Graduate Teaching Assistants

Assist department chairperson, faculty members, or other professional staff members in college or university by performing teaching or teaching-related duties, such as teaching lower level courses, developing teaching materials, preparing and giving examinations, and grading examinations or papers. Graduate assistants must be enrolled in a graduate school program. Graduate assistants who primarily perform non-teaching duties, such as laboratory research, should be reported in the occupational category related to the work performed.

tasks jobzones knowledge skills abilities work_activities work_context interests work_styles work_values

Tasks

• Assist faculty members or staff with student conferences.

• Provide instructors with assistance in the use of audiovisual equipment.

• Order or obtain materials needed for classes.

• Attend lectures given by the instructor whom they are assisting.

• Copy and distribute classroom materials.

• Meet with supervisors to discuss students' grades, and to complete required grade-related paperwork.

• Notify instructors of errors or problems with assignments.

• Prepare and proctor examinations.

• Arrange for supervisors to conduct teaching observations; meet with supervisors to receive feedback about teaching performance.

• Inform students of the procedures for completing and submitting class work such as lab reports.

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Job Zone

• Name: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed

• Experience: Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

• Education: A bachelor's degree is the minimum formal education required for these occupations. However, many also require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

• Job training: Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

• Examples: These occupations often involve coordinating, training, supervising, or managing the activities of others to accomplish goals. Very advanced communication and organizational skills are required. Examples include librarians, lawyers, aerospace engineers, physicists, school psychologists, and surgeons.

• Svp range: (8.0 and above)

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Knowledge

Browse Knowledge

• English Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

• Education and Training
  Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

• Customer and Personal Service
  Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

• Computers and Electronics
  Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

• Psychology
  Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

• Mathematics
  Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

• Communications and Media
  Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

• Sociology and Anthropology
  Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

• Philosophy and Theology
  Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

• Clerical
  Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

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Skills

Browse Skills

• Learning Strategies
  Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

• Reading Comprehension
  Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

• Active Listening
  Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

• Instructing
  Teaching others how to do something.

• Critical Thinking
  Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

• Active Learning
  Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

• Speaking
  Talking to others to convey information effectively.

• Writing
  Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

• Time Management
  Managing one's own time and the time of others.

• Monitoring
  Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

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Abilities

Browse Abilities

• Oral Comprehension
  The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

• Oral Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

• Written Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

• Written Comprehension
  The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

• Speech Clarity
  The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

• Deductive Reasoning
  The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

• Fluency of Ideas
  The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

• Inductive Reasoning
  The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

• Near Vision
  The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

• Speech Recognition
  The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

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Work Activities

Browse Work Activities

• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
  Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

• Thinking Creatively
  Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

• Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others
  Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.

• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
  Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
  Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

• Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
  Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.

• Training and Teaching Others
  Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.

• Processing Information
  Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.

• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
  Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
  Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

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Work Context

• Face-to-Face Discussions
  How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?

• Electronic Mail
  How often do you use electronic mail in this job?

• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
  How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?

• Contact With Others
  How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?

• Freedom to Make Decisions
  How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?

• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
  How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?

• Public Speaking
  How often do you have to perform public speaking in this job?

• Spend Time Sitting
  How much does this job require sitting?

• Physical Proximity
  To what extent does this job require the worker to perform job tasks in close physical proximity to other people?

• Structured versus Unstructured Work
  To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals?

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Interests

Browse Interests

• Social
  Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

• Investigative
  Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

• Conventional
  Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

• Artistic
  Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

• Realistic
  Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

• Enterprising
  Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

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Work Styles

• Integrity
  Job requires being honest and ethical.

• Attention to Detail
  Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

• Dependability
  Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

• Leadership
  Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.

• Achievement/Effort
  Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

• Persistence
  Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.

• Stress Tolerance
  Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.

• Independence
  Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.

• Analytical Thinking
  Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.

• Cooperation
  Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

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Work Values

Browse Work Values

• Co-workers
  Workers on this job have co-workers who are easy to get along with.

• Working Conditions
  Workers on this job have good working conditions.

• Achievement
  Workers on this job get a feeling of accomplishment.

• Social Service
  Workers on this job have work where they do things for other people.

• Relationships-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.

• Achievement-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

• Ability Utilization
  Workers on this job make use of their individual abilities.

• Authority
  Workers on this job give directions and instructions to others.

• Moral Values
  Workers on this job are never pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

• Company Policies and Practices
  Workers on this job are treated fairly by the company.

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