Personal Finances
Personal Finances
There are different steps, specified by the UC system, that classify how much grad students make in each department. Prior to advancement, physics students are set at Step 6 & we move to Step 7 post-advancement. Here is a list of the step levels for the various departments and here is a list of what each step actually makes.
Depending on your lifestyle, you might find the need to supplement your stipend with additional income. There are various avenues to do this:
- Tutoring. The graduate coordinator maintains a list of available tutors and their rates which are publicly available…put yourself on this list. And there are online resources (i.e. Wyzant).
- Summer internship. Depending on what field you are in, and what you plan on doing post-graduation, there may be avenues for you to pursue a summer internship that are paid.
- Teaching over summer. Post-advancement, you can teach a class here at UCSD, Mira Costa College, or other local community colleges which are regularly in need of instructors (www.sdccd.edu, www.miracosta.edu, www.swccd.edu, etc.). You will supplement your income in either case. Fair warning: going this route will take up lots of your time.