A day in the life of an academic
It may sometimes seem that the main role of your lecturers (also referred to as academics, readers and professors) is to teach your class, but this might only be a small element of their role. Academic staff are required to be experts in their field of interest and are expected to write books and journal articles (long essays written for an audience of interested researchers) as well as talk at conferences and be involved in organising research. Because this is all done behind their office doors, you are most likely to see your lecturers when they are teaching, which they are likely to do for 4-8 hours per week, along with office hours, marking, supervising students and offering support in their role as a personal tutor.
Academic staff also play a vital role in organising their School or Department by working on administrative committees or managing research institutions. They may also have more formal roles such as ‘Senior Tutor’ or ‘Head of School’ which involve a large commitment.
Being a lecturer is a varied and interesting job, but it can be very demanding. Most of all though, lecturers have a passion for their subject and love working with students who share that passion. Read our 'day in the life' stories from academic staff at Brunel to find out more about how they combine working with students, administrative duties and research.
