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Job outlook for graduate teaching assistants in the United States
Graduate Teaching Assistant job and salary trends over time
Graduate Teaching Assistant jobs over time
Graduate Teaching Assistant job growth rate over time
| Year | # Of Jobs | % Of Population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 142,306 | 0.04% |
| 2020 | 140,586 | 0.04% |
| 2019 | 146,604 | 0.04% |
| 2018 | 85,783 | 0.03% |
| 2017 | 89,096 | 0.03% |
Average graduate teaching assistant salary over time
Graduate Teaching Assistant salary by year
| Year | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $44,994 | $21.63 | +2.1% |
| 2024 | $44,088 | $21.20 | +8.5% |
| 2023 | $40,634 | $19.54 | +3.8% |
| 2022 | $39,139 | $18.82 | --5.2% |
| 2021 | $41,285 | $19.85 | +11.1% |
Graduate Teaching Assistant jobs by state
Most common states for graduate teaching assistants
| Rank | State | Population | # of Jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | 739,795 | 156 | 21% |
| 2 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 122 | 18% |
| 3 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 73 | 7% |
| 4 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 336 | 6% |
| 5 | Indiana | 6,666,818 | 354 | 5% |
| 6 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 317 | 5% |
| 7 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 309 | 5% |
| 8 | New York | 19,849,399 | 780 | 4% |
| 9 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 338 | 4% |
| 10 | Kentucky | 4,454,189 | 192 | 4% |
| 11 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 128 | 4% |
| 12 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 328 | 3% |
| 13 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 314 | 3% |
| 14 | West Virginia | 1,815,857 | 61 | 3% |
| 15 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 303 | 2% |
| 16 | Ohio | 11,658,609 | 230 | 2% |
| 17 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 125 | 2% |
| 18 | Alabama | 4,874,747 | 105 | 2% |
| 19 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 31 | 2% |
| 20 | Delaware | 961,939 | 19 | 2% |
Most common cities for graduate teaching assistants
| Rank | City | # of Jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fairbanks | 2 | 6% | $31,021 |
Graduate Teaching Assistant job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of graduate teaching assistant experts
Tiffin University
Christopher Newport University
Grambling State University
College of Charleston
Clemson University
Florida International University
The University of North Carolina Greensboro
Texas State University
University of Minnesota Crookston
Seattle University
Linfield University
Elmira College
Dr. Stephanie Opfer
Associate Professor of English, Assistant Dean of the School of Creative and Media ArtsTiffin University
Visual And Performing Arts
What will help Graduate Teaching Assistants increase their earning potential?
Dr. Stephanie Opfer: Unfortunately, teaching as an adjunct does not pay well. Students should keep their full-time jobs and teach part-time until they find a full-time job at a college or university. That part-time teaching provides them valuable experience and connections that make them more competitive candidates for full-time positions because they'd also be competing with candidates who have PhDs. So adjunct work is more of a long-term investment rather than an immediate return. Also, even full-time teaching jobs don't pay particularly well, so they'll really need to love teaching if they want to do it full-time. If they don't like teaching as an adjunct, they won't like doing it full-time.
What Graduate Teaching Assistant skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Mike Levine: Academia is most definitely not a career for those that want to get rich quick. It can take 5–6 years before your salary really starts to pick up steam (getting tenured, in other words). To get tenure: publish, publish, publish, while teaching and mentoring. Do some service to your department or college as well, but not so much that you get burnt out. As in any career, being seen and working with other people in your discipline, school, and area is key. So go to as many conferences as you can find funding for, and meet and work with as many people as you can. The 'cultural currency' you'll get from these interactions will come a lot sooner than actual currency will, but in academia, these two areas are often one and the same.
What will help Graduate Teaching Assistants increase their earning potential?
Dr. Mike Levine: My advice would be to keep an open mind in terms of the kind of early career job you will get: lecturer, adjunct, and visiting assistant professor positions are each helpful springboards towards landing an assistant prof role. So, if you don't immediately land an assistant prof position following graduation, don't get discouraged! As well, you might have to move around a bit. Like the military, it is rare that you'll find an academic job in your own backyard. So be prepared to pick up and move to where your next gig takes you.
What Graduate Teaching Assistant skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Cheyrl Ensley: Training to be essential is critical. Increasing skills in using technology are necessary. Keeping students engaged and actively learning through technology is a crucial tool that will be extremely important to a teacher, whether teaching in person or virtually. Additionally, the gap year should be used to identify an area of interest for work. Once the site is specified, the graduate should build professional relationships and learn the site's culture.
What general advice would you give to a Graduate Teaching Assistant?
Dr. Cheyrl Ensley: Flexibility is important. The graduate must be prepared and flexible! The graduate must be prepared to teach effectively and efficiently, regardless of the delivery method and flexibility regarding reporting to the school or working from home. Be prepared and accepting of the fact that what is required of you may change unexpectedly. In this age of uncertainty, the graduate must be flexible enough to perform as needed and remain focused on student growth.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Graduate Teaching Assistants?
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice: It's hard to imagine that there WON'T be an enduring impact of the pandemic. For History graduates, the worst of it is likely to be that two graduating classes will essentially be entering the job market at the same time---the 2020 graduates as well as the 2021 graduates---increasing competition. Many graduates, especially people coming out of a strong public history program like CofC's, have had many of their typical entry-level jobs essentially vanish for the better part of a year (coming back soon, I hope!)---museum work, park service work, historical societies, and so on. For non-history-specific jobs, where History majors are at an advantage (jobs that require good critical thinking and people skills), the market seems likely to bounce back more quickly.
Bo Clements
Lecturer of American Sign LanguageClemson University
Department of Languages
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Graduate Teaching Assistants?
Bo Clements: Pandemic during life after Graduation is very obviously tricky. Look at the unemployment rates. Millions of job positions are in a freeze. No jobs out there. A positive note that a student has a degree in American Sign Language with specialization in Interpretation Education & Training, Wireless Technology, or Development & Innovative of Social Media allows working from home to create thousands of online jobs - Teaching, Marketing, Engineering, Spectrum of Technology, and many more.
We cannot remove our masks, making it so difficult to communicate, as it's hard to read people's lips. That is the number 1 communication barrier for all of us. We cannot be close or touch each other in a public place, even at work, to communicate in person. That makes it so difficult to find jobs.
David Chang
Chairperson, Frost Professor of ArtFlorida International University
Department of Art and Art History
What type of skills will young Graduate Teaching Assistants need?
David Chang: Young graduates should possess the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to function professionally in today's society. Our students go through rigorous studio training along with cutting-edge theories that inform their practices.
April Dawkins Ph.D.
Assistant ProfessorThe University of North Carolina Greensboro
Library & Information Science Department
What experience really stands out on Graduate Teaching Assistant resumes?
April Dawkins Ph.D.: Across the United States, most school librarians are required to have a graduate degree in either education or library and information science with licensure as a school librarian (school library media coordinator). The most likely experience to benefit them in their job search is a previous experience as a classroom teacher. Teaching is one of the significant roles that school librarians play in schools, through direct and indirect instruction with students, and professional development for classroom teachers.
What Graduate Teaching Assistant skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
April Dawkins Ph.D.: Our graduates are likely to be already employed, both during their studies and immediately after graduation. Many school librarians transition from the classroom to the library setting, while they are completing their tasks. Suppose a graduate wanted to take an additional year before seeking employment as a school librarian. In that case, they might focus on improving teaching skills, their knowledge about children's and young adult literature, and picking up new technology skills. They could work on these skills by using a bookstore or public library, volunteering with after-school programs or community groups that do outreach with children, and exploring new technology trends.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Graduate Teaching Assistants to find work opportunities?
Dr. Rodney Rohde Ph.D.: There are large vacancy rates all over the country. This is a good news/bad news issue. However, with a degree in medical laboratory science (also known as a clinical laboratory science) AND certification, one can find employment anywhere in the U.S. One of the great things about this career is that graduates honestly can decide where they "fit best" with regard to geography and employer (urban, rural, large, or small).
Dr. Margaretha Rudstrom
LecturerUniversity of Minnesota Crookston
Agriculture and Natural Resources Department
What Graduate Teaching Assistant skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Margaretha Rudstrom: I am taking this from the perspective of an agribusiness major.
If a student isn't able to land a position within their field of study, I would suggest they work on their people skills and stay up to date with what is happening in the markets, ag policy, and agriculture. Staying up to date means following the popular press in the areas you have a career interest in. That could mean following the news from places like Drovers, local and national producer associations, or congressional or senate ag committees. This will help keep you up to date on what's happening in the areas you have an interest in or are looking for a career.
I seem to be harping on the people skills piece. Get experience in working with customers, customer service, customer complaints. These experiences will help you develop critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, and communication skills sought after by employers.
Alexander Mouton
Chair, Associate ProfessorSeattle University
Department of Art, Art History & Design
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Graduate Teaching Assistants?
Alexander Mouton: It is hard to tell how the coronavirus pandemic will affect graduates. Some I know are joining the workforce or doing creative work, which is a good sign. How this will play out will be interesting to see, though it's a little hard for me to judge from the classroom!
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Graduate Teaching Assistants?
Dr. Carrie Kondor: Absolutely! With a positive spin, teachers who graduate from Education Preparation Programs (EPPs) during the pandemic, or shortly after, will have had multiple opportunities to teach in a variety of learning environments and respond with resiliency to ongoing and often urgent changes and developments. They have been student teaching using various modalities, learning systems, and technologies.
Linfield student teachers have been refining their pedagogy and skills and getting extra practice by connecting with families in multiple ways, providing support for learning and overall student well-being, and connecting with community resources. During this time, I believe that graduates will be knowledgeable, resilient, flexible, adaptable, attuned to children's community and cultural assets, and demonstrate a substantial value for relationships and mental health.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Graduate Teaching Assistants in the next 3-5 years?
Rebecca Sarver: The use of remote and virtual meetings will continue even after COVID-19. Face to face meetings may still be the preferred method of contact, but the reality is that many clients who need to access services do not have reliable and consistent transportation to get to the services. Phones and computers enable more convenient meetings that are less costly in terms of time and travel. Some clients may prefer not to leave their homes.