This article highlights the blurring of boundaries as beginning teacher educators cope with the varying demands of teaching and research activities in higher education institutions (HEIs) in England. It suggests that the different forms of research and scholarly activities be made more transparent in order to support early professional learning in this area. Three cases of newcomers to higher education and working in different HEIs are examined over a two-year period. The concept of the "turning point" as a betwixt state is adopted to help identify significant experiences which result in a developing sense of belonging (or not) to academic and scholarly life. Four different categories are also deployed to highlight the case studies' understanding of being a university researcher. All the newcomers saw research as a route to developing themselves personally. Over time there was a shift for some toward establishing oneself in the field, with an indication of the institutional and national pull towards fulfilling academic requirements.