There are distinct advantages in working as a graduate assistant.

As a graduate student working in a university-related organization, not much is expected of you. Well, that's not right exactly, but it's more like...lowered expectations. Your employer knows that this job is not your highest priority, that you're just trying to make a bit of money while finishing your schooling.

And so, they hesitate to give you the big assignments, because, well, because you're a student. They think, "Oh look at him, devoting himself to the pursuit of knowledge, we can't tax his little brain too much, can we?" And so they give you relatively easy stuff to work on: some minor website design, copyediting, occasionally hosting a teleconference, nothing really major. Because...say it with me now...you're a student.

Plus, you're only there part time because you're finishing your thesis, so you have an easy out if they want to give you too much: "Oh, sorry, you see, I'm only here until noon today, can't do that."

So you get off fairly light. Don't get me wrong, there's still work to be done, but it's nothing like network administration or conference organization.

These lowered expectations also help in case you happen to bollocks anything up.

"You! You get in here right now! Do you see this report? You've spelled the program director's name wrong! It's all formatted in Toxica! There aren't even any...how the hell did you forget to insert periods and commas in here? It reads like a bloody run-on sentence, it does!"

"Um, well...student."

"Oh. Oh, I see. A student. Right. Okay, well, never mind, then. Off you go."

The dress is code is also more lax. Full-timers often have to dress in business attire, or at least nice casual. You, as a student assistant, get to wear jeans, and sometimes even tee-shirts. You're not dealing with clients, after all, you're just huddled away in your little corner, not bothering anyone too much. Again, an easy out.

"You! You there! Listen, what's the meaning of all this jeans-wearing, eh? This is a business, a company we're trying to run here. We can't have people actually comfortable, now can we?"

"Uh...student."

"Oh, student, right. Okay then. All right. Carry on."

Great fun, being a student assistant.

Now Reading:
The Art of Happiness by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
and Howard C. Cutler

Stories Out to Publishers:
9

Books Read This Year:
2

Zines/Graphic Novels/Fiction Mags Read This Year:
1