Back to Real Contingency -- Full Time Employment is NO MORE

I received the "offer" letter just now from U#2's HR. I knew it was coming, but still, I shed a few tears and  I'm livid and I'm angry and I'm devastated. Most of all, I'm as angry as can be.

I had put off for as long as possible even contacting the chair of the department, but maybe I should have contacted hir.

It's a one semester contract for half of what they pay a full-time person a year. That means that if they change their minds due to enrollment and decide to "give" me three classes in the Spring (they're probably going to give me only two) I will have effectively have been full time for a year but WITHOUT BENEFITS.

In fact, because I teach two FIVE CLASS-HOUR meetings (4 credit) classes, BEING PAID FOR THREE CREDITS (their flat rate for a class), if I teach two classes in the Spring I WILL HAVE WORKED the equivalent hours of FULL-TIME at this university. (At least this semester I'm not driving 152 miles  every day because I'm not teaching five days a week for 50 minutes each class, I'm teaching 4 days with longer classes on Tuesday/Thursday -- still too many hours teaching for the pay).

Sigh... OK, I'm done, I can write no more without screaming non stop here. I know I will calm down very quickly and that I will write the chair a very calm email, but still... This is unfair and horrible and I knew it was coming, but I was still unprepared.

And the reason why I didn't even contact them was that I was pretty confident it wouldn't help at all.

Thanks for listening. And bear with me next semester as the "Working in the Margins" label gets filled with angst & a hint of despair.

Ha Ha...

I hate academia, why am I still in it?? WHY? (There is a short answer: because I don't want/can't have a 9-5 job and I want to do "kind of" what I prepared for with that useless phd I don't regret).