I hate the Dutch.

And bigots.

So, I'm having a sort of crisis here about what to do with this.

The situation is this: I teach part time at UT and I didn't get the full time position there for fall. That isn't surprising because I didn't expect it at all (no PhD, etc.), but they've offered me 11 hours worth of classes for fall, all on Monday-Wednesday. I also applied for a full time teaching position at TPS, instead of subbing. I don't expect to get that either, as I don't have a state teaching license (I am eligible for an alternative license, though) and they had to lay off a load of people in June. But I am still a sub for them and can work every day if I want to. And, if I stick with the subbing, I'd still get one night class at UT.

So the 11 hours at UT pays about the same as the subbing, but if I do the subbing, I'll be making more money because I'd also still be teaching the one class at UT along with it. But if I take the 11 hours, then I can drop A down to part time at the day care, making the money situation more or less even out. And I'd be working lots less and doing nothing but teaching, which I really enjoy. But I also enjoy subbing.

The other thing is that taking the UT classes will only last for the semester and if I don't get the same amount of classes in the spring, I could go back to subbing, but then I'd miss at least one pay period in December (two if I stayed with the UT classes). Plus if I do that, I'd be done in early May, which is too late to start subbing, as high school gets out in June, with no guarantee of summer classes.

So we're looking at slightly more money if I stay with subbing, but much more stress doing something I like, or less money, but also less stress and also doing something I like.

Who's on first?

Is it possible to have a thingy in your contract that stretches your pay out til the end of December? My mom did that for the whole year at her university but only worked for 9 months. It means a little less each month but it'll cover you for the those pay periods you'd other wise miss.

JTC - DaD says that all the time.

What's on second, I Don't Know's on third.

i'd like to say something helpful, but i'm completely thrown by your wacky school year. i'm totally lost, every time i re-read this. sorry :(

Our wacky school year? You guys are the ones with the wacky school year!

CPF, do you really hate the Dutch?

OK, I say take the 11 hours of adjunct work and scrimp a little. You'll enjoy having more free time, and it might even give you time to consider either getting your state license or pursuing a PhD. Assuming you do a whiz bang job and get great evaluations, hopefully you'll get 11 hours of teaching again in the spring.

I'd do the thing with the stuff.

I'd say whichever makes you happiest. Life is short. Come on get happy.

Thanks all. I'm sort of leaning toward the subbing plus one class, as I ran the money and that would leave us with an extra $500/month, even after the daycare (it's a five hour class--I usually get 3). But I did that last year and it is pretty exhausting, so we'll see, I guess. I have until Monday or Tuesday to say for sure.

And Bol, the schedule is weird because the day job is as a substitute teacher for the local public high schools, while the evening class is for the university. The university is on a shorter schedule (fall semester runs end of August to beginning of September, spring semester runs middle of January to first of May, so there's five weeks off in between) than the high schools (which run end of August through beginning of June, with 10 days off for Christmas and one week in the spring).

I have no ctual problem with the Dutch, Lady Gray. How the Dutch feel about me is another story.

If it makes a difference, it seems likely that you're more needed as a substitute than you might be as a professor. I don't know how much of a factor that would be for you, and it may not even be true, but I've never known a sub who didnt work as much as he or she wanted to do.

i think i'm still lost. only cos it sounds like the university runs a semester of one week, then takes off four months until spring. and your high school holidays sound amazingly sparse. except for a whacking big 3 months between years. sort of sounds like highschool kids have no free time, and uni students spend their whole year trying to avoid doing any work... wait, that sounds just like here.

and CPF what is it about the dutch? I'm part dutch. what'd we ever do to you?

Sorry, that should be end of August to beginning of December. I just noticed that.

My kingdom for an edit function.

Thanks all for the opinions, it helps me to think things through. So, I think I've made a decision.

I'm going to take the UT job and tell the sub office that I'm only available three days a week. That will reduce my chances of getting called every day I'm available, but I'd most likely still work at least 1-2 days a week for them. And that combination will make up the paycheck difference as well, more or less.

Of course, this is all contingent on my not getting the full time high school teacher job (which is unlikely at this point, but a girl can still hope), in which case I'd take that job instead.