Prevailing Wage for Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary
The prevailing wage for Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary (SOC 25-9044) is set by DOL using Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics surveys across more than 130 metropolitan areas. Whether your offer is for a Graduate Assistant, Graduate Teaching Assistant, or Graduate Fellow position, DOL assigns four experience levels, and the wage floor shifts considerably depending on the worksite city.
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Level 1 covers entry-level postsecondary teaching assistants with limited experience, typically graduate students in their first or second year of a degree program performing routine instructional support tasks under close faculty supervision with minimal independent judgment.
Level 2 is the most common filing level for Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary. It fits candidates with some independent instructional responsibility, such as leading discussion sections or grading independently, often in their second or third year of graduate study.
Level 3 applies to experienced teaching assistants who handle more complex instructional duties with limited oversight, such as developing course materials, delivering lectures, or managing a course section largely independently, typically reflecting advanced graduate standing.
Level 4 covers fully competent postsecondary teaching assistants functioning at a near-faculty level, exercising significant independent judgment across curriculum design, examination development, and student assessment, usually reflecting completion of doctoral coursework or equivalent demonstrated expertise.
Prevailing Wage for Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary by OES area
Each shape is a DOL OES area, the unit prevailing wage is published for.
What’s an OES area?
The Department of Labor publishes prevailing wages for geographic zones called OES areas. Every U.S. county belongs to exactly one, and the wage floor applies across the whole area. A worker in Oakland gets the San Francisco metro wage, not a separate Oakland wage.
Top 10 cities · Level 1
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See which U.S. employers are actively hiring for Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary and sponsoring H-1B, OPT, and green card visas at or above the prevailing wage.
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Confirm whether stipends count as wages
Postsecondary teaching assistant offers are often structured as stipends rather than salaries. Confirm with your employer that the stipend amount is what DOL will compare against the prevailing wage on the LCA, since tuition waivers and fee remissions do not count toward the wage floor.
Watch the title used on the LCA
Employers sometimes file Graduate Research Assistants under a research-focused SOC instead of SOC 25-9044, which carries a different wage floor. If your offer letter says Graduate Student Instructor or Graduate Teaching Assistant, verify that the LCA job title and SOC code match your actual instructional duties.
Compare your offer against your specific worksite metro
The prevailing wage for this occupation varies sharply by location. Ohio metros and the San Francisco Bay Area consistently post higher floors than Southern markets. Use the OFLC Wage Search to pull the Level 2 figure for your exact worksite city before accepting an offer.
Use Migrate Mate to find sponsored teaching assistant roles
Postsecondary teaching assistant sponsorship is concentrated at research universities with consistent H-1B filing histories. Migrate Mate shows which universities have sponsored this occupation before, so you can focus your search on institutions already familiar with the LCA and petition process.
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Find Jobs for this rolePrevailing Wage by Reported Job Title
DOL classifies these titles under SOC 25-9044.00 alongside Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary, so the same four-tier wage schedule applies to each. Tap a title to see the full breakdown.
Graduate Assistant Prevailing Wage
Graduate Assistant Prevailing Wage
Graduate Assistant positions fall under SOC 25-9044.00 (Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Graduate Fellow Prevailing Wage
Graduate Fellow Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Graduate Fellow for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 25-9044.00 (Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Graduate Research Assistant Prevailing Wage
Graduate Research Assistant Prevailing Wage
Graduate Research Assistant is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 25-9044.00 (Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Graduate Student Prevailing Wage
Graduate Student Prevailing Wage
Graduate Student positions fall under SOC 25-9044.00 (Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) Prevailing Wage
Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 25-9044.00 (Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) Prevailing Wage
Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) Prevailing Wage
Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 25-9044.00 (Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Research Assistant (RA) Prevailing Wage
Research Assistant (RA) Prevailing Wage
Research Assistant (RA) positions fall under SOC 25-9044.00 (Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Teaching Assistant (TA) Prevailing Wage
Teaching Assistant (TA) Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Teaching Assistant (TA) for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 25-9044.00 (Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Teaching Fellow Prevailing Wage
Teaching Fellow Prevailing Wage
Teaching Fellow is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 25-9044.00 (Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does DOL set the prevailing wage for Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary?
DOL calculates prevailing wages using Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For SOC 25-9044, BLS surveys postsecondary institutions across more than 130 metropolitan areas and computes four wage percentiles. OFLC then publishes these figures in its Prevailing Wage database, which employers must reference when filing an LCA for a sponsored teaching assistant position.
What do the four wage levels mean and how do I identify mine?
DOL's four levels correspond to experience and independence on the job. Level 1 is entry-level with close supervision; Level 2 reflects qualified performance with some independent work; Level 3 covers experienced staff handling complex tasks; Level 4 applies to fully competent professionals exercising broad judgment. For postsecondary teaching assistants, your level is determined by how independently you design, deliver, and evaluate instruction, not solely by your degree stage.
Why does the prevailing wage for this occupation vary so much by city?
OFLC uses regional BLS survey data, so the wage floor reflects local labor market conditions at the specific metro where the work is performed. A university in a high-cost metro like San Francisco or New Haven must meet a higher floor than one in a lower-cost Southern market. Critically, the worksite address on the LCA controls which metro's wage applies, not the university's headquarters city, so remote or multi-campus situations require careful classification.
What happens if a sponsored teaching assistant offer is below the prevailing wage?
An employer cannot certify an LCA with a wage below the applicable prevailing wage level. If the offered wage falls short, the LCA will not be certified by DOL, and USCIS will not approve the H-1B or other sponsored visa petition that depends on it. The employer must either raise the offered wage to meet the floor or reclassify the position, which may affect the petition entirely.
How do I find and verify the prevailing wage for a specific Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary position?
Use the OFLC Wage Search tool to look up SOC 25-9044 for your worksite metropolitan area. Select the wage level that matches your experience and job duties to see the applicable floor. For sponsored positions, the employer's LCA is a public record filed with OFLC and must state the wage level and offered wage. Migrate Mate can help you identify universities and institutions with a history of sponsoring this occupation, narrowing your search to proven sponsors.
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