r/AskAcademia•
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Should I TA next semester?

I'm currently TAing for my advisor in a Master's program - I've started my thesis and plan to be done by the end of the calandar year (December). I want to go on to a PhD program, and my advisor has been a lot of help to my work and such. This fall I have to take an obligatory "Thesis Supervision" course as I finish submitting it. I commute to campus (in New York) from where I live (in Connecticut), it's worked out so far as I only go in once or twice a week. This semester, I'm only going in to TA, or for meetings and such.

My advisor emailed me yesterday asking if I wanted to TA for him in the fall and spring, saying he knew I might not be enrolled in spring but thought he'd ask. The problem is, this fall it would add an extra day of commute strictly for the sake of the class I would TA. The stipend would cover travel for that day and part of the day I have to be there for Thesis Supervision. I'm not sure what my plans are work wise for fall yet. I do videography on the side, and I'll be applying to other grad programs, I'm sure there will be other things to keep me busy.

Mostly I don't want to disappoint my advisor. So is it ok for me to turn down the TA offer because I'm not sure if it's the best thing for my schedule?

Posted Apr 13, 2013, 11:05 PM UTC

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