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.

On the job, you would:

Teach undergraduate-level courses.
Evaluate and grade examinations, assignments, or papers, and record grades.
Lead discussion sections, tutorials, or laboratory sections.

Personality

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Characteristics of this Career
		91%	Integrity - Job requires being honest and ethical.
		85%	Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
		84%	Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
		82%	Concern for Others - Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
		82%	Self-Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
		80%	Leadership - Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
		78%	Initiative - Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
		77%	Independence - Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
		76%	Achievement/Effort - Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
		76%	Adaptability/Flexibility - Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
		75%	Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
		75%	Stress Tolerance - Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
		68%	Persistence - Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
		66%	Social Orientation - Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
		66%	Analytical Thinking - Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
		64%	Innovation - Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Strengths
		89%	Social - Work involves helping, teaching, advising, assisting, or providing service to others. Social occupations are often associated with social, health care, personal service, teaching/education, or religious activities.

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Values of the Work Environment
		67%	Achievement - Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
		56%	Support - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
		56%	Independence - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

Aptitude

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Abilities \| Cognitive, Physical, Personality
		78%	Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
		78%	Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
		75%	Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
		63%	Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
		63%	Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
		56%	Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
		56%	Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
		53%	Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
		53%	Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
		53%	Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
		53%	Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
		53%	Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Skills \| Cognitive, Physical, Personality
		61%	Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
		57%	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.

Job Details

Responsibilities

Guide class discussions.

Supervise laboratory work.

Evaluate student work.

Distribute instructional or library materials.

Schedule instructional activities.

Administer tests to assess educational needs or progress.

Prepare tests.

Discuss problems or issues with supervisors.

Distribute instructional or library materials.

Supervise school or student activities.

Teach others to use technology or equipment.

Create technology-based learning materials.

Develop instructional materials.

Assist other educational professionals with projects or research.

Order instructional or library materials or equipment.

Assist other educational professionals with projects or research.

Tutor students who need extra assistance.

Attend training sessions or professional meetings to develop or maintain professional knowledge.

Evaluate performance of educational staff.

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Attributes & Percentage of Time Spent
		94%	Electronic Mail - How often do you use electronic mail in this job?
		91%	Face-to-Face Discussions - How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
		90%	Contact With Others - How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?
		80%	Structured versus Unstructured Work - To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals?
		79%	Work With Work Group or Team - How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?
		76%	Freedom to Make Decisions - How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?
		74%	Indoors, Environmentally Controlled - How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?
		72%	Public Speaking - How often do you have to perform public speaking in this job?
		69%	Coordinate or Lead Others - How important is it to coordinate or lead others in accomplishing work activities in this job?
		67%	Importance of Being Exact or Accurate - How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?
		65%	Level of Competition - To what extent does this job require the worker to compete or to be aware of competitive pressures?
		62%	Time Pressure - How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines?
		61%	Physical Proximity - To what extent does this job require the worker to perform job tasks in close physical proximity to other people?
		60%	Spend Time Sitting - How much does this job require sitting?

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Tasks & Values
		90%	Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates - Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
		81%	Training and Teaching Others - Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
		81%	Working with Computers - Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
		71%	Documenting/Recording Information - Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
		71%	Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others - Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
		70%	Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships - Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
		69%	Getting Information - Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
		68%	Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work - Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
		66%	Making Decisions and Solving Problems - Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
		65%	Thinking Creatively - Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
		64%	Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge - Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
		62%	Processing Information - Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
		61%	Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People - Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
		60%	Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings - Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
		59%	Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events - Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
		59%	Coaching and Developing Others - Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
		57%	Assisting and Caring for Others - Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
		56%	Analyzing Data or Information - Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
		53%	Developing Objectives and Strategies - Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
		52%	Scheduling Work and Activities - Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

Getting Started

Education:

57%

Bachelor's Degree

37%

Master's Degree

Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary

What they do:

On the job, you would:

Personality

Characteristics of this Career

Strengths

Values of the Work Environment

Aptitude

Abilities | Cognitive, Physical, Personality

Skills | Cognitive, Physical, Personality

Job Details

Attributes & Percentage of Time Spent

Tasks & Values

Getting Started