A Biology TA’s memo: Balancing TA and studies

Being a Teaching Assistant (TA) often involves walking a tightrope between teaching duties and undergraduate or graduate studies. On a given day, you might have to juggle teaching a three-hour lab in the afternoon after waking up at 6am to catch the bus for an 8:30am morning lecture, followed by a lab meeting to discuss results with your supervisor. Even when you head home, you may have a pile of assignments to grade and a handful of student emails to answer. It can be overwhelmingly stressful to try and balance the workload of what feels like three jobs. However, it is doable, and as someone who had to balance multiple TA jobs on top of completing a doctorate, I can confirm that it was worth it. Here is a quick memo on my experiences as a TA and how I managed to survive the chaos.

First: What is a “TA”?

TAs are responsible for duties both in and outside the classrooms. Under the CUPE3912 definition, TAs are required to “assist” in the delivery of the course, as well as directly interact with students. This can include in-person duties, such as facilitating tutorials and helping with lab experiments; or grading and answering student emails, which are often outside class time. TA duties are also outlined more specifically within each department. In Biology, for example, TAs are expected to lead wet and dry (i.e., data) labs, hold office hours, mark assignments, and update existing course materials and other course related administrative tasks. Department-specific definitions of TA are important to keep in mind, especially if you TA for courses in different departments, as the duties and expectations may differ.

Lesson #1: Once it starts, it’s full speed ahead

As an aspiring biologist and academic, TAing was something I knew I wanted to do, but never really understood how it worked. I remember when I was first hired as a TA for BIOL3322, “Parasitology” during my fourth year of undergrad in Fall of 2013. It was a busy time, with my Honours thesis and a full course load ahead of me, but I really wanted to try. Plus, I needed the money to support myself. Two weeks later, the assignments had started coming in, and there was no stopping the full-speed impact of a new TA role combined with my studies. I felt the pressure to perform perfectly and to show my then Honours and TA supervisor that I had what it takes to handle all my responsibilities. Despite reading the lab manual and instructions at least five times before lab started, imposter syndrome and anxiety crept in. I was fortunate to have the guidance of a senior TA, who became my pillar of support throughout the rest of the semester.

One of the first things I learned was that TAing goes by fast—really fast. In the blink of an eye, it was over. The last week of November came around and the lab exam was complete. Truthfully, I could not recall much of what had transpired during that Fall. The only thing I remembered feeling was that I was lucky to have the senior TA’s support, who was not the instructor, but someone who had the knowledge on how to run the labs and someone I could talk to without needing to be perfect. Now, I make an effort to talk to other TAs in the course (if any) as they almost always offer reliable support, especially when grading and discussing lab delivery.

Lesson #2: Scheduling, the cheat code for multitasking

Biology department offers summer field courses called SEASIDE, and this was my first foray into TAing at the graduate level and in the field. In undergrad, summer is a welcome break from studies, or, at least, from a full course load. At the graduate level, summer is an extremely busy period full of field work, conferences, and outreach. The field courses are intensive; there are two weeks of lecture and labs everyday Monday to Saturday. Not surprisingly, my thesis supervisor was concerned about the time commitment. After some back and forth, we agreed to try it. To both our surprise, I was able to create a routine that did not compromise my studies. Every morning would be dedicated to graduate studies: conducting lab work, reading papers, doing analysis, etc. In the afternoons, I would TA. Creating a routine is one of the best ways to manage busy schedules and maintain a healthy work/life balance. This is particularly pertinent for those who maintain more than one TA position in a single term.

Lesson #3: Communication is key; boundaries are essential

After I started my doctorate, I became interested in pursuing teaching as a career and started picking up more than one TA position per term, for courses at different levels. Immediately, I realized that the experience varies significantly. Initially, I held a TA position for third year courses. Students in their third year have much more experience navigating university life. Labs and tutorials have minimal supervision, and, most importantly, assignments are fewer so marking takes less time. For the first-year level course I had begun to TA for, however, it was almost the opposite. Every week there were labs to grade and TA meetings to attend, not to mention each lab required me to be constantly alert as first-year students are less experienced in lab protocol and would often seek reassurance that they are doing the right thing. Grading labs took several hours each week and the TA meetings meant I had a commitment every Friday morning. At this point, I was also among the most senior of the TAs, so I was in a position where other TAs would come to us for advice. It became a huge time commitment to balance two TA positions and my degree.

It was around this time that I became more involved in the union (CUPE3912), and I was constantly reminded that TAs are bound by predetermined hourly contracts. Initially, I was strict on how much I worked—I would meticulously track my hours and put a hard stop when I thought I would go over. Eventually, one TA meeting, I decided to bring this up to my supervisor. I mentioned how demanding grading was, and how I was struggling to find balance. They were surprisingly sympathetic and offered to compensate any extra hours I worked. I talked to the supervisor of the other course, and she even offered to grade some of the assignments to alleviate some pressure on me. The moral of the story here, is that it might not be a bad idea to talk to your supervisors from time to time about your struggles and how your contracted time is going, especially if you do not have dedicated, weekly TA meetings.

My experiences of TAing in Biology has certainly given me the insight on how to better manage my time and effort. I am now a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Biology department, and still TAing some of these courses today. In fact, I just finished grading lab 5 for BIOL1010 and replied to a student for BIOL3322 while writing this blog post. Being a TA does indeed involve walking a tightrope between teaching duties and studies (and, life in general). However, good preparation and guidance can make for a less stressful walk across.

Author bio: James completed his doctorate in June 2025 with a Certificate in University Learning from the Centre for Learning and Teaching here at Dalhousie University. Based in the Department of Biology, James has over 12 years of teaching experience across several biology and marine biology courses. He is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Community Eelgrass Restoration Initiative (CERI) and Future of Marine Ecosystem (FOME).