Are you a creative person with an interest in teaching and research? Have you considered working in Academia before? The Higher Education sector offers a range of exciting job opportunities for those interested in design, music, gaming, fine art, and drama. If you are looking to land a job in any of the above fields or you would like to progress your creative career within the sector, you might find it helpful to regularly check the jobs.ac.uk platform and keep informed about new vacancies.
Design jobs
Many design jobs focus on teaching undergraduate or postgraduate students. The teaching areas can be diverse, and these may include textiles, jewellery manufacturing, fashion, interior, exhibition, graphics, illustration, animation, and digital. Working in a teaching role, you could help your students develop strong creative and artistic skills and independent thinking, explore a range of career options and help them navigate their way in this competitive field. Here are some of the job roles which you may come across when searching for jobs:
Assistant Lecturer
If you have limited teaching experience, you may start your career as an Assistant Lecturer (AL). These roles may be offered on a freelance or employment basis. Your responsibilities could include delivering face-to-face and online teaching sessions, assessing students’ work, and managing general administrative tasks. Recruiters would generally ask for some teaching experience and significant professional experience in your chosen field. Assistant Lecturers may also be called Tutors or Academic Tutors.
Lecturer/ Senior Lecturer
They are likely to be employed by the university on a fixed term or permanent basis. Apart form teaching students and marking responsibilities, lecturers may also be involved in revising or developing academic courses. As a lecturer, you may contribute to academic management and pastoral care across the courses. Many universities ask for a PhD in a relevant field and a strong track record of research.
Research Fellow
To work in a research position, you would need to have a PhD degree as well as some professional experience in your chosen subject. You would be involved in undertaking research and evaluating outcomes. You would contribute towards research projects, write for publications and present at conferences. These opportunities might be advertised as Research Assistant, Postdoctoral Fellow or Research Fellow.
See the latest design jobs.
Music jobs
Are you a professional performer or composer with a passion for teaching? Teaching music could give you the opportunity to share your knowledge with young people and inspire them to follow a musical career. Ideally, you would have a strong professional profile as a musician and some experience in delivering teaching to individuals or groups. If you teach classical music on an individual basis, you would need to demonstrate excellent interpersonal and communication skills. You would need to explain complex musical concepts using simple words, motivate your students, and prepare young people for a musical career path.
You may find that some of the roles are offered on a freelance, part-time, short-term contract, or permanent employment basis. Some jobs are focused on research only.
You can find the latest music jobs here.
Gaming jobs
Did you know that the UK gaming industry is the 6th biggest in the world? According to the British Council’s website, more than 32 million people in the UK play games. The gaming industry is estimated to be worth £75 billion globally and it is growing at a fast speed. Recent technological developments in the field of artificial intelligence are also driving interest in this field.
Working in this area would allow you to be part of a fast changing, creative, innovative, and exciting industry and to share your knowledge with younger generations. Universities are increasingly using gaming to facilitate teaching and learning. At Bristol University, Paul Howard-Jones, a professor of neuroscience, is a key proponent of using games in education as well as mobile devices to facilitate learning. Stepping into this filed as a teacher or a researcher would allow you to constantly develop your knowledge of gaming, follow new trends, try new innovative technologies, and contribute to new developments in the field.
There is a range of teaching and research vacancies for those interested in moving into this field:
Assistant Lecturer
Lecturer/ Senior Lecturer
Associate Professor/ Professor
Research Fellow
Game Developer
See the latest gaming jobs.
Fine art jobs
Would you like to inspire students to become artists? Do you want to share your knowledge of visual arts and your passion for your chosen career? Working in this area could give you the opportunity to make a genuine difference in the lives of young people and to inspire them to become artists. Art subjects are important as they encourage self-expression and creativity. Through studying arts, students can develop their critical thinking, resourcefulness, independent research, and confidence. Here are some of the job roles which you may come across when searching for jobs:
Assistant Lecturer
Lecturer/ Senior Lecturer
Associate Professor/ Professor
Research Fellow
See the latest fine arts jobs.
Drama jobs
Are you passionate about drama, dance, or cinematics? Would you like to share your professional experience and encourage students to follow such a creative career path? You may agree that studying drama could open up a range of creative career options both nationally and overseas. Your students could explore a range of professional drama fields from acting, directing, education, theatre, arts administration, and arts therapies. You could give guidance to your students on how to navigate in this competitive field and become enterprising when searching for employment. When looking for roles, you may find that the majority of vacancies focus on teaching. Here are some of the job roles which you may come across:
Assistant Lecturer
Lecturer/ Senior Lecturer
Associate Professor/ Professor
See the latest drama jobs.
Further reading:
- Why is it important to retain academic art jobs?
- The Different Types of Academic Careers
- Using storytelling in teaching
- What is the difference between a Teaching Fellow and Research Fellow?
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