I am looking to go to grad school for Biochemistry and all of the places I've been looking at say that they pay you anywhere from $20,000-26,000 to go there. The first two years would probably be a teaching assistantship, but after that I'd hope I could get research stipends.
How much time do you need to devote to the teaching assistantship and to your coursework in grad school?
I've heard 40 hours coursework and 20 hours of the assistantship.
I am not in your field.
However...I think that your time commitment will vary greatly with the course/instructor you are TA'ing for. Additionally your coursework may vary dramatically depending on courses.
I think the coursework by itself is easy, it is other things that add onto it. In addition to any other stuff you mave have going on you will need to become very intimate with your specific field of study, that means lots of reading outside of work or class.
As a research assistant I would say I go about 30/30 maybe even 20/30 school to work, over the course of the whole semester.
I take it you are looking for a Ph.D. since you are thinking beound two years?
Honestly, grad school is bestdeal you will ever get, good luck with everything.
With that salary, you will be doing better than many other fields, and it's a good investment of your time. My degree is in physics, which is probably fairly similar in terms of what is expected. I think most TAs spend maybe 15 hours per week if they have one recitation section and are well-versed in the subject. Classes will take up more time, especially if you have labs, but I think you can probably plan on 60 hours per week total, but some weeks will be 70 and some 50.
I'm in a different field, and am definitely not making money, but for me coursework is about 45 hours a week and my research appointment is another 15.
And yeah, my running went to shit...