Other common doctoral occupations

Other common doctoral occupations [All data unless otherwise stated comes from ‘What do researchers? Doctoral graduate destinations and impact three years on.' ] is a cluster of occupations identified as a key area of employment for doctoral graduates who leave the education sector for work; a full explanation and list of roles can be found in the ‘What do researchers do? Doctoral graduate destinations and impact three years on.  Methodology'.

Three and a half years after graduation, over a quarter (27%) of doctoral graduates worked within the other common doctoral occupations cluster, making it the largest cluster employing doctoral graduates three and a half years after graduating. Biomedical science graduates were more likely than other graduates to be in one of the other common doctoral occupations three and a half years after graduating (40%) with 31% of physical science and engineering doctoral graduates within the cluster. These roles were less common amongst arts and humanities doctoral graduates, with only 6% working in the cluster three and a half years post-graduation.

Most doctoral graduates in this cluster are employed on permanent contracts (85%). 37% earned between £30,001 and £40,000 three and a half years after graduation, and 29% were earning over £50,000.

Doctoral graduates in this cluster were most likely to have found their job through  professional, work or educational contacts or networks (31%). 23% had worked for their current employer previously, and doctoral graduates were more likely than average to have got their job through a recruitment agency (16%).

Most doctoral graduates in these occupations reported using the general discipline knowledge gained through their degrees at least some of the time (88%), with 71% using their research skills and 89% using their generic skills in their jobs, whilst 93% report they have autonomy in their job. 73% have supervisory responsibility at least some of the time.  It is important to remember that doctoral graduates are often recruited by organisations for roles that require some managerial skills and will need to demonstrate these skills in to improve their chances of securing these jobs. 94% of doctoral graduates in other common doctoral occupations feel they are innovative in their roles. Finally, three and a half years after graduating, 88% of doctoral graduates working in ‘other common doctoral occupations' feel that their current role helps them to progress towards their long term career aspirations.