Life as a TA

As undergraduate students, we always had this question in mind: "Just what makes those TAs so busy, anyway?" They only assign sheets and projects, solve them in the section and that's it. They don't have to go to college everyday from 8:30 am till 5 pm. They don't have to study 6 courses, solve their sheets and do their projects.

There has always been some mystery regarding the life of a TA. I will write down my experience as being a TA in the Computer and Systems Department, Alexandria University, Egypt.

I have been a TA for about 3 months now. I discovered that being a TA is like being a superman. You are never free and you are way far more busy than a regular student.

A TA has to do the following (taken from GRADUATE STUDY IN THE COMPUTER AND MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES: A SURVIVAL MANUAL, University of Maryland)

"The job of teaching assistant is a crucial one. The success of the course you are assigned rests in great part on your performance. The instructor sets the tone and the standards for the course, but you have several critical jobs:

• You are the student's best hope of understanding concepts that the book and the instructor fail to communicate. Whether you meet the students in office hours or in a recitation or lab session, you need to be well-prepared: read the relevant part of the textbook, know what the instructor has covered in class (in particular, the special notation used and supplementary information introduced), and solve the homework problems.

• You are eyes and ears for the instructor. A good instructor will appreciate regular reports from you on any errors you find in the handouts or homework assignments, what is confusing the students, and what concepts need more motivation. What the students tell you is important!

• You set standards of integrity and fairness. Your grading must be careful and objective and prompt, so that students are evaluated fairly and get quick feedback on their mistakes. You must put aside any prejudices in your interaction with students, treating each one with respect and an expectation that each can master the material. You must be alert to any attempts at cheating, and you must discuss any suspicious actions with the instructor."

In addition to these, a TA has the following tasks (may be in Egypt only):

• You have to be always well prepared for any question in any part of the syllabus and YOU HAVE TO SOLVE IT. You have to solve the WHOLE sheet on time. There is no late policy for TAs lol.
• You have to prepare the sheet problems and lab assignments according to the professor's perspective (you don't get it right from the first time, actually even from the second time).
• You have to mark the midterm exam papers.
• You have to figure out a way to make students understand any part in the course (which the professor has failed in explaining it properly!).

Can you imagine being responsible to a large extent for the success of a course! We lack the required experience at such young age. We have to work so hard in order to gain such experience. It's not easy to be well prepared all the time. It's not easy to be able to answer all the questions especially if you weren't that good as an undergraduate student at this course. It's not easy to deal with 80 students per class and remember everything they tell you. It's not easy to put a policy that is fair to everyone! It's not easy to mark exam papers and to be fair to everyone! I can go on forever :).

A TA's job is a 24-hour job! A TA wakes up in the morning to find at least two or three questions in his mailbox, this number is doubled or tripled close to assignments' deadlines. He has to answer them, he can't just ignore them. Well not just in the morning, this happens throughout the day. Also, A TA expects an email from the professor at any time of the day to ask him to perform some boring task. Not just that, a TA has to wait at college for hours in case any of the students wants to ask about something.

These are the tasks of a TA. You might think well that's not much!

But wait a minute, this is just ONE aspect of a TA's life!

A TA is a graduate student as well. He studies graduate courses which are much harder and more mysterious than undergraduate ones. He has to do a great effort, unlike undergraduate courses, to get an A!

Furthermore, he has to do continuous research for his thesis. Believe me, research takes a lot of time. It is like a full time job.

If you are still saying: Is that it?

No! There is still more. A TA's salary is not sufficient for a decent life. Actually, a TA spends the first semester without getting paid. This means he has to find some other part-time job which typically requires 20 hours per week. That's 4 hours per day!

So can you now imagine how the life of a TA goes? How does he manage to split his time among all these?!

I bet that the first question that comes to your mind now is: Well if it requires so much work and the salary is not good, there has to be other benefits?

NONE! There is absolutely no personal benefit. In fact there are some losses. Other people who took other careers have a better salary and work less hours.

The second question: Then why did you even think of being a TA?!

I have given it a deep thought and I guess that the only logical explanation is:

When I was a student, great TAs taught me. They weren't selfish and they gave up a lot of things in order to teach others. If I think I can benefit next generations, I have to act the same.I think I owe this to my college and my department. Life is all about being thoughtful and not selfish.

If you are still an undergraduate student, the next time you start blaming your TA for anything, just remember all this. Remember all the stress he's put under. Remember all the things he's given in order to teach you and make you better. Remember that he would benefit nothing if you become good or bad. Remember that he really cares for you even if he seems tough sometimes. Just give him an excuse.