Graduate Teaching Assistant: Job Description, Pay

• What graduate teaching assistants do
• Educational and certification requirements
• Income projections
• Pros and cons of being a graduate teaching assistant

What graduate teaching assistants do

Graduate teaching assistants work with the faculty in their departments in colleges and universities. Though they often cover subsections of larger courses taught by professors, they may get the opportunity to teach courses on their own. They tend to work on a contract basis, teaching undergraduates while pursuing graduate degrees.

The main challenge for graduate teaching assistants is balancing teaching with the pursuit of a graduate degree. Nevertheless, it’s an excellent way to gain teaching experience and develop relationships with professors who will be integral to the success of your career in academia.

A graduate teaching assistant may work 20 hours a week or more on teaching. Job duties are similar to those of a professor:

• Teaching undergraduate courses
• Leading discussions in the classroom
• Answering student questions
• Creating lesson plans and materials
• Giving exams and grading papers

Much of the rest of the graduate teaching assistant’s time is devoted to earning a master’s degree or doctorate. This includes taking graduate courses in your specialized academic field, conducting your own research and working as a research assistant for tenured faculty members.
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Education and certification requirements

To be a graduate teaching assistant, you must first complete a bachelor’s degree and then enroll in a graduate program. You will be an enrolled graduate student working towards either a master’s degree or a doctorate for the entire time you are a graduate teaching assistant.

Income projections

Graduate teaching assistants receive a small salary, but a significant part of their compensation is the tuition or fee waiver that makes the cost of their graduate education much less expensive.

Here are four estimates of annual salaries for graduate teaching assistants:

• BLS: $30,810 (median)
• PayScale.com:  $18,501 (median)
• Glassdoor.com: $22,383 (average)
• NPR: $24,000 to $36,000 (range)

Pros and cons of being a graduate teaching assistant

As you consider becoming a graduate teaching assistant, think through the pros and cons of the job.

Pros

• Teach part time, with the rest of your time available to focus on studies
• Teach students who are dynamic, enthusiastic and eager for opportunities
• Help students find direction and focus, which can have an immediate and lifelong impact
• Opportunity to find intellectual and academic direction
• Connect with professors who can serve as mentors and long-term career contacts

Cons

• Low pay when compared to other jobs that require a bachelor’s degree
• Must juggle work as a teacher with responsibilities as a student and researcher
• Job is low status and temporary

• What adjunct faculty do
• Educational and certification requirements
• Income projections
• Pros and cons of being an adjunct faculty member

What adjunct professors do

Adjunct professors teach courses as graduate teaching assistants do, but they are not necessarily enrolled in school while teaching. In many cases, they conduct research in their field of academic inquiry while they carry out their teaching duties. Many teach introductory courses that students are required to take, or remedial courses to bring students up to a college-level skill set.

The most common duties of adjunct professors include:

• Educating students in a specialized academic field
• Creating a course syllabus that meets department and college standards
• Working with colleagues to improve course curriculum
• Staying current on important changes and/or discoveries in the field they teach
• Planning and presenting lectures
• Leading in-class discussions
• Answering relevant questions from students during or after class
• Advising students on how to succeed in class
• Grading papers, labs, quizzes and exams
• Assigning grades to students based on participation, performance in class, assignments and examinations

Many people become adjunct professors while searching for tenure-track professorships. Therefore, some adjunct professors will eventually move on to another job that will give them the opportunity to eventually join tenured faculty. Others may remain adjunct professors for years with little hope of further advancement.

Educational and certification requirements

At minimum, adjunct professors must have a master’s degree in a field closely related to the subject they will be teaching. Many adjunct professors are expected to have a doctorate, or be working toward one.

Salary projections

Income for adjunct professors can vary widely, depending on location, the discipline they teach, education level, teaching experience and research background. Here are four estimates of annual income for adjunct professors:

• PayScale.com:  $31,357 (median)
• SalaryGenius.com: $34,000 (average)
• Glassdoor.com: $27,843 (average)
• NPR: $20,000 to $25,000 (range)

Unlike full-time faculty, adjunct teachers do not always work as year-round salaried employees. In many cases, they work as temporary contractors and are paid by the course. To get a better sense of how this works, take a look at these estimates of pay per course for adjunct instructors at community colleges:

• AAUP:  $1,800 to $2,700 per course
• NPR: $3,500 per course, $7,000 per semester
• Houston Chronicle: $2,000 and $5,000 per course

Adjunct professors rarely receive benefits like health insurance or pensions. And adjunct professors do not have tenure, which is an assurance of long-term job security and academic freedom.

Pros and cons of being an adjunct professor

As you think about what it takes to be an adjunct professor, think through the pros and cons of the job.

Pros

• Teach students who are dynamic, enthusiastic and eager for opportunities
• Help students find direction and focus, which can have an immediate and lifelong impact
• Provide a great education to many first-generation college students, often from immigrant families
• Get some income and stability while working toward earning tenure and joining the permanent faculty
• Flexible hours and opportunities to take time off
• A good job to balance with another part-time job

Cons

• Lower pay than full-time faculty
• Unlikely to receive benefits
• Little job security
• Rarely eligible for private office space

• What tenured and tenure-track professors do
• Educational and certification requirements
• Income projections
• Pros and cons of being a tenured or tenure-track professor

What tenured and tenure-track professors do

Tenured professors usually earn an annual salary, health insurance and a pension. Tenure also guarantees long-term job security and academic freedom. Before becoming a tenured professor, you must first be hired as a tenure-track professor. It often takes five or six years for a tenure-track professor to earn tenure, and tenure-track professors are by no means guaranteed to eventually earn tenure.

Job security and academic freedom are two of the most important differences between tenured and tenure-track professors. In addition, tenured professors serve on the faculty senate of their university or college. Tenure-track professors must focus on publishing highly significant research in their academic field to earn tenure.

Tenured and tenure-track professors teach courses in their academic fields to graduate and undergraduate students. They also carry out research in specialized areas and publish their findings in journals, reviews and books.

Education and certification requirements

Earning a tenure-track position at a university or four-year college can be an enormous undertaking. At minimum, you will have to complete a doctorate that demonstrates your commitment to research and inquiry in your academic field. Getting a tenure-track faculty position at a college or university also requires that you publish original research and earn the respect and admiration of your colleagues.

As a tenure-track professor, you’ll gain tenure only after a rigorous multiyear period of examination by your peers. You must publish highly significant research in your academic field to eventually be elected by the other faculty members to join them as a tenured faculty member.

Income projections

Tenure-track and tenured professors at colleges and universities earn significantly more than adjunct professors and graduate teaching assistants. Here are a handful of annual salary estimates for professors:

• BLS: $72,470
• PayScale.com: $84,422
• Glassdoor.com: $114,134
• Salary.com: $84,966 to $159,427

There are also a number of websites and databases dedicated to tracking the salaries of professors that can provide more detailed information broken down by discipline and other criteria. To access this detailed information, check out the following sources:

• Faculty Salaries Start Class
• Chronicle Data
• Higher Education Salary Survey by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR)
• American Association of University Professors (AAUP) Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession

Pros and cons of being a tenure-track or tenured professor

Consider both the advantages and disadvantages of becoming a professor at a four-year college or university.

Pros

• Full benefits for health insurance and retirement security
• Tenure-track positions give you an opportunity for long-term job security
• Ample opportunities for research and grant funding
• Publish your findings in prestigious journals and books
• Get to teach students with a passion for learning and achievement
• Highest-status position in the academic world
• May be able to take on a leadership role at a college or university
• Plenty of time off for vacation or a second career

Cons

• Can be frustrating to work within bureaucratic institutions like universities
• Academia can be highly competitive, with a “publish-or-perish” norm
• Many years of advanced education are required
• No guarantee of tenure
• Lower pay than many high-status positions in the for-profit business world