Firstpass,

Many if not most Community Colleges (especially in the trades and Information Tech) take into consideration work experience as well as industrial/in-house training, and can (during salary negotiations at the time of hire) if they choose, equate these experiences to a bachelors degree (on the salary scale) and also years of teaching if you have taught in industry. Different states education systems use different formulae to decide about where somebody will end up on the salary scale, they usually have some up and down latitude to sweeten an offer to stand out candidates.

Having said all that, I appreciate your statement that; "...the academic community seemingly does not recognize the experience and specialized training of a veteran craftsman." Boy is that ever true in some places. Some Colleges understand the value of real trade experience and negotiate generous contracts for skills that enhance their programs, while others won't even look at a resume without a BA/BS at worst and at best will only offer entry level salaries to those without College teaching experience.

Another thing that must be taken into account is the practice many Colleges have of hiring a person to full time faculty positions only after they have *done their time* as adjunct faculty. This practice is carried out in a subtle way because of course it is really stretching ethical boundries and can keep superior candidates out of contention for full time positions. Often the decision is made before the interview process which is only a formality. There isn't much to be done in a situation like that except possibly hit a home run during that interview and change somebody’s mind :) Or you could teach part time at night and once you get a few semesters under your belt you will have both the teaching experience some colleges demand and also a good chance of valuable letters of recommendation from your deans and department chairs.


If you would like to talk about it feel free to flash me an email, I was a similar situation a little over a year ago, it took me the better part of 3 years to find the situation I now enjoy. I was blessed with a great job while I was "on the market" so it was easy to be selective. During that selective process I learned allot about job hunting and academic employment.

Anyhow, Good Luck! And keep us updated on your progress.

The community college district I work part time for in California basically requires an AA degree as a minimum to teach vocational courses, assuming you have appropriate experience in your field. Otherwise, I believe the basic requirement for most positions is an MA. Salary is based on educational level. If you want more money, you go back to school and get more upper division or graduate units. I think this is the situation for all districts in the state.

If you have an AA degree to start with, you basically need to get the equivalent of a BA in total units to move to the next salary schedule. You advance a step within a given salary schedule after the equivalent of a year teaching full time. I don't know if there is a way to substitute industry seminars, etc. for college coursework. But it would take a bucket load of them if you could.

More tech courses seem to be taught by adjuncts, part-timers, than tenured instructors. Adjuncts make about 1/3 of what a full-timer makes for a classroom course. More for a course with lab.

Part of the reason for the insistance on academic credentials is that these are academic institutions, not simply vocational schools. They are basically in the business of granting AA degrees and funnelling student into four year institutions. They do offer certificate programs and even the chance to come in and take one course. But this is not their primary mission. Part of the reason may also be a bit of snobbery on the part of the administrators or other instructors.

As far as salary schedules go, they are negotiated with the instructors' union. And tech instructors are definitely outnumbered.

Where I teach, there are two full-timers in the welding program. One has somewhere between 15-20 years experience in the welding industry before turning to teaching. On top of that he has a BA, and an MA. The other has an AA degree and several years industry experience. I believe all the adjuncts have at least an AA degree and at least two have MA/MS degrees.

You didn't state what your educational level is. But if you decide to go back to school to advance it, be aware that it is possible to challenge courses based on your life experience. Typically some kind of exam is required. If you pass it, you get credit for the course without actually having to take it. You may have to pay the fees for it, though.

Ok, had a moment to look up something and wanted to make clear a couple important points.

Most college scales move in two directions. One is to have increased education in units or degree as mentioned already; another is to have years accumulated teaching. Believe it or not both are negotiable at time of hire. Successful candidates can be awarded a place on the pay scale above there actual education position if verified professional experience merits it, Also years teaching on the salary scale can be adjusted to reflect industry, military, corporate or other non traditional teaching experience, this practice is called is called Professional Equivalency, and is commonly used in teaching areas such as Information Technology, Aviation, Computer Science, Journalisim and many other subjects that are not limited to the blue collar trades..

Furthermore, what is actually minimally required to get that teaching job in the first place is usually not as big a hurdle as you might think. California for example has DESIGNATED SUBJECTS VOCATIONAL EDUCATION TEACHING CREDENTIALS, which are the guidelines schools (ALL High school districts and Community Colleges) must base their hiring practices on. One may indeed teach in an associates program without having obtained an associates degree.

California Department of Education
http://www.ctc.ca.gov/credentialinfo/leaflets/cl698a.html Provides these guidelines which lay out the minimum standards for a teaching credential including, not a Masters, Bachelors or Associates but merely GED or High School diploma, 5 years working experience in the subject area applied for, Passing a US constitution course, and approved verification of the above listed by proper authority…….. That’s it for those in the technical trades.

Professional training, including seminars and expositions (documented hours) can be used in figuring placement on a salary scale or qualification for credentials.

The California model is similar to many other states, but each state has its own requirements and individual colleges can make special requirements to suit program needs (process certification, cwi/cwe etc).