Should I accept an offer of being a teacher assistant without pay?

Question

At my last statistics II class, the teacher said told all the students that, if one of us wanted to be his teacher's assistant for this course, they could send an email or arrange a meeting to talk about it. However, there would be no pay. This is probably because none of the students (including me) meets the requirements of having at least 160 credits (almost all the credits of a degree in my university) and have approved the course with at least a score of 14 out of 20 (We use vigesimal system). There is still the final exam remaining so technically nobody in the class meets that requirement.

However, at the very end of the class, at my turn to say goodbye, he offered me the position of being his TA. I jokingly said that if he received the payment and then transferred it to me, then I could be his TA. He laughed and then said goodbye.

Should I accept the offer? One part of a TA's job is to give a class one week before every practice exam in which they solve a couple problems of the problem set in front of the students. There are four practice exams in the semester, therefore four classes to give. The other part of the job is to review the exams and be in the class during the exams to solve doubts/avoid plagiarism. It's not a lot of work and usually there are two TAs per class so the work can be divided; however, I don't think it is fair that there is no pay because if the teacher offered that position, then he thinks that I'm as prepared as his current TAs (I also think the same).

On the other hand, my dad told me to accept the offer because then I can put it on my CV, become friends with the teacher (which means that I can ask him favors like a recommendation letter to help in a future project), and have teaching experience. Do these things compensate the lack of pay?

Answer 1

There are a number of answers already, describing the intangible benefits of taking on this task. These answers are all correct; the intangible benefits are real, they have value, and it's a judgment call on your part what those values are.

However.

Those intangible benefits would also be there if you were being paid the standard university rate for being a teaching assistant. In other words, the value of the task is "The tangible salary benefits and intangible non-salary benefits."

The university has evidently come to the conclusion that the value of the intangible benefits are not sufficient, so they augment with the tangible benefits. And yet you are being asked to do the task without them.

Are the intangible benefits alone worth it? This is a personal decision only you can make.

But you have reason to be skeptical.

Answer 2

I'll go against the grain here and say you should not do it. You should not even consider it. Your response to the professor was spot-on.

I'm assuming that you and some of your classmates will meet the 14/20 requirement after finals, so I'll discuss only the 160 credit completion requirement. By setting the credit requirement for payment so high, the university has made it difficult to find TAs who could be paid. Why?

On the charitable assumption, the university wants TAs who are close to graduation because being a TA is a substantial commitment; for those who still need a lot of credits, the time spent as a TA could potentially impede their progress toward the degree. In that case, take the university at its word: since you do not yet have the number of credits, focus on completing your degree, not on TA work.

On the uncharitable assumption, the university doesn't want to pay TAs, and asks that TAs be close to finishing their degrees both so that few students qualify for payment, and so that those who do qualify will soon graduate and leave. Since the professor has offered you the job, to my mind this is more likely than the charitable assumption.

There could be a neutral assumption that those close to finishing their degrees are more qualified to be TAs, so they deserve payment whereas someone farther away from finishing is less qualified and should work for free. I'm cynical enough not to believe this. After all, the professor offered you the job. Why would he do that if he thought you were not qualified? And if you are qualified, why not pay you?

If the requirements for payment are out of his hands and he is simply abiding by rules, he needs to realize that the rules are unreasonable and to take that up with the powers that be. He should make the case that it's not necessary for TAs to be so close to completing their degree requirements. If he doesn't want to do that, he shouldn't be asking for students to work unpaid. Asking you to accept the unreasonable situation is not fair to you.

Finally, most of the "go for it!" answers here are hand-waving away the actual work. It is not trivial to prepare four class meetings per term. Exam prep classes still require you to be as fully prepared for the exam as if you were going to take it yourself; to be able to explain complex material very succinctly when a student has a question, since the exam (presumably) covers several weeks' worth of material; and to deal with students' anxieties. That is hard. Academia tends to undervalue teaching, and to underestimate what it takes to be a good teacher—note how few questions on this site are about teaching rather than research, or the politics of doctoral programs, or submitting/reviewing a journal article, etc. Assuming you're conscientious and want to serve your students well, you will spend a lot more time on your TA work than it seems.

I don't know what country you are in, but in the US, academia is notorious for its poor treatment of front line workers who do the bulk of teaching, such as adjunct faculty. Your situation is not that different: unequal pay structures that both perpetuate and result from an inherently exploitative system. Those who want an academic career might heed the "intangible rewards" discourse of the majority of the answers here. But if you don't have a political need to be on the professor's good side, why should you buy into it?

Full disclosure: I have been a TA, both paid and unpaid, at various universities both in India and the US. Any time I took an unpaid position, it was for one of two overlapping reasons: I wanted to (re)learn the material myself, and/or I wanted the affiliation with a well-known mentor at a prestigious university. Neither of those considerations seems to apply in your case, so there is no reason for you to do gratis what someone else would be paid for. Do not accede in your own exploitation and prop up an unjust system.

Answer 3

If it won't interfere with your other courses and projects and it seems like fun to you, there is no reason not to do it. It is good experience in interacting with people if nothing else.

Your father's advice is also sound. But, unless you are looking for a career in academia, the direct advantages are rather minor. There are certainly worse ways to spend your time.

The teacher's faith in you is worth something, of course. Good luck in your future plans, whatever they are.

Answer 4

The main benefit of this activity is to gain some experience in the administration and teaching of a course. If you plan to do teaching as part of your future career then this could be a useful starting point, even though it is not a paid position. You can certainly put this kind of experience on your CV if it aids you, but it is likely to be something that aids you only insofar as it gets you paid teaching work later on. As to the potential making friends with the lecturer, that is highly dependent on the attitude of your lecturer and your own social abilities; if you're not a particularly personable person then you might just as easily annoy your lecturer as make friends with him. In any case, even if you are good at winning people over, that is a pretty thin reed --- I don't recommend doing unpaid labour for people merely to ingratiate yourself with them.

If you decide to take up this offer, my advice would be to have a preliminary meeting with your teacher and ask him what he can provide to you in lieu of payment for your work as a TA. This might include an agreement that he will provide you with a letter of reference for your teaching work, or an agreement that he will prioritise you for future opportunities for paid TA positions, etc.

Answer 5

If you can foresee something where you would need a recommendation letter in the near future, then you should do it.

It sounds like this is minimal work, but will provide an opportunity for the faculty to know you better. This is important. I don't say this from the perspective of faculty trading off LORs for free labor, indeed that is not the case. However, a letter from someone who actually has something meaningful to say about you beyond the usual "Student X took my class and got an A." can be very useful. The minimal TA work is not just you doing labor, you actually do learn quite a lot by being on the other end of it (but it will have less value if you don't wish to stay in academia).

Answer 6

I've always said that in teaching something, one gains more insight than just studying it. That's to your advantage.

Being able to diversify and do something different from your chosen path, also advantageous.

This showing on a c.v, also advantageous.

Not being paid - a lot of apprenticeships long ago were like this, or at least poorly paid. It's the price YOU pay to get the experience - advantageous.

If instead, you could be earning good money in place of preparation and attendance, probably not a lot of help.

Working for nothing always 'cheapens' the job, but in fact, you'll be gaining a lot more than a financial reward - go for it!

Answer 7

Your father is right, you should do it. The point is that taking one more course or doing one more project is not likely to be very memorable in the future - you'll still graduate with the same degree - but teaching the course will be something different that you can add onto your CV. "Different" is the key word here, you're certain to learn stuff of a very different nature that you would not have learned otherwise, and you'll get examples that you can quote to a future interviewer that you wouldn't otherwise be able to.

The drawback is you don't get paid. But is that actually a drawback? If you don't take up the position, how likely is it that you'll do something that pays you instead? If you're actually giving up paid work to do unpaid work, then it's a different story, but if you're going to not be paid regardless, then the "drawback" is more psychological than anything.

See also Is TA-ing worth the opportunity cost (of having more time for research)?

Answer 8

I agree with the positivesin the other answers, but you also need to protect yourself. By this I get it in a written contract that spells out all obligations by BOTH you and the University (not professor). Among many things, this should include performing the tasks at no pay (or perhaps a partial tuition waiver), what tasks are expected of you, how much hours, availablity of resources, what happens in case of an error or omission, nonperformance, and other numerous things may come up in the "job" of being a TA.

Best of luck to you.