Working as a teaching assistant is an applaudable job, especially if you’re earning your master’s degree at the same time. Not only can you review the lessons you’re learning through studying them, but you’re also getting an extra refresher whenever you help a professor teach the same lessons to others. Plus, it’s a good moneymaking option on the side as you pursue your degree.

Substitute Work For Teaching Assistants

If you’re studying and working at the same time, you might be wondering how you can venture to work in other careers that require the same qualifications as a teacher assistant. If you happen to be pursuing a Master in Fine Arts degree, you can get financial support for your MFA if you decide to explore such options that deviate from being a teaching assistant. You’re also at liberty to go into other careers that tangent with your field.

Here’s a look at 13 alternatives to working as a teacher assistant.

1. Writer

With an MFA degree, you can become a qualified writer; the opportunities you can explore are endless. You could write scripts for various platforms such as online content, television, radio, and books. You can start a writing hub to compile content to sell to multiple corporate or entertainment channels.

Becoming a freelance writer with an MFA degree is one way to make you stand out from the competition, meaning you may land high-paying writing gigs. Where there is content needed, a writer is needed. Thus, there will always be work available for you.

2. Editor

If you have an eye for words, linguistic structure, tone, flow, and grammar, becoming an editor may be a good path for you. An editor fixes any mistakes from written works and is responsible for its refined reading. Editors are required in the corporate space, advertising, freelance space, and many more channels. Furthering your education in line with becoming an editor may open many opportunities for your success.

3. Artist

Artists are the creative thinkers behind the creation of art pieces. The most common art forms include painting, sculpture, pottery, photography, literature, film, and theatre, to name a few categories. While many artists work in all these areas, others specialize in only one or a few of them. A person interested in becoming an artist should take time to research the different types of art styles to develop their unique style. Specialization can take form while studying for an MFA degree, as various creative projects will be explored in class.

You can express different kinds of art, be it on the wall of an apartment building, a business, a bar, a school, an office building, a church, or any place that needs an artistic appeal. To execute jaw-dropping art pieces properly, an artist has to pay attention to details, which is a skill that can be enhanced by an MFA degree. When an artist completes a masterpiece, the onlookers will be inspired and able to identify with what the artist intended to express.

4. Fashion Designer

Fashion designers create men’s, women’s, and kids’ clothing. This may include casual apparel, outerwear, swimwear, formal wear, footwear, baby clothes, and baby accessories. There are even costume designers who create special-occasion clothing for holidays and theme parties. The types of products fashion designers produce may be limited, but they’re glamorous and stylish, plus the designs speak for themselves.

Fashion designers also visit manufacturers to see their products in use. Many such designers start by making simple outfits and then develop their sense of style by buying clothes and visiting fashionable places, such as fashion shows and trade shows. The knowledge of how to creatively piece separate fabrics together is a skill that can be developed through the learning of the arts.

Fashion designers can work long hours, but they also find great enjoyment in designing. Some designers are commercial artists, while others specialize in one particular type of fashion. Whichever route a designer takes, it takes hard work and creativity.

5. Actor

Actors are storytellers who make characters come to life and connect with viewers. The skills that actors have include being able to walk the tightrope between being real and being entertaining, being able to get along with a variety of people on an emotional level, knowing how to handle various personalities seamlessly without resorting to unnecessary drama, and knowing how to effectively carry out complicated scenes while maintaining the momentum of the story.

Beyond the stage or screen, the skills these professionals have spill over to off-screen spaces. Stage plays require a different set of skills from acting in a film or television production. Actors may have to work with directors, producers, and other crew members to help create the best shows or movies possible. Actors may need to develop their communication skills to ensure that the director and producers get the results they want. These are skills that can be enhanced by an MFA degree.

6. Researcher

The techniques a researcher can implement may be scientific methods such as experimental study, research methodologies such as systematic reviews and meta-analyses, or simple measurement methods such as elicitation, observation, or questionnaires.

A researcher conducts different types of studies, from short-term to long-term ones. These may be done on particular samples or on research groups or populations over a relatively short time. For example, a study may be done on students in a specific educational level who take part in a specific research study. At the end of the study, the researchers will have all the data they need to determine the effect of a certain intervention on educational attainment for this group of students.

There are many other types of studies that researchers may perform. All of these are time-consuming and require a great deal of analytical skills. Such skills could have been first practiced when working as a teacher’s assistant.

7. Public Speaking

The first thought that may come to mind when referring to the term ‘public speaker’ is somebody who has to keep crowds entertained. They need to keep the audience entertained by creating witty speeches and humorous utterances. They have to grab the audience’s attention to keep them listening.

A public speaker can also direct events in a certain direction by communicating with the audience. This art requires an understanding of the audience to efficiently communicate messages, adopting the right tone of voice, thinking like a TED speaker coach, and knowing when a particular message needs to be communicated.

8. Interior Designer

Interior designers are required to arrange spaces in such a way that everything blends together and gives a feeling of comfort, relaxation, and convenience to any person who occupies the space. An interior designer isn’t just an adviser to the customer; they are also advisers to the contractors and tradesman involved in house construction. The interior designer must be able to work well with these people to have a good completion of the project.

There are many different types of interior designer’s duties. Some of them are the principles and concepts on which the designing takes place, the technical skills required to create the different parts, the idea of space and how it affects the way a place looks, how energy-efficient the building is, the relationship between the materials and the climate, how the construction will affect the future of the building, and many other factors that need to be learned.

When talking about interior designing, it’s about planning, conceptualizing, constructing, furnishing, and maintaining a house or a building for comfort and convenience. They are concerned with the interior arrangement and decoration of the building and making them suitable for human living.

9. Photographer

A photographer is an artist that specializes in the fine art of taking digital and/or film pictures. Professional photographers utilize various natural or artificial lighting to take shots of different people, places, and objects in various settings. The result of the photography is often amazing, sometimes lifelike, and usually very meaningful to the subjects depicted.

There are a variety of ways that photographers work. Most commonly, they are hired by a commercial or private client to produce specific photographs in return for paying either by the hour or by the project. Other photographers work through freelancing websites that list projects by the designer or client, and they work on a per-project basis as a consultancy. There are also companies that hire freelancers on a regular basis to take pictures for the enterprise, and this type of work setup could provide a retainer fee for the freelance photographer. These are but some of the many types of work setups a photographer could explore.

There are many different fields of photography that freelance photographers can do as well. Documentarians, educators, entrepreneurs, fashion designers, and musicians have used the services of freelance photographers at one time or another.

10. Make-up Artist

Makeup artistry is one of the most important aspects of modern beauty. As a makeup artist, you can go into the fashion industry and work on models who will be photographed for a fashion spread or scheduled to walk the runway. You can also work in the entertainment industry and freelance for film or television shoots.

You can also set up your business where people could come for makeup art. When you’ve garnered enough skills and established a good network, you can decide to become a makeup consultant and charge your clients as you teach them the skill eventually.

11. Film Director

In the world of cinema, a director is the person who has the overall creative control of the film, as they take part in planning the story, casting, and all other aspects involved in creating a successful film.

When speaking of directors, the term refers to people whose works are considered classics. Usually, it takes several years of strenuous work to see the fruits of your labor in the form of a masterpiece. For some, it takes practice and several projects to enhance the art of film directing.

12. Marketing Manager

A marketing job advertises materials distributed to an interested customer. A marketer is in charge of business dynamics, such as a designed website, print material, and social media content. Marketing is essential for businesses because it’s the only way the target market will become aware of the service product offered. This requires efficient communication and the art of thinking outside the box.

A marketer also needs to research the target market and competitors, and analyze the economy at large, so that the business can align its strategy accordingly.

13. Graphic Designer

Graphic design is the art of designing using typography, imagery, iconography, and other graphics-based tools to communicate a message to a target audience. The visual elements that are part of a graphic design also include photos, video, and interactive elements. Although some designers don’t consider these as ‘graphics,’ they play an important role in making a graphic design, depending on the project.

The art of graphic design dates back to the ancient art of sculpting. There were no computer models then, and there were no sophisticated color schemes either. Those who came before were very limited in their design skills because they had to rely on their vision to create whatever visual effect they wanted. This resulted in some of the best artwork ever made, though, and it started the development of the computer-assisted design that’s now used extensively by modern designers.

The design process also requires the use of many graphics software packages that help in creating the final visual effect or layout to be used. Today, there are numerous sites available for freelancers to showcase their skills and submit their portfolios to interested clients.

Conclusion

There are many different paths that you can take besides being a teacher’s assistant. With an MFA qualification, you can become a writer, editor, artist, actor, researcher, public speaker, interior designer, photographer, fashion designer, makeup artist, film director, marketer, and graphic designer. You’re not limited to these choices, though, as having an MFA degree means you learn various styles, skills, and knowledge management that will guide you into becoming the best in many types of professions.