Chapter 9: Working in the United Kingdom

Pinar¹ is originally from Spain and has spent the last 10 years in Britain completing graduate school and working in a number of university applied linguistics departments during that time. She is currently finishing a postdoctoral research program and is looking for a teaching post in applied linguistics and/or Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). The vignette below is part of Pinar’s weekly routine in her search for a lectureship (equivalent of assistant professor in North American universities).

This is very typical of the routine efforts that early-career academics have to make in order to find openings in universities in the United Kingdom (UK). Drawing on our own individual experiences, as a professor from a minority ethnic background and as a white woman from a working class background on a professional non-academic contract respectively, as well as our knowledge of the fields of language education and applied linguistics, we offer an account of our experiences and understanding of some of the processes that an early career academic may go through in order to secure a full-time academic post in the UK.