What do PhD graduates do?

PhDs at Queen Mary Queen Mary has around 1100 research-active PhD students working across three faculties. In the most recent survey of 2011/12 leavers, 95 % of PhD graduates surveyed were in employment six months after graduation*. Where are PhD graduates employed six months after graduation? 240 Queen Mary PhD students were approached between April and June 2011 and between November 2011 and March 2012, approximately six months after completing their PhD. 151 returned details of their employment (63% of students responded). This is a 7% increase in responses compared to last year. The data showed that: For all Faculties 36.4% were working in academia and 63.6% were working outside academia For Science and Engineering: 34.5% were working in academia and 65.5% were working outside academia For School of Medicine and Dentistry: 40.5% were working in academia and 59.5% were working outside academia For Humanities and Social Science 35.3% were working in academia and 64.7% were working outside academia
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Academia Outside Academia

Through their own research and through training offered at Queen Mary, PhD students develop a range of research skills essential for work inside academia and beyond. http://www.esdcourses.org.uk/userlistcourse.php. Queen Marys PhD graduates apply their high-level research skills within a range of job sectors including:

Academia Consultancy Industry Local and National Government Banking and Finance Arts and Culture

Further resources

Vitae, What do Researchers do? provides national statistics on the destinations of PhD graduates from a variety of disciplines. http://www.vitae.ac.uk/policypractice/107611/What-do-researchers-do-.html The Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) highlights the experiences of postgraduate researchers from 2007 2011 from 108 different institutions. http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/pos tgraduate/pres-reports
Queen Mary, PhD example destinations (six months after graduation) Employers Typical Job Roles

Ernst and Young

Science and Engineering School of Medicine and Dentistry Humanities and Social Science

Management Consultant

Clod Theatre

Director

Lloyds Bank

Consultant

Ministry of Defence % of PhD students working within academia compared with those working outside academia Slaughter and May Produced by Dr. Tracy Bussoli 24.8.2012

Senior Design Engineer

Manager

Science Museum Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Queen Mary University of Nottingham Lecturer

Audience Researcher Research Executive Officer Postdoctoral Research Scientist Research Fellow

skilled in research design and research methods. Must practice good verbal and written communications skills when presenting a range of complex ideas and will call upon numeracy and IT skills in order to communicate data.

Career Development and the Research Development Framework (RDF) What is the RDF? The Researcher Development Framework is a tool for planning, promoting and supporting the personal, professional and career development of researchers in higher education. It describes the knowledge, skills, behaviours and personal qualities of researchers and encourages them to aspire to excellence through achieving higher levels of development. Further information about the RDF can be found on the Vitae website: http://www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers/429351/Introducin g-the-Researcher-Development-Framework.html Queen Mary PhD students have the chance to develop a variety of skills and experiences which will help decide future career choice. Some departments work closely with external organisations, providing PhD students with opportunities to do consultancy work. Some students do CASE studentships in industry which can also broaden experience and skills. Queen Marys partnership with Creativeworks London may provide new opportunities for PhD students to work closely with creative agencies. All Queen Mary PhDs can access one-to-one support from the Careers Consultant for Researchers at Queen Mary Careers, from their supervisor and from The Learning Institute when working on their personal and professional development plan. Further Information about Careers Support; http://www.careers.qmul.ac.uk/researchers/index.html

York St John University

Royal Holloway

Research Fellow

Birkbeck College Barts and the London NHS Trust Home Office

Administrator

Clinical Scientist

Senior Case Worker

Employability skills Due to the length of time a PhD takes to complete, PhD graduates tend to be more career mature than other graduates, which can bring added benefits in the workplace. PhD graduates also need to be tenacious self-starters to sustain and complete such a challenging schedule of research. During the course of their research, PhD graduates not only develop advanced research and teaching skills, they also develop a variety of transferable skills required to work in a range of employment sectors. PhD graduates: Have strong critical thinking and problem solving skills and are highly competent in the generation and exploration of hypotheses and research questions. They can gather and critically evaluate complex information. Are able to understand the use of empirical enquiry linked with theoretical development. They can demonstrate analysis of data using qualitative and quantitative methods and are

*DLHE returns 2011/2012. Data collected between April and June 2011 and between November 2011 and March 2012 from QM PhDs, six months after graduating. 240 PhD students approached; 151 returned details, 73 did not reply, 16 explicit refusals.

Produced by Dr. Tracy Bussoli 24.8.2012