Hourly Wage

[Dal PhDer]

When you guys get offered contract work, what do you normally say is your hourly range. I am wondering specifically about RA work-data analysis, lit review, ethics submission, etc.

And what do you base this on?

I know it's a bit improper and rude to ask, but I have had two people ask me what I would charge, and I am left saying "..ummm...*stunned look*..."

[ktel]

Interesting. We're unionized, so we don't have that luxury, but we get paid $40 an hour for TA (and I believe RA) work. How much do TAs get paid in your department?

[TakeruK]

Our TA work here is unionized, and we get paid a little bit less than $40/hour for that. This is about the standard for other schools in Ontario, Canada. However, I know that TAs at my undergrad (UBC) were paid around $28/hour. But these numbers are a bit arbitrary since the number of hours worked is small -- a full TAship for me right now is 9 hours/wk at ~$40/hour but at UBC it's ~12 hours/wk at $28/hour, so the total income from TA work is approximately the same. I think our hourly wage rates for TAs are usually determined by taking whatever X dollars the University deems TA work is worth and then dividing it by the number of hours on the contract. But I know UBC TAs are negotiating for a wage increase (since although they still get as much money as other schools, they have to work many more hours!).

Our RA work here is not unionized, and my current contract pay rate is about $25/hour, but again, this is based on some arbitrary number of contract hours. When I was an undergrad, I worked for one prof part time during the school year and he paid me $18/hour for as many hours as I ended up working.

When I tutor (privately) undergraduate level courses, I charge my students $30 / hour.

I think these numbers (except for the TA wage rate for reasons stated above) are a good estimation of how much our skill and time is worth.

Here's another way I think these numbers are good. For a BSc graduate in Canada, the average starting income is around 40,000 to 50,000 per year. Let's say 45,000 for a quick estimate. Divide that by (50 weeks * 37.5 hours/week) and the hourly wage is around $26-$27.

Of course, you would also have to factor in how much the work is actually worth! But I would feel comfortable charging people around $30 / hour for "contract" work that requires a skill that I have.

[Dal PhDer]

$40/hr for a TA position? Wow...we don't make that at my institution, not even close to it. And we're unionized. RA work in general is around $20/hr in my department, and around average. But that's more of a stipend that is allocated for so many hours/week.

Thank you for the outline of your wages! It's nice to know what others charge...it's hard to get into the mindset that you're selling valuable skills vs. the 'just give me anything I need money'! It's quite the shift from selling yours self to just taking whatever you get.

I have been suggesting $25-28/hr which I am glad to hear is roughly what others are charging.

However, I need to discuss this TA rate with my institution! I have been getting seriously jipped!

[Andsowego]

TA's are unionized at my institution, and the collective agreement says they get paid just under $38/hour. RA's are not unionized, but for all of my RA work, I've been paid $25/hour. Other work is for Teaching Fellowships (also unionized but that's a pay amount per credit course, not per hour - e.g., same pay as an adjunct professor but without the benefits). I also do audio transcription work on the side ($20/hour) and formal writing editing ($25/hour) and those are private (so in theory, I could probably be charging a lot more, but then I'd likely lose clients to others who would undercut me).

I hope this helps!

Edited April 18, 2012 by Andsowego

[Dal PhDer]

TA's are unionized at my institution, and the collective agreement says they get paid just under $38/hour. RA's are not unionized, but for all of my RA work, I've been paid $25/hour. Other work is for Teaching Fellowships (also unionized but that's a pay amount per credit course, not per hour - e.g., same pay as an adjunct professor but without the benefits). I also do audio transcription work on the side ($20/hour) and formal writing editing ($25/hour) and those are private (so in theory, I could probably be charging a lot more, but then I'd likely lose clients to others who would undercut me).

I hope this helps!

That does help! I honestly can't believe what people are getting paid for at other institutions. As a TA at Dalhousie, you make $21.95 in my department, a marker only makes $14.95. That seems significantly and drastically under average. In fact, part-time faculty under the CUPE only make $38 an hour. (I had to read the newest agreement just to make sure we were making so much less).

That's insane. It's unfortunate that TA experience is important, otherwise I would just contract myself out for most of my work!

Edited April 18, 2012 by Dal PhDer

[ktel]

I'm at U of T, and our wages are going up in our collective agreement (to match inflation and such). Dalhousie's TA pay seems brutal, but perhaps they make up for it in other funding? I'm quite happy with the TA pay here, as I don't have to TA to get my funding, so it's a nice source of extra income for not too much work.

[TakeruK]

$40/hr for a TA position? Wow...we don't make that at my institution, not even close to it. And we're unionized. RA work in general is around $20/hr in my department, and around average. But that's more of a stipend that is allocated for so many hours/week. Thank you for the outline of your wages! It's nice to know what others charge...it's hard to get into the mindset that you're selling valuable skills vs. the 'just give me anything I need money'! It's quite the shift from selling yours self to just taking whatever you get. I have been suggesting $25-28/hr which I am glad to hear is roughly what others are charging. However, I need to discuss this TA rate with my institution! I have been getting seriously jipped!

As ktel also said -- TA pay rates are kind of a bad thing to compare because usually the total funding works out....but a low TA rate will mean a lot more hours distracting you from research! But Dalhousie does seem REALLY low. I'm at Queen's (our pay is actually $37.32/hr this year, i was just rounding but it goes up by about 0.50 per year for increased cost of living). I know Toronto has a similar hourly TA wage. UBC (which is unionized under CUPE) has a much lower rate and that is one major issue in bargaining their next contract (TAs there have voted and approved the union exec to start a strike if necessary).

[MohamedWyatt]

Our TA work here is unionized, and we get paid a little bit less than $40/hour for that. This is about the standard for other schools in Ontario, Canada.

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