system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
What's up the academic track in Europe?

I'm a bit curious (and confused) about the career path in academia in European countries. I see people have jobs as lecturers, but others having a full Assistant Prof./Prof. designation. In the US, a lecturer does not need to have a PhD, but apparently in Europe they do? Is a lecturer position in Europe lesser than Assistant Prof or are they the same? Thoughts?
gpt
A UK lecturer is like a US assistant professor, except that they may have a permanent contract, unlike a person on the tenure-track.

In the UK, the standard progression is lecturer, senior lecturer or reader, professor. All of these positions are potentially permanent, it's possible to retire at the lecturer rank without ever getting promoted, unlike in the  United States, where tenure-track assistant professors who fail to achieve tenure get a terminal year, and where promotion to associate professor and tenure are usually concurrent, although there are examples of tenured assistant professors, and untenured associate professors.