Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by mason55 3168 days ago
In the US graduate students typically do "grunt work" as part of their program. For example, you might be a research assistant, where you help out with your professor's research. Or a teaching assistant, where you help a professor teach a low-level/intro class (things like grading or preparation of class materials). For this you receive a small stipend.

The original idea was that a professor takes you under his or her wing to teach you and help you with your research and in exchange you help out the professor with what they are doing. Nowadays graduate students feel like they're just being treated as cheap labor without the professor/university holding up their end of the bargain.
2 comments
Aardwolf 3168 days ago
As far as I understand the terminology, "bachelor" matches "undergrad student" and "master" matches "grad student". Is that right?

So this bachelor and master was just combined in one single 5-year program in my case.

Research, being teaching assistant, and writing papers was done by those who went for a PhD at my university, that is, after those 5 years, those who chose to do a PhD after receiving your master diploma.

Do you think it says something about the quality of the university, when master students were not teaching/writing papers/doing research, but simply doing exams as usual...? (Ok there was the thesis in the last year, but that was really more like a larger final project)

Most top universities in the world are indeed not in Europe, but in my country at least is was considered a good one.

link
alistairSH 3168 days ago
See my sibling comment. But, yes, undergraduate = bachleors, graduate = masters or professional, post-graduate = PhD.

Typically, these labor issues revolve around post-graduate students who expect to be at school for many years. And not students who are just pursuing a Masters program, which only lasts a year or two.

link
newen 3167 days ago
No...undergrad = bachelors. But graduate means both master's and phd. No one says graduate to mean solely master's. And post-graduate might be a vague term (no one uses it) but generally it means the same as just graduate.
link
Aardwolf 3168 days ago
Alright, then it's quite similar after all, thanks!
link
bzbarsky 3168 days ago
> In the US graduate students typically do "grunt work" as part of their program.

PhD students do that.

Most graduate students are not PhD students. Your typical Master's degree program does not include any gruntwork.

link