Graduate Assistant (GA) position ??

[Mered]

I received an acceptance this morning from one my top choice schools. They offered me a scholarship and a GA position! They said the position will entail 5-10 hours per week at $10/hr, but other than that gave no details. What exactly does being a 'graduate assistant' mean? What are typical GA duties? The $$ is obviously nice, but would accepting the position it be adding too much to my plate as a first semester grad student? TIA! 

[Speechster]

It depends on what you are doing and who you are an assistant for. I dont do anything too tedious or mentally exhausting, but i am sure that there are people who do! It may be overwhelming at first, but if you just block it off in your schedule, its really manageable

[joyannna]

Contact the department and ask the what your responsibilities would be. You could also ask previous students about their experiences! 

[VitaSineLitterisMorsEst]

5 hours ago, Mered said:

I received an acceptance this morning from one my top choice schools. They offered me a scholarship and a GA position! They said the position will entail 5-10 hours per week at $10/hr, but other than that gave no details. What exactly does being a 'graduate assistant' mean? What are typical GA duties? The $$ is obviously nice, but would accepting the position it be adding too much to my plate as a first semester grad student? TIA! 

Congratulations!! I think it partly depends on the teacher that you GA for. Some students have told me their work was as minimal as entering grades, others are more involved. Sometimes they have to attend the class, have office hours for undergrads, and run a 1 credit lab or something.

Probably depends on the school too; I know at least one school I applied to that requires students to not have any other outside working going on.

Regardless of whether you accept it or not, it's a huge honor to be asked. I got turned down for a GA position at UNL so I'm kind of bummed out about it. Another school offered me one, and my scholarship was also contingent on accepting; so I would find out about that.

[Mered]

16 minutes ago, VitaSineLitterisMorsEst said:

Congratulations!! I think it partly depends on the teacher that you GA for. Some students have told me their work was as minimal as entering grades, others are more involved. Sometimes they have to attend the class, have office hours for undergrads, and run a 1 credit lab or something.

Probably depends on the school too; I know at least one school I applied to that requires students to not have any other outside working going on.

Regardless of whether you accept it or not, it's a huge honor to be asked. I got turned down for a GA position at UNL so I'm kind of bummed out about it. Another school offered me one, and my scholarship was also contingent on accepting; so I would find out about that.

Thanks! So basically a GA is just another term for a TA? I'll definitely double check with the program to make sure. It's a huge honor and I'd like to accept the position if I end up choosing this program, but it is a little scary to not know exactly who I'll be working with/what my responsibilities will be beforehand (running a lab sounds a little overwhelming!) Fortunately they said the scholarship will still be offered regardless of if I accept the GA position. 

[angela4]

I don't think a GA is always a TA. I think TAing is just one potential position as a GA. You may also be doing office work in your department or something similar. 

[Jolie717]

In my experience, 10 hours is definitely reasonable unless you want to work another job on top of that.  

[koalalover1]

21 hours ago, angela4 said:

I don't think a GA is always a TA. I think TAing is just one potential position as a GA. You may also be doing office work in your department or something similar. 

I agree with this. At my university I received a GA, and I am a research assistant. I think it depends on the program??