A survey taken by the Science and Technology Facilities Council says their funded PhD students have high employment rates and above
average salaries.
Since 2007, STFC has funded over 250 new students each year and 200 new students each year prior to that. The latest study provides a snapshot
of the career paths of these former PhD students and an examination of long-term career outcomes after postgraduate training.
The study reveals that 97% of the respondents who gained a PhD with STFC were
in full- or part-time employment and 70% were
still engaged in scientific research in the UK or internationally.
Of the 27% of respondents who decided to go into the private sector, the majority went into the business or financial services sectors, like BP, Goldman Sachs and others.
The survey also revealed that approximately 62% of respondents are earning
a similar or greater salary than the average professional worker in the UK
despite being relatively early in their careers. The implication is that many
former PhD students are high-achievers in the careers they have pursued.
Furthermore, it said STFC's PhD students enjoy almost full employment, with only 1%
unemployed and 2% on a career break, at the time of the survey.
Some of the respondents provided a further insight into how useful the PhD
was to their careers through career profiles.
Martin Millmore, who completed a PhD in Particle Physics at Imperial
College London, is now a Director at Oracle Corporation, said, "My job
requires a great degree of innovation as ours is a very competitive and fast
moving market. The ability to think laterally and to be creative is essential in
being able to produce new products that are better than the competition. My PhD
taught me a great deal about finding novel solutions to problems and instilled a
mentality of always looking for opportunities to innovate."
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