25% GSIs + other funding

Sometimes students choose to take a 25% GSI (10hrs/week) on top of other research funding. This could be for teaching experience, extra cash, etc. Some key points / considerations on deciding whether to do a 25% GSI (from Dave Kurz): 

• Time: Time and time management is so key in grad school. Time management can be very context-specific to each person / work style etc, but there are also general principles of course. On that note, I think the time effect of a 25% GSI, even if it is only 10 hours / wk, can still feel greater than that in your schedule if it is chopping up your research time blocks a lot. If you have the opportunity for a full year of fellowship funding without teaching responsibilities, then that is a precious thing. There is a lot you can do with that time in terms of really getting your dissertation going, conducting field work, leading a group paper or a paper on old data, serving in departmental / organization service roles, etc. 

• Position responsibilities: This really depends on the class I believe. Sometimes 25% GSIs do mostly grading or admin (I think this is somewhat common). Personally I don't enjoy admin and grading very much, but there are also 25% GSIs that let you teach (which is what I did a couple times and enjoyed). I think a lot of that depends on what you like. So I'd say definitely check with the professor about what the expectations are for the role!

• Money: It is true that it is nice to have fellowship $ plus teaching $ sometimes for a salary boost. I've done this a couple times and it has been helpful. I would just recommend thinking carefully about what your needs are in a given season and how important that feels. 

• Teaching experience: It is helpful to get teaching experience. I would say the context and timing are two of the most important factors. By context I mean - do you like the professor and the subject? I think clicking with the professor is possibly even more important than liking the subject, since you will be learning so much about their teaching approach generally and interacting a lot. By timing I mean that you will likely have numerous other opportunities to teach, so there is no real need to rush it. Alternatively, it could feel right to do it now so that you are not trying to teach as much as you finish your degree. 

• Gut factor: Finally I'd recommend considering your gut reaction - are you more stressed or excited about it? I think that could be telling. Of course there could be some of both, but I wouldn't suggest taking on a 25% GSI role primarily because you feel you "should."