Graduate assistantships offer graduate students a great way to enhance their subject knowledge and abilities while working alongside professors and professionals from their discipline. Furthermore, these positions can help build valuable professional experience that can be utilized on resumes while contributing to tuition fees or paying other university costs. It’s essential that before accepting an assistantship you fully understand its expectations and requirements in order to avoid potential disappointment and ensure maximum productivity from this experience.
Graduate assistantships (GAs) are not available to every graduate student – they’re typically owned by specific programs and only open to those enrolled in those programs. Finding one requires networking, perseverance and professionalism – qualities which must all be present when searching for GAs.
Some graduate assistantships are related to specific research projects. If your area of study includes biology, chemistry or biomedical engineering, you could secure an assistantship with a professor working on an NIH-funded project and your duties will include designing experiments as well as recording and interpreting data.
Grad assistantships that specialize in administrative services provide administrative services to faculty and staff members of an academic unit, often with less intensive duties than teaching or research assistantships.
Many departments and professors will work with a student to establish a schedule that allows him or her to manage both an assistantship commitment and degree requirements simultaneously. Communication is essential throughout this process with both your supervisor and departmental graduate advisor.
As with any job, getting to grips with being a GA requires time and dedication; but you’ll gain invaluable real-world insight into your field of study that’s invaluable in developing your career and making informed decisions for the future.
GAs may not provide as much intellectual stimulation as working in a lab, but they still present an invaluable opportunity to explore potential career options and form contacts in the industry. Working alongside an academic you respect makes asking for professional recommendations much simpler in the future.
Financial aid requirements consider both your credits enrolled and hours working as a graduate assistant when calculating full-time enrollment requirements, so be wary about taking on too many assistantships. Furthermore, should you decide not to continue GA work for any reason it is imperative that you notify both your supervisor and departmental graduate advisor immediately so they can begin looking for someone new immediately and avoid complications down the line.