Options after your PhD

An academic career typically combines:

• Research
• Teaching
• Administration
• Leadership

The balance between these responsibilities varies depending on the institution, the type of role, and your stage of career.

Typical responsibilities may include:

• Conducting and publishing research
• Teaching lectures, seminars, and tutorials
• Designing courses and marking assessments
• Supervising students and research staff
• Applying for research funding
• Presenting work at conferences
• Collaborating with other institutions
• Participating in knowledge transfer activities
• Contributing to departmental administration and policy decisions

As academics progress to senior roles, they often take on greater leadership and management responsibilities, including supervising research teams.

Successful academics typically demonstrate the following:

• Passion for research and contributing original knowledge
• Organisational and time management skills
• Communication skills for teaching, writing, and presenting
• Networking ability to build professional collaborations
• Administrative competence for managing teaching and research duties
• Self-motivation and the ability to manage independent work
• Teamwork skills for departmental and collaborative projects
• Flexibility and commitment, as workloads can be demanding

Career paths vary by discipline but often follow a similar structure.

Typical progression:

1. PhD completion
2. Postdoctoral Research Associate/Research Assistant
3. Assistant Lecturer
4. Lecturer
5. Senior Lecturer, Reader, Professor, and other roles may follow, depending on your aspirations

In many scientific fields, researchers typically complete two or three postdoctoral positions before applying for lectureships. This may be followed by an independent research fellowship.

Promotion is largely based on research performance, although teaching, administration, and knowledge transfer activities also contribute. Each university usually has clear promotion criteria.

To strengthen your academic career prospects:

• Publish regularly in high-quality academic journals
• Gain teaching, assessment and marking experience
• Attend conferences/presentations/seminars
• Build a strong professional network within your research field
• Demonstrate the originality and impact of your research
• Develop leadership and administrative skills, such as managing projects or sitting on committees

Networking plays a major role in academic careers.

Useful contacts include:

• Your department – colleagues may circulate opportunities
• Your supervisor – often connected to funding proposals and research networks
• Contacts at other universities – built through conferences and collaborations

Being known within your field can help you discover vacancies before they're publicly advertised.

Key job websites include:

• Jobs.ac.uk – comprehensive UK academic job listings
• Find a PostDoc – postdoctoral opportunities
• PostdocJobs – international research positions and fellowships
• Times Higher Education Jobs – roles in higher education
• UK Research and Innovation – fellowships and funding opportunities
• Research Professional – research funding opportunities
• Chronicle of Higher Education – US academic job board

Other useful approaches:

• Check journals and university websites in your research field
• Visit or connect with specific research groups you're interested in
• Use professional networks and contacts i.e. LinkedIn

Useful job websites include:

• Times Higher Education – University jobs
• Jobs.ac.uk – includes higher education roles outside academia
• Nature Careers - STEM job opportunities 
• Science Careers
• NHS Jobs – Covers Clinical and non clinical opportunities in England and Wales
• The British Psychological Society - High level jobs in Psychology
• Civil Service Fast Stream and Civil Service Jobs - Fast track opportunities
• Major newspaper job sites - The Times and The Guardian

Additional sources:

• Professional associations relevant to your employment area
• University careers services
• Specialist recruitment agencies – Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and Agency Central
• LinkedIn

PhD students at the University of Salford can access a range of support and development opportunities. These include:

• Career development workshops through the COMPASS programme
• Careers team provides careers fairs, events, workshops and 1-1 support
• Regional and national recruitment events such as Prospects events

Several websites provide career guidance and job opportunities for researchers:

• Prospects – graduate careers information and job profiles
• Target Jobs – career advice and graduate job opportunities
• Social Research Association – careers in social research
• AdvanceHE – professional development resources for academics
• Universities UK – sector information for UK universities
• The Thesis Whisperer – advice and resources for researchers

Useful resources for researching employers include:

• Palgrave Macmillan – academic publishing careers
• Association of Innovation, Research and Technology Organisations (AIRTO) – research and technology organisations
• Innovate UK – innovation and business research initiatives
• MrWeb – market research industry news and jobs
• PRWeek – public relations industry information
• Charity Choice – UK charity directory
• EuroBrussels – European policy and international organisation jobs
• Local councils – job search for any council
• Yes competitions – global competition raising awareness of bioscience
• European Industrial Research Management Association (EIRMA) – companies undertaking research and employing researchers in Europe
• EuroScienceJobs – EU institutions and international organisations such as CERN and WHO
• Sanger Centre Laboratory – Genome research institute