research or teaching assistantship or fellowship?

[Psychology 76]

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i understand what each of these are but how do you decide which is the best one to chose?

i'm guessing the research assistantship will be helpful for extra research opportunities and maybe more publications and stuff?

the teaching assistantship is probably more tailored to those who want teaching experience and want to teach.

fellowship gives free money.

so wouldn't everyone want a fellowship because you don't have to do anywork?

i want to do research and teach so are there any pros or cons other for either choice other than the ones i stated?

thank you!

p.s. i'm mostly applying to experimental programs fwiw

 

[deleted176373]

Free money is great, but what is your motivation?

Free money doesn't do as much to build your resume as these other things.

Mark

 

[clinicalpsyapp]

Mmm... I would say that the idea of getting teaching experience from a TAship is a misconception. You spend most of your time proctoring exams and grading papers until you're an upper year and then you might be given some more actual responsibilities. And honestly, depending on where you want to teach (and I'm going to assume research based institutions based on your intended program) they are much more interested in your research track record than teaching experience. Obviously the fellowship is best because it frees you up to do whatever you want to do without having to fill any certain hour requirements... But I would go for the RA before the TA based on your goals.

 

[aagman01]

As someone who has held a RA, TA, and now a fellowship, here is my recommendation:

If offered, you would be a fool to not accept a fellowship (assuming money is comparable with RA/TA, which is usually the case). With a fellowship, you have far more choice.

If you are on a fellowship and want research experience, get involved with research. You can have much more autonomy/choice this way (e.g. by selecting which research teams/researchers to join, what projects to pursue, etc.).. You don't need an RA to do so. If you want teaching experience, most schools have those opportunities available. In my case, I am on a fellowship and also serve as an instructor for an undergrad course. Another colleague wanted a teaching experience, but has a secure RA position and was not able to get a paid TA. So she teaches a 1-credit college skills class through the higher education administration program (no pay, but lots of supervision in the teaching).

Lastly, I would second clinicalpsyapp --- teaching experience is certainly not bad, but not as important to a research career as research. Its much easier to pick up some teaching experience down the line anyways, than it is to try to get involved with research at the end of your doctoral studies. So, my recommendation would also be Fellowship-RA-TA

i understand what each of these are but how do you decide which is the best one to chose?

i'm guessing the research assistantship will be helpful for extra research opportunities and maybe more publications and stuff?

the teaching assistantship is probably more tailored to those who want teaching experience and want to teach.

fellowship gives free money.

so wouldn't everyone want a fellowship because you don't have to do anywork?

i want to do research and teach so are there any pros or cons other for either choice other than the ones i stated?

thank you!

p.s. i'm mostly applying to experimental programs fwiw

 

[Psychology 76]

As someone who has held a RA, TA, and now a fellowship, here is my recommendation:

If offered, you would be a fool to not accept a fellowship (assuming money is comparable with RA/TA, which is usually the case). With a fellowship, you have far more choice.

If you are on a fellowship and want research experience, get involved with research. You can have much more autonomy/choice this way (e.g. by selecting which research teams/researchers to join, what projects to pursue, etc.).. You don't need an RA to do so. If you want teaching experience, most schools have those opportunities available. In my case, I am on a fellowship and also serve as an instructor for an undergrad course. Another colleague wanted a teaching experience, but has a secure RA position and was not able to get a paid TA. So she teaches a 1-credit college skills class through the higher education administration program (no pay, but lots of supervision in the teaching).

Lastly, I would second clinicalpsyapp --- teaching experience is certainly not bad, but not as important to a research career as research. Its much easier to pick up some teaching experience down the line anyways, than it is to try to get involved with research at the end of your doctoral studies. So, my recommendation would also be Fellowship-RA-TA

Thank you and clinicalpsyapp for your helpful advice and markp for your humor 😛

That does clear some things up and I probably will go the Fellowship-RA-TA route but I was wondering if this choice affects admissions at all? Would schools want to pay grad students to do the grunt work of teaching rather than research or the flexibility of a fellowship?

 

[aagman01]

Maybe your an amazing top student or something, but, at least in my experience and most people i know, you are offered funding (TA/RA/Fellowship/Scholarship/etc). You can, I have heard, sometimes negotiate for better salary/etc. But the choice, at least to my knowledge & experience, does not effect admissions because admission if offered with funding.

Thank you and clinicalpsyapp for your helpful advice and markp for your humor 😛

That does clear some things up and I probably will go the Fellowship-RA-TA route but I was wondering if this choice affects admissions at all? Would schools want to pay grad students to do the grunt work of teaching rather than research or the flexibility of a fellowship?

 

[Psychology 76]

Maybe your an amazing top student or something, but, at least in my experience and most people i know, you are offered funding (TA/RA/Fellowship/Scholarship/etc). You can, I have heard, sometimes negotiate for better salary/etc. But the choice, at least to my knowledge & experience, does not effect admissions because admission if offered with funding.

Lol no I'm not an amazing top student, just a dude. Some of the applications for cognitive neuroscience program ask which type of funding you would like and to rank what preference you have for fellowships, ra and ta. I just didn't know if they saw two equal applications but one person wanted to be a TA and that looked more favorable than the person who put their highest preference for a fellowship or something

 

[JockNerd]

I'm on a fellowship. You want a fellowship. I have WAY more time than my TA and RA cohortmates and get more research done than the RA folks.

I'm not sure what "motivation" has to do with it...

 

[Psychology 76]

I'm on a fellowship. You want a fellowship. I have WAY more time than my TA and RA cohortmates and get more research done than the RA folks.

I'm not sure what "motivation" has to do with it...

Thank you for the input. A fellowship sure sounds nice but why doesn't everyone want one if it offers more time and flexibility for doing other things while getting the same money?

 

[LM02]

It's nice that they ask on your application, but my experience is that ultimately you won't really have a choice. Usually this is decided on at the departmental level. For example, RAs are usually funded by your PIs grants. If he/she is having lean times in the grant department, you may only have a TA available to you.

 

[thewesternsky]

Thank you for the input. A fellowship sure sounds nice but why doesn't everyone want one if it offers more time and flexibility for doing other things while getting the same money?

Everyone does want one. They're competitive, though, and not everyone gets one.

 

[PrisonPsych]

Mmm... I would say that the idea of getting teaching experience from a TAship is a misconception. You spend most of your time proctoring exams and grading papers until you're an upper year and then you might be given some more actual responsibilities. And honestly, depending on where you want to teach (and I'm going to assume research based institutions based on your intended program) they are much more interested in your research track record than teaching experience. Obviously the fellowship is best because it frees you up to do whatever you want to do without having to fill any certain hour requirements... But I would go for the RA before the TA based on your goals.

This isn't necessarily true. I'm a first-year counseling psych doc student and I am the teacher of record for an upper-level undergraduate course.

 

[twilson]

I think it is department dependent. Those with teaching assistantships in my department prep lectures, give lectures, grade, and proctor exams.

I am currently on a fellowship for 3 years and am not required to teach during those years but I will most likely volunteer teach after this first even though I have no interest in it and want a research career. I think it is good to have some experience to look well rounded and if finding a research career is difficult right after graduating.

 

[futureapppsy2]

^
And a lot of faculty positions, even at research heavy schools, will expect some teaching and thus look for teaching experience.

In my case, I actually received both a fellowship and an RA position, which is fairly common in my program. The fellowship has a tuition/fee allowance and a living stipend for year 1 and a tuition/fee allowance for years 2 and 3. The RAship is stipend plus tuition waiver. Because my program requires more credits for the first two years than are allocated in my university's tuition estimate, the two waivers together cover how much my tuition/fees *actually* cost, and the extra stipend money the first year is nice as well. 🙂 It definitely takes up time, but it's also a very good fit with my research interests anyway, so it evens out.

My program's in an Ed Psych department, so there are hardly any TAing opportunities, unfortunately. 🙁 People here are funded through fellowships, RAships, or non-RAship assistantships (working for a department, program, or office on campus). I'm thinking I may look into some summer adjunct teaching after my second year, just to get some experience in that, but I have no idea how easy/hard that is to get in actuality.