PhD careers in and beyond academia

Doctoral education has expanded considerably across developed and emerging economies, transforming the career prospects of PhD holders. This chapter offers a timely synthesis of international research on PhD career pathways, thereby furthering our understanding of the consequences of expansion and identifying the limits of current knowledge. We analyse the findings of 75 academic and ‘grey literature’ sources published between 2014 and 2024. We find that, in most national systems, a diminishing proportion of PhD graduates are employed in the academic sector. Non-academic career paths are, however, not easily summarised: they are complex and diverse, and outcomes vary significantly by field of study and across countries. We propose that differentiating between research, research-related and non-research employment offers a more meaningful conceptual distinction than the binary of academic and non-academic employment. We conclude that future scholarship should prioritise the longitudinal tracking of PhD careers; enhanced collection on the demographic characteristics of PhD holders; and the development of an expanded conceptual framework which reflects the wide spectrum of PhD careers.