A University lecturer will divide his or her time between lecturing students and working on research, which is academic and adds to their university department’s academic profile. Even as a college lecturer you will hold a academic rank you will be expected to lead research groups and hold positions which involve you in teaching and also research. Being a university lecturer is not a standard public sector job with 9 to 5 hours, the amount of hours you are required to put into a job depends on the individual contract. However according to the university and college trade unions, whose members include lecturers, the average working week can reach up to 55 hours and beyond. In addition, at a busy time of the year, you could see yourself working in the daytime as well as the evening and weekend to meet deadlines for university students assessments. The annual holiday entitlement is generally seven weeks a year, but this does not match student holidays. It also depends on where you teach, for instance Liverpool university is a big establishment and will offer more privileges that a smaller provincial educational establishment. When the students are on vacation from their university studies, lecturers are still expected to work through this time.
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Lecturing offers a large range of different types of employment contracts this includes permanent, fractional or fixed term. Different benefits will come from different contracts, but this also means that when lecturing, it has flexible working opportunities. However, being a lecturer is not an easy option, it is hard work.
Job qualifications
There are many qualifications required if you want to be a university lecturer, as it is highly unlikely that you could become a university lecturer without a degree. Nevertheless, if you have a professional qualification with experience within this career, it may open doors this is more likely in departments where there is a shortage of skills. In addition, each department within that institute as well as that institute would most likely have its own minimum qualification requirements. If you would like more detail on this, contact the department directly to find out what is required by them.
Concerning professional qualifications there is no compulsory obligation on a university lecturer to have a qualification in teaching, however, anybody working in an academic environment, which is competitive, would be likely to have, or prepare for, a postgraduate certificate in learning and teaching in higher education, or something similar to this level. Personal skills required include an up to date knowledge in the subject you teach as well as a continuing interest for the subject are crucial. In addition, it is also important that you are able to pass that information onto students in a clear and informative way, so your communicational skills should be excellent.
Salary
The university and colleges employers association states that anybody who is taking up a lecturing post after 10 to 15 years within the private industry would most likely face a pay cut. However, it also argues that there are also compensations when working in higher education this includes flexible working opportunities that it offers in comparison with the private industry. In an older pre-1992 university, the starting salary for a lecturer, with accordance to the 2005 pay rates is £24,435, which could increase to £43,850 after a 15 year period, in addition, extra discretionary payments can bring that up to £47,262. Within a new university, lecturers pay rates start at £24,352, as is stated within the 2005 figures, which reach’s £44,328 after 20 years.
Further information
Contact the higher education academy for further information on 01904 717500 or visit the webpage on www.heacademy.ac.uk