Nicola Smit started her academic career as a junior lecturer at UNISA. She joined the University of Johannesburg (then RAU) in 1996 as a lecturer. She progressed to full professor and also served as Vice Dean of the UJ Faculty of Law.

In 2013 she joined the NWU Faculty of Law as Executive Dean in Potchefstroom.

Since August 2017, Nicola has been Dean and Professor of Law of the Stellenbosch University Faculty of Law.

Prof Smit is a member of the Advisory Board of The International Journal of Labour Law and Industrial Relations, member of the Editorial Board of International Labor Rights Case Law Journal and of the International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations, member of the Advisory Board of The Industrial Law Journal (SA), and co-editor and co-author of various books, including Law@work, Principles and Practice of Labour Law, Social Security: A Legal Analysis, Introduction to Social Security, Age Discrimination and Labour Law and The Law of Commerce.