This semester I'm teaching an undergraduate statics class. Since there are so many students, I get to hire a grader. In a timespan of about 4 days, I had 9 grad students contact me, wanting to be my grader. Grading isn't that fun. Grading doesn't pay that well. And yet, I had 9 students contacting me (without any advertising on my part), wanting to grade for me?
Here's what I realized: these students who are applying to be graders aren't doing it to get extra cash on the side; they're applying because they don't have TA or RA funding. First off, that means they're earning less than half of a grad student TA or RA stipend--and those aren't that large to begin with! Secondly, they don't have their tuition paid for. And I'm not sure that they get the in-state tuition discount. So here they are, paying to go to school, paying for housing, and any trips home they take cost over $1000. (Yes, these were all international students, too.)
It makes my life seem cushy. I have my tuition paid for; I get a monthly stipend; I don't track the hours I work on a timecard; and I don't have to search for new funding every single semester. Yes, I feel blessed.
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