The pros and cons of being a UVic TA
Photo by Silvia Hernándezg via Pixabay.
As a first-time teaching assistant (TA) this past semester as a graduate student, I went into the experience without knowing what to expect. Coming out the other side after four months of teaching, planning lessons, and marking, here are some of the lessons I learned.
Pros
Being a TA can offer a variety of benefits, such as gaining teaching experience, developing relationships with faculty members, and developing your interest in teaching. If you enjoy working with students and communicating sometimes complex subjects, being a TA can be a really rewarding experience.
Developing relationships with the students you TA is also hugely enriching. One student asked me to write them a reference for a summer internship, and knowing that they felt comfortable enough with me as a teacher to do so made me feel like I had developed strong relationships with my students, as well as increased my overall interpersonal skills.
As a graduate student, being a TA also helped me solidify my own understanding of some course material and better comprehend certain concepts and topics. Sometimes, there’s nothing like going back to the basics and learning something from front to back in order to feel comfortable explaining it to those learning it for the first time.
Even if you don’t plan on going into teaching as a career, many of the skills you learn as a TA are transferable to any job you may be interested in for the future. Being a TA helps you build on your organizational and time management skills. As a teaching assistant, you are responsible for organizing your time to plan lessons, do the required readings, make powerpoints, and help manage the classroom. Flexibility is also a skill that you develop as a TA. There were many times I had planned for certain students to give presentations in class, where some students would cancel last minute or just not show up to give their presentation. You become adaptable and flexible to changes in the classroom environment or lesson plans overall. Teamwork is another skill that you can gain by being a TA. Oftentimes, you will work closely with the professor of the class and other teaching assistants. You must be able to collaborate and work well as part of a team.
Financially, being a TA is not a bad path to pursue, especially to help pay for tuition or other expenses as a student. Typically, you get paid a set amount of money for around 10 hours of work each week, regardless of whether you exceed or fall under that amount, which can be a pro or a con. These hours often include going to class every week, office hours, lesson prepping, marking, meetings, and having a set amount of time to teach tutorials. Each TAship looks different, however, and will involve its own set of regular duties.
Lastly, developing empathy and understanding towards students was a key ability that I took away from being a TA at UVic. I often found myself reflecting on how the TAs I had in my undergrad treated me and how I wished they treated me. I did my best to show empathy and relate to students who may have been struggling, whether academically or emotionally, and work with them to support their learning.
Cons
Working while juggling your own academic workload can be a challenge. If you want to simultaneously have a job while completing your degree, know that being a TA is essentially the equivalent to adding an extra course to your existing workload. As a graduate student, you may already feel the burden of a heavy academic workload, so you should consider whether adding TA responsibilities may become overwhelming.
UVic’s compensation for TAs is underwhelming compared to the rates that other universities in Canada pay their teaching assistants. UVic pays their TAs around $28 an hour, compared to other universities like Western, which pays around $47 an hour, and the University of Waterloo, which pays around $45 an hour. While being able to put that you were a TA on your resume may be invaluable, the lower compensation compared to other universities is certainly something to think about.
Oftentimes, the demands of being a TA can be overwhelming. Initially, I struggled with my fear of public speaking and nervousness of being the center of focus in the classroom. While I was able to overcome this, it may not be something that everyone is comfortable doing. Additionally, the emotional demands of being constantly available for students to reach out to with questions or emotional concerns can be stressful or draining, and should also be kept in mind when considering becoming a TA.
Overall, being a teaching assistant can be a demanding but also fulfilling job that requires a lot of hard work and commitment. The decision of whether to become a TA depends on what matters the most to you and what challenges you are willing to accept.
