Getting LOR from a TA who left Academia

Whatslsat

Hi everyone!

My ex-TA says he's willing to write a very strong letter of recommendation for me but he asked me to find out whether it will carry any weight since he's not teaching anymore. I was in his discussion section 2 years ago.

He has a Ph.D from Yale and spent a lot of time with me in college. He knows me well and likes me a lot.
I personally think his letter will work great but just wondering what others might think.

Related: I want to submit 4 LORs, all from my undergrad (2 from professors 2 from teaching assistants).
Do I HAVE to include a letter from my work supervisor if I had been out of college for 2 years?

Please share your thoughts! Much appreciated!

Law and Yoda

No expert here and just repeating what I've heard & have seen in regards to LORs.

1) From the webinars I've attended every dean has said the title/position isn't an important factor, what is, is how well that person can talk about your strengths and make you stand out. If believe your previous TA can do just that, then have them write the LOR.
2) Be hesitant with the amount of LORs you submit, for a few reasons. A] Some deans have said that additional LORs take away from the two great LORs received and actually makes them reconsider the applicants ability, i.e they said more LORs aren't always helpful but actually harmful. B] If a school specifically states 2 LORs, you should only be submitting 2. You don't want to seem like you can't follow directions. If the wording is different and schools say "2 or more" just be cautious of what was stated about helpful versus harmful LORs.
3) Most schools prefer academic LORs even if you're 5 years out of school. So you don't "have" to have an LOR from an employer.

Whatslsat

So helpful!! Thank you!

VerdantZephyr

Agree with everything @"Law and Yoda" said with one caveat. With two years of work experience it might not matter, but I have had admissions reps say that if you have extensive work experience it looks strange not to have a work LoR and that it could raise concerns. If you're more than a few years out of undergrad and you are submitting more than 2 LoRs I would say that submitting your two strongest academic LoRs and one good workplace LoR might be better than submitting that third or fourth academic LoR. I really don't think a fourth academic LoR can add much and it could hurt if that professor doesn't echo the same strong sentiments as the first few.

VerdantZephyr

I believe I initially heard that from Vanderbilt, if any non-traditional students with many years of work experience are thinking of applying there.