Funding Tips TA/RA Part2

ABOUT TA POSITIONS

TA is handled by the prof, but mostly by the dept who assigns TAs based on their need. For TA, u need to contact the dept secretary who will guide u as to which prof coordinates the TA hiring. Then u have to email that prof in the same vein as u wud asking for research, but obviously ur resume has to be tailored towards a TA position and u can talk bout how u can impart the subject to the students and in the process u can improve ur own knowledge. In this case, u will need to clear up front that u r interested in TA funding. U can say it in the followin example:

" I also strongly hope that I will be given consideration for financial aid through teaching and research assistantships at ur dept"

I need to make 1 more point here. Try not to make ur emails and correspondances to profs sound artificial or as if they were copied from somewhere else. These profs r experienced enuf to tell the diff.

Also, do all these things on ur own. If u have any questions ask me or any1 else who has been thru this. I repeat, dont do funding things as a group, meaning dont wait for ur friend to get his stuff done. You do urs. Try not to go with the flow.

This is not personal to any1! What Ive noticed among indian students is that we tend to stick in a group for too many things. And in this group, no 1 is allowed to rise above d rest. So all are at the same level. U need to get out of this grp from an academic standpoint only. Step up and do the stuff u need to do to get funding, dont wait for others. U will succeed if u make the effort. PPl say IE funding is hard, but i know 3 kids who did get funding, so its not impossible.

Also, beware of false advice, u dont even have to agree with me if ur grad advisor or dept tells u otherwise. For example, ur friend might say dont take this course coz its hard. But if the prof u r interested in is teachin the course, here is ur chance to impress him. Another example is some1 tells u not to go for career fair coz its a waste of time and u r too early to graduate. I say u need to go to as many career fairs so that when the real time comes, u r ready and know exactly what to expect.

For girls (guys too, but mostly girls): Keep in mind that no guy will want to look like a fool in front of an indian girl. So he may give u advice to justify his own wrong actions. If he didnt go to the career fair or didnt get anythin out of it, he will tell u that its usless and that u shudnt go either coz he doesnt wanna look silly in ur eyes.......so dont be discouraged.

READ ABOUT FUNDING QnA here