graduate researcher

graduate assistant

research assistant

student worker

assistant professor

Auburn University

AU like to brag about being one of the best schools.  They leave out the fact that employees come last. Employees have received $0.00 Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) pay increases in over 10 years and counting but, they sure can build nice buildings. When I accepted a job at a prestigious university, I was not told there would be few raises for nearly my entire career and only if approved by a Board of Trustees who are already wealthy.   AU insurance goes up each year and takes a big chunk a tiny 2-3% increases that are approved.   Employees consistently see others being hired at much higher pay for the same position. Experience and accomplishments have nothing to do with it. New people are getting higher pay vs those who have dedicated years of service to the university.  It's being done simply because AU gets away with it.  I've worked really hard, super dedicated and hold outstanding performance records.  No reward and ignored for salary inequity reviews.  Well, more and more are becoming fed up and contacting attorneys about the unequal compensation practices that have been going on for years here.   AU is trying to figure out ways to dodge that bullet but their mistakes are catching up.  It's being proven in court that many salaries and retirement balances are not near what they should be.  It sickens me that I gave so many years standing silent.  I will forever regret settling for less or staying when I could have earned considerably more somewhere else.  It was that hope that kept us there, a hope for a COLA raise, an adjustment that never came.  It wasn’t because my performance was lacking. It was simply because they could ignore it.  One day I hope this is widely known and they have to pay up.  Maybe then they will be high on a list of the least desirable places to work.

I led and managed a group of underclassmen in a basic physics course. The teaching duties were clearly communicated, relatively autonomous, and offered ample time to work on my studies. The lab procedures themselves were less flexible but were nonetheless engaging and offered unique and creative opportunities to teach my students. 

Compared to other undergraduate positions at the university, my hourly rate was definitely an outlier on the higher end, and the work duties were comparatively less stressful. It was overall a very well-balanced job. 

I was managed by two supervisors—a professor and the lab manager—as well as one main administrator from my department. My superiors were good mentors and were highly flexible, understanding, and supportive. The work hours were flexible and worked around the students schedule and current time commitments, whether they were undergraduates or graduates. However, this varies greatly across departments and work groups—my peers in engineering and a few academic support roles seemed to have more issues with stressful workloads, lower pay, and an occasional micromanaging supervisor. 

There were occasionally random trainings that’d pop up out of nowhere from HR or the administrators, but they weren’t very time consuming or difficult to complete, and you typically had at least a month to complete them. Overall, the job schedule was highly flexible and besides the assigned in-person lab slots, you were able to choose your own hours and when/how often you worked for an abnormally high pay.

I currently work under a research group, and the work culture and intensity seem to mostly remain similar. Overall, for my specific position, department, and work group, I can highly recommend working at Auburn for any prospective graduate students (or undergraduates who get lucky and land a TA or RA job).

I work as a TES Employee In the Facilities Management Human Resources at Auburn University. I have been there for just about a year and I absolutely love it there. I can't say enough about the wonderful people I work with. I started out cleaning the main building for a contract company on campus. Over the span of just 3 months cleaning in their building, I have built up a great rapport with the members of the HR department. One day I had a conversation with the HR Liason, who was brand new to Auburn. I told her about my desire to build my skills in a business environment. She then offered to take me in as a TES Employee. Since working under the team, I have recieved nothing but the highest level of support from the HR staff there. They have brought me onboard for the mere purpose of gaining experience for my resume. They assisted tremendously in the redevelopment of my resume. On one day in particular, I was working on my resume in their conference room, and there were five HR team members jumping in to proofread and offer feedback on my resume. I didn't ask, they just were so excited to help me out. That moment solidified for me that I really tapped into something special at Facilities Management. I love working as a TES and my goal is to be a fulltime Auburn University Employee. If you are looking for a great place to work and a unique collaborative environment, Facilities Management at Auburn University is the place to be.

I thoroughly enjoy what I do. I love the returning guests that I have, and the friendships and work knowledge that I have gained from this place. If you are single and don't have much of a personal life, or are a college student, this is most definitely a great place to work. Stability in your schedule is almost non existent. Therefore trying to plan church, doctors appointments, etc. Is nearly impossible to do regularly. It is owned by Auburn University so it is heavily student based. Therefore the turnover rate is exceptionally high which does tend to make consistency in job performance and standards an issue. The hotel is going to be changing its management company in the next several months as well. The one very frustrating thing with this company which I do not agree with, is that when a "VIP" guest is around. Your service towards the rest of the guests is forced to be put on the decline in order to cater towards someone because they have a larger wallet than someone else. That to me something that is done in very poor taste. No one should ever be put in a position where they need to make an excuse as to why one guests needs are more important than another due to the knowledge that someone has more money in their bank account than another. If the guest service standard is the same for everyone, and able to be kept at a high level across the board, the money will follow.

A typical day as a Banquet Captain would start with me coming in an hour before my servers and I map out job assignments depending on the number of events we have for that shift. While my servers complete their tasks, I communicate with the culinary and audio visual departments to make sure everything in my events is coming along as planned. After making sure the event goes smoothly, my servers clean up the event while I make a list of everything that needs to be set or polished for the next set of events! When all of my servers go home, I stay and do the captains reports and send it out to all of the hotels team leaders. 
The biggest thing I have learned is time management. This job is very fast paced and it gets easy for some details to slip through the cracks, but I try and stay on top of a schedule to avoid such problems. I work with the best possible crew and they help make every event as successful as it can be. It feels amazing knowing that I can trust them with tasks beyond their job description.
The hardest part of the job is learning that I can't please everyone. There have been times where the guests had problems that I couldn't fix and times where I could've led my team to a better shift. 
The most enjoyable part of my job is watching the different departments come together to make each event successful. You can't help but feel happy when a brides wedding reception is exactly what she wanted it to be.

Working in the residence life department is always an interesting job. The job gives you valuable skills in management since you are effectively managing a floor and sometimes a building of college students who have to adhere to the rules of on-campus dorm living. I have to work with 1-3 other co-resident assistants to plan events in the hall for the students and enforce policy when necessary. Other things are included as well such as filing reports for any incidents that take place in the hall, events that the dorm staff put on for the residents, and weekly reports of what happens in our hall. But the daily part of the job is just interacting with residents and helping them with any questions or problems they might have. The job is difficult because you do sacrifice a large portion of your free time to dedicate to the residents and the upkeep of your dorm, but the rewarding part is giving residents and students on campus a safe and fun place to live on campus where they feel they can grow and learn while meeting new people in the hall.

Auburn University has a good company culture. There are good to great benefits and great holidays. The employee education benefit is awesome, and management is very supportive of using it. I was able to finish my degree with zero debt, although it did take quite awhile to do. You get 15 credit Hours per year tuition-free, and are allowed to attend class while on the clock. The EEB is probably the greatest benefit. 

However, if you are working in the trades for Facilities Management, advancement is limited and pay does not align with that of the same jobs in the private sector. There is a level 3 technician job "on paper", but you cannot just be promoted into it when you qualify. You have to wait for them to create a tech 3 position, which they have not done yet (after it being on the books for almost 5 years) and when it does happen, everyone eligible will be competing for it. If you are upper level management, they pay good money and appear to even create jobs for you, but those jobs are out of reach for tradespeople - even after earning the required education. You would have to leave the university and come back into one of those roles. 

It is overall a great place to work, but the people who keep the university physically running are limited.

Each day there was something different to learn, as I did not come from a Science background, but a Clerical, Customer Service background. I learned how to work in a research environment, with controlled subjects (chickens). I learned how to care for them and monitor their well being.  I also learned how to work in a laboratory setting, as well as how to help with the research process. 

My management was amazing! My manager was hands on in helping me learn and always willing to answer questions or provide assistance but also open to any ideas that I had to improve the research/care process.

Our workplace was very diverse as their were students from all over the world, as well as some of the other faculty involved in our department.

The most difficult part of the job was the heavy lifting and the physicality of the work involved in my job.

The most enjoyable part of the job was definitely the people I was privileged to work with every day, they always taught me something new and made work fun!

While my job did not take up very many hours in a week. I was technically on duty and responsible for my residents 24/7. I was responsible for maintaining an orderly community in the residence halls. I facilitated social interaction and group building activities that fit into an academic environment. I learned much about interpersonal communication and how to deal with countless types of challenges. Whenever I disagreed with management, I felt it was my duty to express my concern. We maintained a favorable relationship.

My co-workers were a diverse and exciting bunch of individuals. Our bond strengthened the more we worked together. I would say the most difficult aspect of my job was maintaining a relationship with every resident in my building. 300 people can be difficult to keep track of. The most enjoyable part of my job was interacting with my residents and giving them a proper environment to learn and grow as individuals.

This position of Resident Assistant is an excellent opportunity to work with a group of individuals from all types of backgrounds to enhance the experience of On-campus students. Typical duties include keeping an accurate knowledge and roster of what student live in which rooms, planning monthly social and educational events, managing budgets for previously mentioned events and additional neighborhood events, attending weekly team meetings, and providing a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment. Management is decent, the majority of the interaction will be with Grad students who are employed in a Graduate Area Coordinator position. The biggest things that you will learn are conflict mediation skills, interpersonal skills from working with many different types of coworkers, event planning, and time management as you balance work life and student/social life. Most enjoyable part of the job is different for most people, my favorite was some of my coworkers and the memories we have made.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Graduate researcher 12 salaries reported	$25,500 per year
Graduate assistant 6 salaries reported	$1,897 per month
Research assistant 3 salaries reported	$30,167 per year
Student worker 4 salaries reported	$9.75 per hour
Assistant professor 2 salaries reported	$75,000 per year

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