Career options beyond academia

In the past, a research degree was typically considered to be training for an academic career; however, research shows that the majority of postgraduate researchers go on to work in sectors other than academia. As well as developing you into a subject expert, a research degree also helps you develop broader qualities including strong analytical, project management, and communication skills. It can therefore be really useful to spend some time considering your strengths, interests and what matters to you in a future career, before exploring the options open to you, to make sure that you are aware of what is out there.

Identifying what matters to you in a career

When considering future career options, it can help to start by looking at yourself: your interests, your values and what really makes you tick. This can then help you to evaluate and narrow down your options. Any feedback, report or results that you get from taking a self-assessment exercise can also be a useful starting point for a one-to-one career guidance appointment. 

• Understand your strengths and what comes naturally to you. This can help you to work out what comes naturally to you, and what parts of yourself you most want to apply to whatever you do next. Cappfinity offer a free strengths profile which you can complete on their website. 
  
  
• Completing the 'What matters to you?' section of our PGR Careers Beyond Academia Canvas course can also help you to identify yoru prferences and priorities for your next steps. 
  
  
• The PhD Careers Blog 'PostGradual' features a number of posts about how to work out what's important to you and how to apply this to career ideas. 
  
  
• For a more in-depth e-learning course to help you think things through, you can join the 'Career Management for Early Career Academic Researchers' course on FutureLearn, developed by the universities of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Sheffield. 

Exploring your career options

There are numerous opportunities available in sectors other than academia that will also enable you to use your research skills, your broader skills and interests, or your specialist subject knowledge. 

The following web sites provide further information about the range of possible careers available to you and may help you to consider your options.

• Start off by working through our Careers Beyond Academia Canvas e-learning course: a comprehesive e-learning resource to talk you through identifying what's important to you in your future work, how to explore your options, how to decide between different next steps and how to prepare for your job hunt.
• Explore some popular post-PGR career options using our PGR Career Explorer resource.
• Explore career stories from former PhDs who have gone into a range of different career areas with PhD careers case study websites such as the University of Sheffield's 'Think Ahead' blog, Oxford University's 'Research Careers' resource, and UCL's Researcher career case studies . The posts span a wide range of professional areas and could help you generate some ideas. 
• Science Alternatives - a resource from the University of Oxford looking at non-lab career options for scientists
• Use LinkedIn to look up what other people with a PhD in your subject area have gone on to do, or look up organisations and companies that interest you and search their 'people' pages to find other employees with PhDs or from your subject background. For advice on doing this, have a look at our LinkedIn Canvas course.
• Information on different industry sectors  from Prospects: their job profiles can help you explore a wide range of career options.
• Sign up for alerts about relevant opportunities and events on the PGR Careers Beyond Academia Canvas course.
• Take a look at Careers Network's 'Insights Into Job Sectors' website, where you can find information about different sectors as well as details of upcoming careers events focusing on different career areas.
• Consider applying for the Careers Network Mentoring Scheme where you can apply to be matched with an experienced professional working in a sector of your interest. The mentoring team endeavour to match PGRs with mentors who also have a research degree.

Marketing yourself to employers

Many postgraduate researchers underestimate what they can offer to an employer outside of academia. You may be unsure about how to identify your selling points. On the other hand, you may fear that you will be considered 'overqualified' for roles that do not require a PhD, but 'under-experienced' for positions asking for a track record in a particular industry. If you are looking for advice on how to market yourself to employers effectively, then you might like to discuss this with the PGR Careers Adviser, or check out our Application advice pages for further information. 

Other resources that might help you to articulate your skills and experience to non-academic employers include this article on translating PhD skills to employers, as well as this piece on putting your skills across in interviews for roles beyond academia.

Starting your own business

For some of you, running your own business may be an attractive option. If you feel that you have an idea that is commercially viable then support is available from our B-Enterprising team. Information is also available from the following web sites:

• Prospects - Information on starting and running your own business
• Business Link - Advice on running a business