In at Drexel: TA or RA???

[Moonlight]

got into Drexel with aid
now, i have got a question??? what should one prefer, TAship or RAship???? what is more expedent/ convenient being an international student!!!!
again, thank-you Erin, all TM gurus and others for your kind help and suggestions, throughout!!!!!

[reactor]

RA. Research does not require that good knowledge of english as teaching and also research is what will give you a job. RA WITHOUT A DOUBT!


btw CONRATULATIONS!

[stanfordian]

The work you do in an RAship often goes towards your dissertation. With a TAship you just get paid. The RAship is almost always preferred.

[fredericchopin]

Hey Moonlight

I also got into Drexel for PhD Finance this Fall. What is your program and your level of funding?

[awhig]

Agree with all for RA.Best of luck Moonlight.

[MightyMike]

First of, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

RA
1. research u conduct willl form the basis for ur thesis
2. u dont have to take SPEAK and prepare for ur lessons; both in laguage and factualy
3. with RA u will work for yourself, your future and briliant career, and TA gives you nothing.
4. it is often the case that departments that require incoming graduate students to serve as TA do this coz they r short of money for research


However, one semester of TA is also advisable as it allows ppl to handle different kind of situation. Later it helps during seminars and lectures.

Cheers!

[Florian1980]

Originally Posted by MightyMike

3. with RA u will work for yourself, your future and briliant career, and TA gives you nothing.

Gives you nothing? I think teaching experience and communication skills are as valuable as research experience, both for your personal development (confidence etc.) and for your career (esp. if you want to pursue an academic career).

[MightyMike]

Agree, but certainly it is not the most desired thing during 1st year in graduate school when u have to take a lot of exams and start ur research work. Why most distiguished programs clearly state that u do not need to TA while u r a freshman ? Because tops have bags of money, and thus do not need to force int.students into TA when they struggle with English, at least initially.

Naturally, later on in one`s career in graduate school a semester of TA can do more good than harm, boosting confidence levels, language communication and presentation skills.

Besides, these qualities are not easily measurable & one could have acquired them prior to entering graduate school.

[reactor]

Originally Posted by Florian1980

Gives you nothing? I think teaching experience and communication skills are as valuable as research experience, both for your personal development (confidence etc.) and for your career (esp. if you want to pursue an academic career).

I agree. TA gives you:
i) money
ii) develops your presentation skills and adds in your resume

I consider it highly unlikely to be give you teaching duties the first year. Most probably you will just grade multiple choice tests and supervise exams and deliver the mid-term and end-year evaluations. maybe they will give you some office hours too.
When I was doing a PhD I was paid as a TA but I had more duties of a RA and I had to take a 3 week orientation course and a two-semester coure "Oral communication in Teaching" which had also a lab (!) component where giving presentations which were videotaped and examined by a commitee (!).

Go for RA without second thoughts.

[Moonlight]

Thanx everybody (gstergia, stanfordian, awhig, MightyMike, Florian1980 and fredericchopin) for discussing the pros and cons for both; TAship as well as RAship.....
sorry, i was enjoying the extended weekend, so could not keep up with the things happening here.......BTW, A very HAPPY (belated) EASTER!!!!, to everyone of you......

reading all the above posts i have come to the conlcusion that RAship is always a better option......but, still i am confused -- as I have got into PhD program so does that mean, that my research work during lab-wok would be considered as RAship or do i have to different lab-work (other than what i am suppose to do as a graduate student) to get paid??? if that is the case, it would be grueling task!!!

for me the the major cons for TAship is -->i have loads of stage fear...so, i guess taking undergraduate classes in the initial stages would be tough......at the same time i think, TAship is gainful for people opting for careers in academe after their doctorate, this would add to their resume