“I started teaching during my Masters, when the Professor I was working with needed help with their teaching load. I loved it and knew it was something I wanted to continue with during my PhD, if possible. I completed the compulsory one-day teaching training course as soon as I could after starting my PhD!
I started out with marking assessments, and then progressed to teaching seminars. For two years, I taught a year-long unit focusing on skills needed for a psychology degree, and did all the preparation and marking for that unit, too.
In addition to this, I did a lot of ‘ad hoc’ teaching - mainly on skills-based first year undergraduate units. I was fortunate enough to work with my supervisor on his final year optional unit, providing a good experience of a more specialised unit. This provided me with sufficient evidence to achieve Associate Fellowship status with the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA).
In summer 2017 I was successful in landing a one-year Teaching Fellow post in the Department of Psychology. I simply wouldn’t have got this job if I hadn’t taught during my PhD. I’m now working on my Fellowship of the HEA and looking to pursue a career in academia.”