Why are undergrad TA's paid less than..

[heart beat]

their fellow TA's(teaching assistant) who have a piece of paper which reads B.S. or M.S???

Not only that but they also get a wavier for tution fee.

I being an undergrad TA perform exactly the same duties as they do. Then why should I be paid less?

P.S. I am not complaining! just curious! :~)

[hmcq]

Cause they spent about 4 yrs been undergrads and went through the process. There tends to big difference between the way graduate students and undergrads are thaught to think. Other then that there are some undergrads who are way better then the masters students though in general masters students then to be better then undergrads.

of course the fact that PhD s are leading to lifes in academia also counts unlike the undergrads who may just want the degree and make money.

[Hum Sa Ho To Samne Aaye]

My TA job pay is too embarrasing to tell anyone! But I guess it's good for the resume.

[hmcq]

Have you considered the fact that it is teaching you about resource management? Up until recently, man's primany development was limited by the lack of resources. It is only in the recent industrialized years that we have seen excessive amounts of resources, all the time.

[heart beat]

Originally posted by hmcq:
Cause they spent about 4 yrs been undergrads and went through the process. There tends to big difference between the way graduate students and undergrads are thaught to think. Other then that there are some undergrads who are way better then the masters students though in general masters students then to be better then undergrads.

of course the fact that PhD s are leading to lifes in academia also counts unlike the undergrads who may just want the degree and make money.

I agree that your approach towards teaching is influenced or matured with time. However, if a grad student A takes time n to reach a certain level of maturity, an undergrad student B might take n-1 time to reach the same level. OR the other way around. I don't think if having a degree guarantees you anything. It's like, some people never grow up. :~)

I have seen professors who have phd's from M.I.T and they SUCK big time!

its the results that matter. at the end of the day, what matters is; how much your students have learned from you and not what degree you had.

Coming back to the subject, if the department thinks that undergrad ta's are not competent enough compared to thair grad fellow ta's THEN they should not hire us. and even if they do, then they should not make us do EXACTLY the same work as grad ta's do. AND if they have to do this then pay us equally too...

racists!!!

this happens in every uni

[heart beat]

Originally posted by Hum Sa Ho To Samne Aaye:
My TA job pay is too embarrasing to tell anyone! But I guess it's good for the resume.

perhaps thats what i need to hear... it might make me feel better :~) j/k
b/w which course are u assisting?

i am assisting data structures in c++
P.S. i am not a computer science major

[heart beat]

Originally posted by hmcq:
Have you considered the fact that it is teaching you about resource management? Up until recently, man's primany development was limited by the lack of resources. It is only in the recent industrialized years that we have seen excessive amounts of resources, all the time.

yeah i know..one of the harsh realities of life..

on a side note, one of the rational reasons for this is that graduate department has a specific amount reserved for their graduate students who are working as ta's or ra's. this funding comes from alumni or companies who sponsor the various projects the grad students work on. this is where they get their tution wavier and god knows whatelse.

[Hum Sa Ho To Samne Aaye]

Human Resources Management - i guess that explains why the pay is so *cough* embarassing.

[hmcq]

HB no doubt we should all be judged by our outputs. Which would mean we have a rising pay till about 35ish or so and then down the drain. Taking that further, most people should be let go at 40-45 when their production sucks. And of course we should compare this worldwide in which case, the Indian TA who outputs more should be paid more.

I am streching your line of thought but it is the same concept.

Perhaps they are paid more cause in general they have better knowledge + have a greater number of responsibilities and there is a general requirement of society to pay them at their age compared to younger members of the society who can often be taken care of by their families.

Just a thought.

[heart beat]

Originally posted by hmcq:
HB no doubt we should all be judged by our outputs. Which would mean we have a rising pay till about 35ish or so and then down the drain.

Thats why perhaps we should keep long term planning in mind while making decisions. Working for companies which offer good retirement (or similar) plans would help.

Originally posted by hmcq:
Taking that further, most people should be let go at 40-45 when their production sucks.

Well, honestly speaking they were not hired to have a good time in the first place (And as i mentioned earlier, this is where "the pension" plan comes in, or other sources)

Its a different story agar aba jan ki company hay. An employee doesn't have to be 40 to be fired. S/he can be fired the very next day if s/he doesn't perform well.

Originally posted by hmcq:
And of course we should compare this worldwide in which case, the Indian TA who outputs more should be paid more.

HMCQ ji, if an indian ta performs better than me then i will be taken off from my position rather then being paid less. ofcourse, if there is only 1 position and there are two canditates for it then the one who performs better should be appointed.

Originally posted by hmcq:
I am streching your line of thought but it is the same concept.

u lost me there.

[heart beat]

Originally posted by Hum Sa Ho To Samne Aaye:
Human Resources Management - i guess that explains why the pay is so *cough* embarassing.

joke aside, what you are being paid right now is immaterial. hope you enjoy what you do!