TAs and Grad students

[jds2006]

Why are all TAs grad students? Is it like a requirement for grad students to be TAs or something?

 

[TecHNooB]

There are undergrad TAs, but they tend to blend in~

 

[Brainonska511]

Depends on the subject. AFAIK, chemistry TAs are grad students because of the handling and supervising of chemicals, but my older brother was a TA for physics as an undergrad.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

It takes at least four years to sort out the A** H**** in order to make them TA's

 

[Darien]

At my school, TAships are given to grad students. PhD students first, and then masters students. With a TAship comes a stipend and tuition waver: things that you want your researchers to have and not worry 'bout. I think I met 1 undergrad TA here, and I think he said he was able to get it because the department he worked for didn't have a graduate program.

 

[Eeezee]

TAs are paid positions. Most scientific grad schools like to give their students jobs so that they can afford to keep going to school. TA and grading positions are perfect as they help train the student

I started TAing at the beginning of my Junior undergrad year, so now you at least know that you don't need to be a graduate student to be a TA. Even for chemistry I'm sure there are exceptions. If you know what you're doing, you can get hired. The pay is sweet and the work is interesting and not difficult.

 

[Al Neri]

i once got a TA fired

 

[dennilfloss]

It's often a form of financial aid for the graduate students. I got some bad vibes from many grads when I became paleontology TA as an undergrad. They made it clear to me I was taking their money.

 

[TuxDave]

Financial Aid when they don't have research funding.

 

[Tiamat]

TA is one of the many graduate stipended positions. RA is another (Research assistant).

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

Universitys leverage assistance positions in a variety of ways. Typically there are three kinds of graduate assistanceships that grad schools offer grad students... teaching, project, and research assistanceships. Some schools may not have all three, and student hourly positions and outside school jobs are common supplemental income sources. Regardless, grad students within a department usually get first dibs on the assistanceship (and lecturer) positions that a department has available. Often, grad students are given a garuantee of support at XXX level for Y years. If a department has more positions than grad students then they have to start cancelling sections or hiring non-grad student employees. This is more common in schools that have a lot of grant money coming in.

 

[shuttleboi]

Originally posted by: jds2006
Why are all TAs grad students?

As an undergrad, you want your TAs to be graduate students, not undergrads. The graduate students are supposed to be smarter, more helpful, and knowledgable in the subject matter. (after all, they finished college already and are there to learn more)

Is it like a requirement for grad students to be TAs or something?

Grad students can be paid while working either as teaching assistants or research assistants (doing research for their advising professor). It is preferrable for a grad student to be a research assistant. However, if the advisor does not have enough budget to support the student, then he/she will usually work as a TA. Additionally, when some grad students come in, they don't know what direction to take (and therefore haven't really hooked up with an advisor), so they work as TAs. Finally, for some universities (like mine), there may actually be a requirement that a grad student work a few quarters/semesters as a TA.

 

[axelfox]

I went to a small school, so we didn't have any TAs teaching the classes. All the TA were essentially "tutors" available for outside help.

I find the TAs that teach classes are from the larger schools, but someone else can confirm and elaborate on that.

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

Originally posted by: axelfox
I went to a small school, so we didn't have any TAs teaching the classes. All the TA were essentially "tutors" available for outside help.

I find the TAs that teach classes are from the larger schools, but someone else can confirm and elaborate on that.

I'm a grad student and TA. TAs here are given one of three positions: they either run labs, teach tutorials, or grade exams and assignments. It's also possible for a TA to be a lecturer, but 90+% of the time, the lecturers are post-docs in the department.

 

[Wreckem]

Originally posted by: axelfox
I went to a small school, so we didn't have any TAs teaching the classes. All the TA were essentially "tutors" available for outside help.

I find the TAs that teach classes are from the larger schools, but someone else can confirm and elaborate on that.

TA's normally dont teach classes, unless the professor they are under is lazy.

Graduate Instructors do, which some people might mistake for TAs. They already have their masters, and are just working on their PhD.

 

[George P Burdell]

I was an undergrad TA for a few semesters. Would do more semesters if my course schedule weren't so packed up.

 

[Rumpltzer]

I was a TA during my first year of grad school before settling on a research group and taking an RA. After a year with my research advisor, I was asked to TA the course he taught so I had a TA and an RA at the same time.

It was one of those 350 student courses at a large university, so we also had undergrad "graders" who'd grade the homework assignments... I wrote the solutions to the homework, kept the gradebook, manned the message boards, and held office hours.

Teaching can be a lot of fun and very rewarding, but most of the time it sucks and I yelled at people a lot. I was notorious for yelling at people for not knowing how to do math, not reading the book, not thinking, etc.

I was also voted TA of the year for the department.

 

[Born2bwire]

Originally posted by: Rumpltzer
I was a TA during my first year of grad school before settling on a research group and taking an RA. After a year with my research advisor, I was asked to TA the course he taught so I had a TA and an RA at the same time.

It was one of those 350 student courses at a large university, so we also had undergrad "graders" who'd grade the homework assignments... I wrote the solutions to the homework, kept the gradebook, manned the message boards, and held office hours.

Teaching can be a lot of fun and very rewarding, but most of the time it sucks and I yelled at people a lot. I was notorious for yelling at people for not knowing how to do math, not reading the book, not thinking, etc.

I was also voted TA of the year for the department.

Obviously, I need to do more yelling.