graduate researcher

assistant professor

graduate assistant

research assistant

lecturer

Old Dominion University

I served as a professor assistant under many different members of ODU's mathematics faculty during my time in graduate school at ODU.  I learned vital skills for managing class gradebooks, paper grading techniques, skills to maximize grading of papers and how to input the grades into a database and spreadsheet for ease of reference for the professor.  Some of the professors had me doing clerical tasks such as typing up materials for class use, preparing exam papers, creating and managing gradebooks, and a variety of other tasks.  I even proctored several midterm and final exams at ODU for the professors I worked for.  Graded exams sometimes had to be delivered to the teletechnet center for redistribution back to distance learning centers.

The typical work day was easy, show up and check in with my assigned professor to see what tasks they had for me to complete.  Some days there was nothing to do, others there was a lot of work to do.  The level and amount of work to be done varied by the day.  I was able to take breaks whenever I needed.  I found working with the professors and even the head of the department to be enjoyable experiences.  The workplace was a calm culture, as one would expect from a university mathematics department.  Everyone had their own jobs to do and interactions with other employees was always pleasant.  

The hardest part of the job was nothing.  Being a professor assistant was the easiest job that anyone could ever ask for.  It's a wonderful job for any graduate student.  I was allowed to set my own hours to work around my own exams and homework schedule.

ODU is a traditional university with an increased push for online learning. As an instructional designer, my colleagues and I are consistently creating opportunities for student learning, as well as finding new opportunities to learn ourselves. 

It is much more challenging to learn online and to create an online course. Supporting course and learning objectives through engaging and interactive instructional material are key for student learning. 

In addition to an instructional designer, we are also the project manager for our courses. After analyzing a course, managing the components and allocating tasks to team members allow for maximum development. 

Working as a team is the workplace culture. There is support from colleagues and supervisors alike. 

The most challenging part of the job is meeting the deadlines since we have an ongoing cycle and are given new course development assignments every three months. We develop from start to finish and collaborate with teaching faculty with the development of their course.

The most enjoyable part of the job is learning new subject matter since we work with various programs and curricular. Meeting new faculty and having the opportunity to collaborate and network with different people is also enjoyable.

Hi! I have worked at ODU for almost 3 years in a part-time position under the department of SEES. My management team fully supports me both as an ODU Employee and as an individual. I have learned much in this role, as I have been promoted, gotten two raises, and earned multiple licenses and certifications during my tenure here. ODU is very supportive of employees signing up for trainings/workshops/conferences. My office has paid for me to participate in many conferences and seminars. The only thing I would change would be the stringency about part-time/full-time employees. My office has no room for upward mobility, so the position I am in will always be a part-time position. Admin is not able to advocate for more funding to make my position full-time. This means I get the luxuries of working part-time (flexibility, work/life balance) at the cost of health care benefits, retirement, and vacation/sick time. Any time I go on vacation, I pay twice: once to pay for actual costs of the trip, and again when I miss out of working for the days of the vacation. As a person who needs affordable access to health care for my many illnesses/disabilities, I need a job that offers healthcare. As such, that is the primary reason I am leaving.

The Old Dominion University Police Department has some really awesome police officers and security officers to work with.  However, the Chief of Police has made a toxic environment for security officers.  The pay is 12.36 and hour and has not been raised in over three years.  It was approved by the governor but was denied by HR/Chief of Police. 
 Security is only given a small closet to store all of its equipment and paperwork.  The department is working out of a store front next to a bar with paper thin walls.  You will either be assigned to main campus (Norfolk) or a satellite campus in Virginia Beach or Portsmouth.  Almost everyone works 6 hour shifts.  While everyone else on campus makes time in a half on holidays security is paid normal pay with no extra.  All security positions are part time so there are no benefits.  Overtime can only happen once a year and that's during student move-in.  The equipment is dated and does not work well.  The radios are beyond old and are lucky if you're able to transmit.  After several years of saying we would get new uniforms we finally did.  The current Sergeant in charge of security is great but he is retiring in November 2020.

I get to work at 6 AM, Monday through Friday. The first thing I do is sign out my keys and radio, and check my mailbox to see if I have any supply orders from building supervisors. After that, I drive a truck around campus and pick up garbage from designated locations. Next, I go to my assigned buildings, empty trash cans, clean the bathrooms, and clean the offices and other rooms. Once I'm finished with my buildings, I go to the warehouse and complete my orders, and spend the rest of the day check trash around campus.

I learned some new cleaning techniques, how to use a few machines, and I also gained some material management experience so far. Management has really helped teach me everything I need to do to perform this job successfully. My coworkers are very friendly and have also helped me adapt and learn since I've started working here.

The hardest part of my job is also the most enjoyable part of my job. With the constant changes that occur, I am expected to continuously adapt and learn quickly. This makes the job challenging, but it is also very rewarding. Leaving work each day, knowing that I have done something to make a difference, is what makes this job great.

Assisted professors in the SCALE-UP (Student-Centered- Active-Learning-Environment for Undergraduate-Programs) classrooms by answering student questions, also provided guidance, advice, support to students during lecture periods.

Co-developed a 9-week lab curriculum for the SCALE-UP general and honors physics courses.  Co-Facilitated the weekly 1 hour-long lab periods for classes ranging in size from 36 to 90 students.

Served as a mentor for the Physics Learning Center and personalized the curriculum to the particular student's learning style and level of understanding with both concepts and mathematics.  

Served as a personal tutor for lower income, at risk, and learning disabled students in the topics of physics, math and astronomy.  

Facilitated weekly 1-hour sessions with 20 students adjusting the curriculum and approach for each student's learning style, academic history, and disability to ensure academic success in the classroom.   

Drafted weekly technical reports on each student detailing successes, comprehension of the material, and also provided additional guidance to further develop the understanding of the course material.

Certain departments have serious issues with hostile work environments that are never addressed, upper management constantly leaving/new hires, department chairs are working professors who do not have good management skills and bring their prejudices along with them, chairs should be hired outside personnel with executive experience, funding (state) is not distributed evenly or as needed for research or annual budgets require, student recruiting is aimed at filling the halls but the culture is hollow and campus is surrounded by sketchy and dangerous neighborhoods, a coal yard to the southeast, expensive student rental houses in a nice higher income neighborhood to the north, traffic is crazy on the main road-Hampton Blvd. with container trucks constantly driving too fast, and you have to pay to park as an employee, based on your salary,  seriously a rip off 

Working for ODU has been an excellent experience for me, the management is very caring and understanding while also having high standards of their workers and the students they serve. During certain times of the year the offices have very high volumes of students come in so it is extremely important that you have patience to deal with stressful situations, parents and students. The work environment with co-workers is that of a real team, even from one office to another. There are days that are a challenge to get through, and I have had my days that I come home completely exhausted but my office as a whole would feel the same pressures and therefore there are company events such as christmas parties, potlucks and other catered events that made the hard days easier to accept. The benefits as well are great for full time workers, such as discounted class tuition, etc. but I didn't qualify due to my temporary status. However pay/compensation was good. If you have a true desire to help people and give them tools to become successful adults then this would be a good place for you.

Aside from my assigned job task of data reporting, I have been allotted almost full supervision responsibility of one branch of our center consisting of about 10 employees. Due directly to the counseling I receive from my manager I have grown in my character and professionalism tremendously. My workplace is extremely flexible although there is an almost overwhelming amount of work. On a daily basis we are faced with new tasks being unexpectedly assigned with very little description and no direction of how to accomplish the task, which provides experience and skill in being creative and quick on my feet. There are two things that I like most about my job; I am able to listen to music and drift into my own world while working and seeing the employees come in to vent, to express excitement and seeing them develop and grow throughout their college careers.

Old Dominion University 2013-Present
[2012-2013] Graduate Assistant Defensive Line Coach Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA
	Assisted with installation of defensive line techniques and defensive scheme 
	Contributor of schemes and techniques pertaining to weekly game plans
	Instructed athletes during individual drills emphasizing proper technique and tempo
	Helped create and implement drill progressions and techniques for defensive line
	Coached a specific position on every special team as well as ran individual special teams drills
	In box during games, in charge of seeing personal, play recognition, and series summary 
	Actively recruited and toured players, assigned to Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and North Jersey
	Coordinated all film for the defense as well as efficiently ran the scout team and student assistants
	Mentored and motivated players’ athletic and academic performance
	Will be coaching the Outside Linebackers during the Spring

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Graduate researcher 5 salaries reported	$24,500 per year
Assistant professor 4 salaries reported	$91,250 per year
Graduate assistant 9 salaries reported	$21,667 per year
Research assistant 3 salaries reported	$23,000 per year
Lecturer 4 salaries reported	$53,250 per year

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