<p>Hi,
Im currently a rising undergraduate senior majoring in biology. I go to Pace University. Im planning on studying to become a college adjunct lecturer/professor at a 2 yr college. Right now my GPA is a 3.07, but I think by the end of the summer I will be able to get it up to a 3.2-3.3, and I will try to aim for a 3.4-3.5 GPA by the end of my senior year. I haven't taken the GREs yet, but I do have solid volunteering experience teaching ESL, and I am a peer tutor for biology in my school. I have about a B cumulative GPA in biology, and a C cumulative GPA in chemistry. I've noticed a slight decrease in my GPA every semester every since the end of my freshman year, especially from chemistry which is my weakness. I ended up getting a C + in orgo I, and a D in orgo II, which i'm retaking in the summer. I just want to know, if I am successful in bringing up my orgo II grade, will I have a chance at graduate school for biology/public health? I'm aiming for schools such as St. John's U, or Fordham U.</p>
<p>You want to be an adjunct? You know how much that sucks, right? Terrible pay, no benefits, a gypsy existence?</p>
<p>Really? I thought if I could work at 2 and 3 schools at the same time, it would compensate for the “terrible pay”. But yeah I heard in the beginning you move around schools a lot but then I can settle at a school after earning enough experience teaching.</p>
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<p>…then you would be teaching five or six sections of freshman biology per semester at three different locations with three different managers and three different curricula. You’d have no job security, no retirement and no health insurance. That’s not a recipe for job satisfaction.</p>
<p>A cumulative 3.0 in major is borderline for graduate work. You’re going to need to have a compelling reason for pursuing a master’s degree and doing research, and “I want to be an adjunct for life” is not going to do that for you.</p>
<p>Is a master’s degree enough to get a full time teaching position? I’m not financially capable of going further to pursue a Ph.D, so I am looking for a teaching position that requires at most a masters…I know the field has become very competitive, with even Ph.Ds struggling to get jobs at 2 year colleges…</p>
<p>You don’t have to spend money for a Ph.D - anyone worth admitting to a Ph.D program is offered full funding. An admission without funding is a polite rejection.</p>
<p>I didn’t know that…one of my professors said he had to pay near $10,000 just to get his thesis revised…but right now I’m concerned about graduate school admissions. I hope all my experience comes in handy. I have the ability to teach, but some of my grades don’t prove it.</p>