How Do I Become A Teacher’s Assistant?

Being a teacher’s assistant can be a rewarding career for any person who loves to be in the world of academia. As a teacher’s assistant, you will be able to work with a professor to help him or her develop lesson plans for a class. You will also be able to work with students on the side in order to help them understand major concepts. You may ultimately decide to become a teacher’s assistant in a high school or elementary school. When you work as a teacher’s assistant in a high school, you may have the opportunity to teach the lesson plans that you create on your own. Being a teacher’s assistant is a rewarding experience due to the direct experience that you have in teaching children and young adults.

What’s it like to be a teacher’s assistant?

When you are a teacher’s assistant, you have the ability to serve in a supportive position to a renowned professor, elementary school teacher or high school teacher. The professor may look to you as a critical figure in conveying important concepts to a classroom of students. You may also be the “go to” person that students consult when they have difficult questions on material. If you work in a high school, then you may have additional responsibilities in teaching a classroom of students. You may have to teach more classes in any given day. It can be a highly rewarding experience to serve as a teacher’s assistant. You get to flex out your own skills in creating lesson plans to teach to kids. You also have the incredible opportunity of being able to serve in a mentor role to students. Apart from that, living on a college campus can also be a fun experience for a teacher’s assistant.

Education Requirements

When one wants to become a teacher’s assistant, the education requirements for this position can differ. If a teacher simply needs someone who can help with grading papers or other tasks, then this may be a position that anyone can fulfill. On the other hand, a professor may want to hire a teacher’s assistant who is a graduate student and can teach complex material to a classroom of students. In this type of instance, a person will need to be pursuing a doctoral degree at a college. One should have excellent oral and written communication skills if he or she wants to serve as a teacher’s assistant.

Salary & How to Get a Job

The salary for a teacher’s assistant is about $20,000 to $40,000. The salary can vary greatly depending on the number of hours that a person decides to dedicate to this position. If one only works on a part-time basis, then he or she will probably earn about $20,000 a year. If one works 40 or more hours a week, then he or she will earn at least $40,000 on a regular basis. To obtain a job as a teacher’s assistant, one should simply look for open positions at the university level. One should also look for open positions in an elementary school or high school. One may want to approach specific professors to see whether he or she offers an open position as a teaching assistant. This can give a graduate student the ability to develop his or her understanding of a specific academic subject area.