The Early Career Researcher Podcast

• Episode 28: Teaching Opportunities in Higher Education

  Following on from last time, when we discussed teaching in schools as a post-academic career option, this week, Charlie and Stephanie meet to discuss teaching opportunities for early career researchers in universities (spoiler alert: Rachael never made it!) Stephanie (recently appointed as a BBC New Generation Thinker: hooray!) is studying to be elected as a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy (links below) and so we thought it was a good time to talk about: - What teaching opportunities exist for ECRs in Humanities. - Some advice on what to agree to, and what you might want to avoid. - Some advice on how to get started, and how to maximise the fun parts of teaching as an ECR. We hope you like it! Please leave us comments or a review as you like. Links mentioned in the show: New Generation Thinkers: https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2025/new-generation-thinkers-selected-bbc-radio-4 Advance HE (UK Higher Education Academy): https://www.advance-he.ac.uk Old Bailey Online: https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoinghistoryinpublic.org%2F2025%2F06%2F19%2Fcourtroom-to-classroom-teaching-with-old-bailey-online%2F&data=05%7C02%7CC.Rozier%40uea.ac.uk%7C4c4d7f824f1843f7aabf08ddafc8abeb%7Cc65f8795ba3d43518a070865e5d8f090%7C0%7C0%7C638859998607650528%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=fKfi7wIqR0iomT%2F54hanLuRYR2wdWhsAZSEFw8NpWwk%3D&reserved=0 Medieval Murder Maps: https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsocialhistory.org.uk%2Fshs_exchange%2Fengaging-students-with-the-medieval-murder-map%2F&data=05%7C02%7CC.Rozier%40uea.ac.uk%7C4c4d7f824f1843f7aabf08ddafc8abeb%7Cc65f8795ba3d43518a070865e5d8f090%7C0%7C0%7C638859998607664087%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=tgttYrFdQSPlSccDPGHqopP81ZZhL20dgGHx5DKNQOU%3D&reserved=0

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• Episode 27: Post-Academic Careers in Teaching

  In this episode, Charlie and Rosie are joined by a very special guest, Catherine, as we talk about career paths in school teaching. This is a career path that for some, leads on quite naturally from academia, and which allows some academics to fulfil some of their biggest career ambitions. But what does school teaching actually entail, what is it like, and what are the good (and bad) reasons for choosing to pursue this career option? After (and indeed during) her career as a Classics researcher, our guest, Catherine, gained a variety of roles teaching in state-funded high schools and post-16 sixth form colleges. She explains her academic journey from PhD student to real-life teacher, and gives us insights into the nature and character of the job, the demands that it can place on teachers, the joys that it brings, and gives some advice on how to make up your mind about whether or not you would enjoy and and be good at school teaching. We also talk about possible routes into teaching, including qualifications and job opportunities in the UK system, without needing to study for an extra qualification before you begin. If you like the episode, please give us feedback and support us by following our show! Links mentioned in the episode: https://classicsforall.org.uk/ https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/teacher-training-adviser/sign_up/identity?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22434217582&gbraid=0AAAAAD_WOvqmdrc3rkXShx38Vh9i2L4ZE&gclid=Cj0KCQjwmK_CBhCEARIsAMKwcD5M8NFpmzQemWzA3XhTgPopf3ZzXKWvWVbXUoftS1GhtEF4Pp0nwy4aAnz3EALw_wcB

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• Episode 26: How to Maximise Academic Job Interviews

  In this episode, Charlie and Rosie are joined by our long-time friend of the show Ana, as we discuss one of the most nerve-wracking challenges in academia: how to do your best in academic job interviews. We discuss the likely format of interviews (online, in person, presentation elements, panel Q+A etc.), talk about some of the likely questions that are often asked of the candidates, and we recount our experiences of how you can best negotiate the nerves, try to stay calm, and show your interviewers all of your best qualities! If you enjoy the episode, please give us a 'like', and subscribe to get notifications of our future episodes. You can follow us on BlueSky @ecrpodcasters and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected] Resources discussed in the show include: Jobs.ac.uk page on advice for job interviews: https://career-advice.jobs.ac.uk/jobseeking-and-interview-tips/academic-interview/ LSE website on possible job interview questions: https://info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/careers/Assets/Documents/PhD/InterviewQuestions.pdf

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• Episode 25: Media Work and Academia

  In this episode, Charlie and Rosie are joined by our friend and very special guest, Eleanor Barraclough, as we explore the roles that media work can play in academic and academic-adjacent career paths. Eleanor shares and reflects on her (extensive) experiences in working with radio, TV, and print media, and we explore topics such as: the challenges of getting into media work; the benefits and sometimes also the drawbacks of working with media outlets while also following an academic career; and we ask what role media work has in an academic career in general. Eleanor (https://eleanorbarraclough.com) began her career in media by being appointed as a BBC New Generation Thinker in 2013, and since then, she has made content for BBC Radio 3 and radio 4, BBC channels including BBC Four, she’s written various trade articles and books – which ties in nicely about what we were talking about the other week with Lizzie Boyle - and she has been on LOTS of different History podcasts. She’s also just written a brand-new book on the Vikings, called Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of the Viking Age, which was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction. Some links: New Generation Thinkers scheme: https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/new-generation-thinkers-2025/ Eleanor's new book:https://eleanorbarraclough.com/activity/embers-of-the-hands-hidden-histories-of-the-viking-age-profile-2024/

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• Episode 24: Returning to Academia in Later Life

  In this episode, Charlie and Rosie (she's been promoted to an official co-host!) talk with Chris: a US-based academic who returned to University life after a successful career and with busy demands of family life. After an introduction from Chris about her journey and what she is up to now (working as an academic teacher and administrator in the US), Charlie and Rosie ask some key questions including: why Chris decided that it was time to return to academia; how this transition felt, how Chris surmounted the obstacles to progression (answer: get some good mentor figures!) and finally what advice Chris would give any anyone who is in a similar position, and thinking of rejoining the academic world. If you like the episode, please feel free to give us some feedback by leaving a short review wherever you get your podcasts from, and don't forget to follow us on social media: @ECRPodcasters

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