graduate researcher

assistant professor

research assistant

student researcher

research engineer

Michigan Technological University

Michigan Tech boasts endlessly about a degree from Tech being a golden passport to an excellent career. I worked for Michigan Tech for more than ten years and completed my degree during that time. When the university began firing people in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, my department immediately fired the two Tech alumni. I guess they value other degrees more than the ones they issue.

My entire department had to undergo ADA training because my supervisor was uncomfortable with an employee's disability and tried to force them to resign because of it. The same supervisor literally shouted at me in public on two separate occasions, once in a staff meeting over a trivial misspelling and again in the midst of a gathering of alumni because of a failure of infrastructure for which I could not conceivably be responsible. For this behavior, she was promoted to  assistant vice president.

Employee evaluations are not done regularly. I had two in my last seven years with Tech. Raises and promotions are—in my experience—based entirely on who the supervisor is friends with and have nothing to do with performance or longevity.

I trained three new hires who were subsequently promoted over me. Two of the three I continued to have to supervise and train despite their nominal status as my supervisor. None of my putative supervisors made any effort to stay up with current communications theory and practice, nor did they make any continuing education opportunities available. Over the course of ten years with the university, I was not allowed to attend a single professional development opportunity other than those developed in-house. 

Neither of the departments I worked in had any type of formal accounting procedure prior to my hiring. Multiple accounts, each with different reporting requirements, were commingled and there was no indication that any kind of reconciliation had ever been done. In both departments, it was clear that nobody understood even the most fundamental bookkeeping procedures. I discovered an erroneous charge for $12,000 that had gone completely undetected and a cash deposit in excess of a thousand dollars that had been placed in a filing cabinet and forgotten for several years.

Tech has, in the last few decades, become increasingly top heavy with administration. Vice presidents and assistant vice presidents and directors and assistant directors and managers all flit from meeting to meeting bandying buzzwords with one another, all the while living in abject fear that they won't make it to retirement before someone realizes they know nothing at all about what they're doing.

I've never worked at a more stressful job and I've been a police officer.

Aside from harsh winters and remote location with the only option of paying top $ to United airlines to fly in and out from O'hare to CMX every time you need to catch a flight anywhere, your quality of life would largely depend on your department and supervisor. I have seen my fellow doctoral students having fun most of the time still get away with their degrees with bare minimum research. While some folks like me worked hard and diligently, trying to keep their supervisors happy, needing longer than expected to complete their degrees. The department does not seem to value hard work. One example, all the scholarly and departmental awards typically go to people who have good connections or just be a popular face. I can provide several examples when I have been denied an award or recognition despite having a better qualification than others who were awarded. None of these matter to me now, still I feel that the department needs to be fairer in treating its students based on merit, not based on who they like them most because they organize some pizza party (so-called meet and greet).

Pros: Some professors are very helpful and smart. They will make you work hard, ensuring that you learn and apply new knowledge. They set a very high standard for research. There is no short-cut if you are to work with them. 
Cons: Not all sub-disciplines within a given department require the same quality of research to obtain a doctoral degree. I strongly felt even TAships were given based on personal preferences, which is a shame.

A typical Monday involves making thoughtful yet fast decisions and maintaining a sense of flexibility when working with students, advisors, and administrators. After a meeting about my Master's Project, I begin emailing my students to remind them about upcoming deadlines. I prepare materials for the upcoming class and solidify my lesson plans before going to teach. 

In my Technical Communication class, I enjoy challenging my students to think on their feet and solve problems ethically and creatively. Using prompts, in-class writings, and discussions, I gear my students towards working in a globalized market with diverse audiences. I devote part of the course schedule to professional development and remind my students to prepare for the job market by updating their resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles. I encourage my students to participate as much as possible and remind them to email me if issues or questions arise as the class comes to a close. 

Once I am finished teaching, I'll return to my office for office hours. In the past, I've counseled students on developing their professional experiences to cater to their career trajectories and actively seek out opportunities to enhance their educational experiences.

I was a Teaching Assistant in Math Department at Michigan Technological University. 
The department offers Masters and P.h.Ds in different areas of Math. The professors there are very qualified and easy to work with. 
A typical day at work included taking and giving classes. So my day would go from studying , doing homework , researching and teaching, preparing for next day, holding office hours, and grading. This was an incredible experience. I got to learn a lot about teaching, from my mentor and also from my classmates. How to organize a lesson, to write exams and quizzes, how to be helpful to the students. Sometimes I would feel like I and the other TAs were a team. We could count on each other when we had difficulties or uncertainties. Being at Michigan Tech was somehow an adventure. It was a life changing experience. A new place so far from home, so many new people, and a lot, a lot of snow. The hardest part was at the beginning. I had to teach in a foreign language. And be responsible for my very own class. The most enjoyable part of being a teacher is when my students would understand me and that would reflect in their grades. The fact that I was still a student myself, helped me to understand better my students. I am proud to be a "husky"! Now I'm looking forward to new adventures.

Michigan Technological University higher me twice as a student employee and once as a research assistant.

During my time spent as a graphic designer and communications specialist, I developed my abilities to work independently and problem solve. Much of my work was developed on my own with only copy editors looking over my designs. The experience gave me the advantage to teach myself through online tutorials as well as working face-to-face with printers.

My research assistant position was phenomenal, but as unique to my opportunity. Every position throughout the university will differ depending on the PIs. My experience allowed me freedom to grow in my inter-personal communication, research, and organizational skills. I worked with a team to interview nearly 37 people, study the results, and write a paper to submit to AMBIO. I learned how to conduct an interview and manage a database of information.

The only downside to working with the university was that I was restricted to typical student employee standards such as little pay/little hours. However, if I were to be employed as staff then the benefits would include union, holidays, etc.

If you plan to work Facilities Management (Custodial) at Tech then you should understand that there are little to no benefits in being there long-term.

Generally you receive 2% raises once a year (below inflation rate) with a 50 cent raise sprinkled in every 5 years.
Despite offering above minimum wages initially, you'll find that most other minimum wage jobs actually provide more income over time because they offer better raises and the ability to move up in the workplace.
You'll also find that as a custodian at Tech there is no "moving up" unless you plan on becoming a mechanic, which they do not provide training for.

Your work environment is almost entirely decided by which building you work in and who your manager is.
Some buildings are incredibly short staffed with bosses that treat you like an ape, other buildings have incredible groups of employees with bosses that genuinely care about you.
Due to a high turnover rate, this can change at whim.


The only enjoyment most people will get out of working here is the insurance and the satisfaction of helping college students obtain their goals.

Stay away if you can, this ship is sinking

As a TA, I was responsible for the work of my students in my class. Having no professor, it was enjoyable to have the flexibility to teach the curriculum as desired. The coordinator was not only incredibly kind and responsive, but also kept things running smoothly in an organized fashion. Some of the other TAs were hardworking, while others were less so, but I didn't have any problems in my interactions with them. Although I had taught before this, it was a good learning opportunity for me to work with many different groups at once, juggling and prioritizing what I would do for which student. I have always loved seeing the 'aha!' moment from students, which is why I love teaching so much, and it was no different here. The hardest part was doing all of the grading and feedback in addition to the already heavy graduate course load I was taking at the time. Each student made different mistakes, which meant I had to explain different things on each lab and quiz. It was very time consuming.

As the Lab Manager for the concrete and cement research lab located at Michigan Tech University, I was responsible for all facets of the Laboratory. This included tracking "Use Fees" for work we conducted for clients, all Laboraory inspections (we were a certified laboratory and went through an extensive federal inspection every 2 years), hiring and firing of student workers, their training according to ASTM Standards, tracking the hours worked by students, record keeping for the Lab, planning and maintaining a work schedule for each project conducted by the Lab.Helping Graduate Students as worked towards their Masters Degree in Civil Engineering.Maintaining certification required to run the Lab.

MTU is a decent workplace for faculty. Pay varies widely depending on your field and type of position. Salaries at the lower end of the payscale do not appear to be keeping up with rising cost of living. However, benefits are pretty good compared to my experience at other universities. Training and professional development is well done, but there are some gaps (e.g., the Center for Teaching and Learning doesn't offer a lot of professional development for teaching, yet there is a strong emphasis on teaching for an R1 university). In addition, there are some significant, unaddressed issues with culture and poor management in some departments or areas of the university that lead to problems with morale. Finally, the location will not be a fit for everyone and requires careful consideration. Some people love it, others hate it.  

The job is pretty simple once you get the hang of it. While I worked there it lacked a formal training process, so your first days may feel a bit overwhelmed. Fortunately most of the people who work there will help you to get acclimated. At times management is not as organized as it should be. You will be responsible for finding your own replacement for days that you can not work, even if you notify management two weeks in advance. They do provides some tools to help with getting other people cover your shift, but if no one takes it your still responsible for the shift. Most of the time you will be working without management around, so working unsupervised was important. Most of the employees were nice, but like any other job some employees are harder to get along with than others.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Graduate researcher 4 salaries reported	$25,858 per year
Assistant professor 1 salary reported	$64,000 per year
Research assistant 5 salaries reported	$17.80 per hour
Student researcher 3 salaries reported	$16.67 per hour
Research engineer 1 salary reported	$80,000 per year

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