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Views on the Usefulness of the PhD Outside Academia: What Do We Know and Need to Know?

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Structural and Institutional Transformations in Doctoral Education

Part of the book series: Issues in Higher Education ((IHIGHER))

Abstract

The post-PhD labour market is undergoing constant change, influenced by new technologies and national and institutional expectations for competitiveness. This is true regardless of the labour sector—academic, public, para-public or private. While post-PhD careers in the academic sector have been well studied, there is minimal research about PhD graduates in other labour sectors. Yet, understanding the nature and quality of post-PhD careers outside academia is a pressing issue given more than half of PhD graduates work there. In this chapter, I synthesise what we know and don’t know about the perceived usefulness of the PhD beginning with (a) the influence of the PhD on post-PhD outcomes, (b) PhD graduates’ perceptions of the value of the PhD and (c) non-academic employers’ views as to PhD work preparedness. While effectively researching this issue is complex, I argue for a more fine-grained systematic research agenda, concluding with recommendations for future research.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Of course, PhDs have always worked outside the academy; the difference is that now it is the majority of PhDs, many of whom may not have originally intended such employment.

  2. 2.

    As defined by OECD.

  3. 3.

    Usefulness of the degree is often assessed by asking individuals to note the extent to which they use a range of generic skills, for instance, creativity and innovation, problem solving, thinking critically, teamwork, leadership, oral and written communication, project management.

  4. 4.

    Disciplines are becoming more balanced as to gender, with greater numbers of females in the sciences and males in traditionally female disciplines.

  5. 5.

    Given the focus on employment, I have set aside other outcomes that emerge from doing a PhD, such as the profound learning experience (often described as transformational) (Stevens-Long, Schapiro, & McClintock, 2012).

  6. 6.

    If the cameos had been two scientists, the programmatic and disciplinary practices and career outcomes would have differed somewhat but life circumstances would have similarly varied.

  7. 7.

    This is a concrete example of the interaction between individual agency and structuring elements in the environment.

  8. 8.

    Not reported here.

  9. 9.

    You will note more information about Serena’s experiences in Table 1 than in the previous cameo.

  10. 10.

    There was, of course, national variation.

  11. 11.

    Labour sector is not named but private is inferred.

  12. 12.

    At no point do they refer to discipline, but their reference to technology transfer, for instance, suggests STEM.

  13. 13.

    I do not report the empirical evidence, given its historically situated perspective on the labour market.

  14. 14.

    A deeper and more policy-related question is whether countries should continue to increase PhD graduates given the evidence that non-PhDs appear to be meeting some of the present research needs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Lynn McAlpine

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  1. Lynn McAlpine
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  1. Agency for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education (A3ES), Lisbon, Portugal

    Sónia Cardoso , Orlanda Tavares  & Cristina Sin ,  & 

  2. Centre for Research in Higher Education Policies (CIPES), Matosinhos, Portugal

    Sónia Cardoso , Orlanda Tavares , Cristina Sin  & Teresa Carvalho , ,  & 

  3. Department of Social, Political and Territorial Sciences, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

    Teresa Carvalho

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McAlpine, L. (2020). Views on the Usefulness of the PhD Outside Academia: What Do We Know and Need to Know?. In: Cardoso, S., Tavares, O., Sin, C., Carvalho, T. (eds) Structural and Institutional Transformations in Doctoral Education. Issues in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38046-5_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38046-5_9

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