Other occupations

This section covers other occupations [All data unless otherwise stated comes from ‘What do researchers? Doctoral graduate destinations and impact three years on.' ] identified as one of the key areas of employment for doctoral graduates and covers a wide range of roles across number of employment sectors. 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, just under one in seven (14%) of doctoral graduates worked in roles within the other occupations cluster. Arts and humanities doctoral graduates were more likely than other graduates to be in one of the other occupations three and a half years after graduating (22%), particularly compared to biomedical doctoral graduates (9%).

Most doctoral graduates in this cluster are employed on permanent contracts (78%). 23% earned under £25,000 three and a half years after graduation, and 34% were earning between £30,001 and £40,000 with one in nine (11%), were earning over £50,000 per year.

Doctoral graduates in this cluster were most likely to have found their job through newspaper or magazine advertisements (23%), or through employer websites (21%). They were more likely than average to have found their job with the aid of recruitment agencies or careers services, and far less likely than any other doctoral graduates to have discovered their new role through professional networks.

Most graduates in these occupations reported that they use the general discipline knowledge they gained through their degrees at least some of the time (73%), 60% report being able to use their research skills and 80% use their generic skills in their jobs, whilst 93% that they have autonomy in their job. 59% 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. 82% of doctoral graduates in other occupations feel they are innovative in their roles. Finally, three and a half years after graduating, 76% of doctoral graduates working in ‘other common doctoral occupations' feel that their current role helps them to progress towards their long term career aspirations.