After being featured on CNBC Make It recently, a Singaporean part-time lecturer’s unique lifestyle went viral. Mr. Shao Chun Chen’s decision to live with his wife in Chiang Mai, Thailand, while taking a round-trip flight to Singapore every Friday to work is, in his own words, “gaming the system”.
According to the CNBC feature, he earns between $2,000 and $4,000 a month by teaching a weekly three-hour digital marketing course at NUS Business School. This covers his weekly round-trip flights and basic expenditures in Thailand. Since part-time lecturers in Singapore are paid per hour, we can assume that Mr. Chen is paid between $150 to $250 per hour.
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The hourly rate for part-time lecturers depends on the lecturer’s level of experience and seniority, with most earning at the lower end of the range. The hourly rates are higher for those teaching part-time courses for working adults, like a polytechnic’s Continuing Education and Training (CET) program, which are usually conducted after office hours on weekdays.
| Educational Institution | Hourly Rate For Part-Time Lecturers |
| National University of Singapore | $150 to $300 |
| Nanyang Technological University | $150 to $300 |
| Singapore Management University | $150 to $300 |
| Ngee Ann Polytechnic | $100 to $200 |
| Nanyang Polytechnic | $100 to $200 |
| Kaplan Higher Education Academy | $100 to $200 |
Hourly Rate For Part-Time Lecturers Only Refers To Contact Time
It is important to note here that the hourly rate for part-time lecturers in the various educational institutions is based on “contact time”, which refers to the actual amount of time spent teaching students. In other words, it does not include the time spent in lesson preparation, marking, and other administrative duties.
A typical part-time lecturer takes on about 20 to 25 hours of contact time a month per class, which comes up to a monthly average of about $3,600 for part-time lecturers in universities and about $2,400 a month for polytechnics, according to job site Indeed.
Depending on the educational institution, you may be able to take on more classes, which would increase your contact time hours and thus your salary.
Since part-time lecturers qualify for CPF, their take-home pay will be less.
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Qualifications Required Of A Part-Time Lecturer
Most part-time lecturer roles require at least a Master’s degree in the relevant subject, or other relevant qualifications. Having practical experience and industry knowledge would be advantageous, since the role of part-time lecturers is to complement the school’s full-time faculty and broaden the range of specialisations offered by the school.
Additionally, some teaching experience is preferred, since it would imply that you’re not only suited to interacting with students, but also familiar with how much work needs to be done outside the classroom.
Applying For Part-Time Lecturer Roles
From time to time, universities and polytechnics will put up job listings for part-time lecturers, sometimes known as adjunct lecturers, on job sites like Careers@Gov, LinkedIn, Jobstreet or Glassdoor. You can also head to the careers section of each educational institution’s website to see if there are any available roles.
