OT: A Plea for Help from My Fellow Attorneys and Others

[Showtime Joe 2.0]

Hey. Just wanted to wish you luck.

Your story sounds similar to mine. One school where I did most of my adjunct teaching shut down the other month, and I have been looking as well. Really been weighing in on whether to get more teaching or go back to design or photography. Unfortunately those industries really help if you have the contacts and and current portfolios.

Did you get your state teaching certificate for K-12 when you got your PhD?

I also tried dumbing down my resume for some retail work, but I have no retail experience, so no bites. I did have a friend who did the uber for a while to fill in some work gaps. I believe the work does require a vehicle with a backseat and 4 doors (ruled me out). He actually enjoyed it for a period.

Don't know if you have looked into it (and probably not much during holidays) but I see a lot of people doing tutoring of high school and middle school kids. Maybe some opportunities there for those that need to catch up or get ahead before the next semester. Especially around some of the wealthier private schools.

At least you have 4 days of teaching in mid-January to look forward to.

Add: Also consider looking in other places if possible. Maybe a full time spot to replace the few adjunct classes opens up. I know I am now going to expand my search nationally and maybe beyond that.

My doctorate is in history, not education, so, no, I've never been certified as a Texas teacher. Oddly enough, with the proliferation in dual-credit classes, I wind up teaching in public high schools every semester anyway, in addition to teaching at community college campuses. Last semester I taught at a Tarrant County College campus in Fort Worth, a Dallas College campus in Mesquite, and a public high school in Dallas. This upcoming semester, I'll be teaching at those same locations except I'll be at the Dallas College campus in Farmer's Branch as opposed to Mesquite. It's a lot of driving, four days a week. But, yes, I should enter an alternative certification program to increase my chances of landing a full-time public-school job.

I'm always applying for full-time teaching jobs but I've been told on the sly that my age is probably what's holding me back at this point from getting hired. I'm settled on remaining in the Metroplex at this stage in my life, but I wish you well on conducting a nationwide search. I'm sure that'll enhance your job opportunities immensely! Good luck to you!

 

[Showtime Joe 2.0]

It is hard to believe that somebody with a JD from Harvard and a PhD hasn't had a fulltime job in 18 years unless they just really did not want to work.

It's hard to believe that someone who does "not want to work" would apply for scores of full-time jobs every year and get interviewed for several of them, because that's what I've been doing for years now.

It's not hard to believe that some people will jump to inaccurate conclusions about other people that they don't even know.

But, hey, thanks for your support and encouragement!

 

[Showtime Joe 2.0]

Good luck to you. Prayers on your journey. Over the years I have done a variety of jobs, including substitute teaching and working as a chauffeur. I did restaurant work for a number of years. Waiting tables can be good, quick immediate cash and depending on the restaurant, you can make some good money. Just be prepared to swallow your pride a bit from time to time because people will make an assumption that waiting tables is all that you are capable of.

It's O.K., I'm used to having people making false assumptions about me! In my final semester at Harvard Law School, the school newspaper wrote an article about me that started out by noting my ubiquitous presence on campus before stating, "you've wondered to yourself, 'he isn't really a student here, is he?'"

Thanks for your advice and, more importantly, your prayers, Reverend!

 

[Endless Purple]

My doctorate is in history, not education, so, no, I've never been certified as a Texas teacher. Oddly enough, with the proliferation in dual-credit classes, I wind up teaching in public high schools every semester anyway, in addition to teaching at community college campuses. Last semester I taught at a Tarrant County College campus in Fort Worth, a Dallas College campus in Mesquite, and a public high school in Dallas. This upcoming semester, I'll be teaching at those same locations except I'll be at the Dallas College campus in Farmer's Branch as opposed to Mesquite. It's a lot of driving, four days a week. But, yes, I should enter an alternative certification program to increase my chances of landing a full-time public-school job.

I'm always applying for full-time teaching jobs but I've been told on the sly that my age is probably what's holding me back at this point from getting hired. I'm settled on remaining in the Metroplex at this stage in my life, but I wish you well on conducting a nationwide search. I'm sure that'll enhance your job opportunities immensely! Good luck to you!

Did not know the impact of dual credit classes with not needing the cert. I am still trying to finish my Doc but in education (does not come with a cert). I might need to do some research. Also hoping I can finish remotely if I move. The problem I have with the full time is the terminal part of the degrees (BFA, MA not terminal). Too many times a terminal degree is considered more valuable than 20 years in the field (my issue in the job hunt, though age will not be too far behind soon).

Can respect the driving as I am still at Lonestar in Kingwood while being in west Houston. The Art Institutes shutting down with 24 hour notice was the problem but it was much closer.

 

[Showtime Joe 2.0]

Did not know the impact of dual credit classes with not needing the cert. I am still trying to finish my Doc but in education (does not come with a cert). I might need to do some research. Also hoping I can finish remotely if I move. The problem I have with the full time is the terminal part of the degrees (BFA, MA not terminal). Too many times a terminal degree is considered more valuable than 20 years in the field (my issue in the job hunt, though age will not be too far behind soon).

Can respect the driving as I am still at Lonestar in Kingwood while being in west Houston. The Art Institutes shutting down with 24 hour notice was the problem but it was much closer.

Yeah, I think that a doctorate in education would open up a lot of doors for you and possibly lead you into an administrative position, if you wouldn't mind that.

Life as an adjunct is not for the fainthearted, that's for sure. During the pandemic, Dallas College decided to go back to in-person classes one semester and they assigned three such classes for me to teach. But then they got cold feet at the last minute and kept all the classes online for that semester and I lost all that income I was counting on from those three courses!

The thing is, I just love teaching and being in the classroom and I really hope I don't have to give that up and go work at Buc-ee's, like some have suggested!

 

[Chongo94]

My doctorate is in history, not education, so, no, I've never been certified as a Texas teacher. Oddly enough, with the proliferation in dual-credit classes, I wind up teaching in public high schools every semester anyway, in addition to teaching at community college campuses. Last semester I taught at a Tarrant County College campus in Fort Worth, a Dallas College campus in Mesquite, and a public high school in Dallas. This upcoming semester, I'll be teaching at those same locations except I'll be at the Dallas College campus in Farmer's Branch as opposed to Mesquite. It's a lot of driving, four days a week. But, yes, I should enter an alternative certification program to increase my chances of landing a full-time public-school job.

I'm always applying for full-time teaching jobs but I've been told on the sly that my age is probably what's holding me back at this point from getting hired. I'm settled on remaining in the Metroplex at this stage in my life, but I wish you well on conducting a nationwide search. I'm sure that'll enhance your job opportunities immensely! Good luck to you!

Hey Showtime, unless things have changed, you don’t necessarily have to enter into an alternative certification program to get certified.

With as many public school openings as there usually are, you have a good chance of getting the job outright on an emergency certification basis. You’ll still have to do some of the certification stuff but you’d be allowed to teach full time from the get go with the understanding that you would have your certification completed by a certain date.

At least that’s how it used to be but things could have changed for all I know.

 

[LionsBearsFrogs]

My doctorate is in history, not education, so, no, I've never been certified as a Texas teacher.

There’s a few History PhDs on this board. I’m curious who you studied with and your dissertation subject. Please share via DM if you don’t want to post it here.

 

[Endless Purple]

Yeah, I think that a doctorate in education would open up a lot of doors for you and possibly lead you into an administrative position, if you wouldn't mind that.

Life as an adjunct is not for the fainthearted, that's for sure. During the pandemic, Dallas College decided to go back to in-person classes one semester and they assigned three such classes for me to teach. But then they got cold feet at the last minute and kept all the classes online for that semester and I lost all that income I was counting on from those three courses!

The thing is, I just love teaching and being in the classroom and I really hope I don't have to give that up and go work at Buc-ee's, like some have suggested!

Same here with the class cancellations from Covid.

I enjoy the freedom of adjunct. One thing on the other type of work would be to find something that helps in other ways, such as employee discounts (ie. petsmart for pet food discounts) or things that would be fun or stimulating (Brewery or liquor store popped into my mind, but whatever fits) and only part time.

 

[The Frog to be Named Later]

If you want quick cash, another option is to do Uber Eats, or just Uber or Lift. You choose your hours and how long you work.

Or you could ask Chippendale's if they have any openings...

Cooking meth works too. Saw it on TV

 

[Showtime Joe 2.0]

Hey Showtime, unless things have changed, you don’t necessarily have to enter into an alternative certification program to get certified.

With as many public school openings as there usually are, you have a good chance of getting the job outright on an emergency certification basis. You’ll still have to do some of the certification stuff but you’d be allowed to teach full time from the get go with the understanding that you would have your certification completed by a certain date.

At least that’s how it used to be but things could have changed for all I know.

Thanks, Chongo! I'll start applying for those full-time public school jobs immediately.

 

[Showtime Joe 2.0]

There’s a few History PhDs on this board. I’m curious who you studied with and your dissertation subject. Please share via DM if you don’t want to post it here.

Check your PMs and thanks!

 

[steelfrog]

Was a shady outfit that bought media rights so that they could sue message boards for copyright infringement when a member linked a story. KFC got caught up in the mess before a Nevada judge poured them out.

Kinda sorta. Steel represented Scotty and Wes (and KFC) pro bono. Interesting timeline.

On behalf of KFC, in May 2010, Steel filed the first motion (in what were then about 200 pending cases) stating that Righthaven did not have standing to sue. Initially, this motion was because the RH lawyer/principal had not provided to Steel the contract that RH's rights were derived from. So, in June 2010, the lawyer sent Steel his assignment (attached below). Note that this was 8 months before the Nevada judge unsealed the agreement in the other cases. One look at the agreement and Steel knew RH was screwed, as Nevada was then the only state that made champerty illegal. Righthaven's assignments of copyrights for suit only were against public policy and thus void ab initio.

Steel called BS on the RH lawyer/principal; Steel sent him the authority for a renewed motion based on the NV champerty law; he quickly saw the threat in KFC's motion and dismissed the case. When other lawyers saw the KFC case was dismissed, they called Steel. Steel gladly shared in the hopes that one of the other defendants would be able to put the rubber to the road before RH dismissed their case too (e.g., where there was a counterclaim).

Eventually, the others jumped on board in a dogpile and before 2011 was done, RH was done.

 

[Frog-in-law1995]

Kinda sorta. Steel represented Scotty and Wes (and KFC) pro bono. Interesting timeline.

On behalf of KFC, in May 2010, Steel filed the first motion (in what were then about 200 pending cases) stating that Righthaven did not have standing to sue. Initially, this motion was because the RH lawyer/principal had not provided to Steel the contract that RH's rights were derived from. So, in June 2010, the lawyer sent Steel his assignment (attached below). Note that this was 8 months before the Nevada judge unsealed the agreement in the other cases. One look at the agreement and Steel knew RH was screwed, as Nevada was then the only state that made champerty illegal. Righthaven's assignments of copyrights for suit only were against public policy and thus void ab initio.

Steel called BS on the RH lawyer/principal; Steel sent him the authority for a renewed motion based on the NV champerty law; he quickly saw the threat in KFC's motion and dismissed the case. When other lawyers saw the KFC case was dismissed, they called Steel. Steel gladly shared in the hopes that one of the other defendants would be able to put the rubber to the road before RH dismissed their case too (e.g., where there was a counterclaim).

Eventually, the others jumped on board in a dogpile and before 2011 was done, RH was done.

The most stunning part of all that is that we shot 71.4% from the line in that game.

 

[tcuwags]

This is a pretty good resource below for openings in education around the state. When you go to the site, find Career Center at the very top. You can customize your search. Most districts start looking for 2024-25 around March although with the number of openings that may be moving to earlier. With the explosion of charter schools in Tarrant County, I expect there to be many openings. Of course, if you could get certified, that would increase your opportunities. If you are hoping for middle school or high school, it helps to be able to do multiple subjects or have additional interests like coaching or after school activities, especially if they have a connection to UIL competition. Good luck! We need great teachers.

Texas Association of School Administrators | Inspiring Leaders

tasanet.org

 

[ShadowFrog]

Subs are in high demand all the time. Apply within a couple of districts. Most subs find a district or a few campuses they prefer. It's not easy but usually eye-opening... kids can be jerks, especially to subs. Good luck!

Just walk in lookin’ like John Wick.

 

[ShadowFrog]

What area of law did you practice? (I mean what specialty if you have one). I am looking for help policing my trademarks/copyrights all over the internet.

Wait.
The “team” picture got out?
On the web??
And you need help with “copyrights” ???

 

[PurplFrawg]

Wait.
The “team” picture got out?
On the web??
And you need help with “copyrights” ???

It is awesome.

 

[zfrawg]

Just walk in lookin’ like John Wick.

the kids are like sharks with blood in the water when it comes to subs.

 

[LisaLT]

Was a shady outfit that bought media rights so that they could sue message boards for copyright infringement when a member linked a story. KFC got caught up in the mess before a Nevada judge poured them out.

My infringement matters relate more to jerk stores on Alibaba and sites like that who steal your images and IP and blatantly copy them. It's the Wild West on the internet.

 

[LisaLT]

Good luck to Showtime Joe. It seems that apart from the bikini image copyright issue, you have a lot of good leads from fellow frogs. I do hope in the new year you find new success and financial stability. I think most of us can relate to that concern.