Is it a good idea to become ad-hoc prof for the money?

[DrTherapist]

Hello everyone.

In my country, I am not sure with the latest regulation regarding compulsion of PhD for the post of associate professor in academia. Ultimately, I actually want to become a police officer, becoming a Police Sergeant will do. I am confident that I will finish my Bachelor's with a good 3.2 GPA in the next few months. My GPA is my guess notwithstanding. My bachelor's is in Biology and I love what I study, especially after I found out some free online resources on another popular message board, such as Kimball's Biology Pages. I am just 20 years old at the time of writing

So considering my personal problems and actually sort of depressing family situation, I thought I cannot rely on my parents until I become a police officer, so my plan is to immediately take admission to my Master's in Biology, and after finishing the Master's I hope to land a job somewhere as an ad-hoc faculty/non-tenure track professor. If I cannot become a non-tenure track professor, I would like to become a contractual high school teacher (I cannot afford another degree after MSc in terms of time and money)

Actually, I want to become a police sergeant, the required qualification is Bachelor's degree. Is previous work experience looked down upon? No, not to my knowledge. However I would be lying if I said I don't like teaching. I am actually worried about how I am getting into academia instead of becoming a cop. I DO have passion for biology and science in general. I don't like studying law but I like the field work of police and the difference you can make. Especially if you do something like joining the Highway Security Police, which I believe have very rewarding job of preventing and detecting smuggling.

So briefly speaking, I actually have no intentions of becoming a tenured professor for a life time. My dad is a secondary school teacher and our family situation is depressing to say at least, I don't want to be like him personally. However I actually like teaching itself and I have taught a class for one lecture in secondary school celebrating Teacher's Day, more than five years ago and at least one student did not forget me after all those years. I need the money but I don't want to lose my track of becoming a police officer, which quite frankly is already happening because I am growing passionate about biology because it's likely what that will give me immediate money after Master's.

Another thing I would like to say, no I am not a struggling student anymore GPA-wise but personally I struggle a lot! I expect to have 60-65% aggregate on my BSc and same if not slightly more for my MSc. Sufficient to become a scientist/tenured-track professor in my country. I would say I will finish my two years Master's in three years if not two years. I am a bit confused at this stage because I do not like studying law the way it's taught, but I have a book on our constitutional law and I am hooked to it. Maybe it's how it's taught rather than the law itself but honestly law and science are not the two same things for me. Sorry if my post made you laugh but it's all true. Have a good day.

 

[Choppy]

Sounds like you're just trying to figure things out.

I think the term you're looking for may be adjunct professor or temporary lecturer. It's not clear what country you're in, but in most cases it can be very challenging to get an academic position, even as a temporary lecturer, particularly more challenging without a PhD. And it tends not to pay too much either. There are easier ways to make money when you're not looking to continue on in academia. If you want to make money while working your way through school, you might consider tutoring.

If your ultimate goal is to get into policing, I would focus on that. It's a lot easier to get into policing than academia (though it's not trivial to do either). Things that can help with entry into a policing career (with the caveat that my experience is Canadian and these things vary considerably from country to country and even force to force within a country)...

• You need a clean criminal record. In most cases this includes even minor offences.
• Avoid debt. Usually some student debt is okay, but one thing police recruiters often assess is your susceptibility to bribery.
• With regards to education, while the 'requirements' are generally quite flexible, they tend to favor people who've had training in psychology and social sciences... those who are familiar with the social challenges where you'll be working, addictions, psychological crisis intervention, history of minority groups, etc.
• Fluency in multiple languages helps.
• Military experience is often seen as an advantage. You could look into joining a reserve unit in your country, for example. That would both give you relevant experience and help out with the cash-flow concerns. It's not for everyone though.
• Physical fitness. Most police forces have relatively challenging fitness standards involving running, carrying, obstacles, push-ups, pull-ups, etc. And you'll want to do more than just meet the bare minimum.
• A strong personal social support network. Policing involves dealing with people during the worst moments of their lives, volatile situations, people in crisis, violent situations, etc. Over time this can induce its own form of psychological trauma and one thing they look for is people who have social networks that are likely to insulate potential officers against that.

 

[Office_Shredder]

Certainly the answer to "is it a good idea to become an adjunct professor for the money" is just no, it's not a good idea.

In the us you probably get paid more working at an Amazon fulfillment center.

 

[berkeman]

Ultimately, I actually want to become a police officer, becoming a Police Sergeant will do.

I thought I cannot rely on my parents until I become a police officer, so my plan is to immediately take admission to my Master's in Biology

If you are 20 years old and about to graduate with your Bachelor's degree, why not go directly into policing? Have you looked at applying? Do you need to put yourself through the police academy, or can you get sponsorship from a department if you pass their application process?

https://post.ca.gov/peace-officer-basic-training

Affiliated and Non-Affiliated Students​

Affiliated students are those students who have successfully completed the hiring/selection process with a department, have been hired as a recruit or trainee, and the department “sponsors” (i.e., pays for) their academy training. These recruits/cadets usually receive a trainee salary while attending the academy. Non-affiliated students are those who are “self-sponsored” (i.e., they pay their own way through the academy). These students generally have a full or part-time non-law enforcement job and may or may not have begun the application process with a law enforcement agency.

Whether you are an affiliated or non-affiliated student, the academy is designed to provide a demanding, rigorous, and interactive learning environment for all students. The goal of every POST-certified academy is to ensure that those who graduate will be well-prepared for and successful in the Field Training / Police Training Program and their career as a California peace officer.

41 POST-certified basic training academies, not POST, present the academy in both the Standard and Modular Formats. Those interested in obtaining academy-specific information on entry requirements, costs, and course schedules should contact the academies directly. Persons interested in being hired and attending an academy as an affiliate or sponsored recruit must contact agencies or their personnel departments directly to initiate the hiring process.

 

[DrTherapist]

Sounds like you're just trying to figure things out.

Yes sir, it is quite true. I am a bit confused.

I think the term you're looking for may be adjunct professor or temporary lecturer. It's not clear what country you're in, but in most cases it can be very challenging to get an academic position, even as a temporary lecturer, particularly more challenging without a PhD. And it tends not to pay too much either. There are easier ways to make money when you're not looking to continue on in academia. If you want to make money while working your way through school, you might consider tutoring.

Sir, it might be a teaching position on contact basis, that is, not permanent. Since I am from Southeast Asia I don't think naming my exact country will be of any help. But I do not understand how could I tutor? Should I become an independent private tutor, or try to join any private tutoring classes as a tutor? However I could try less competitive positions such as columnist writer, technical writer/editor, etc. if they pay well. Anything as long as it satisfies my monetary dependence.

If your ultimate goal is to get into policing, I would focus on that. It's a lot easier to get into policing than academia (though it's not trivial to do either). Things that can help with entry into a policing career (with the caveat that my experience is Canadian and these things vary considerably from country to country and even force to force within a country)...

• You need a clean criminal record. In most cases this includes even minor offences.
• Avoid debt. Usually some student debt is okay, but one thing police recruiters often assess is your susceptibility to bribery.
• With regards to education, while the 'requirements' are generally quite flexible, they tend to favor people who've had training in psychology and social sciences... those who are familiar with the social challenges where you'll be working, addictions, psychological crisis intervention, history of minority groups, etc.
• Fluency in multiple languages helps.
• Military experience is often seen as an advantage. You could look into joining a reserve unit in your country, for example. That would both give you relevant experience and help out with the cash-flow concerns. It's not for everyone though.
• Physical fitness. Most police forces have relatively challenging fitness standards involving running, carrying, obstacles, push-ups, pull-ups, etc. And you'll want to do more than just meet the bare minimum.
• A strong personal social support network. Policing involves dealing with people during the worst moments of their lives, volatile situations, people in crisis, violent situations, etc. Over time this can induce its own for of psychological trauma and one thing they look for is people who have social networks that are likely to insulate potential officers against that.

I qualify for everything except military experience and social support network. I have no criminal record, I have no debt and so on. I could try to get into military but currently my parents support me and I do not even have a driving license (I take public transport to and fro college) so it's not easy to get into the military due to age restrictions in our country. I believe it's 19-24 for the post of Lieutenant in the Army, which is quite unjust because I never skipped a class or dropped a year and my age is 20, I have a 3 year degree, those with 4 year degree they typically graduate at age 21 assuming they move to the next class every academic year.

Also I am going to undergo PRK surgery before I apply for the post of Police Sgt, I don't like my glasses. The age restrictions for police are more generous, I believe it is 19-33 for the post I am applying. If my parents truly supported me I'd try joining the military before joining the police. Thank you, God bless us all.

Edit : I re-read the post I originally wrote in a hurry and fixed a lot of grammatical errors. Sorry, I have exams starting from 10th May and I was going to study when I originally wrote this. The content itself is accurate. For example to join the Indian Army, your age must be between 19 and 24 with a Bachelor's. Quite unjust for me. I think I will have my refractive surgery this year and then driving license and then the exams themselves.

 

[DrTherapist]

If you are 20 years old and about to graduate with your Bachelor's degree, why not go directly into policing? Have you looked at applying? Do you need to put yourself through the police academy, or can you get sponsorship from a department if you pass their application process?

https://post.ca.gov/peace-officer-basic-trainingView attachment 282706

I am not from the Canada but thank you for your suggestions. I think I should try to become a technical editor first.

 

[DrTherapist]

Certainly the answer to "is it a good idea to become an adjunct professor for the money" is just no, it's not a good idea.

In the us you probably get paid more working at an Amazon fulfillment center.

Thanks for the insight. I personally know an adjunct professor of ours from botany department and I've seen him struggle a lot with finance because of low pay, uncertainty and all that.

 

[Zap]

I don't know about in your country, but in my country an ad-hoc faculty/non-tenure track professor does not make a substantial amount of money. Also, it would be extremely rare to land a professor position with only a master's in biology. Additionally, why can't you live independent as a police officer?