30 Days, 30 Hacks: Mastering Your US Master's Journey

Today’s newsletter is going to be a bit unconventional from what you have been seeing for the past few days. If you are new here, I’d recommend you to go through a couple of my previous newsletters to get an idea on how I go about explaining each component of the Master’s experience.

So to begin with Part 2 of Part Time Jobs, let’s delve deeper into how I was able to secure a part-time job and convert my out-of-state tuition, that we are required to pay as international students, to in-state tuition.

Texas A&M University has a website that is available to students and it’s called “jobsforaggies”. The usual protocol is to look for jobs on that portal, apply to the job and then wait for the Human Resources department to reach out, if they see that you match the required skills as listed in the job description. A lot of universities that you plan to join have a similar website setup, (obviously with a different name). Try and explore this website before you decide to enroll in the university, if you are someone who is expecting to land a part-time to help yourself with finances this can be a game-changer. Although, in my previous newsletters, I do recommend not making availability of high-paying part-time jobs a critical factor when deciding the university but it totally depends on how you are planning to handle the expenses. Refer to the “Decision Spreadsheet” newsletter to understand more about the factors.

But there is a twist to it and this newsletter won’t be complete until I let you in on these sort of tips and tricks.

There is always a designated Professor in the department who is responsible to communicate the job postings or immediate job openings to the students through the email list that you are automatically added to at the start of your enrollment. Usually these job postings are sent out early in the morning because depending on your cohort the part-time jobs (only talking about TA/RA/Grader) are limited and the applicants are myriad, this makes it easier for them because they only have to go through a couple of profiles. Please keep in mind this can be different to the university you are enrolling in but in most cases this is the unofficial protocol.

You’ll start observing this trend within a couple of weeks at the university. I did understand this early on and therefore I was able to make the most of it. One morning I received an email saying that there was a requirement for a GAT, yes GAT not TA not RA - GAT. I was not sure about the position as I did not go through the description but knew from the highlights that this requires proficiency in Python, one language that I was most comfortable with, therefore I was among the first few applicants to apply and within 15 minutes the Professor had received 42 emails from different students saying they are interested and the job posting was taken down.

What can one learn from this? Jobs are less, applicants are more, you have to play the fastest finger first to at least have an opportunity to get the job.

Moving on, the job had an interview round with the Professor in-charge and I had an interview scheduled for 23rd December (yes I remember the date). I woke up went through the interview and talked about what I was proficient in and comfortable with in terms of softwares/languages. Amongst a pool of highly proficient candidates I came to be the preferred candidate only because I was honest that I wanted to learn, as cliche as it may sound, communicating your honest ideas about the job and having a smiling face can do wonders.

What can one learn from this? Not everything that you do, should be about the money, sometimes it is better to learn and apply because at the end of the day we are here for the practical experience. Be honest, all the Professors, ok you got me, most of the Professors are willing to take a chance with someone who might not be the ideal candidate to work but a realistic candidate to put in the required effort. If you are looking for a mentor these jobs are a blessing and SOME Professors will put the trust in you.

So we’ve gone over a couple of pointers regarding what to do, how to act fast, how to get ahead, we haven’t talked about what GAT is exactly.

GAT → Graduate Assistant - Teaching

This role is more or less a combination of a Teaching Assistant and a Research Assistant that you will see at your university. I had the opportunity to learn so much being in this position that I spent 3 whole semesters at this position working under the same Professor whom I consider a mentor and a friend. I had the opportunity to work on an exciting project that required me to learn more and put in the hard-work to bring results and at the same time I was able to take a couple of lectures as an additional class for students who were interested in the ad-hoc learnings. This was exactly what I was hoping to do when I came here for Master’s. The Professor understood me and my work ethic and I understood the assignment.

What can one learn from this? There are so many opportunities around you, they require you to be consistent, dedicated, and put in the required effort. It is you who can make or break your experience at the University. Look out for things, reach out to Professors, ask for mentorship, network because this time is never coming back in your life, no pressure 😛 , make the most of it.

Feel free to reach out and learn more about my experience, maybe I can help you with something that you are going through.5