Job Satisfaction among Doctoral Degree Holders, by Field of Degree and Academic Employment Status, 2019

Job Satisfaction among Doctoral Degree Holders, by Field of Degree and Academic Employment Status, 2019

Given the challenges of the academic job market, a key question in recent years has been whether humanities PhDs who are employed outside academia experience less satisfaction with their jobs than those who work in higher education. According to the National Survey of College Graduates, the difference between the two groups was negligible, with both reporting close to a 90% satisfaction rate. Only among health and medical sciences PhDs were the academically employed appreciably more likely than their counterparts in other sectors to be satisfied with their work. Among business PhDs, those employed outside the academy were somewhat more likely to be satisfied with their job.35

Endnotes

• 35Ibid.