After teaching in a high school for a few months, he was elected assistant professor of General History at the University of Athens.

[3] Initially, Karolidis pursued the idea of occupying a new seat for Oriental Studies, where he was more qualified, but his rivalry with Spyridon Lambros negated this prospect.

[5] Disappointed, Karolidis initially thought to return to Athens and resume his university post, but in the event he was convinced to run as a candidate for the Committee of Union and Progress, the party of the Young Turks.

As war between the Ottoman Empire and the Balkan League, to which Greece had acceded in May, became inevitable, he left for Germany.

His political leanings changed abruptly in this period, following the Asia Minor Disaster, and he became fiercely critical towards the Greek monarchy.

[7] Although an eminent Orientalist, after his appointment to the University of Athens Karolidis largely neglected the field and instead turned to Greek and general history, in conformity with the chairs he held.