University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

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Job Description

Course description: This course familiarizes students with no prior programming experience with the core concepts of programming and the practice of software development for data-intensive applications in industry and government. After this course, students will be comfortable: (1) writing code to save and load from files and spreadsheets into basic data structures like strings, lists, and maps; (2) manipulating data with code to perform tasks like generating aggregate statistics and filtering data into subsets; (3) effectively communicating findings from interactive, exploratory programming with others; and (4) working with technical teams, and using best practices of software development when building line-of-business applications.

Requirements: The course assistant (CA) must have mastery of programming fundamentals in Python as demonstrated by relevant degrees, classes taken, and/or professional experience. The duties include the following:

Grading of assignments/class participation Contributing to the design of some of the assignments Answering students' questions about course logistics, course content and grading. The questions will be answered on email and/or Ed Discussion, as determined by the instructor. Difficult questions are escalated to the instructor. Attending lectures or, by permission of the instructor, reading the relevant course materials instead of attending lectures. Depending on the course: design lab sessions based on past lab materials (when such lab materials are available) and hold lab sessions.

Course Assistants can expect to work 7-10 hours/week (max 100hrs total) and are paid $25/hour up to $2,500 over the course of the semester. To apply, please submit a resume and short cover letter detailing your relevant experience to: msspprogram@sp2.upenn.edu. Please also list all available course sections in your application.

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Salary offers are made based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, as well as internal and market factors and grade profile. 

Affirmative Action Statement 
Penn adheres to a policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class.

Special Requirements 
Background check may be required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.