This work is the result of a broader research conducted in the period from 2016 to 2018 that aimed to understand the process of insertion of new doctors in the higher education in Brazilian federal universities. The research uses as methodological strategy the (autobiographical) biographical narrative as a possibility of recording and reflection on the process experienced and had as a research problem: what conditions and challenges are experienced by the new doctors in joining the higher teaching in federal universities? The written narratives were produced by three graduates of a postgraduate program in education of a Brazilian university. In this article, we present the narratives written by the participants, emphasizing their academic and professional trajectories and considering the training for postgraduate teaching, participation in public competitions for the higher teaching profession and the first year of insertion in the university. The results point to some of the tensions and challenges encountered by teachers regarding the activities carried out within the scope of management, in the university classroom, in the postgraduate and in the scientific dissemination (involving the publication of articles in magazines and participation in congresses), which leads us to problematize the university principle of articulating teaching, research and work with the community.  
