What do researchers do? Employment, earnings and activities of recent doctoral graduates 2026 (WDRD 2026)
What do researchers do? is Vitae’s flagship research career tracking series. WDRD 2026 is the latest edition, exploring the career destinations of doctorate holders: Vitae What do researchers do? Employment, earnings and activities of recent doctoral graduates 2026 (WDRD 2026)
The report draws on Graduate Outcomes survey data, with in-depth analysis by Vitae, focusing on 2022/23 doctoral graduates. It builds on Vitae’s previous report published in 2022 analysing the 2018/19 cohort.
Employment destinations are presented using occupational clusters. This allows clearer distinction between research-only roles, teaching and other higher education posts, and roles outside higher education.
Watch the Vitae Annual Programme event on What do researchers do?
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Policy brief
Our policy brief draws out what the WDRD 2026 findings mean for funders and higher education institutions. It highlights strong employment outcomes, the earnings premium linked to doctoral study, and the contribution of doctoral-level skills across roles within and beyond higher education. It also underlines the wider value of doctoral training for workforce capability and international research talent in the UK.
Download the Vitae WDRD 2026 Policy Brief to explore the findings, recommendations and policy implications.
Download the report and policy brief
Why it matters
WDRD 2026 continues Vitae’s What do researchers do? series and adds new evidence on the careers of doctoral graduates.
Doctoral researchers bring advanced skills, creativity and problem solving that are central to the UK’s ambitions for growth, innovation and productivity, reflected in the UK Industrial Strategy. This report provides practical insight for career decisions, workforce planning and policy development. It shows where doctoral graduates work, how they use their skills, and the employment conditions they experience 15 months after graduation.
Key findings
- Doctoral graduates continue to be highly employable, with 91% of 2022/23 graduates working and under 3% unemployed.
- Over 90% said their doctoral work was meaningful.
- Nearly 90% said their role used their doctoral skills.
- 77% used research skills developed during their doctorate most or all of the time and 93% used research skills at least occasionally.
- 57% said a doctorate was required to obtain their job. However, respondents’ perceptions on relevance of doctorate when obtaining their position varied strongly by occupational cluster.
- 14% said their doctorate was not required or advantageous in obtaining their current job.
Earnings
- £42,000 was the median salary for 2022/23 doctoral graduates
- £29,000 was median for first degree graduates at the same point
Higher education research roles
- 41% of working 2022/23 doctoral graduates were employed in higher education
- 93% on fixed-term contracts
- 11% on contracts under one year
Who should be interested
- Doctoral candidates and early career researchers planning their next steps
- University leaders and research managers shaping strategy and workforce planning
- Funders and policymakers developing research and skills policy
- Careers and professional development teams supporting researcher progression
Launch event
The report was launched on Tuesday 3 March 2026. The event presented headline findings and discussed implications for policy and practice.