Career Opportunities After PhD

by PhD Admissions Team of Road to Abroad

Career Opportunities after PhD: After reading the title of this post, you might think that since it has “after the PhD” in it, this is something you need to think about closer to the date of your graduation or defense. If you’re thinking this, then you are so wrong. It is never too early to think about what will you do after you graduate. In fact, those who’ve completed a Doctorate are finding more opportunities to work outside of academia than ever before. And in many cases, you get a competitive edge if you prepare for these positions by doing courses or short internships while you are still working on your PhD research.

Thus, to prevent struggle at a later stage, it is crucial that you think about your career options well in advance. This article will help you to do exactly this. Here, we have tried to discuss as many career possibilities after PhD as possible so that you get a broad overview of what’s available out there.

This article is also relevant for those who are planning to do a PhD, but may think that “Ph.D is a degree which is required to become a professor at a university”. It is incorrect to think this way and we won’t be wrong to call it a myth. In fact, the proportion of PhD graduates who join academia and become professors is quite small. The most common roles for PhD graduates are:

higher education teaching professionals
other researchers in various disciplines
natural and social science professionals in companies or independent consultants
specialist medical practitioners
clinical psychologists
Entrepreneurs founding start-ups
Senior level executives in MNCs
Marketing, Policy-making, etc in companies

Some of these career options after PhD are discussed below in detail.

Post-doctoral fellow (Academia)

Applying for a post-doc position is the most traditional step in academia which lasts for about 2-5 years. You can either stay in the institution where you did your PhD, continue the unfinished work and get publications or move on to a new place and work on a related/ new topic. As a post-doc, you work independently with little to no supervision and focus on publishing and writing grants to get money to start your own research group. This is a great option if you want to stay in academic and become secure a faculty position.

Faculty Position (Academia)

Some people skip the postdoc step and apply for a faculty position right away. Without a post-doc, you will be mainly given the responsibility of teaching as you don’t have the experience of carrying out research independently and probably lack sufficient number of publications. However, please note that this is option is quite limited in developed countries like USA, UK, Canada, Australia, etc. and a lot more popular in developing countries such as India. If you wish to become a professor in developed countries, you should consider doing a post-doc.

Teaching at an Undergraduate Institution (Aacdemia)

In the Netherlands and Belgium, undergraduate institutions are called “Hogeschool” and only impart undergraduate level education. They carry out shorter research projects that have a direct application into the industry. In other parts of the world, you find similar systems at institutions that are mostly teaching-oriented colleges. These institutions need people with PhDs to make up their teaching staff and carry out practical research.

Pursuing your Field of Specialization in Industry

Joining a company in your field of specialization is a good option. For example, if you have PhD in Biology or chemistry, then you may think of finding a job at a pharmaceutical/ biotechnology/biological research equipment manufacturing company. Similarly, if you have a PhD in Marketing, you can join any company which has a marketing department at a senior position. Most companies do agree that employees with a PhD bring additional value to the company, and can be set to tackle more complex problems or to put their highly refined skill set to work. Thus, job applications of PhD holders get a lot of attention in the industrial sector.

Adviser To Policy Makers and Business Consultants (Industry)

To link the researchers and policy makers, a set of professionals are required who have comprehensive understanding of both the worlds. A completely different skill set is required to tackle politicians and bureaucrats – something that most researchers lack. Thus, advisors to policy makers play a crucial role in bringing about the social change by bringing out research to the masses.

Similarly, consultancy firms which provide assistance to large businesses in specialized areas, also hire PhD holders. For example, if you have a PhD in data science, then you might be hired as a consultant to help business struggling with data analysis within their organization. If you have a PhD in microbiology, you may be hired to overlook construction of a new giant pathology lab owned by MNCs. Thus, depending on your specialization, there are huge number of opportunities to become business consultant after completing your PhD.

Work in Government

If you don’t like the idea of being an advisor then why not become a policy maker yourself in the government? You can go in public service and use your knowledge in a government institution. For example, you can work at ministries, where your understanding of complex problems helps making informed choices. For example, as a pharmaceutical or biology PhD graduate you can work in Health Ministry of your country. Let us give you a more relatable example to understand this better. Think of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Dr. Homi Bhabha, and Dr. Vikram Sarabhai – they all were scientists but actively worked with the Indian government to advance the Science and Technology in India. If you are from a different country, then try to find out scientists who helped in nation building of your country. Thus, you can use your advance skills and knowledge to help your government make better choices in your area of expertise and in turn contribute in nation building.

Become An Entrepreneur

This is the decade of start-ups and if you have a great idea or if you have solved an important problem, then why not start your own company and turn your research into a marketable product? Most countries have various initiatives in place to support young entrepreneurs and having a PhD gives you a lot of credibility. All the training that you have acquired to solve problems, establish collaborations, learn new things, etc. will come handy when you start your own company. Mark Cuban, a popular American entrepreneur, once said in the Shark Tank that “knowledge gives you competitive edge like no other”. Thus, being a PhD graduate, you will naturally have an edge over your competition.

Communication & Journalism

Do you enjoy explaining your friends and family what are the broader implications of your work? A career in science communication or science journalism might be for you. Universities need science communicators, who are the link between the researchers and the broader public. Newspapers and magazines rely on science journalists to keep up with recent publications, and turn these into a lighter and clearer read, focusing on the impact on the world around us.

Also Read:

Eligibility criteria for PhD abroad

Top Countries for Pursuing PhD Abroad

What are the benefits of doing a PhD abroad?

For more information regarding funding opportunities and PhD positions abroad, contact our team at Road to Abroad (+91 8383050912). For more general information about studying PhD in abroad in various countries like UK, USA, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, etc visit our PhD Consultation Page.

Searching for Open PhD Positions Abroad? Click here

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Education Transcending Borders

Career Opportunities After PhD

by PhD Admissions Team of Road to Abroad

Post-doctoral fellow (Academia)

Faculty Position (Academia)

Teaching at an Undergraduate Institution (Aacdemia)

Pursuing your Field of Specialization in Industry

Adviser To Policy Makers and Business Consultants (Industry)

Work in Government

Become An Entrepreneur

Communication & Journalism

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