Two-thirds of UK-based PhD students intend to pursue a career in academic research even though most doctoral degree recipients leave academia within three and a?half years, a study has found.

Drawing on previously unpublished data from a Nature survey in 2019, the report by the Higher Education Policy Institute found that those doing doctoral degrees in UK universities had a ¡°clear preference¡± for an academic career, with 67?per cent saying they were ¡°very likely¡± or ¡°likely¡± to pursue this option after graduation.

The report, which is based on responses from 526 doctoral degree candidates, observed that 70?per cent of PhD graduates had left academia within three and a half years, according to the latest longitudinal data published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

About a quarter (23?per cent) of PhD students said they were ¡°very likely¡± to pursue a research career in industry, while 41?per cent said this option was ¡°likely¡±.

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Students were also open to other options: 51?per cent said they might seek a research role in government or the non-profit sector, 40?per cent mentioned medical research and 24?per cent had considered taking a non-research role in academia.

Some 81 per cent of PhD students believed that their doctorate had prepared them well for a research career, but only 33?per cent said it had prepared them well for a non-research career, according to the study, PhD Students and their Careers. Some 47?per cent insisted that their PhD had made them suitable for a career that straddled academia and industry.

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Bethan Cornell, the report¡¯s author who is currently studying for a PhD in physics, said the report¡¯s findings were ¡°encouraging¡± because they showed that ¡°PhD students are positive about their career prospects¡± and that ¡°the PhD experience doesn¡¯t seem to negatively affect the proportion of students wishing to stay in research¡±.

¡°However, it is concerning to find that, while PhD students may be getting good technical training, they do not feel supported in many other key skills they will need to gain a successful academic career, such as managing people, dealing with budgets and applying for funding,¡± said Ms Cornell, who added that it was ¡°discouraging that PhD students are more likely to seek?one-to-one careers advice from their supervisors than from trained careers consultants, who are better placed to help them.¡±

Nick Hillman, the director of Hepi, said it was ¡°vital that, as a society, we look after our researchers, and that includes making sure they have access to the careers support they need to find the best possible role for them¡±.

Highlighting how some respondents had said they might leave academia for reasons including ¡°lack of job security¡±, ¡°mental health¡± and ¡°a?poor work-life balance¡±, the University and College Union¡¯s general secretary, Jo Grady, said universities must do more to address these issues.

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¡°Even though academia is PhD students¡¯ number one career choice, 70?per cent have left the sector within three and a half years,¡± said Dr Grady.

¡°Universities need to make sure that higher education remains an attractive career choice; but insecure contracts, low pay and long hours leave staff facing mental health issues and struggling to pay the bills,¡± she added, highlighting a UCU last year that found that seven in 10 university staff said their mental health had been damaged by working on insecure contracts.

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com