What Is a Teacher’s Assistant and How Do You Become One?
Get Hired by LinkedIn News
We talk about leveling up, about finding work and about excelling where you are right now.
In Brief: (1) A teacher’s assistant (TA) is “typically a graduate student who assists a professor with instructional responsibilities,” and becoming one depends on your needs. (2) Being a TA is a job, which has various responsibilities and requires the TA to know the subject matter. (3) You need to apply to be a TA, with application requirements varying by school.
College is a wonderful place (and time) to build up experiences that will have a great impact on your personal and professional development. One rewarding college experience is being a teacher’s assistant (TA), also referred to as a teaching assistant. As you seek out more ways to get involved with your major, consider becoming a TA.?
You may already be familiar with TAs, who are typically graduate students, although some undergraduate teacher assistantships do exist. Either way, TA positions can be quite limited, with the number varying from professor to professor, and department to department, so it’s best to know what to expect from TA-ship beforehand.
Is Being a Teacher’s Assistant Worth It? It Depends
Being a TA is not for everyone and that’s okay. You may already be occupied with classwork or see no need for this particular experience, so don’t feel any added pressure to be a TA. There are various college experiences out there that are just as enriching as teacher’s assistantships, including extracurricular activities. However, some graduate (and many Ph.D.) programs do require students to serve as TAs for a certain duration of their education.
Even if you’re not required to be a TA, The Princeton Review writes two major reasons to consider being a TA, including that it (1) helps you pay for your education and (2) provides you with university-level teaching experience. As a TA, you’ll be rewarded tuition discounts or a modest stipend/salary, along with the ability to boost your resume.
Additionally, some students are inspired to become TAs themselves after having a good past experience or interaction with a former TA.?
“[M]y TAs were so important to me when I was taking certain classes. My TAs were really, really helpful as far as? [helping me] to understand exactly the field I was getting into and how to approach my work ... And so for me, my TAs were really essential in helping me understand exactly what was going on, exactly what I was doing and really just how far I could push my own work. [And] that's really what attracted me to the role. It [teacher’s assistantship] was really important for me, so I'd like to do it for someone else.”
— Clarence Mensah is an architecture student representative and teaching assistant at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). He is currently in his fifth and final year of RISD’s BArch program.
The Reality of Teacher’s Assistants
Main TA responsibilities: Teacher’s assistants (TA) support professors with day-to-day tasks, “enhancing the learning experience for students by supporting their teachers in and out of the classroom.” Their responsibilities can vary, including grading assignments, tutoring, helping professors prepare for class, leading discussion sections, and more. Additionally, some TAs are tasked with teaching classes of their own and holding weekly office hours. That being said, your exact responsibilities will vary depending on the needs of your professor.?
“As far as being a TA goes, you really are the point person behind the professor to students. You're an extended resource for them as far as going through class or getting assignments done. In my capacity, I haven't really had to teach anything as far as standing in front of people and having stuff to present. So for a lot of these [students], you are giving them a second resource for how to approach their work.”
— Clarence Mensah
TAs should be understanding and approachable: Another key part to being a successful teacher’s assistant is understanding that not everyone learns the same way. TAs should have a solid understanding of the subject matter and concepts they’re teaching, in order to better help struggling students. These are all good starting blocks for those interested in becoming a college professor.??
“You help fill gaps in knowledge, understanding, or just general thinking. I like [students] to talk to me about anything and everything. And I think just being open and accessible is extremely important because if students could get away with never speaking to you …? they would and only come to you in times of absolute crisis. Being an approachable person is absolutely core and central [to being a TA], but of course you should also know what you're talking about.”
领英推荐
— Clarence Mensah
It’s a job, which can sometimes be time-consuming: You may also need to attend numerous course meetings, conduct labs and proctor exams as a TA. Outside of the classroom, successful TAs must be able to manage their time and responsibilities, because being a TA is a lot of additional work. You have to balance your TA duties, along with your main college duties. Please be aware that TA-ships can quickly become overwhelming, so really consider if it’s an added responsibility you can realistically handle. Boundaries are a necessity and if you’re not a good fit for the role, you risk being fired.?
“I think time commitment is a big deal because … I'm also a student at the same time with my own schedule, my own classes. But how I personally get around that is I had made it very clear to my section that I'm TAing for that. I like to establish availability during the first few weeks of classes. So I fill out my schedule, let them fill theirs and I'm like, ‘What times work best for everyone or how many people can I see at once?’ And then we agree on a time and I make it clear that ‘I will give you these two or three hours and I hope you guys take advantage of it. I will always be here, I will always set aside this time, but I need you guys to make use of it.’?
So it's very much a job and you need to make sure you do your job properly, you stay on top of the things or your expectations, your responsibilities because you can be fired and you cannot be rehired or hired for another [TA] role in the future.”?
— Clarence Mensah
You’ve most likely had a TA in a previous class, so don’t hesitate to ask them (or the professor) directly about their experience.
Applying To Be a Teacher’s Assistant
Still interested in being a TA? As with any job, you need to apply and the requirements vary at each college and university. For many institutions, TA applicants who are still undergraduates need to be a junior or senior. Additionally, you may need to have achieved a good grade level in the classes you’re interested in TA-ing for. Mensah shares that for his architecture department at RISC, you can only be TAs for classes you've actually taken and are usually hired by professors who have taught you before, which is a very intrinsic part of the hiring process.
He also acknowledges that networking can sometimes help those interested in being TAs. You obviously need to do well grade-wise in the class you hope to assist with, but having a good relationship with the professor is beneficial. Attend professor’s office hours or chat with them after class to gain a better sense of whether you want to TA for them or not.?
“[D]oing well in your class is well and dandy, but then I think professors are genuinely interested in what students are doing and based on how much interest you show back [then], it generally helps make a better relationship. In my specific situation though, our department does keep track of how many professors actually want TAs or how many roles are open. And when applications roll out, it is made clear how many positions are open for which class [and] who's teaching said class. And so it's really an open application, but you're more likely to get the role with a specific professor if you already have that working relationship and they know what to expect from you.”
— Clarence Mensah
Every school has different TA? application requirements, so please reach out to your academic advisors, professors and current TAs for more specific guidance.?
Explore more
Meet the expert
Clarence Mensah is an architecture student representative and teaching assistant at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). He is currently in his fifth and final year of RISD’s BArch program.
Uncover more great insights to help navigate your career in our workplace content hub.