Teaching Assistantship or TA is a partly formal and mostly paid job offered to university students by the college itself. TAs assist the students and class teachers in certain things and get paid for their help. TAs help the teachers in their work and reduce their workload. Teachers have to check assignments, take lectures, grade papers, administer exams, and have many other tasks. A TA helps in such tasks and gets paid according to the workload and quality delivered. Let’s check-> Do you get paid to be a TA in college?
In some universities, one might be lucky enough to be made a TA and then paid for his or her work. The pay may help through tuition fee waivers in college or may also be paid monthly under the work hours and quality.
How Can One Become A TA?
To become a TA in your college, one must be good academic-wise and handle the pressure of studies with the extra work that the job of a TA requires you to do. There is no specific path to follow to be a TA. So, one can ask the faculty, department heads, or even peers for the same.
Skills Required To Become A TA
Being a TA is not an easy task to follow. The teachers are themselves under a whole lot of pressure and a great deal gets directed to their assistants for work. Heaven knows what shall happen if you sabotage your given task! To be a TA one needs a skill set that will not only get you to do your work peacefully but also in an efficient manner. Following are a few skills that form a must-possess skill set for a TA.
- Patience
A TA must have a lot of patience while being on duty. He or she has to handle the pressures bestowed by the teachers and department heads and if that is not sufficient, the students can test one’s patience too. Being patient and retaining your calm in adverse situations will get you through the hardships and let you carry out tasks in a proficient manner.
- Academic qualification
Though it is not necessary to be academically qualified to get the position of a TA in your college, having a good GPA or grade will be a plus point in your profile. Also knowing the subjects in which you assist the teacher will make your tasks easier to be followed.
- Communication skills
Both oral and written communication skills are a must-have for being a TA. TAs often are required to explain certain topics to the students and often solve some of their doubts. To do this effectively, one must be good at explaining things and in short, be a good communicator.
- Some other skills may include handling tasks under pressure, working with deadlines, working in a supportive role, and being good at following instructions precisely.
How Much Can A TA Get Paid?
TAs are paid following the tasks they perform and the quality of work they can deliver. Also, the pay increases with the level of difficulty in tasks, time devoted, and even prior experience in the field. They are paid following the tasks they perform and the quality of work they can deliver. According to the responsibilities and level of tasks, TAs are grouped into three levels with each having a different pay range.
- Level 1 TA
These include starting TAs working full time and have a salary range of 15,000-18,000 pounds.
- Level 2 TA
With a level of responsibilities increased, level 2 TA sare paid around 20,000 pounds.
- Level 3 TA
As TAs become experienced and have a higher set of qualifications or specializations, they are paid up to 25,000 pounds.
Although the pay range changes according to the budget of the department and from college to college, the general pay is around the above-mentioned only.
Responsibilities Of A TA
Depending on the role, experience, and level a TA may have to perform a variety of tasks and undertake certain responsibilities as designated to him or her.
A general set of responsibilities include:
- Helping fellow pupils in academics, assignments, or in topics that they feel difficulty in.
- Supervision during lunch, games, and outdoor trips from school
- Sometimes taking note of attendance is also an added task to the list of responsibilities of a TA.
- Make notes of resources to assist the teachers with lectures and help in preparing sheets.
- At a higher level, a TA is often required to hold group activities for a better learning experience and skill development.
Conclusion
Generally during the term, working hours are the same as school hours. However, sometimes when you have extra club activity work you may even have to stay a bit after school. Some professors prefer their TAs to be present early morning before the school hours begin but again that depends on the professor you assist.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Can one become a TA with no prior experience?
Usually, qualifications or prior experience are not the pivot factors on which the selection depends. Without prior on-the-job experience too, one can become a TA provided he or she has a good CV and grades in the past.
Q2. Who pays a TA?
The university unusually sets an amount for the different departments for TAs. The budget allocated is then divided among the professors to hire their TA.
Q3. Does a TA have to teach a class by himself?
Depending on the professor the TA works for, one may or may not be required to teach a class. Sometimes, a TA is required to teach a topic or two to the entire class on their own whereas other times TAs are free of teaching duties.
