The Early Career Researcher (ECR) Network is a multidisciplinary network with membership open to anyone conducting educational research at an early stage of their career. This includes for example, teacher researchers based in schools, Masters and doctoral students, post-doc researchers, teaching fellows and lecturers. A wide range of research areas are represented, including early years, internationalisation, inclusive education, teacher education, digital education, and education policy. Although membership is diverse, and this should be acknowledged, the authors offer this position paper from the perspective of three ECRs, based in Scotland, who work within higher education and convene the network. In this article, the authors begin by highlighting key challenges facing ECRs studying and working within higher education and consider these within the context of COVID 19. The authors then reflect on what the network can do to address these specific challenges.