Employment

Information about Economics ASE Positions, the hiring process, pay and benefits, is below. Please read all of the requirements before proceeding to the application, which is linked below. Pay attention in particular to the eligibility dates and, if you are a first-time GSI, the GSI pedagogy requirement. If you have any questions, please email the Departmental Head GSI, Elena Ojeda, at headgsi [at] econ.berkeley.edu.

Available Positions and Eligibility

A list of the positions we are hiring for Spring 2025 are available here. This list is subject to change, and until you receive an actual offer of employment from the Department the appointment is not guaranteed. A description of the duties of each position is here. Attendance at course lectures is required for all GSIs and Readers unless otherwise specified or instructed by faculty.

In general, the minimal eligibility for GSI appointments in the Economics Department is evidence of good performance in the equivalent of Berkeley's Econ-1/2, Econ-100/101A, and Econ-100/101B. For upper division courses, at minimum you must have completed the equivalent of the course in your studies. Readers and tutors must have received at least a B in the course or course equivalent.

The University's Graduate Division requirements for ASE employment are as follows:

• Enrollment in at least 12 units during the semester you will hold the position. This means that if you go on Filing Fee Status, you will NOT be eligible to be an ASE.
• Paid at least 20% of assessed fees and tuition, with no registration blocks.
• UC Berkeley Graduate GPA of at least 3.0, with no more than 2 incompletes in upper division or graduate-level courses.
• Be in good academic standing (not on academic probation)

In addition, for International and non-native English speakers:

• If you are a non-native English speaker, by the start of your appointment (August 1 for Fall positions; January 1 for Spring positions), you must satisfy the oral English proficiency requirement in order to be a GSI. You are exempt from this requirement if you hold a bachelor's level degree from a U.S. institution.
• If you hold a F1 or J1 visa, you cannot hold appointments totaling more than 50%. See the UC Berkeley International Office for more details.

Available dates and required orientations 

You must be available at the start of the semester through the end of the semester. The official start of the semester is one week before instruction begins. In addition, GSIs must be available through determination of grades. All first-time ASEs must attend one 30-minute orientation with UAW4811 (dates and times TBA).

First-time GSI appointments also have various requirements:

• Enrollment in and attendance of Econ-375, which meets during the first two-thirds of the semester. Other 375 courses may be substituted for the Econ-375 version, with permission of the Department. Note that the MBA version of 375 does not qualify. If you have questions about this you should get in touch as soon as possible.
• Attendance of the first-time GSI conference.
• Passing the GSI Professional Standards and Ethics Online course.

ASE Contract, Pay, Fee Remission, and Onboarding

The titles (Head) GSI, Reader, Tutor, are referred to as Academic Student Employees (ASEs) and are covered by a collective bargaining agreement between the University and the Academic Student Employee Union, UAW4811. The current UAW Academic Student Employees Unit contract is available here.

Pay Rates for ASE positions as of October 1, 2024 are as follows:

Note: Summer Session does not count toward step semester.

* Please note that those appointed at TA Step 3 with experience prior to Fall 2023 may be eligible for additional experience-based salary per the recent settlement. Please see current rates here.

** Note: After a grievance from UAW4811, salaried pay for GSI positions is no longer pro-rated, so GSIs receive full salary for August - December for Fall, and January - May for Spring. Readers are paid according to the number of hours listed in the hours column.

*** Note: of at least 25% FTE

All ASE positions during the Fall and Spring in the Economics Department are 25% or higher in this application and per the UC-UAW Collective Bargaining Agreement qualify for partial fee remission. Summer sesssions do not generate fee remission. You can find the current fee schedule here. Partial fee remission includes:

• Tuition (the residential portion)
• Student Services Fee
• $150 of the Campus Fee
• Health Insurance Fee (SHIP) -- graduate student only, not undergraduate.

Please note it does not include:

• Non-residential supplemental tuition
• The remainder of the campus fee
• The class-pass fee
• Professional Fees
• Document Management Fees

Once you have been offered and accepted a position, you will meet with Campus Shared Services staff to begin the hiring paperwork. The Human Resources and Academic Personnel Support (HR/APS) unit will typically arrange all necessary meetings to complete the hiring process. For additional information and questions on graduate student employment, please contact Graduate Appointments at the Graduate Division.

Spring 2025 Application Link: Here

Priority Deadline: October 23rd at 1:00PM