Currently have a Job as a Teaching Assistant in Grad School

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Hey,

I have been employed as a teaching assistant for a graduate-level course in statistics (Biostatistical Methods). This is part of the assistantship that VCU's Biostatistics PhD program gave me. I started a couple of weeks ago. My duties are to sit in classes and make sure the students are following the professor, grade homework assignments/quizzes/midterms (when students turn them in that is), and answer any questions pertaining to material covered in Biostatistical Methods the students might have. In the sense that I get paid for this work that I do (e.g. $23K/yr.), I consider it to be a job.

How difficult is it to get a TA position in a statistics master's program?

I had a graduate assistantship once.....too bad it didn't help me get a real job. 23K/yr. isn't bad....I just got $850 a month plus a tuition waiver, but that was for 20 hours a week work.

I wouldn't say it is easy to get a TA position in a graduate statistics program. First, you have to be ranked high enough in the pool of applicants to the program; to do this, you got to have good enough GRE scores and a high enough undergraduate GPA. I asked the chair of the program who was interviewing me for admission to their program how many people get full support (full support = all of my grad school expenses and tuition is paid for). He said only 4 out of the 44 people who apply to the program get full support. However, I have to serve as a teaching assistant for a graduate-level statistics course for my first year. Second, you have to go through interviews (I was interviewed by three different people for the program and ). All in all, if your GRE scores, undergraduate GPA, and ability to get through three 15-30 min interviews without being too awkward are all good enough, then I would say you have a chance of getting a TA position.

Sounds like I'm screwed then. I'm sure my GRE scores will be fine, but the other two things....