TA Choices

[Nytusse]

Can anyone help me out with the types of assignments? As in, what is the difference between being a TA and a reader/grader in terms of time commitment and effort? Are there any major benefits/drawbacks to being one versus the other?

Additionally, should grad students generally choose to TA for classes in their field of study? If I am in Modern European History, it is OK to be a TA for a class on Ancient Greece, for example, because I have a lot of experience in that area?

Are TAs expected to attend every class?

Thanks for any input!

[aginath]

Differences in time commitment and effort vary by program and even university. Some programs require 12 hours of clocked work outside of teaching and others require as many as 20. Non-teaching assistantships can also have varying degrees of responsibility. Mine is non-teaching and I'm required to work 16 hours a week. However, I have colleagues who assist with grading and research and only work 12 hours a week.

If you can get a TA, take it. My field is educational technology. We're in the Ed Psych department. However, I have a classmate who teaches Japanese over in the Comp Lit department, because he's fluent. Another student teaches freshman Psych, because her B.A. is in Psychology. In a time where funding cutbacks are affecting every program, don't limit your options. Shop around.

[Jae B.]

I'm sure this is different for every school, but at my university, I've noticed TAs and readers are usually present at most classes -- maybe missing one of two classes a week. So at minimum, the TAs go to one 1 1/2 hour class (if not two) and host one to four 1 hour-long discussion sections per week, depending on how many sections they lead and if those meet once or twice a week. So the time commitment can vary a lot, especially once you add grading responsibilities!

When my time comes, I'd primarily be interested in TAing for either of my two undergraduate majors. But since they were interdisciplinary, there are even more departments I took a significant amount of coursework in and could assist. Ditto the importance of shopping around right now. Looking at TA's backgrounds at my school, it seems that securing a position is very competitive....

Edited May 24, 2010 by Jae B.