 Paniker joined CMS College, Kottayam as a lecturer of English in 1951, after working there for a year, he joined the Mahatma Gandhi College, Thiruvananthapuram.He started teaching at the University College, in Thiruvananthapuram in 1952, and did so till 1965.At this point, he became a Professor at the Institute of English and Head of the department in University of Kerala (1965–74).