Do Physics Instructors Get Paid More Than Math Instructors?

[MuonMinus]

I am considering teaching a physics course at the community campus of a state university. I know how much adjunct math instructors get paid there. If I teach one 4-credit physics course, I would be spending an hour more in the classroom than if I taught a 4-credit math course, because of the lab. Do physics instructors usually get paid more per credit?

Thanks for everybody's help.

 

[ParticleGrl]

The adjunct rate I've been offered has been between 2 and 3k per 4 credit class.

 

[MuonMinus]

This makes sense (actually, it does not, because it is so low However, I am not interested in the number as much as in the fact that a physics instructor teaches a 4 credit course that is 1 hour a week longer than a math 4 credit course and whether there is compensation for that. (Not to mention s/he would have to set up the lab, etc).

 

[jtbell]

The only way to get a reliable answer for your case is to ask your community college.

In our case, lecture and lab for intro physics are separate courses. An adjunct receives a standard amount for teaching a lecture class, and 2/3 of that amount for teaching a lab. This is consistent with the way we calculate teaching loads for full-time salaried faculty. I don't know for sure what would happen with an integrated lecture+lab course with the same total number of credit yours (3+1=4), because we've never had an adjunct teach one of those, but I expect it would be paid as 5/3 the lecture-only rate.

 

[MuonMinus]

Well, I was finally told that the course would count as 4.5 credits, which means that an hour of lab "pays" as half a credit. I guess that's better than nothing!