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Graduate Teaching Assistant Vs Adjunct Faculty

The differences between graduate teaching assistants and adjunct faculties can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an adjunct faculty has an average salary of $83,069, which is higher than the $44,994 average annual salary of a graduate teaching assistant.

The top three skills for a graduate teaching assistant include lab experiments, laboratory sections and undergraduate courses. The most important skills for an adjunct faculty are student learning, syllabus, and philosophy.

Graduate teaching assistant vs adjunct faculty overview

Graduate Teaching AssistantAdjunct Faculty
Yearly Salary$44,994$83,069
Hourly rate$21.63$39.94
Growth Rate-2%
Number Of Jobs12,59826,791
Job Satisfaction--
Most Common DegreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average Age4446
Years Of Experience-4

What does a Graduate Teaching Assistant do?

A Graduate Teaching Assistant may work in Learning Facilities by teaching short courses under supervision or assist the Faculty Staff in various aspects such as research. They can also lend a hand in preparing and creating learning materials such as presentations, handouts, and other teaching-related tasks. Furthermore, among the duties of a Graduate Teaching Assistant may include handling written reports, preparing or cleaning laboratories and facilities, grading and evaluating students' papers, and preparing examinations or other quiz material.

What does an adjunct faculty do?

Adjunct faculty is the collective term for adjunct professors or lecturers. The adjunct faculty teaches students based on the limited-term of their contract. Oftentimes, they teach preparatory or introductory courses by semester arrangement for the entire academic year. Most of them are employed in higher education. Unlike regular professors, adjunct faculty do not have benefits and are not required to be present in meetings. They can work as either a contract professor or a part-time professor.

Graduate teaching assistant vs adjunct faculty salary

Graduate teaching assistants and adjunct faculties have different pay scales, as shown below.

Graduate Teaching AssistantAdjunct Faculty
Average Salary$44,994$83,069
Salary RangeBetween $27,000 And $74,000Between $45,000 And $152,000
Highest Paying CityTerre Haute, INSan Francisco, CA
Highest Paying StatePennsylvaniaCalifornia
Best Paying CompanyCalifornia State University, FullertonHca Hospital Services Of San Diego
Best Paying IndustryEducationGovernment

Differences between graduate teaching assistant and adjunct faculty education

There are a few differences between a graduate teaching assistant and an adjunct faculty in terms of educational background:

Graduate Teaching AssistantAdjunct Faculty
Most Common DegreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most Common MajorBiologyNursing
Most Common CollegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyUniversity of Pennsylvania

Graduate teaching assistant vs adjunct faculty demographics

Here are the differences between graduate teaching assistants' and adjunct faculties' demographics:

Graduate Teaching AssistantAdjunct Faculty
Average Age4446
Gender RatioMale, 50.4% Female, 49.6%Male, 40.9% Female, 59.1%
Race RatioBlack or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 11.9% White, 53.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%Black or African American, 7.2% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.3% Asian, 11.2% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage6%16%

Differences between graduate teaching assistant and adjunct faculty duties and responsibilities

Graduate Teaching Assistant Example Responsibilities.

  • Accomplish assessment of PU foam samples base on morphology by SEM and optical microscope.
  • Assist classmates with developing positive study habits and strategies for managing classroom material.
  • Tutor calculus, algebra, probability, financial mathematics and others as requested.
  • Learned advance PCR techniques and troubleshooting.
  • Analyze yield of Suzuki reaction using HPLC.
  • Develop method for analysis of steroids in herbal medicines using HPLC.
  • Show More

Adjunct Faculty Example Responsibilities.

  • Lead early childhood program initiatives.
  • Provide detail academic instruction for college students in anatomy & physiology, and medical terminology.
  • Prepare lectures, in-class exercises, and collect entirely new course materials to create a personalize syllabus
  • Inform students about course requirements, evaluation procedures, attendance and participation requirements in a course syllabus.
  • Facilitate teaching of online humanities course examining relationship between philosophy and ethics including issues relating to morality.
  • Provide instruction in accounting, economics, federal taxation, management, personnel and small business management.
  • Show More

Graduate teaching assistant vs adjunct faculty skills

Common Graduate Teaching Assistant Skills
  • Lab Experiments, 22%
  • Laboratory Sections, 8%
  • Undergraduate Courses, 8%
  • Organic Chemistry, 6%
  • Mathematics, 3%
  • Course Materials, 3%
Common Adjunct Faculty Skills
  • Student Learning, 11%
  • Syllabus, 8%
  • Philosophy, 7%
  • Professional Development, 6%
  • Course Syllabus, 5%
  • Course Content, 5%

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