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Graduate Assistant Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

... Title Graduate Assistant (hourly) Academic Year Summer 2026 Term or Semester Summer Is this Role for an Undergrad or Grad Student? Grad Anticipated Pay Range $18.50 Pay Range Information Chapman ...

... Title Graduate Assistant (hourly) Academic Year Summer 2026 Term or Semester Summer Is this Role for an Undergrad or Grad Student? Grad Anticipated Pay Range $18.50 Pay Range Information Chapman ...

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Graduate Assistant information

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How much do graduate assistant jobs pay per hour?

As of May 28, 2026, the average hourly pay for graduate assistant in California is $19.30, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $14.95 and $21.11 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What Is the Job of a Graduate Assistant?

The job of a graduate assistant is to perform research, teach, or work at a university as part of their academic education. Graduate assistants are typically doctoral candidates, but some master’s students may also qualify to work in this position. Your duties in this career differ depending on your role and the level of class at which you assist. For example, many large lecture classes need graders, readers, and teaching assistants, all with separate responsibilities. On the other hand, if you work in labs or departmental offices, you may work as a full-time researcher.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Graduate Assistant, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Graduate Assistant, you generally need strong academic credentials in your field, research and analytical skills, and enrollment in a graduate program. Familiarity with educational technology platforms, data analysis tools, or laboratory equipment (depending on the discipline) is often required. Excellent communication, time management, and teamwork skills help you effectively support faculty and collaborate with students. These skills are vital for balancing multiple responsibilities while contributing to academic and research excellence.

What are some common challenges Graduate Assistants face when balancing academic work with assistantship responsibilities?

Graduate Assistants often juggle coursework, research, and their assistantship duties, which can include teaching, grading, or administrative tasks. Time management is a frequent challenge, as deadlines for academic work and assistantship responsibilities can sometimes overlap. Setting clear expectations with supervisors, prioritizing tasks, and using organizational tools can help maintain a healthy balance. Open communication with faculty and peers also plays a crucial role in managing workload and reducing stress.

What are Graduate Assistants?

Graduate Assistants (GAs) are graduate students who work part-time at a college or university, typically assisting faculty or departments with teaching, research, or administrative tasks. These positions often provide a stipend and/or tuition waiver in exchange for their work. Graduate Assistants gain valuable professional experience while pursuing their advanced degrees, and their responsibilities can vary widely depending on the department and the specific assistantship. Common duties include helping with classroom instruction, grading assignments, conducting research, or supporting university operations.

What is the difference between Graduate Assistant vs Research Assistant?

AspectGraduate AssistantResearch Assistant
Required CredentialsEnrolled graduate student, often with a relevant degreeUndergraduate or graduate student, sometimes with specific research experience
Work EnvironmentAcademic settings, assisting in teaching or administrative tasksResearch labs, projects, or fieldwork within academic or research institutions
Employer & Industry UsageUniversities, colleges, academic departmentsResearch institutions, universities, government agencies
Common Search & Comparison IntentUnderstanding roles, responsibilities, and qualificationsClarifying research duties and experience needed

While both roles support academic and research activities, a Graduate Assistant typically assists with teaching or administrative tasks while pursuing a graduate degree. A Research Assistant focuses primarily on conducting research projects, often requiring specific research skills. The roles often overlap in academic settings, but their main focus and responsibilities differ.

What are the most commonly searched types of Graduate jobs in California? The most popular types of Graduate jobs in California are:
What are popular job titles related to Graduate Assistant jobs in California? For Graduate Assistant jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Graduate Assistant jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Graduate Assistant jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for Graduate Assistant jobs? Cities in California with the most Graduate Assistant job openings:
Infographic showing various Graduate Assistant job openings in California as of May 2026, with employment types broken down into 55% Full Time, 41% Part Time, and 4% Temporary. Highlights an 100% In-person job distribution, with an average salary of $40,139 per year, or $19.3 per hour.
ASUA - Graduate Assistant Monthly (GA) Pool

ASUA - Graduate Assistant Monthly (GA) Pool

California State University

San Bernardino, CA • On-site

Other

Posted 10 days ago


California State University rating

7.7

Company rating: 7.7 out of 10

Based on 44 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

209th of 528 rated colleges and universities


Job description

ASUA - Graduate Assistant Monthly (GA) Pool

Apply now Job no: 550962
Work type: Graduate Assistant
Location: San Bernardino - San Bernardino Campus
Categories: Unit 11 - UAW - California Alliance of Academic Student Workers, Temporary, Part Time

Graduate Assistant language consultants provide language support to students, faculty, and staff from all disciplines for academic writing, listening, and speaking; second language reading and vocabulary; pronunciation; assistance with lectures and note-taking; plagiarism and textual borrowing conventions; and technology/software that allows students to work independently and with consultants.

California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) is a preeminent center of intellectual and cultural activity in the Inland Empire region of Southern California. Opened in 1965 and set at the foothills of the beautiful San Bernardino mountains, the university serves approximately 19,000 students. CSUSB is a federally recognized minority-serving and Hispanic-serving institution that reflects the dynamic diversity of the region and has the most diverse student population of any university in the Inland Empire: 74 percent of its students are members of underrepresented groups, 80 percent are first-generation, and 56 percent are Pell eligible. For more information on the campus, please visit the CSUSB website.

CSUSB employs 467 full-time faculty and offers 48 undergraduate, 35 graduate, and one doctoral degree programs and 14 academic programs with national accreditation. At CSUSB, diversity, equity and inclusion are values central to our mission. We recognize that diversity and inclusion in all its forms are necessary for our institutional success. By fully leveraging our diverse experiences, backgrounds and insights, we inspire innovation, challenge the status quo and create better outcomes for our students and community. As part of CSUSB's commitment to hire, develop and retain a diverse faculty, we offer a variety of networking, mentoring and development programs for our junior faculty. We are committed to building and sustaining a CSUSB community that is supportive and inclusive of all individuals. Qualified applicants with experience in ethnically diverse settings and/or who demonstrate a commitment to serving diverse student populations are strongly encouraged to apply.

JOB SUMMARY

Graduate Assistant language consultants provide language support to students, faculty, and staff from all disciplines for academic writing, listening, and speaking; second language reading and vocabulary; pronunciation; assistance with lectures and note taking; plagiarism and textual borrowing conventions; and technology/software that allows students to work independently and with consultants.

Graduate assistant language consultants conduct support conferences with undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff from all disciplines providing tutoring that requires knowledge and background beyond that generally possessed by undergraduate consultants. They serve as the primary writing center resources for multilingual graduate students including work with graduate student writers on culminating experiences such as theses, projects, and dissertations. They develop and conduct in-class writing, citation, and peer review workshops. They also develop and present Writing Center/English Language Support and writing process informational workshops for writing classes across disciplines, in addition to presenting workshops and presentations for other campus programs as requested. Graduate student assistant language consultants may also consult with faculty members on assignment design, conduct online as well as face-to-face conferences, conduct ESL/multilingual conversation groups, or contribute to other Writing Center and English Language Support-related projects as opportunities arise. They assist with center research and assessment efforts, collect and analyze data, and develop proposals for conference presentations. In addition to their consulting roles, all consultants keep detailed daily records of their consultations, which are aggregated into the Writing Center's database, they attend professional development meetings, and they assist students with scheduling appointments and with using the technology needed for working collaboratively with tutors via Zoom or by accessing asynchronous feedback. As part of our individual and programmatic professional development and assessment, they also conduct observations of other tutors' writing conferences and provide mentoring, feedback, and written feedback to the Director regarding sessions observed, in addition to writing reflective assessments of their own writing conferences.

TYPICAL ACTIVITIES

Conduct one-to-one language support and writing conferences both in person and online via Zoom.

Conduct small group language and writing conferences with writers working on group projects both in person and online via Zoom.

Conduct in-class and Writing Center/English Language Support Center-hosted writing workshops on a variety of topics.

Participate in collaborative mentoring, writing, and professional development activities including reading and discussing scholarship in the area of language support and learning.

Conduct observations of other consultants' conferences and provide them with mentoring, and feedback, particularly in the area of language support, in addition to submitting reflective feedback to the Director regarding their own and others' conferences.

Maintain accurate records of activities and submit required data and timekeeping records in a timely fashion.

Qualified candidates must demonstrate a commitment to excellence in providing academic support to a diverse student population and to working effectively with students, staff, and faculty across a wide range of disciplines.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

All graduate assistant language consultants must be excellent readers and writers and speakers of English who are able to interact collaboratively with others working with academic language: undergraduates and graduates in all disciplines, faculty, and staff. Graduate student assistant language consultants must be graduate-level students in an English, Spanish, or other similar master's program studying in areas such as linguistics, language, pedagogy, writing studies, and literature.

Language Consultants must be currently enrolled CSUSB students.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

  • Minimum GPA: 3.3
  • 1 year of Writing Center experience 
  • Complete with a grade of B+ or better:
    • ENG 3110 Introduction to Linguistics (or equivalent)

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

  • GPA: 3.7
  • GPA in WI Designated course: 3.7
  • Complete with a grade of B+ or better:
    • ENG 6300 - Writing Center Studies
    • ENG 6190 - Multilingualism and Second Language Acquisition
    • ENG 5260 - Phonetics and Phonology
    • ENG 5240 - Sociolinguistics
    • ENG 5230 - Grammar and Discourse

SPECIAL CONDITIONS

The person holding this position is considered a 'mandated reporter' under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and is required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment.

Following a conditional offer of employment, a background check (including a criminal records check) must be completed satisfactorily before any candidate may start work with CSUSB. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may result in the withdrawal of the offer of employment. Note: CSUSB cannot deny an applicant a position solely or in part due to a criminal conviction history until it has performed an individualized assessment and linked the relevant conviction history with specific job duties in the position being sought.

Please note: Current employees who are offered positions on campus will be required to undergo a background check for any position where a background check is required by law or that CSUSB has designated as sensitive. Sensitive positions are those requiring heightened scrutiny of individuals holding the position based on potential for harm to children, concerns for the safety and security of people, animals, or property, or heightened risk of financial loss to CSUSB or individuals in the university community.

For health and well-being, CSUSB is a smoke & tobacco-free campus. The university is committed to promoting a healthy environment for all members of our community.

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

The CSUSB Writing Centers and English Language Support Center conduct one-to-one and group student writing and language conferences and facilitate workshops with faculty members in a variety of campus classrooms. Students come to work on academic language and writing projects for a wide variety of courses across the university. Our consultants are graduate and undergraduate students from a variety of disciplines.

Language and writing consultants work with users of academic language and writers at all stages of the composing process, helping to interpret assignments, discover topics, expand ideas, clarify organization, incorporate counter-arguments, cite references, edit and proofread, develop academic language, read complex texts, and incorporate and cite work with generative AI. Writing Center staff work with faculty members who are designing and evaluating writing components of their courses, in addition to conducting writing workshops in those faculty members' classrooms, and reading and responding to manuscripts in preparation.

In all situations, Writing Center staff write with writers, never for them. They work to preserve the integrity of writers' ideas and plans, even as they challenge writers to interrogate and contextualize both their own and others ideas, language, and sources.

For more information regarding the position, please contact:

Nathan Jones, Director 

 njones@csusb.edu

HOW TO APPLY

Please submit

    1. A sample of your writing that is one to three pages in length. This can be an excerpt from a longer piece or something that was originally 1-3 pages. Applicants generally submit a sample of academic writing previously submitted in coursework within a Writing Intensive designated course, though that is not required. Please provide your writing sample as it was originally written and in its original format/academic style.
    1. A reflection on the writing sample previously referenced that is one to two pages in length responding to the following:
      • Briefly contextualize your writing sample and its genre: Who was its intended audience? What was its purpose?
      • How would you describe your writing process in creating this text? Was it typical of your approach to writing?
      • How has your writing process and thinking about writing developed and changed? What signs of that change or development do you see in this writing sample?

    Your reflection should follow the formatting guidelines of either APA or MLA regarding font, margins, line spacing, etc. However, you should not include a cover page, abstract, etc.

    Any and all work with generative artificial intelligence should be transparently disclosed, discussed, and cited in accordance with the requirements of APA's requirements for work for publication: https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/resources/publishing-tips/policy-generative-ai 

    1. Submit the names, campus telephone numbers, and campus email addresses of two to three faculty members* who can provide brief letters of recommendation that speak to your strength as a writer and to your potential to work collaboratively with other student writers as a writing consultant. We will reach out to the faculty to request the letters through the hiring process, but you should connect with them in advance so that they are prepared for us to reach out to them. It is not necessary that the faculty be from CSUSB, nor that they be from an English department.
      Confidential letters of recommendation will be solicited from those listed as references on the application if the applicant is moved forward in the recruitment process.

Formal review of applications will be as needed.

If you are interested in this opportunity, we invite you to apply by using this CSU Recruit Hyperlink at:

https://secure.dc4.pageuppeople.com/apply/873/gateway/Default.aspx?c=apply&sJobIDs=550962&SourceTypeID=803&sLanguage=en-us&lApplicationSubSourceID=11243

Please Note: CSUSB is currently not sponsoring applicants for H-1B employment that are subject to the $100,000 fee established by the "Presidential Proclamation: Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers" issued on September 19, 2025. Applicants are responsible for determining the applicability of the fee.

Salary is commensurate with experience.

(Actual Salary will be in accordance with percentage of time appointed) 

GRADUATE ASSISTANT MONTHLY    $3,408.00 - $6,072

2326 0    07/01/2024    GRADUATE ASSISTANT, ON-CAMPUS WORK-STUDY       $3,408 - $6,072

2355 1    07/01/2024    GRADUATE ASSISTANT Monthly      $3,245.00 - $4,380.00

2355 2    07/01/2024    GRADUATE ASSISTANT Monthly      $3,245.00 - $4,380.00

2355 3    07/01/2024    GRADUATE ASSISTANT Monthly      $3,612.00 - $4,858.00

2355 4    07/01/2024    GRADUATE ASSISTANT Monthly      $3,612.00 - $4,858.00

CSU Salary Schedule: https://www.calstate.edu/csu-system/careers/compensation/Pages/salary-schedule.aspx

A background check (including a criminal records check) must be completed satisfactorily before any candidate can be offered a position with the CSU. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the application status of applicants or continued employment of current CSU employees who apply for the position.

The person holding this position is considered a 'mandated reporter' under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and is required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment.

California State University, San Bernardino is an Affirmati...


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California State University, Fresno is one of 23 campuses in the California State University System. The University's mission is to boldly educate and empower students for success through our values of Discovery, Diversity and Distinction. The current student population is more than 25,000, including a large percentage of students with diverse and culturally rich backgrounds. The University serves the San Joaquin Valley while maintaining deep involvement with the state, nation, and across the globe.

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