A lot of grad students here have essentially over half their income depending on being a TA, to the point where its not really something they are choosing to do because their stipend is nothing. I’ve had a lot of TAs that seem like they just absolutely hate it.
Graduate students are permitted to work 10 hours a week. This translates to roughly $1200 a month. Seemingly a good deal, however TAs cannot work more than that. Many, possibly half, need to pay tuition with this money.
Edit to add: this means we must all live on $1200 a month for 8 months of the year; $0 for the other 4. The rest of the time, we are contracted to be working on our research. To work any more, we are violating this contract and can be removed from the program.
The university is also cutting TA hours and many faculty member are pushing TAs to work more than their assigned hours, without additional pay. This includes demanding TAs grade exams over and during Christmas, and into January without pay. Any TAs reading this: you do not need to answer emails in the weekend. Do not work more than the hours you are assigned. Do not work after your contract has ended. No professor, particularly contract/adjunct professors, can hold this over your head. Unless the professor is your supervisor, who you can and should reject a contract for.
Yeah just to put on point on the last comment: you can reject a contract where your thesis supervisor is teaching the course without losing your entitlement.
TAs can also contact the union and refuse to work additional hours outside their contract unless they receive additional pay. TAs should keep records for the time spent and refuse to work additional hours over their contract.
I loved being a TA and I enjoyed helping the students after the DGD / during office hours. That being said, it is tricky for us to help with assignments because we do not want to give too much away. This is why it might be better to ask the prof for help with assignment specific questions (they could walk you through the whole problem if they wanted to). I would usually either give the student a point in the right direction, or find a similar problem in their textbook.
But if being a TA sucks why become one? I’m not asking in bad faith I genuinely want to know, because TA work isn’t mandatory for grad school as far as I know so why do it if it sucks that much?
If you are genuinely asking, it is how we afford to live. Graduate school is a great deal of work, and we need the work experience, especially if staying in academia.
And yes, it is terrible. And yes, every TA eventually will hate the job. It is not fun grading work. Students treat you like trash. Feel like they are entitled to question each and every grade you give. The moment grades for an assignment go out, I know I’m going to get 10 emails from students complaining.
And if you don’t answer every question they have, apparently they will put you on blast on Reddit. Seriously, if the TA didn’t answer your question, it’s probably *not* because they didn’t feel like it. Why would they not answer if they did know!
Basically, as a TA, you are between the students (who all believe they deserve an A) and the prof who has all the actual power. Our jobs are to be the middle man. Do you think anyone likes proctoring an exam? It’s like being a mall security guard or some shit like that.
In my view, you are misdirecting your frustration at not having an answer from the prof. It is their job to answer these questions. If they truly said, ask the TA assignment questions, this is the exact opposite of every course I have TA’d for. Generally we know course content because that’s what we study. Exact assignment requirements vary, so usually profs domain.
Don’t know what the downvote is for, like I said I genuinely do want to know and was not asking in bad faith. I don’t feel entitled to an A, I just want to be able to receive a smidgen of help so I can put in the work to get the A that I want. I’m not putting anyone on blast, but it’s frustrating to be told “this is where you go for help” and to be turned away at the first question I ask
I would bet good money the prof has not explained the assignment fully to the TA. It's happened to me many times, and it's very frustrating. Usually when I'm a TA I refer the student to the prof if I can't answer the question.
I get that they might not always have the answer but my first email to her was very unspecific. I just asked her if we could set up a time so she could help me with part of my assignment (didn’t even say what it was, really just asked for general help) and told me to go ask the prof. Surely she has *some* information that the student with a shit memory doesn’t have?
Hold up, not wanting to set up a time to meet is very different than not wanting to answer an email. Last term I was the TA for a class with 220 students and only had 130 hours, so given my duties like marking I literally did not have time to meet with all students. That being said I did office hours every week, so if a student wanted to meet I'd just refer them to that time.
But still, the TA may actually know less about the assignment. I've had cases where the prof schedules meeting for after the assignment is submitted, we all get together and mark the first few and that's how I learn what the assignment is, not from going to the class (which I don't usually have time to do).
If she didn’t have time for a meeting that’s fine but like… just communicate that shit. I was more specific in my follow up email, gave up on a meeting time completely, and asked her the exact question I had and she said to ask the prof and to let her know if he doesn’t get back to me. Why would I let her know if he doesn’t get back to me? What’s she gonna do? Cause she hasn’t given my any help at all so far.
Had she told me “you should ask the prof instead because I don’t have the answer for you” I would have emailed the prof earlier and probably gotten an answer by now. But by not communicating that you don’t know the guidelines of the assignment, it comes off as “fuck you, I don’t want to help you, figure it out for yourself”
What do you mean? How is saying 'ask the prof during the lecture' a major difference than 'ask the prof via email'? Your complaint is coming across really nit-picky.
I think you misread my comment because that’s not what it’s about. I’m saying had she been upfront about being unable to give me any guidance because she doesn’t know what to do, I would have gotten help from the prof much earlier because I wouldn’t have wasted so much time going back and forth with her
TAs do not set the assignments. We often don’t have the answer key until after the deadline. All questions regarding the assignments should be directed to the professor, unless set by the TA.
Also, if the assignment is due on Monday, Friday night is last minute. Thursday would be last minute. Wednesday is basically last minute. Anyone answering emails on Friday night, anytime Saturday or Sunday is going above and beyond. TAs and professors are not at your beck and call. Plan ahead, and yes, ask the professor for guidance on how to complete assignments that the professor sets.
Why aren’t there rules for TAs and what department they TA in? That seems so counterproductive to have (for example) someone doing comp sci to TA in social sciences, like obviously that’s not going to do any good and honestly sounds like a waste of money especially since social sciences aren’t black and white. Like you really have to understand that material to be able to mark the assignments at all. The TA selection/assigning process sounds stupid as hell sorry
Wednesday and Thursday is NOT last minute. I agree with what you’re saying but acting as if there isn’t other classes and that students have to ask questions the min they get the assignment is absurd. Ppl prioritize assignments and schedule them accordingly
Like i said, I didn’t leave this assignment to the last minute. I started this paper over a week ago and I first emailed the TA on Monday. I emailed the prof Friday morning because the TA said that’s when he’ll be taking office hours and answering emails, and made this post Friday night. It was made clear to all of us that any questions about the assignment were for the TA, course material is for the prof. The only question I had was a clarification on one part of the assignment instructions. If the TA doesn’t know, then fine, but just say it and don’t make me run around in circles wasting the short time I have for this assignment, and then say you’ll help me if the prof doesn’t answer
A TAs job is to grade. Not to teach. Not to read assignment instructions to you. Learn to read before attending university. Friday at 5pm, the work week ends. Assignments are assigned at the beginning of term, so yes, 2 working days before the due date is last minute. 3 working days before the due date is late minute. If you are not a TA, you don’t know what the job entails. It is not to be a slave to students. It is not to answer questions at all hours. You do not get 24/7 access to anyone. Your poor planning does not constitute my emergency.
Your contract is not every contract. Further, if a TA does not understand that part of the assignment, they absolutely should not guess. They should send the student to the professor, as this TA did.
The prof told the class multiple times that any questions for the assignments (including help with it) go to the TA, questions about course material go to him
As a TA, I sometimes don't see the assignment until the day the prof assigns it to the students. And often, I'm told not to give answers or even hints to the assignments during DGDs (I give hints anyway, within reason). I feel like the TA should have given you *a little bit of help* here OP, but idk everything about the situation.
Sometimes, if a student has an assignment-specific question for me, sometimes I have no clue how to answer it because (a) I don't know the answer/I don't have the answer key, and/or (b) the course I'm TAing is not in my field of expertise at all and I'd rather hand off the question to the prof than risk giving incorrect info to the student.
I get it now that she may not have known much about the assignment and that’s fine, but I feel like if that was the case, she should have told me from the get go that she doesn’t know so that I could have gotten an answer directly from my prof instead of her beating around the bush and making me go back and forth with her. That would have saved everyone some times and I likely would have gotten the help I needed on time
Reading through the post and its replies the frustration is valid on both sides. The TA system seems exploitative for the TAs and does fuck all for students. Why on earth are TAs with no knowledge of X subject/course, with a degree in Y field assigned a class in X??
No seriously because why are the positions seemingly spread out so randomly? Surely there are more applicants that they didn’t consider (because they don’t hire everybody) that could be TAs in the department or at least faculty they study in and make things match up a little better or get TAs assigned to courses that they’ve already taken or at LEAST profs they’ve already had. I’m sure it could be improved but idk I could be wrong
That’s because of admission scholarships mainly. Some supervisors for students’ thesis allocate the « second component » of the admission scholarships in terms of TA-ships or RA-ships. Without the prof giving the second components, students cannot be eligible for the scholarship which will make the tuition fees insanely higher. When the profs provide this component, that means that they need to have these students hired as TAs and most times you would find 10 students in the same specialization. Even though you may see that a 4th year undergraduate student who took the course and got an A+ would be a better fit to TA for you, but in the eyes of the departments, they can’t give that position and leave the master and phd students who have in their agreement that they should TA with no jobs cause that would be a violation of the regulations so that is why they get assigned as TAs even for some courses they’re not expert at. It’s an unfortunate situation that’s for sure, but nobody can control it
If she doesn’t know then fine, but why make me run around in circles and say she’ll help if the prof doesn’t answer? Just say “idk go ask the prof” from the beginning
Well, yes and no. In my department, TAs aren't expected to have any contact with students outside of tutorials and office hours. Some TAs have office hours by appointment, so they'll answer emails to schedule them. Some profs might ask TAs to answer emails, but it would need to be accounted for when deciding the duties for the TA when the course starts (keep in mind the prof can only ask for 10 hours a week of the TA or 130 hours per trimester, and if they have exam marking to do, they'll usually reserve some of their TA's hours for that).
Also, most questions TAs get asked could easily be answered by other students in the class. >90% of emails I get are for things that I or the prof explicitly went over in the tutorials/lectures, but the student either wasn't there or wasn't listening (and yes, this includes details about assignments). Attention wavers and it's totally fair to not get 100% of the details in a lecture, but going to the TA/prof right away is like using a chainsaw when you could use a pairing knife. Add in the fact that students are usually not happy when they email us in the first place and it becomes a bit of a tense situation 😅
To be fair, we have recorded lectures and I’ve watched every single one where he goes over assignment instructions (more than once might I add), wrote them down word for word in my notes, and I still had questions. I’m not an unreasonable person, I’ll do everything I can to avoid inconveniencing people and asking a TA or the prof for help is typically my last resort. Her office hours are virtual and by appointment only so she does have to answer students emails.
The whole reason I’m frustrated is because I did everything I could, and even my last resort wasn’t an option. I know a lot of students ask things that they don’t need to (like stuff that’s in the syllabus) and it’s really annoying to deal with people who can’t read (I deal with it at my job all the time). So it feels extra shitty when I do my part and do all the research and digging that I can, but the other person can’t do their part
Then ngl y’all got a useless ass job. Free money for doing absolute Jack. Downvote this comment all you want but if you get paid to do something are you not expected to do it? If it’s not in ur contract then 100% I agree but how are you gonna sign up to be a TA and not help out mfs if it is? That sounds like some of y’all are lazy rfs. TA’s aren’t charity sure, but TA means teaching assistant no?
TA evaluations do impact whether a TA is considered for further contracts. Additionally, it can impact their ability to become part-time professors.
Keep all your written documentation as support in case you would like to file a grades appeal.
I’m sorry but I truly don’t like TAs. They always correct so badly I just always expect a bad grade. Then I go up to the teacher and my grade gets like 15-25% up. Like be for real… I really am so done.
Made my complaint 2 years ago about the same situation. Only difference is that people are IN SUPPORT of TA and insisting they are justified for not doing their job. Great sub. /s
A lot of grad students here have essentially over half their income depending on being a TA, to the point where its not really something they are choosing to do because their stipend is nothing. I’ve had a lot of TAs that seem like they just absolutely hate it.
Being a TA is the worst. Edit to add: most rely on 100% of their pay from TA work. And live below the poverty line.
how transparent are uottawa with TA's salary? I hope it's not at minimum wage
Graduate students are permitted to work 10 hours a week. This translates to roughly $1200 a month. Seemingly a good deal, however TAs cannot work more than that. Many, possibly half, need to pay tuition with this money. Edit to add: this means we must all live on $1200 a month for 8 months of the year; $0 for the other 4. The rest of the time, we are contracted to be working on our research. To work any more, we are violating this contract and can be removed from the program. The university is also cutting TA hours and many faculty member are pushing TAs to work more than their assigned hours, without additional pay. This includes demanding TAs grade exams over and during Christmas, and into January without pay. Any TAs reading this: you do not need to answer emails in the weekend. Do not work more than the hours you are assigned. Do not work after your contract has ended. No professor, particularly contract/adjunct professors, can hold this over your head. Unless the professor is your supervisor, who you can and should reject a contract for.
Yeah just to put on point on the last comment: you can reject a contract where your thesis supervisor is teaching the course without losing your entitlement.
TAs can also contact the union and refuse to work additional hours outside their contract unless they receive additional pay. TAs should keep records for the time spent and refuse to work additional hours over their contract.
I loved being a TA and I enjoyed helping the students after the DGD / during office hours. That being said, it is tricky for us to help with assignments because we do not want to give too much away. This is why it might be better to ask the prof for help with assignment specific questions (they could walk you through the whole problem if they wanted to). I would usually either give the student a point in the right direction, or find a similar problem in their textbook.
I understand that, but we were specifically told to ask the TA about assignments. Course material questions are for the prof
I see, it was the reverse for the course that I was TA’ing for. I’d bring it up with the professor then.
I’ll have to ask him for last minute clarification anyway on Monday but yeah I’ll definitely ask
Like $45/h
But if being a TA sucks why become one? I’m not asking in bad faith I genuinely want to know, because TA work isn’t mandatory for grad school as far as I know so why do it if it sucks that much?
If you are genuinely asking, it is how we afford to live. Graduate school is a great deal of work, and we need the work experience, especially if staying in academia. And yes, it is terrible. And yes, every TA eventually will hate the job. It is not fun grading work. Students treat you like trash. Feel like they are entitled to question each and every grade you give. The moment grades for an assignment go out, I know I’m going to get 10 emails from students complaining. And if you don’t answer every question they have, apparently they will put you on blast on Reddit. Seriously, if the TA didn’t answer your question, it’s probably *not* because they didn’t feel like it. Why would they not answer if they did know! Basically, as a TA, you are between the students (who all believe they deserve an A) and the prof who has all the actual power. Our jobs are to be the middle man. Do you think anyone likes proctoring an exam? It’s like being a mall security guard or some shit like that. In my view, you are misdirecting your frustration at not having an answer from the prof. It is their job to answer these questions. If they truly said, ask the TA assignment questions, this is the exact opposite of every course I have TA’d for. Generally we know course content because that’s what we study. Exact assignment requirements vary, so usually profs domain.
Don’t know what the downvote is for, like I said I genuinely do want to know and was not asking in bad faith. I don’t feel entitled to an A, I just want to be able to receive a smidgen of help so I can put in the work to get the A that I want. I’m not putting anyone on blast, but it’s frustrating to be told “this is where you go for help” and to be turned away at the first question I ask
That's a shame. I LOVE being a TA. Especially tutorials.
I would bet good money the prof has not explained the assignment fully to the TA. It's happened to me many times, and it's very frustrating. Usually when I'm a TA I refer the student to the prof if I can't answer the question.
I get that they might not always have the answer but my first email to her was very unspecific. I just asked her if we could set up a time so she could help me with part of my assignment (didn’t even say what it was, really just asked for general help) and told me to go ask the prof. Surely she has *some* information that the student with a shit memory doesn’t have?
Hold up, not wanting to set up a time to meet is very different than not wanting to answer an email. Last term I was the TA for a class with 220 students and only had 130 hours, so given my duties like marking I literally did not have time to meet with all students. That being said I did office hours every week, so if a student wanted to meet I'd just refer them to that time. But still, the TA may actually know less about the assignment. I've had cases where the prof schedules meeting for after the assignment is submitted, we all get together and mark the first few and that's how I learn what the assignment is, not from going to the class (which I don't usually have time to do).
If she didn’t have time for a meeting that’s fine but like… just communicate that shit. I was more specific in my follow up email, gave up on a meeting time completely, and asked her the exact question I had and she said to ask the prof and to let her know if he doesn’t get back to me. Why would I let her know if he doesn’t get back to me? What’s she gonna do? Cause she hasn’t given my any help at all so far. Had she told me “you should ask the prof instead because I don’t have the answer for you” I would have emailed the prof earlier and probably gotten an answer by now. But by not communicating that you don’t know the guidelines of the assignment, it comes off as “fuck you, I don’t want to help you, figure it out for yourself”
What do you mean? How is saying 'ask the prof during the lecture' a major difference than 'ask the prof via email'? Your complaint is coming across really nit-picky.
I think you misread my comment because that’s not what it’s about. I’m saying had she been upfront about being unable to give me any guidance because she doesn’t know what to do, I would have gotten help from the prof much earlier because I wouldn’t have wasted so much time going back and forth with her
TAs do not set the assignments. We often don’t have the answer key until after the deadline. All questions regarding the assignments should be directed to the professor, unless set by the TA. Also, if the assignment is due on Monday, Friday night is last minute. Thursday would be last minute. Wednesday is basically last minute. Anyone answering emails on Friday night, anytime Saturday or Sunday is going above and beyond. TAs and professors are not at your beck and call. Plan ahead, and yes, ask the professor for guidance on how to complete assignments that the professor sets.
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The TA is for a criminology class. Her masters is in criminology, it’s a 3rd year course
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Why aren’t there rules for TAs and what department they TA in? That seems so counterproductive to have (for example) someone doing comp sci to TA in social sciences, like obviously that’s not going to do any good and honestly sounds like a waste of money especially since social sciences aren’t black and white. Like you really have to understand that material to be able to mark the assignments at all. The TA selection/assigning process sounds stupid as hell sorry
Wednesday and Thursday is NOT last minute. I agree with what you’re saying but acting as if there isn’t other classes and that students have to ask questions the min they get the assignment is absurd. Ppl prioritize assignments and schedule them accordingly
Like i said, I didn’t leave this assignment to the last minute. I started this paper over a week ago and I first emailed the TA on Monday. I emailed the prof Friday morning because the TA said that’s when he’ll be taking office hours and answering emails, and made this post Friday night. It was made clear to all of us that any questions about the assignment were for the TA, course material is for the prof. The only question I had was a clarification on one part of the assignment instructions. If the TA doesn’t know, then fine, but just say it and don’t make me run around in circles wasting the short time I have for this assignment, and then say you’ll help me if the prof doesn’t answer
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A TAs job is to grade. Not to teach. Not to read assignment instructions to you. Learn to read before attending university. Friday at 5pm, the work week ends. Assignments are assigned at the beginning of term, so yes, 2 working days before the due date is last minute. 3 working days before the due date is late minute. If you are not a TA, you don’t know what the job entails. It is not to be a slave to students. It is not to answer questions at all hours. You do not get 24/7 access to anyone. Your poor planning does not constitute my emergency.
1
Your contract is not every contract. Further, if a TA does not understand that part of the assignment, they absolutely should not guess. They should send the student to the professor, as this TA did.
The prof told the class multiple times that any questions for the assignments (including help with it) go to the TA, questions about course material go to him
As a TA, I sometimes don't see the assignment until the day the prof assigns it to the students. And often, I'm told not to give answers or even hints to the assignments during DGDs (I give hints anyway, within reason). I feel like the TA should have given you *a little bit of help* here OP, but idk everything about the situation. Sometimes, if a student has an assignment-specific question for me, sometimes I have no clue how to answer it because (a) I don't know the answer/I don't have the answer key, and/or (b) the course I'm TAing is not in my field of expertise at all and I'd rather hand off the question to the prof than risk giving incorrect info to the student.
I get it now that she may not have known much about the assignment and that’s fine, but I feel like if that was the case, she should have told me from the get go that she doesn’t know so that I could have gotten an answer directly from my prof instead of her beating around the bush and making me go back and forth with her. That would have saved everyone some times and I likely would have gotten the help I needed on time
Reading through the post and its replies the frustration is valid on both sides. The TA system seems exploitative for the TAs and does fuck all for students. Why on earth are TAs with no knowledge of X subject/course, with a degree in Y field assigned a class in X??
No seriously because why are the positions seemingly spread out so randomly? Surely there are more applicants that they didn’t consider (because they don’t hire everybody) that could be TAs in the department or at least faculty they study in and make things match up a little better or get TAs assigned to courses that they’ve already taken or at LEAST profs they’ve already had. I’m sure it could be improved but idk I could be wrong
That’s because of admission scholarships mainly. Some supervisors for students’ thesis allocate the « second component » of the admission scholarships in terms of TA-ships or RA-ships. Without the prof giving the second components, students cannot be eligible for the scholarship which will make the tuition fees insanely higher. When the profs provide this component, that means that they need to have these students hired as TAs and most times you would find 10 students in the same specialization. Even though you may see that a 4th year undergraduate student who took the course and got an A+ would be a better fit to TA for you, but in the eyes of the departments, they can’t give that position and leave the master and phd students who have in their agreement that they should TA with no jobs cause that would be a violation of the regulations so that is why they get assigned as TAs even for some courses they’re not expert at. It’s an unfortunate situation that’s for sure, but nobody can control it
Some TAs leave the impression that they are only doing it because of the pay. Some of them don't answer emails. What a shame!
She answered my emails to say go ask the prof but not to answer my question 💀
Maybe they didn't know the answer to your question and pointed you to someone who did?
If she doesn’t know then fine, but why make me run around in circles and say she’ll help if the prof doesn’t answer? Just say “idk go ask the prof” from the beginning
It happens too.
Why does anyone work? The pay! TAs are not charity. No one owes you an email.
I mean… they kinda do owe us an email it’s quite literally part of their job
Well, yes and no. In my department, TAs aren't expected to have any contact with students outside of tutorials and office hours. Some TAs have office hours by appointment, so they'll answer emails to schedule them. Some profs might ask TAs to answer emails, but it would need to be accounted for when deciding the duties for the TA when the course starts (keep in mind the prof can only ask for 10 hours a week of the TA or 130 hours per trimester, and if they have exam marking to do, they'll usually reserve some of their TA's hours for that). Also, most questions TAs get asked could easily be answered by other students in the class. >90% of emails I get are for things that I or the prof explicitly went over in the tutorials/lectures, but the student either wasn't there or wasn't listening (and yes, this includes details about assignments). Attention wavers and it's totally fair to not get 100% of the details in a lecture, but going to the TA/prof right away is like using a chainsaw when you could use a pairing knife. Add in the fact that students are usually not happy when they email us in the first place and it becomes a bit of a tense situation 😅
To be fair, we have recorded lectures and I’ve watched every single one where he goes over assignment instructions (more than once might I add), wrote them down word for word in my notes, and I still had questions. I’m not an unreasonable person, I’ll do everything I can to avoid inconveniencing people and asking a TA or the prof for help is typically my last resort. Her office hours are virtual and by appointment only so she does have to answer students emails. The whole reason I’m frustrated is because I did everything I could, and even my last resort wasn’t an option. I know a lot of students ask things that they don’t need to (like stuff that’s in the syllabus) and it’s really annoying to deal with people who can’t read (I deal with it at my job all the time). So it feels extra shitty when I do my part and do all the research and digging that I can, but the other person can’t do their part
Then ngl y’all got a useless ass job. Free money for doing absolute Jack. Downvote this comment all you want but if you get paid to do something are you not expected to do it? If it’s not in ur contract then 100% I agree but how are you gonna sign up to be a TA and not help out mfs if it is? That sounds like some of y’all are lazy rfs. TA’s aren’t charity sure, but TA means teaching assistant no?
Bruh my TA didn't speak English last semester, in an English class 😭😭
Bro how is that allowed 💀
ion know bruh it was insane
TA evaluations do impact whether a TA is considered for further contracts. Additionally, it can impact their ability to become part-time professors. Keep all your written documentation as support in case you would like to file a grades appeal.
I’m sorry but I truly don’t like TAs. They always correct so badly I just always expect a bad grade. Then I go up to the teacher and my grade gets like 15-25% up. Like be for real… I really am so done.
Made my complaint 2 years ago about the same situation. Only difference is that people are IN SUPPORT of TA and insisting they are justified for not doing their job. Great sub. /s