Scope and Career Opportunities After Doctor Of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

PhD is short for Doctor of Philosophy. This is an academic or professional degree that, in most countries, qualifies the degree holder to teach their chosen subject at university level or to work in a specialized position in their chosen field.Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is the highest level degree course and the biggest milestone any student can achieve in their academic journey. This rigorous and mostly research-based study program requires dedication and determination. Based on the university and your specialisation, it may take up to 3-6 years to complete this course.

Postdoc (Postdoctoral) This is a common path that most PhD students are known to follow as it is the next step after a PhD. The postdoc is a temporary position that students can take at their university or outside the university. It is like a training period to hone their skills before leaping into their professional career. Interestingly, most postdocs aspirants prefer the STEM domain as there is a huge scope to grow, with few exceptions who select humanities too.

Faculty position You can be a professor if you don’t want to dedicate any time to training and aim at a faculty position. If teaching is your forte, you can skip a postdoc option and opt for a faculty position. You can explore job opportunities across the world or in the university where you completed your PhD, as the scope to excel at this position is tremendous.

Join your preferred domain Instead of building your career in the academic field, you can turn to any industry of your choice to get a job after your PhD. For instance, if you hold a PhD in Economics, you can work in the financial industry. Many successful businesses prefer a candidate with a PhD degree as they value add with their competitive skills and industry-specific knowledge.

Business Consultant Business consultants are hired for their immense knowledge in a particular area and their problem-solving skills. PhD holders, and not just management professionals, are preferred as business consultants to develop strategies to deal with immediate client-facing problems and analyse and enhance organisational practices.

Entrepreneur A PhD degree will transform you into a learned and competitive individual ready to create business ideas, analyse and identify profitable avenues, and build strategies to achieve business goals. You can also consider working with a start-up before venturing into your business to understand the challenges of a newly established business.