Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary
Assist faculty or other instructional staff in postsecondary institutions by performing instructional support activities, such as developing teaching materials, leading discussion groups, preparing and giving examinations, and grading examinations or papers.
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $28,600 | Not published |
| 25th | $35,270 | Not published |
| 50th · Median | $42,910 | Not published |
| 75th | $60,510 | Not published |
| 90th | $76,420 | Not published |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Expand more title examples (8)
Typical tasks
- Teach undergraduate-level courses.
- Evaluate and grade examinations, assignments, or papers, and record grades.
- Lead discussion sections, tutorials, or laboratory sections.
- Develop teaching materials, such as syllabi, visual aids, answer keys, supplementary notes, or course Web sites.
- Inform students of the procedures for completing and submitting class work, such as lab reports.
- Return assignments to students in accordance with established deadlines.
Expand more tasks (14)
- Prepare or proctor examinations.
- Tutor or mentor students who need additional instruction.
- Meet with supervisors to discuss students' grades or to complete required grade-related paperwork.
- Schedule and maintain regular office hours to meet with students.
- Order or obtain materials needed for classes.
- Copy and distribute classroom materials.
- Notify instructors of errors or problems with assignments.
- Complete laboratory projects prior to assigning them to students so that any needed modifications can be made.
- Provide assistance to faculty members or staff with laboratory or field research.
- Demonstrate use of laboratory equipment and enforce laboratory rules.
- Attend lectures given by the supervising instructor.
- Arrange for supervisors to conduct teaching observations and provide feedback about teaching performance.
- Provide instructors with assistance in the use of audiovisual equipment.
- Assist faculty members or staff with student conferences.
Skills used in this work
- 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.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Expand more skills (29)
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
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