By Dani Babb, PhD | Founder of Faculty Job Tools, Babb Education, and Dissertation Prep
If you've ever found yourself aggressively refreshing your email at 11:00 PM just to see if your spring courses actually made, welcome to the club.
For over 25 years, I have been helping educators navigate the wild world of online higher education. I wrote my very first book on this topic with my co-author, Dr. Jim Mirabella, and started helping professors for one specific reason: contingent faculty live in a constant state of uncertainty. Being an adjunct is incredibly rewarding, but it comes with an undeniable twinge of fear. We love the students, but the system? Well, the system can be terrifying.
Let's talk about why we're all a little afraid of contingency, look at the actual data proving why universities need us, and lay out a game plan to take control of our own careers.
The Real Data: They Need Us More Than We Think
When that fear creeps in, it's easy to feel disposable. But the numbers tell a completely different story. Higher education would literally collapse without contingent faculty.
Consider the recent data: According to the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), roughly 68% of faculty members in U.S. colleges and universities hold contingent appointments, with nearly half of all faculty employed strictly part-time (AAUP, 2024). Furthermore, research from CUPA-HR indicates that across all higher education institutions, adjuncts account for approximately 40% of the entire faculty workforce, rising to a massive 66% at associate's institutions (CUPA-HR, 2024).
Institutions absolutely must keep us. We are the backbone of the modern academic workforce. No benefits, no salaries, lower wages—that's a win for the school. Yet, despite this reliance, the daily reality of the job still breeds anxiety.
I'm also not naive enough to believe that politics and real world changes don't interfere with this statistical fact.
Why Are We So Afraid? (The Adjunct Nightmares)
If you teach online, you probably have a healthy fear of the following scenarios:
- Inconsistent Course Loads: The dreaded radio silence. Being ghosted. Hearing nothing close to a semester, having a course canceled due to low enrollment, and wondering if it's going to run again next term—or if you've effectively lost your job.
- The "New Boss" Erasure: You had a great relationship with your department chair or scheduler. Then they leave. A new boss comes on board, and suddenly, you are completely forgotten in the shuffle.
- The Full-Time Poach: A full-time faculty member suddenly needs to pick up workload requirements, so they are given (or take) your course. It gets reassigned to them, and sometimes, they just keep it forever.
- Scope Creep (Full-Time Expectations, Part-Time Pay): Recently, additional roles have been added to adjunct faculty. We are expected to reply to students as though we are full-time staff with immediate responses, host live sessions, and hold office hours. It feels exactly like a full-time job, but we are paid as contractors with zero benefits or job security.
How to Take Back Your Power
While many of us accept these realities, it doesn't change that occasional twinge of fear. But we don't have to just wait around hoping for the best. Here is what you can do right now to bulletproof your career.
1. Practice "Poly-Adjuncting"
This is one of the main reasons I advocate for not just being an adjunct at only one school. You need a diversified portfolio of universities. If one school drops your class, you should have others ready to go. It can take so long to be hired that you should treat job applications like a sales funnel. We offer job application services for precisely this reason.
2. Keep Your CV in Fighting Shape
Every time you publish, present, or take a training session, make sure that CV is updated. You must use current methodology to stand out. This is exactly what I focus on at Faculty Job Tools—stripping out the old-school formatting and building CVs that actually speak to modern administrators. Always be ready to send your materials at a moment's notice. Any other company isn't using the same research I am.
3. Always Be Applying
Apply to every single job you see that fits your credentials that you may be interested in. It says on ground? Apply anyway and indicate in the cover that although it's on site, you are interested in online. The university may be posting now but not actually hiring until six months or even a year later, and may be open to teaching the class in an online modality. By then, you may need the job even if you don't right now. It is always better to have options and turn something down than to have no options at all.
4. Raise Your Hand
Inquire with your existing managers and Deans if there are opportunities for picking up additional work. If you are interested in part-time or full-time opportunities there, don't be shy about expressing it. If nothing else, it shows your commitment to the organization, which is generally considered to be a positive thing.
5. Branch Out and Build Your Own Brand
You are an expert, which means you can offer value outside of the traditional classroom. Building your own consulting or coaching platform is a great way to stabilize your income. For example, I expanded my own reach by founding Babb Education for instructional design and course builds, as well as Dissertation Prep to provide direct coaching and editing to doctoral students. Find your niche, and build a brand around it so you are never relying on just one source of income.
Don't let the fear of contingency paralyze you. Get your materials together, diversify your income, and let's get to work!
References
American Association of University Professors. (2024). Data snapshot: Tenure and contingency in US higher education, fall 2023. https://www.aaup.org
CUPA-HR. (2024). Adjunct faculty in the higher education workforce. College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. https://www.cupahr.org
About the author...
Through Faculty Job Tools, Dr. Dani Babb offers / Academic Resume (CV) Services / Custom Job Search / LinkedIn Marketing Services / Online Teaching Email Leads / Teaching Application Completion Service / The Complete Faculty Placement Suite.
Dr. Dani Babb founded Faculty Job Tools to help educators navigate the academic hiring process with clarity, confidence, and results. Since 2003, I’ve worked with tens of thousands of professors and aspiring instructors to land meaningful teaching positions across higher education.
As a professor, doctoral mentor, and author of multiple editions of Make Money Teaching Online, I bring decades of firsthand experience on both sides of the hiring process. I regularly interview deans, department chairs, and hiring managers to learn exactly what they’re looking for—insights I share directly with every client I work with.
Dr. Dani Babb also leads a community of educators in the free Online Faculty Jobs Networking Group on Facebook, where members post job openings, share advice, and support one another through every step of the academic job search.
Dr. Dani Babb remains personally involved in every part of Faculty Job Tools because I care deeply about helping educators find opportunities that fit their expertise and passion. My goal is to make the process straightforward, transparent, and genuinely supportive—for every faculty member who’s ready for their next chapter.