It’s official! I am a lecturer at Mzuzu University, a.k.a. Mzuni, in Malawi’s northern region. They considered hiring me as an Assistant Professor, but that title is pretty rare–even the head of department is only a Senior Lecturer. The funny thing about the titles is that they’re just pay grades, they don’t have anything to do with your actual job. There is only one job description for academic staff–teach, do research, administrative tasks, etc.–and it’s valid for everyone from junior staff who just got their bachelor’s degree all of the way up to full professors with thirty years of experience.