PGR pathways
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According to Vitae’s latest statistics highlighted in What do researchers do?:
- just under half of all doctoral graduates are employed in higher education
- 10% of doctoral graduates are in research jobs outside of higher education
- 27% are in what they term ‘other common doctoral occupations’. These might be non-academic jobs in higher education or jobs outside academia entirely.
In terms of salary, doctoral graduates in research roles in universities tightly ranged around a median of £34,000 while those in research outside academia had a wider range around a median of £35,000. ‘Other common doctoral occupations’ had a higher median of £40,000 and more high earners.
Please note: The university has an institutional licence to Vitae, simply register free with your University of Nottingham email address to access content.
Three broad career paths
For someone with a PhD, there are three broad paths your career may take.
1. Research and/or teaching in higher education
This is what may be considered the ‘traditional’ route, although it is becoming just as common to take the alternative routes after your PhD.
2. Alternative academic jobs
Administrative, professional and managerial roles within a university, supporting the work of teachers, researchers and students.
3. Working outside academia
PhD graduates are highly valued outside of academia and many people go on to jobs in an industry or sector that values their skills, including careers more broadly related to their thesis topic.
1. Research and/or teaching in higher education
There are three pathways you could take, depending on how much research and teaching you want to do.
1. Research only
Research associate > research fellow > senior or principal fellow > professor
Other than supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate students (at a higher level), this is a research-only pathway.
Research associate is often the title used if your PhD is in progress, whereas research fellow is a postdoctoral position. A research associate or fellow will usually be recruited to join an existing project, created by a senior or principal fellow or professor.
2. Research and teaching
Assistant professor > associate professor > professor
This is a career route in research and teaching: approximately 40% of your time would be taken up with research and 40% teaching, with the remaining time in student support and administration.
3. Teaching and curriculum development
Teaching associate > teaching fellow > senior or principal fellow > professor
This is a teaching-focused route:teaching and learning comprises approximately 70% of the role and research 10%, with the remaining 20% in student support and administration. The responsibility of creating and convening modules and assessments varies with the seniority of your position.
Professors
Across the pathways, a professor is the most senior position.
Salaries for postdoctoral researchers range from £27,000 to £44,000, while senior roles can earn between £32,000 and £50,000, with potential for significant increases in higher-level positions.
You may find this 13-minute video useful for explanations of the different pathways in more detail, although it's important to note that titles may vary across institutions.
All roles involve a mix of research, teaching, student support, and administrative duties.
Research roles require conducting original research independently and collaboratively, with leadership responsibilities in higher-level positions.
Teaching duties include designing and delivering lectures, seminars and workshops to large and small groups and providing one-on-one guidance.
Dr CST - Careers at a university
You may also be a personal tutor, offering academic and pastoral support to undergraduate students, and supervising both undergraduate and master’s projects. At senior levels, you may oversee and examine postgraduate theses. Additionally, you may be expected to take on departmental administrative roles.
Explore more: careers in academia including alumni case studies
2. Alternative academic jobs in higher education includes three UoN case studies
You might want to explore other jobs in higher education institutions outside of research and teaching; these are often referred to as alternative academic or professional services roles. Just because a job doesn’t require a PhD, doesn’t mean it is not appropriate for you. Research and teaching skills and a knowledge of the processes of higher academia are valuable across university departments.
Of particular interest to researchers may be policy research and innovation, knowledge exchange, public engagement, or research and teaching support. Jobs could vary from project management to team leadership.
You could still be involved in teaching and research too, delivering workshops to train staff or researching university policies and impacts. Jobs in libraries, museums and archives associated with the university may also be of interest and could include curation and conservation as well as administrative or public-facing roles.
Jobs.ac.uk - careers in higher education playlist
This playlist of videos on the jobs.ac.uk YouTube channel explores various roles within university administration, professional and managerial departments including HR (video 2), equality and diversity (video 7), IT (video 14) and marketing (video 20).
Jobs.ac.uk playlist
Explore more: careers outside academia including alumni case studies
This might be referred to as ‘working in industry’, but essentially means not working for a university. Just because you are not working in higher education, does not mean you will not use the skills and knowledge you have gained during your PhD.
Don’t feel like you can only apply for researcher jobs either; not only have you developed a range of valuable skills but you could bring innovative knowledge and practices to an organisation at an administrative or managerial level. It is also important to remember that just because you chose to work outside of academia does not mean you can’t return to higher education.
Working in a field associated with your research
You might want to work in the field you researched. Think about which organisations undertake research like yours in either topic or methodology. For example, is there a museum with special collections you are an expert in, or a science park with companies innovating in your field?
Make use of any contacts you have made throughout your research who may be aware of opportunities that would be perfect for you.
Working in industry
Another option could be to move to industry and use your skill set there, rather than your specific research knowledge. One example is working in academic publishing, especially if you have had experience in writing, reviewing and editing articles during your PhD.
Seds Online, an earth sciences journal, has an 11-minute video about academic publishing. It is about the industry as well as the specific journal, so is useful information for anyone interested in publishing.
Seds Online video
A government job or role in a think tank or research agency could be another option, managing or undertaking research to inform policy. Remember, you can still apply for graduate schemes after your PhD. Many doctoral graduates also go into consultancy and other freelance careers.
Matthew Padgett, Civil Service Fast Stream
'I decided to use my PhD skills and interests and move into policy work for the Civil Service. One of my main motivations was the sheer size of the Civil Service and the opportunity to work in so many different areas over the course of my career.'
Matthew Padgett, PhD Neuroscience from the University of Nottingham.
Read about Matthew's career path
Sarah McLusky - Research adjacent roles
In each episode, Sarah McLusky interviews a professional in a different field, including a museum curator, a patent attorney, and a scientific communication manager.
Sarah's podcast series
Explore more: careers outside academia including alumni case studies