A bimonthly publication of AQU Catalunya

40

January 2009

Undertaken by AQU Catalunya on commission from the university social councils within the framework of the third survey of the labour market/employment outcomes of graduates from Catalan universities, this is the first study of its kind in Spain to provide information on the employment situation of doctorate degree holders.

In addition to information on the level of acceptance of PhD holders in the Catalan economy, the study also includes the appraisal by PhD holders of their learning and training process and permits analysis of the methodologies used (work in a research group and independent research work) and whether they have an influence on the perceived acquisition level of competences that are specific to PhD training.

An interview sample was taken of 934 out of a total population of 1,661 doctorate degree holders who obtained their degree from a public university in Catalonia between 2003 and 2004, or 58% of the population, with an overall sample error for the study of 2%.

Among the results that stand out was the fact that 97% of all PhD holders were working within three years after obtaining their degree. 57% of these were either working at a university or research centre, and 70% were working in the public sector. In terms of annual income, 30% were in the €30,000 to €40,000 per year bracket. 11% were earning more than €50,000 per year, the corresponding percentage being 23% for the Health Sciences and only 2% in Humanities. Doctorate degree holders assessed the quality of their thesis supervision, meaning the effectiveness of their relationship with the thesis director, as being very good, and 84% would retake their doctorate degree if they were to start over again.