teaching assistant

research assistant

postdoctoral fellow

research associate

graduate assistant

Dalhousie University

My typical work day consisted of me arriving to my cubicle in ITS and checking work tickets and my notes in One Note from the previous day. I would then go about checking on statuses of outstanding tickets in the ticket system as well as work orders i submitted to other departments like Networking group. 

From there i would go about working on the highest priority tickets in the Queue or ones that had been languishing in the system for months for some cases even if it meant stepping on toes in order to make sure things were done orderly. I would even stay on campus after work hours multiple cases until midnight working on tickets and notes.

I learned how to install Xtender and configure a scanner to scan into Banner and how to work on Fusion point of sales systems at Dalplex by setting up a sand boxed virtual machine of it on a spare pc in my apartment and practicing with the point of sales software all night until i was confident in me configuring and creating accounts in it. 

The hardest part of the job was dealing with angry clients who felt like ITS was ignoring their issues and coworkers who had no customer service skills. Lack of resources was another issue i had along with too many people who were managers for projects that had conflicting views.

The most enjoyable part of the job for me was helping and teaching my clients about the products and devices they were using.

I do love my role in the teaching and research community at Dalhousie. I love interacting with students and my immediate supervisors and colleagues. However, the bureaucracy surrounding contract work for part time teaching and research staff leaves me and others in similar roles to do wildly unnecessary work outside the confines of our contracts. Some unpaid chores include: reapplying for my own job on a seasonal basis (every 4 months), difficulty accessing essential software needed to do my job effectively designated for tenured Dalhousie "staff" and "students" (which I am neither). In addition, there is a total absence of benefits.
It is academics in short-term contract roles that carry much of the massive weight of providing exemplary education to Dalhousie's extensive student population. If Dalhousie trusts us to grade your papers, conduct your laboratory education, provide guidance in your studies and support for your projects, enlighten and inspire you to learn, we should have access to the same privileges as other full-time non-academic employees at Dalhousie University. I have worked for Dalhousie regularly for 7 years, receiving positive feedback from supervisors and students, but I do not have job security. 

Dal is a huge organization with confusing hierarchical structures which take some time to get used to. The work environment truly depends on the department, however, most departments are understaffed so workload and work-life balance become problematic. In my unit, I've found there is a culture of work, work, work and pleads with management for more resources go unanswered, leading to employee burnout. Some employees have been with Dal 20-30 years, while there seems to be more turnover with younger managers. Flexible work arrangements have helped though as depending on the position you can either work remotely, on-site or a hybrid of the two. But great benefits and pension. IT positions are severely underpaid based on the market. 

As a research assistant, I spent most of my time on searching, categorizing, developing and answering the potential research questions. It was great because we had weekly meeting for evaluate the work progress and we shared the points which came to our minds with other members. Such an environment help members to feel they are in correct tract and also save time and energy for finishing the project.  It was both independent and group working and during this work we needed to be able to manage our work and time with other members as well and sometimes I was responsible to manage the stuffs that are necessary for other team members (eg. providing tables, find original articles and choose them according our research criteria and sending them to other members). The best point of this job was that, there was an active dynamic atmosphere for learning besides working.  And the most difficult part of the job for me was making framework and outlines for doing a research from beginning because it was a new project and to somewhat  was a vague idea for me and I need to read before starting the work, although I was satisfied with this part at the end of work. the work, although I was satisfied with this part at the end of work.

Working as a mentor at Dalhousie University has been a rewarding and engaging experience. A typical day involves supporting students with academic questions, guiding them through course material, and helping them stay organized and confident in their studies. Through this role, I developed stronger communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills while learning how to adapt my approach to different learning styles.

The work environment is supportive, and management is generally approachable and understanding, especially when it comes to balancing academic responsibilities. The workplace culture promotes collaboration and encourages helping others succeed, which makes the role meaningful.

The most challenging part of the job is managing time effectively during busy academic periods while ensuring each student receives proper attention. However, the most enjoyable aspect is seeing students improve, gain confidence, and succeed academically as a result of your support.

A day at DAL starts in the early morning at sharp 8:30 am till late evening that usually consists of long theoretical and Lab lectures. It feels really good when you apply the concepts into the labs and understand the importance of them that seems boring during the theoretical lectures The best about the DAL are the exams that test our concepts not the memory capabilities but it is really important to have  good time management to get the things done on time as we need to manage the equilibrium between professional and personal life. when I got my lab assistant-ship at DAL it gave me opportunities to help the students to have understanding of the concepts  and for me to practice it to have better understanding. I am blessed to be  the part of team that taught me how to enjoy responsibilities. when you taught a class it brings both challenge and joy as you deal with students of different skills level. Some of the students are good enough to understand the technical terms while sometimes you need analogue to help them to understand the concepts so learning chances is always there.

If all you want is a day-to-day job, okay salary at times, good amount of time off with pay, and good/great benefits, then this is your place. You pay for all the medical, dental, pension etc. benefits at ~50% or more. You will not get much support from managers. You will not get big raises and sometimes quite low raises of 0-1.5% some years. Advancement will not happen very often. There is no work to help people develop into new spots. Safety is good here, you can refuse unsafe work, and they fix the issues. Morale is low but seems to be improving. So, it depends on what you care about. Are you at the end of your career and just want pension, benefits, paid holiday and vacation, then it is great. If you want a great wage, to feel highly valued, or to try and advance with a clear path, then this is not your spot. 

pros: 
Good work Environment
Less meeting
Given a task and once complete, show a demo. Good benefits, but not worth if you are not paid enough. 

Cons: 
Salary pay is severely underrated. The salary they pay is not worth survival, if you have a family you have to do two jobs to make sure you meets your ends. 

Due to salary and other Needs, environment and work becomes overloaded. 

Management is not worth, if you report to 2 managers. 

Probation is too long, No Job Security. 
You are evaluated multiple times every week during probation which demotivates employees to quit earlier

Too Much is expected within one month of Joining, to be running like a horse which is not possible if you work in big project. 

Legacy Coding standards.

Making real hard for new Employees to stay and have a Job stability, unwillingness to change coding practices. 

Most Employees working there are way too old since 2000 and no progress has been made. 

so all in All stay away unless you get good Salary package which is basically an unrealistic dream. 


What is the best part of working at the company?
Great benefits, flexible work environment. Leadership is somewhat lacking, but the entire University is currently in a hiring freeze due to capped international student enrolment. Many of the support staff are currently being laid off.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Challenges with leadership in some faculties. There are struggles in departments that are not revenue generating.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The people are great, and the culture is welcoming. There is a lot of support available if you know where to look for it. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
My job was hybrid, and I was pretty much left to do my work. My manager was trusting, supportive, fair, and gave her team autonomy unless work was not getting  completed on time.

At Dalhousie I was a groundskeeper, a typical day at work was going around picking up litter, mowing the lawns, and other typical grounds management. I really didn't learn anything working at Dalhousie as a groundskeeper. Management was so-so, I would consistently be denied my PTO by upper management/human resources. The workplace culture was a typical workplace culture for the most part, but despite the Dalhousie staff consisting of adults many years out of highschool, a lot of the staff still had a highschool mentality. Honestly the hardest part of the job for me was getting motivated in the mornings to even show up for work. The most enjoyable part was the 1 hour lunch breaks and clocking out at 3:30PM for the day.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Teaching assistant 11 salaries reported	$26.45 per hour
Research assistant 7 salaries reported	$44,000 per year
Postdoctoral fellow 8 salaries reported	$56,344 per year
Research associate 4 salaries reported	$63,750 per year
Graduate assistant 3 salaries reported	$26.68 per hour

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