Career Explorer Education
Changing shape
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.
Changing faster than most: more resilient than 32% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is high (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it very high), and US jobs are projected to change by +2.7% by 2035, slower than average. The work leans on creative vision and emotional intelligence.
AI can do many of the tasks, and hiring is expected to grow slower than average or to shrink. The job is likely to change, so build the human parts of it.
- Median pay (2025)
- $42,910
- Job growth to 2035
- +2.7%
- Openings a year
- 25,700
- People doing it (2025)
- 206,000
- Usual route in
- Bachelor's degree
Where people already use AI for this work
- Teach academic or vocational subjects
- Prepare informational or instructional materials
- Communicate with others about operational plans or activities
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Assess student capabilities, needs, or performance
- Distribute materials, supplies, or resources
- Supervise personnel activities
What the work looks like
- 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.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Preschool teachers, except special educationHuman edge, growing, Index 83, +4.5%
- Anthropologists and archeologistsGrows with AI, Index 44, +6.0%
- Special education teachers, preschoolChanging shape, Index 45, +2.4%
- Environmental scientists and specialists, including healthGrows with AI, Index 34, +6.1%
Also known as: Graduate Assistant, Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA), Research Assistant (RA), Teaching Assistant (TA), Graduate Fellow, Graduate Research Assistant, Graduate Student, Graduate Student Instructor (GSI).
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.