I was not guaranteed any TA spots in my offer letter but I wanted to TA so I took matters into my own hands. I'm not sure how many spots others applied to but this is how my process turned out.
I graduated a few years ago from a much smaller school and feel scared for my master’s coming up in a few weeks because I did my undergrad mostly through distance learning as a result of COVID-19. I feel stunted and overwhelmed even though on paper everything looks great.
Am I the only one getting the graduate blues? I am hoping that I can hear what others are thinking…
I have been offered an 80 hour marking-only Teaching Assistant (TA) contract, a 45 hour marking-only TA contract, and a 45-hour marking-and-tutorial TA contract.
I took the smaller two but I am hesitant on the 80 hour contract. I am taking 4 courses, and I will also be working 8-16 hours a week in a paid part-time industry internship through the semester.
If I do not take the 80 hour contract, I'll be working a total of 90 TA hours in the semester, which equates to about 8 hours of TA work per week. If I work 8 hours a week in my internship, that's 16 hours a week of paid work. If I work 16 hours in my internship, that is 24 hours of work per week.
If I do take the large contract, I'll be working a total of 170 TA hours, which equates to about 14 hours a week of TA work. If I work 8 hours a week in my internship, that's 22 hours a week in total work. If I work 16 hours a week in my internship, that is 30 hours in total work.
I know there have been similar discussion before but I wanted to get a pulse check on what others are accepting or tolerating given changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program.