community colleges across the country. Pay is not great but this list may help.
Directory and List of Community Colleges, Technical Colleges and County Colleges in USA

[joeea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teacher Terry I retired at 58 from the state in human services because I was sick of the rules, rigid , etc. I have looked at other universities and they pay a third and micro manage you.

Keep looking. Not all universities micro manage.

And does the pay really matter once you are retired?

The nice thing about financial independence is that you can do what you enjoy, without worrying about the compensation.

[Dreamer]

I am sorry this happened, as I know how much you enjoyed the job.

I hope that you can find another job that you enjoy, if that is what you choose to do. If not, then you can enjoy be truly free from any job. Good luck.

[copyright1997reloaded]

Terry - sorry to hear about your teaching loss. My story in terms of starting to teach is similar - left Megacorp in 2009 and started teaching one class as an adjunct Fall 2010. In my case, the pay was/is not great, but I found that I enjoyed the experience. Over time that had morphed from one class to two to three and eventually full time.

As others have mentioned, schools around the country are scrambling for students due to declining enrollment. This is particularly true in those states where population is declining. For example, I am starting to look at schools for my child who is now a junior in high school - and was shocked to see the number of schools in Vermont that have closed over the last few years. Where I teach we have also seen declining enrollment for the last few years and their is genuine concern on what that means for faculty. I've been lucky in that I teach computer science and our area has had less impact in terms of enrollment numbers - along with retirements which is why I was able to get a full time position four plus years ago. If it were now, I'm pretty sure the school would not have allowed the full-time line to be filled.

A side note on this is that in the computer science / IT area, jobs are pretty hot. Because of that it can be more difficult to find someone who wants to work full-time teaching at a much lower salary than what they can make in industry. Adjuncts can be found, but they typically need to teach an evening class due to them having a real job. On-line courses do offset this somewhat, but fortunately there are still students who want an in-classroom experience.

I do understand your mourning on this. Even though every job has its hassles, I get great satisfaction in working with students and compared to mega-corp the amount of administrative involvement is minimal.

[CaptTom]

Condolences, and I hope things sort themselves out for you.

Good discussion about teaching in general. It's something I enjoy, and do some volunteer work to keep my classroom skills up, but I do see a huge decline in classroom instruction. Everyone seems to want to do on-line stuff.

Oddly enough, when people are forced to sit for an in-person class, they almost all say it was a great experience, and they're glad they took it. Likewise, the ones who take the longer, more in-depth classes are glad they did that, instead of just doing the minimum.

I don't know what the future will bring. I've seen on-line courses done fairly well, and very poorly. I do believe a classroom experience is far more valuable, but then again, on-line is more convenient, can reach more people, and in theory allows each student to do more and learn at their own pace.

[copyright1997reloaded]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptTom Condolences, and I hope things sort themselves out for you. Good discussion about teaching in general. It's something I enjoy, and do some volunteer work to keep my classroom skills up, but I do see a huge decline in classroom instruction. Everyone seems to want to do on-line stuff. Oddly enough, when people are forced to sit for an in-person class, they almost all say it was a great experience, and they're glad they took it. Likewise, the ones who take the longer, more in-depth classes are glad they did that, instead of just doing the minimum. I don't know what the future will bring. I've seen on-line courses done fairly well, and very poorly. I do believe a classroom experience is far more valuable, but then again, on-line is more convenient, can reach more people, and in theory allows each student to do more and learn at their own pace.

I couldn't agree more. Of the five class sections I am teaching this term, three are on-line. While that makes my life easy in terms of required time in the class room, I find the class room sections to be a much better at least in terms of my experience. It also brings up interesting dynamics in terms of testing - I give all my quizzes and exams on-line now (even for the classroom sections). It doesn't make sense that I would give my on-line students a quiz for which they obviously have access to the book while not allowing my in-class sections the same.

One thing good about on-line is that it has the side effect of my having all of my materials in blackboard - I require that all of my students submit work exclusively through blackboard, get assignments there, and so on. The only exception to this is some occasional in-class group work which roughly replaces discussion boards used by on-line only sections.

[38Chevy454]

What about local junior college teaching jobs? Those would be in classroom vs online I think.

[Teacher Terry]

Interesting enough our university is growing by leaps and bounds just like our state is. My class filled up the first day and always had a waiting list. The students had to go to the university to take midterms and finals. I like online versus in person because of the freedom it allows me. I have taught from Europe and cruises. The university said they might have another class for me to teach but when I went on their website I saw all the part time people had their pictures and contact information gone and a lot more full time faculty. The people that I know there have all retired.

[OldShooter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teacher Terry ... I am really mourning and lost:

I prescribe Cabernet and cheese PRN, plus time.

This too shall pass, and something else will come along. It is a beginning not an end.

[pacergal]

Change is the only constant thing in our lives! I hope you are able to find your new normal.

Perhaps this is a good time to reflect on why your first attempt at retirement didn't go well for you and what it is that you liked about teaching, so you might find a new way forward. Are you ready for retirement or do you need the income?
Volunteering such as Big Brother/Big Sister, being a local school district classroom teacher helper, Jr Achievement could keep you connected to younger kids/adults and in a mentoring type roll if that is what you enjoyed.

[Teacher Terry]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. We don’t have to have the money but we used it for travel versus savings. We won’t be taking as many trips. I liked the students and helping them learn but I also liked not having to be anywhere at a certain time. I also enjoyed grading. I know people that teach in person or online for 2500/semester and that’s not worth it to me. I was making 8. I closed my part time consulting services a year ago because teaching was enough and referred my clients elsewhere. I am also doing some workers compensation case management but that’s ending due to lack of referrals for my friends business. I have helped her out 3xs in 6 years. This business can be feast or famine. I broke my right wrist 7 weeks ago and it’s still not healed so won’t do anything until that’s better.

[HtownRose]

Adding my condolences & hoping something just as good or better comes your way Terry!

Important reminder to me that my "retirement job" is also subject to change & even loss. It's a union job & contract negotiations are underway - anything could happen.

Keeping my license for my previous career just in case.

[Teacher Terry]

Rose, I hope you don’t lose your retirement job. I am 65 so people have said just retire. Since I started my career late it’s probably one reason I am not burnt out. Life is change.

[ivinsfan]

I'm sorry this happened. Even though it was nothing personal and nothing to do with job performance, it must really sting. I remember many posts where you have said how much you enjoyed your job and that it was perfect for you at this stage in life.

[HtownRose]

Aw, thanks! Mine is not the perfect fit for me that yours is, but would still be a loss.

Primarily the loss of a massive amount of free time compared to what I had before & would likely go back to for health insurance if this one was gone. I should be making hay while the sun shines - organizing, purging & tackling all those projects around the house I now have time for - and with an elderly Mom my free time could be gone in a flash if she had a downturn in health - but it's so nice to just do fun stuff instead...maybe your story will motivate me to buckle down...after I get my taxes done & take a trip or 2 LOL...

[harllee]

Terry have you looked into Coursera? Don't know how they hire teachers or how much they pay but I have taken several online courses through them and really enjoyed them.