Writing for the Wall Street Journal this week, Katherine Rosman’s article The Ultimate Power Hobby shared the experience of bankers, lawyers and executives that jockey to teach a university class or two. The article nudged me to think a bit differently about something that we have written about here before: volunteerism and work. Rosman’s article discussed the dynamic at colleges and universities whereby high performing, fully employed, and highly engaged professionals are seeking adjunct teaching positions at local colleges and universities. Sometimes this means significant work for very little pay, and many come away donating to the institution much more than they actually get paid to teach. Generally, adjuncts fall into one of two classes of either the professional/practitioner adjunct or the academic adjunct. The professional/practitioner adjunct brings the experience of a successful career and usually is not in it for the money, while the academic adjunct , many of whom have doctorates, are looking for a tenured position.
According to the WSJ, reliance on adjuncts is increasing with part-time teachers making up 50% of faculty at degree granting institutions. (Think about that next time you write your university tuition check!) My father had a plaque given to him for his leadership and teaching responsibilities for Ranger School with the US Army and it reads “Let him teach who himself excels.” In business, as in the military, who better to teach and lead than those that are actually making the real world happen? According to the article by Rosman, professional adjuncts offer students a window on the industry unfolding far from the academic world.
Hmmmm. Maybe there is a bigger lesson here. Maybe, just maybe, the way to get work is to start and stay working, even if it means you don’t make that much in the realm of income, but the experience is the real gain. We know what it means to work, but what about the volunteerism part. And in the spirit of the blended life, is it possible to blend our work with our volunteerism?
We here in the Bible belt are quick on the draw to toss out the idea of donating 10% to our church or charities. What what about your time and talent? I submit that when you try to give 10% of your time that it is really giving until it hurts. How you think about this may depend on if you are a tithe “after tax” or “before tax” thinker. If you are an “after tax” thinker, then you would donate 4 hours of your 40 hour work week, but if you are a “before tax” thinker than you may reach for the 16.8 hours of donated time and talent from the full 168 hours in a week. I don’t know about you, but the thought of carving out two full eight hour days to give away of my personal time seems daunting. But, maybe it isn’t as hard as you think. Take a look at how you spend your time, and you may have some opportunities to go deeper in your volunteerism. And your volunteerism may richly enhance your work. Volunteering with your chamber, helping out with little league, assisting with your church youth group, carving out time for your local Women’s Center, participating in Relay for Life are just a few examples of volunteerism that can tie directly in to your professional day.
I recall from my early classes in physics a very simple law that an object in motion will stay in motion until outside forces slow it down. Are you in motion? With unemployment up, and underemployment up, what are you doing with your time? What are you doing with your “free” time? Make the hours and minutes count.
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