Member Article

New app for PhD students reveals what life after graduation is really like

Université Paris-Saclay’s new survey app provides fresh insight into PhD graduate employment rates, locations, and salaries after leaving.

These results give an insight into life after a PhD.

Strikingly, the statistics reveal a significant gender pay gap between the wages of men and women working in the private sector, about with a 10% lower salary for women. “We had to get the results of the survey to exhibit this gender pay gap,” says Professor Sylvie Pommier, Director of PhD students at Université Paris-Saclay. “But, unfortunately, this gap is not such a surprise. This is why we are working towards making real change for female graduates.

“We have just partnered with the association “Women & Sciences” to set up a mentoring programme for women. We are also planning to set up a committee with human resource managers from large companies to discuss problems like the gender pay gap. In addition, at Université Paris-Saclay, there is a group working on gender equality, handicap and diversity, organizing events and raising awareness. We are working together on these issues.”

The results also show that 92.4% of PhD graduates are in employment, 50% before the end of their thesis, and over a third work abroad after completing their PhD.

Almost three-quarters of all 2,729 PhD students between 1st September 2015 and 31 December 2017 at Université Paris-Saclay answered the survey.

The findings are particularly useful to current students as it tells them how satisfied their peers are with their work, their geographical mobility and how they acquired their jobs. The results are free to access.

Professor Pommier suggests that universities could share the results of their own PhD surveys in order to learn more about student experience and keep making advancements in the most important areas.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Université Paris-Saclay .