This study examines the characteristics and employment patterns of Hungarian higher education lecturers. It briefly outlines the development of Hungarian higher education after the change of the socialist regime (post-1990) and describes the force field in which lecturers work. It then presents some of the lecturers' characteristics (age, gender, ratio) in an international comparison and studies the rules governing their appointment and employment under the Hungarian Higher Education Act. The paper investigates the structure of university teaching staff by their function and evolution. It also analyses the lifetime earnings of doctoral graduates in the Hungarian context, including the rise in the number of doctoral students. Finally, the authors look at a critical piece of instructive research that surveys the situation of young Hungarian teachers and researchers in higher education.