EDD industry classification confusion - where do adjunct professors fit?

Choose "Private Employer" for a private university. The "City/County/School District" option is specifically for government/public sector employees. Since you mentioned it's a private university, that makes you an employee of a private institution, not a public one. I had to figure this out too when I filed my claim after teaching at a community college (public) vs when I taught at a private college.

my wife works at state university and she had 2 pick the govt option... ur at PRIVATE school so do PRIVATE EMPLOYER

It's definitely "Private Employer" in your case. When I worked at UCLA (public) it was the government option, but for any private educational institution, you'd select Private Employer. The system is unnecessarily confusing with these classifications! Also, make sure you're properly classifying your reason for separation - for adjuncts, it's usually "assignment completed" or sometimes "lack of work" rather than being fired or quitting. That's another area where EDD gets picky.

I got the same confusion when i was filling mine out last year and im not even in education! The whole industry list seems outdated tbh

The entire EDD system is DELIBERATELY confusing to discourage people from claiming benefits they're ENTITLED to!!! I spent 5 weeks trying to get my claim processed because of these stupid classification issues. They make everything complicated on purpose!!!

If you continue having issues after selecting "Private Employer" (which is the correct choice), and need to speak with an EDD representative about your claim, I'd recommend trying Claimyr (claimyr.com). I was in a similar position as an adjunct at a private college and had my claim pending for weeks due to confusion about my employment classification. Claimyr helped me get through to an actual person at EDD who fixed my claim in minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km - saved me hours of redial frustration.

When I reopened my claim i messed up my industry TWICE and had to call and get it fixed. Whatever you do, double-check everything before you submit! EDD's customer service isn't the best so avoiding errors in the first place is your best bet.

One more thing to consider - make sure you're eligible for a new claim if your previous one expired. If you haven't earned enough wages in a new base period since your last claim, you might not qualify for a new claim. Since you mentioned you're an adjunct professor, you should check if you earned enough in the base period (usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before filing). This is especially important for academic positions with gaps between semesters.

my cousin works at EDD and says they're way behind on everything right now just FYI

Just wanted to add - I'm also an adjunct (at a private college) and went through this same classification confusion last year. Definitely go with "Private Employer" as others have said. One thing that helped me was having all my employment documentation ready before starting the application - pay stubs, contract letters, etc. The system might ask for verification later and having everything organized made the process smoother. Also, if you taught at multiple institutions, you'll need to list each one separately as different employers. Good luck with your claim!