Life as a Student Teaching Assistant at Yonsei: Interview with Samuel Poirot

Studying for 18 hours a week for a single subject? If this sounds like something you can manage, you may also be interested in devoting a similar amount of time working as a teaching assistant (TA) at Yonsei University. Samuel Poirot, a senior at Underwood International College (UIC), shares his experience working as an undergraduate TA for up to six semesters: six in Eastern Civilization, two in Comparative Literature, one each in History and Asian Studies, and currently three in Asian History before graduating early. For classes with a massive number of students like Eastern Civilization, he recalls being surprised by the professor’s remark that he had worked 18 hours per week for one semester. Though one might think a TA's primary task is to check students' attendance, a TA is expected to fulfill a wider array of duties — not limited to systematic management but also maintaining a solid mentality and willingness to interact with numerous students.

Considering Applying? Q) What motivated you to apply for a TA position? What are the merits of being a TA, and how does the experience help reach career aspirations?

I did it for the salary mostly. Although the financial motivation was my initial one, I found that there were other advantages, including networking. Every time I worked for a professor and the term of employment ended, they referred me to another professor who used my services.

Application Process Q) Could you describe the application process? Often students are intimidated by their lack of professional interview experience. Do you think the overall process requires a lot of preparation in advance?

The main application process is to personally reach out to the professor and ask them if you could work for them. If they do not have a spot available, they could recommend you to another professor. As a precaution, I always contacted professors from whom I had gotten A+. Once the professor gives you an oral agreement, they will send you by email the TA application, a word document that takes about 3 minutes to fill up. You then simply email the document back to the professor, and you're done! At some point at the beginning of the semester, you will have to fill up a page on the portal asking about your family income, living situation, etc. That also takes 3 minutes at most. As a side comment, the word application document states you are required to speak Korean and English fluently. I do not speak Korean, and it has never been a problem for me.

Qualities of a Successful TA Q) What do you believe makes a good TA? Do you think you already possessed such qualities before officially working? If not, what skills did you think you had to improve along the process?

I think a good TA immediately solves the professor’s and students’ problems as they appear. You also have to be good at positive communication. That means you have to be effective, polite, and kind. I had prior experience working as a private tutor, so I was very used to talking to students. This definitely came in handy for my TA work. To improve my TA work, I tried to reduce the time for procrastination. As soon as a task pops up, I deal with it immediately. I believe my efficiency coupled with my interactive and communicative skills with students satisfied the professors for whom I worked, which may be why I have been recommended so many times to other professors. Additionally, I speak 5+ languages and often talk to foreign students who feel distressed in their native languages. This helps them a lot to feel comfortable.

Special Measures Under COVID-19 Q) Were there any special measures you had to take due to COVID-19? Did you have to provide any assistance to students directly — for instance, having to encourage a student lacking the motivation to study?

Not really. Instead of taking attendance in person, I took it online, which was a lot less work. On the one hand, the process of taking attendance became much shorter for me with COVID. On the other hand, I received a lot more messages from students about attendance errors. I did not actively speak to students one-on-one to counsel them (although I often suggest it). Instead, I sent short motivational messages to the class throughout the semester to cheer them up.

How to Deal With Difficult Circumstances Q) How did you attend to both TA and academic/daily responsibilities outside of TA work?

I have a particular ability to live well on my own, without too many social activities. Most times, the TA work does not take that much time at all, but for the semesters that did, I just braced myself and did my best. Apart from the 18 hours a week of TA work, it was pretty laid back. At first, I thought that I would not be able to deal with the workload on top of the course load, so for my first semester as a TA, I only took 12 credits. I later realized I could take 21 credits and a TA job and still have a social life.

Q) If there were any, how did you deal with disruptive or disobedient students? Did you face any communication problems with the professor?

For disruptive students, usually, professors want to deal with them on their own. If a student becomes disruptive, I redirect them or signal it to the professor; they take care of it thereafter. With the professor, I did not have too many communication problems.