Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some advice from those familiar with academic hiring timelines and job market strategy. Back in January, I applied for a full-time lecturer position that opened up at the university and program I’m currently getting my PhD (defending soon) and teaching as a TA. The application deadline was the beginning of Feb, and while it’s been a few months, I haven’t heard back yet—no rejection or interview invitation so far. The latest update (1 week ago) by program admin is that “the search is still ongoing”.
In the meantime, I’ve been offered an adjunct position (from the same department), which was framed to me as a “backup” in case the lecturer position does not work out. I was told that adjunct faculty had to be hired/settled before the lecturer search would finalize. It’s for a similar course load (2 opposed to 3 per semester) as in previous semesters, but of course, it comes with the usual instability and lack of benefits, even less than ones offered by the TA line.
Here’s my dilemma:
Should I accept the adjunct offer now and risk limiting my chances of being considered for the full-time position (if I haven’t already been ruled out)? Or would turning down the adjunct offer potentially burn bridges with the department or be perceived negatively?
Some additional context:
• I’ve taught in this program for five years as a TA and have a graduate certificate from their program in addition to my PhD (in a different yet complimentary field).
• I have a strong teaching record and know the curriculum well.
• I would prefer the stability of the full-time lecturer role, but I also need to secure income for the fall.
Has anyone been in a similar situation or have insight into how hiring committees interpret these kinds of decisions? Would accepting the adjunct role signal I’ve “settled,” or could it be seen as continued commitment?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated—thank you!
Comments
I think you need more information about the lecturer search. Do you know anyone else in the department or on the lecturer search committee you can talk to? It would be odd that they haven’t done any interviews by now. “The search is still ongoing” is usually just what they say when nothing’s been finalized. My instinct is to take the adjunct role.
If it was with a different dept, I would have said take the role and decline it if you get the lecturer position. Here I think if you accept the adjunct role, there’s no way they’ll offer you the lecturer position for that same term. I think you can politely reject it and say you are interested in the lecturer position. I don’t think it burns bridges.
btw I was interviewing with an ivy league and they asked if I’d come adjunct and I said no. But I already have a position. So you have to see where you’re at and what you’d do if you don’t take the role. I’d love to tell you to not sell yourself short.. but remember that if you decline it, you’ll have to also be okay with possibly not getting the lecturer role.
If all you have done is submit an application, then you shouldn’t sit up waiting by the phone for this job to materialize. It shouldn’t even be on your radar until you at least get an interview. The competition is steep and they have a habit if never sending you an official rejection. I’m still waiting to hear back from academic positions I interviewed for a decade ago.
It could be that the funding for the full-time position is uncertain. In some states the budget for the upcoming academic year for a university is finalized a month or two before the state budget (and state funding) is finalized. In those states the governor’s office sends a budget forecast with anticipated state funding to colleges and universities. Colleges and universities in California schedule the site visits for a job search for after the state funding is finalized.
A university budget includes funding from research grants and other grants, tuition, state funding, and federal funding. Some states have budget deficits or budget uncertainty. Federal funding is likely to be less than it has in some previous years. Enrollment is likely to go down at some universities, and international students may be less likely to enroll at universities in the US. With that said, if you accept the adjunct position by guess is they will not offer the lecturer position. The lecturer position may have already been cancelled. In the last three years I’ve applied to about twenty tenure-track positions at colleges and universities in California, almost all of the job searches were cancelled and then they hired adjuncts from the applicant pool instead of hiring a tenure track professor. If they have not brought people in for job talks and have not cancelled the search they are probably trying to find funding for the position. If a job search gets cancelled there is no guarantee the administration will approve the same job search next year.