Career paths after the doctorate

After the doctorate, a wide range of career paths open up for young researchers in universities, research institutions, business and society.

The doctoral phase can also be seen as preparation for future tasks, which usually involve greater responsibility. From research and development in a large company to founding or taking over a (family) business - a wide variety of career paths are possible.

It's a good idea to find out about these different options early on, because you'll need more than just specialist knowledge and scientific expertise to succeed in your chosen position. Skills such as communication, teamwork and leadership are not automatically acquired during doctoral studies. However, this qualification period can be used to acquire and develop these so-called key competences.

For career planning, it is important to develop an awareness of the academic and non-academic career paths open to doctoral graduates. Only about a quarter of young academics have an academic career as their goal after their doctorate, 40% want to stay in research. But what do the remaining 60% of young academics do once they have successfully defended their thesis? The following overview can help you find the right path.

You can also take advantage of our individual counselling services.

Possible career goals after the doctorate

• Universities
  • Research (post-doc, habilitation, professorship)
  • Teaching
  • Research and information infrastructure (e.g. large-scale equipment, special labs, digitalisation projects, large-scale studies, data management).
  • Science management
  • Knowledge and technology transfer
• Research institutes
  • Research and information infrastructure
  • Science management
  • Knowledge and technology transfer
• Economics
  • Research and development tasks in a company (can also be an important prerequisite for a later professorship at a university)
  • Research management
  • Other professional activity in a company (specialist)
  • Founding your own company/company succession own company/company succession
  • Consulting
  • Project management
  • Challenging and managerial function
• Society
  • Foundations
  • Associations/clubs
  • Public administration/authorities
  • Non-profit organisations (e.g. Médecins Sans Frontières)

Further information on this can also be found on the website of the career portal for science & research from DIE ZEIT and the career guide from Jobvector, the specialised job market for scientists, doctors & engineers at all career levels (both sites are only available in German).