Graduate student assistants
Pursuing an advanced degree is a long and expensive undertaking. Working as an assistant to a full professor is a good way to augment grants and scholarships in financing your education. Assistants perform a variety tasks and usually only work about twenty hours per week.
Graduate students seeking an assistantship should be full-time students with a grade point average of 3.0 at most universities. Graduate students should contact the person in charge of their major degree program to apply for an assistantship.
Graduate Research Assistant
Research assistant
Professors doing research often employ some of their graduate students as research assistants. The actual physical work done by graduate research assistants will vary according to the type of research being conducted.
The job may entail work during the summer months on projects that require off campus work such as assisting in geology or archeology field research. In some cases the assistant may be called upon to prepare or catalog samples.
The work may involve conducting parts of scientific investigations, following up on and documenting results of experiments, or assisting with writing research papers. According to Howard University Graduate School, research assistants also perform teaching functions such as proctoring tests.
Work as a research assistant can be an important part of advancing a student's academic career because it gives the student valuable experience and learning opportunities in his chosen field.
Teaching Assistant
Teaching assistant
Graduate students sometimes work as teaching assistants. These students assist professors in order to gain a better grasp of the skills needed to teach well. Graduate teaching assistants may give lectures, tutor students, or read and grade student assignments.
According to Texas Woman's University, graduate students may be assigned a graduate teaching assistantship as teacher of record for undergraduate courses. This student assistant assumes responsibility for teaching the class and is considered to be a member of the faculty.
According to the University of Maryland, graduate teaching assistants will often assume responsibility for the lecture or laboratory portion of a particular course of study. They may also fill the role of academic adviser for students under the supervision of a faculty member.
Adminstrative Assistantship
Administrative assistant
At some schools, graduate students may take an assistantship with the administration in their department of study or for the offices of the college. These jobs are assigned according to staffing needs at the school and funded through the graduate school.
The duties of an administrative assistant usually involve working in the offices doing clerical work, preparing communications for students and faculty, or computer work. Students seeking advanced degrees in computer science might assist in the operation and maintenance of the college computer network or programming for the different major course programs.
Students generally receive tuition assistance as a stipend. According to the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, a full-time assistantship for in-state graduate students includes full tuition and a taxable stipend paid to the assistant. The amount and type of assistance received may vary between colleges.
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