For overwhelmed RAs

[eve_prime]

We very briefly had a post here tonight about the problem of having RA work get out of hand, to the point that it's conflicting with time to study. A few points of advice, for your own protection

Comments

[starlady42]

Amen. It's also difficult when your fellow grad students are also overachievers -- there's a certain level of keeping-up-with-the-joneses even in a collegial program.

I have a sticker that says "Stop me before I volunteer again." I'm thinking of having it made into a t-shirt ;)

[ponnet]

I need it written on my forehead :)

[eve_prime]

It can be very tempting, not only because the other grad students are competitive, but also it seems important to be seen as helpful, and of course people want to have interesting things on their CVs and to work with a variety of people. Since I have kids, though, I am very selective about what I volunteer for - I just don't have the time or the energy.

[ponnet]

How do you say that you don't want to do some offered projects?

[eve_prime]

Are you in the kind of contract where you have to work a certain amount of FTE to get your salary and a tuition waiver? If you have to work a certain FTE (for example, at my univ. it's .21 for a tuition waiver), then you can just say that you can only work that many hours a week - and then you really should only work that many hours. If they're trying to make you work more hours than you're being paid for, or if they're trying to make you work when you don't have a contract that obligates you to work a certain amount, that's pretty exploitive and puts you in a difficult position. If you're in a situation where you don't have a contract to work, and you don't need the money, and you don't think you have time, it's perfectly reasonable for you to say, "I don't think I have time for that, I have other commitments that come first."