Being a graduate teaching assistant in college is a great honor and is also a very challenging job. You have to really know what you are doing in order to take on such a responsibility. Although you are not a full professor, your job duties include a lot of what a professor would do. You may have to grade papers, teach small classes, help students with homework, hold office hours, and hold review sessions. Each professor is different and will assign graduate TAs with different job duties. Here are some of the benefits of becoming a graduate TA.
You Get Experience
If you ever want to become a professor, having TA experience will be of great advantage to you. It looks great on your resume. It looks even better if you were a TA all throughout your graduate career. It shows that you have phenomenal experience with teaching and are ready to actually do it on your own. When you are a TA, you are under the direct supervision of a professor so you will be able to gain knowledge from him or her as you perform your duties as a TA.
Through my experience being a TA, I have truly learned so much not only from working with professors but working with the other TAs. My communication skills have gotten better, I have learned how to work as a team to help students do the best they possibly can, and I have learned some great teaching techniques from professors who have been doing this job for years.
You Get Paid
Students do not become graduate TAs simply for the experience. When you apply to a graduate school, many will give you the option to apply to be a TA in order to get financial assistance. You may either get paid directly or you will be a TA in exchange for your graduate education. If you don’t want to have to pay for your education, applying to be a graduate TA will be very beneficial to you. Although graduate schools do not accept everyone who applies, they do provide many with that opportunity.
I know firsthand what it is like to struggle financially while getting a college education. Finding a job isn’t always the easiest task, so for some people, being a teaching assistant is what is allowing them to go to school at all. It pays really well and it contributes to your education in so many significant ways.
You Get Recommendation Letters and References
If you ever need a recommendation letter for a scholarship or a post-graduate school, the professor who supervised you as a graduate TA could potentially write you a great recommendation letter. Being a TA is a great way to really get acquainted with professors and show them what is so great about you. They will record your progress and if you did a really good job as a TA in their class, they will have wonderful things to say about you. You can also use these professors as references when you are applying for a job. I personally have used these professors as references and for recommendation letters.
If you ever get the chance to be a graduate TA, take the opportunity. It can only do you good. It will be even more beneficial to you if you ever want to become a professor yourself or do any kind of teaching. Even if you never want to teach, become a TA if you ever get the opportunity. It helps you develop great communication skills, leadership skills, and is a great way to network with professors to get potential references and recommendation letters.