I've got a TA position. What does it do???

[Yihuan]

I've got a TA position at North Carolina State University. Since coming from a none-English-speaking country, I'm kind of worrying if i'm qualified for the job. Can anybody please tell me what does a TA usually do? A little advice on how to be a better TA would be nicer.

 

Thank you! : )

 

P.S. Does TA pay tax for its wage? What's the tax rate in NC state?

[TakeruK]

A TA's work varies a lot from program to program and school to school. You might simply grade homework assignments, or lead discussion groups/review sections, or maybe help out in a lab while students are working on code or an experiment, for example. Many schools may require TAs to pass an English test (or score above some level on the international English tests, which may be higher than the minimum level for admission) in order to directly interact with students. I don't think they would have accepted you if you are not qualified and they will definitely give you more information and guidance (and if you're lucky, training too!) when you get there. It's hard to just give advice on how to be a good TA because there is a lot of different advice that applies to different situations and also a lot of different philosophies.

 

As for taxes, yes in the US, we pay tax on grad student income, unless you have a special scholarship. You will pay federal tax as well as state tax. I think you should budget in general, to pay about 10% to 15% of your total stipend package in taxes. As an international student, it's possible that the school will deduct this tax ahead of time, and they usually deduct at the 14% level and then you get any overpaid tax back when you file your tax return each year. So, for month to month budgeting, estimate that you will only have 85% of your stated income available for bills and rent etc. 

[ZiggyPhil]

As for taxes, yes in the US, we pay tax on grad student income, unless you have a special scholarship. You will pay federal tax as well as state tax. I think you should budget in general, to pay about 10% to 15% of your total stipend package in taxes. As an international student, it's possible that the school will deduct this tax ahead of time, and they usually deduct at the 14% level and then you get any overpaid tax back when you file your tax return each year. So, for month to month budgeting, estimate that you will only have 85% of your stated income available for bills and rent etc. 

 

I just want to note that this is not universally true.  My stipend, for example, is exempt from most taxes.  I don't know what the relevant difference is, but I'd suggest asking your graduate program director or university bursar for information. 

[TakeruK]

I just want to note that this is not universally true.  My stipend, for example, is exempt from most taxes.  I don't know what the relevant difference is, but I'd suggest asking your graduate program director or university bursar for information. 

 

Good point--but I also have experience with graduate program directors not knowing this information and the University Bursar not giving complete information. That is, if you have don't have taxes withheld, it does not always mean that you won't have to pay tax. The University can really only tell if they are going to withhold tax or not. It's your own responsibility to make sure you pay the right amount of taxes, not the school's. My school seems to have the stance that they don't want to give tax advice at all (liability issues) but will instead pay for a tax consultant to give free workshops on how to fill out tax returns.

 

Note: My school withholds 14% of my stipend in taxes but due to a combination of non-US source funding and a tax treaty, I end up owing not much tax and got most of it back! But every case is different, so it's hard to tell sometimes without a tax lawyer or going through the process for the first year.

[spellbanisher]

You will most likely have to pay state and federal income tax, but wages for jobs such as graduate teaching assisting are exempt from fica(social security and Medicare). A quick class search for NCSU indicates that it has discussion section (I guess the equivalent for computer science would the laboratory). You will likely lead laboratory sections of classes. For the students in your labs, you will grade papers and tests and hold office hours. At the UCs, a grad student typically leads three discussion sections of 15 students each. The grad student also grades their papers and exams.

BTW, you will be able to find more pertinent information by emailing grad students at NCSU. Your university posts their email addresses here:

https://www.csc.ncsu.edu/directories/phds.php

Edited April 9, 2014 by spellbanisher

[danieleWrites]

Each state is different, so you would have to go to the individual state's department of revenue, but the federal taxation issues for international students can be found here:

 

http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Foreign-Students-and-Scholars

 

If you are exempt from taxation but your taxes are withheld anyway, you should speak with the university department that is in charge of maintaining all employee W4 or W9 forms. You can find that by looking through the human resources portion of the university website. Exemption for paying taxes in the US doesn't automatically translate into taxes not being withheld from the paycheck. Instead, tax returns are filed (due April 15) and all money withheld is returned.

 

You should speak with someone in the university's international student office. If they don't know the answer, they should be able to direct you to someone who does know the answer.

 

For the OP, NCSU has a very helpful page for you: http://www.ncsu.edu/human_resources/payroll/fnannualtaxfiling_000.php

 

 

As far as what a TA does? I took computer science classes many years ago (flip phone were the in thing) and we had TAs. They graded papers (code). In my math classes, they had what the university called a recitation section (the professor lectured to everyone twice a week, the TA expanded the lecture to a section of students on two different days of the week, which included grading homework). In the English department, I am the sole person involved in the two sections I teach (I do all the grading, lecturing, assigning, etc.). In my current university, I draft a syllabus, but it's based on the choices and guidelines the program sets down for the course. They create the assignments, I put them in my own language, and students grumble about everything. In my previous institution, I chose books, readings, assignments, and so on. I developed the course however I chose.

 

I would recommend that you contact either the department or the international student office and ask. You can, likely, find out which course you'll be expected to TA in for the first semester, and perhaps find a departmental TA that would be willing to help you. Some programs have a graduate student association of some sort that can give you a lot of help.