Is there life after a PhD?

By Dr Edward Hall, Associate Director SGS-DTC

Clockwise from left: Andrew Lyon, Vikki McCall,
Richmond Davies, Graeme Roy,
Catherine Maclean, Mike Woolvin

When the end of the PhD is in sight – the final drafts of the chapters almost there, the external examiner chosen, the viva date set – there can be mixed emotions: joy and relief, of course, but also anxiety and fear for what lies ahead once the final copy is bound and the degree ceremony is over. Is there life after a PhD? Yes, you know a great deal about a very specific subject, and yes, you can now call yourself Dr., but… What can you do with this knowledge and the skills you have learned over the last 3 to 4 years? 

At an excellent session at the SGS Summer School, seven past PhD students who have gone into non-academic careers – an increasingly popular choice for research students – reflected on their own experiences of life after the PhD and how they have applied their skills to a wide range of employment opportunities: economic adviser to Scottish Government, campaigner on health and wellbeing, writer and actress, primary school (and now yoga) teacher, rural policy researcher, museum researcher and NHS data analyst.

For some, the PhD qualification got them the job, and gave them the status in the organisation to get on and do the job. But for all, it was the skills learned doing the PhD, both the specific research skills and, perhaps most importantly, the transferable skills, that helped them to succeed and enjoy their careers. In particular, communication, self-reliance and motivation, the ability to network across a range of people and organisations, to be organised and see a job through to the end. And, to be independently minded and critical (in the best academic sense) of existing ideas and ways of doing things, and to go on and innovate.

Finally, the alumni offered guidance on how to choose the best path to follow after the PhD: take some time out, get yourself a coffee, and a notepad and pencil, and reflect on why you did the PhD in the first place, what else you have done over the 3 years (what does this tell you about your wider interests?), which parts of the PhD process did you enjoy the most (the fieldwork? the writing?). Answering these questions should help you to decide what you wish to do, and how best to use the many skills that you have learned. One thing is for certain, you will never be the same after doing a PhD. It will change your life; the choice you have to make it is how it is going to change your life.