as an adjunct makes anywhere from a low of 2250 (at State Unis) to 3700 at private colleges (they paid for my gas, 120 m. round trip with a 300$bonus) my stepfather used to teach in vermont as an adjunct for a lousy 1500 and Lemoyne once offered a lousy 1500. i went to work for colgate instead for far more.
three hours class time, three hours office (high, there's no reason teaching one course requires that of a part timer) time plus a high ball of 10 hrs out of office time will put us at 15 hrs. per week for 16 week semester. (on avg.) that's ~9-15$ an hour. considerably better than that of a housekeeper.
considering that i used to teach four classes at four different unis each semester, commuting on some days 240 miles, it's quite possible to mange 15 hrs per course over 16 - 18 wks.
this is not to say that adjuncts aren't treated like crap compared to full time fac who make considerably more, but it is still far more than that of an adjunct. your friend's "conscientiousness" was not required to be an adjunct. you can get by quite well with a lousy 15 hours a week per semester. no need to put that much effort into it.
save the effort for when you get tenure b/c being a good teacher as an adjunct won't get you far. which is not to say that i condone the trilateral hierarchy of the academic profession either.