- The average salary of graduate teaching assistants in 2009 was $32,770 a year according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Salaries tend to fluctuate depending on experience and academic institution, with the top 10 percent earning $50,220 or more and the top 25 percent earning $41,080 or more. The median salary was close to the average, at $31,540 a year. The bottom 10 percent earned less than $16,560 a year.
- According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in terms of states, the highest wages in 2009 were found in Massachusetts, averaging $47,810 a year. Idaho came in second at $45,360. Michigan came third at $40,900, followed closely by North Dakota and the District of Columbia. In term of metropolitan division, those employed in the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy area in Massachusetts earned average incomes of $48,620, followed closely by the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk area in Connecticut.
- An overwhelming majority of teaching assistants work in colleges, universities and professional schools, with an average salary of $32,680 a year in 2009 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those teaching in junior schools earned an average of $33,730 annually. The highest wages were paid by business schools and management training centers, at an average of $42,870 a year. Technical and trade schools paid $40,690 annually, while the scientific research development services sector paid graduate teaching assistants average incomes of $31,830.
- Many, but not all, graduate teaching assistants are in the process of obtaining a doctoral degree. The U.S. Department of Labor, however, estimates that 28 percent of graduate teaching assistants have already obtained a doctorate. Thus, many teaching assistants continue with the role after obtaining their doctorate in order to gain further teaching assistance. Graduate teaching assistant program are not always mandatory in universities and colleges but are often sought after as to further one's professional experience, as well as to pay for college.
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