PhD study to employment: experiences of transition

The successful transition of PhD graduates into employment is linked to a proactive approach to taking up opportunities to enhance their experience prior to employment

Key findings

PhD graduates reported facing a number of issues following their transition to early employment:

• a lack of a definitive career plan at the early stages of their PhD
• a competitive academic job market and perceived pressures of academia often influenced career decisions
• employers outside of academia did not always recognise the value of a PhD
• graduates had to adapt to a new style of working environment, with regular hours and less independent work.

What's inside

This report provides a qualitative analysis of recent PhD students' transition into employment. The report seeks to answer the questions:

• What challenges do Doctoral graduates experience moving from their PhD to early employment?
• How does a PhD help prepare graduates for early employment?
• What is needed to make a successful transition from PhD to employment?

Recommendations are then provided for current postgraduate researchers, recent Doctoral students, career development professionals and university support services.

About the report

This report, funded by HECSU, aims to use qualitative research to attain a better understanding of the transition of Doctoral graduates into employment. The research was conducted and reported in 2016 by Rebecca Boyd and Stephanie McAlinden at Queens University Belfast.