hˈɑːpkɪnz ɹᵻtˈɜːnd tə kˈeɪmbɹɪdʒ æz ɐ ɹᵻsˈɜːtʃ fˈɛloʊ æt kˈɪŋz kˈɑːlɪdʒ, kˈeɪmbɹɪdʒ nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɪksti θɹˈiː nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɪksti sˈɛvən wˌaɪl æt ðə sˈeɪm tˈaɪm tˈeɪkɪŋ ɐ lˈɛktʃɚʃˌɪp æt ðə lˈʌndən skˈuːl ʌv ˌiːkənˈɑːmɪks, bᵻfˌoːɹ spˈɛndɪŋ tˈuː jˈɪɹz æz pɹəfˈɛsɚɹ ʌv sˌoʊsɪˈɑːlədʒi æt hˈɑːŋ kˈɑːŋ jˌuːnɪvˈɜːsᵻɾi nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɪksti sˈɛvən nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɪksti nˈaɪn ˈæftɚɹ ɐ fˈɜːðɚ tˈuː jˈɪɹz æt ðɪ ˌɛlˌɛsˈiː nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɛvənti sˈɛvənti tˈuː, hiː mˈuːvd tə bɹˈʌnəl jˌuːnɪvˈɜːsᵻɾi æz pɹəfˈɛsɚɹ ʌv sˌoʊsɪˈɑːlədʒi ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɛvənti tˈuː, ˈɔːlsoʊ sˈɜːvɪŋ æz dˈiːn ʌvðə sˈoʊʃəl sˈaɪənsᵻz fˈækəlti fɹʌm nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd ˈeɪɾi wˈʌn tə nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd ˈeɪɾi fˈaɪv.
Hopkins returned to Cambridge as a research fellow at King's College, Cambridge (1963–1967) while at the same time taking a lectureship at the London School of Economics, before spending two years as professor of sociology at Hong Kong University (1967–1969) After a further two years at the LSE (1970–72), he moved to Brunel University as professor of sociology in 1972, also serving as dean of the social sciences faculty from 1981 to 1985.