PhD holders' skills: a closer look

Skills developed during the doctorate

Doctoral candidates develop many skills during their doctorate, by carrying out their research work, collaborating with other researchers, presenting their work, preparing their thesis, and so on, often without realising it.

• Critical analysis of information and data,
• Management of complex projects, handling uncertainty and risk
• Scientific communication with varied audiences and in various formats, in an international context,
• Expertise and methods at the highest international level on the thesis topic, with a solid foundation of knowledge in the broader field the topic belongs to and at its interfaces,
• Personal and interpersonal qualities, such as creativity, integrity, commitment, a critical approach, and adaptability to change
• Etc.

While preparing their doctorate, doctoral candidates must put together a portfolio, kept up to date by themselves and overseen by doctoral schools and doctoral colleges, listing all their individual activities during their training — including teaching, science communication and technology transfer — and showcasing the skills they have developed while preparing their doctorate.

In 2019, a (Opens a new window) ministerial order added the doctorate and PhD holders' skills to the professional qualifications framework.

Transferable and cross-cutting skills

Among the skills held by doctoral degree holders, some are cross-cutting (that is, developed by all PhD holders regardless of their topic) and/or transferable to activities well beyond research and to sectors other than academia: industry, consultancy, public institutions, or even entrepreneurship.

However, doctoral candidates, like employers, can find it difficult to assess what may be transferable from one context to another.

A PhD holder who worked during their thesis on the dynamics of the Martian atmosphere might 'naturally' move into the field of terrestrial meteorology. But even though it is less 'natural', many other sectors (for example, aeronautics) may also draw on their skills, whether scientific and technical or cross-cutting. However, this requires an exercise in identifying skills in the abstract, away from the thesis topic itself, and then transposing them to other contexts. This exercise is not always straightforward, either for early-career PhD holders or for recruiters.

Another 'classic' example is that of PhD holders who, through their work in 'digital humanities', have acquired highly advanced and much sought-after skills in automated processing of 3D images and data. These might be archaeologists, for example. They will not necessarily think to apply for an R&D engineering role requiring these skills at a company doing something entirely different, and if they do, there is no guarantee the recruitment firm will recognise the sought-after skills behind a thesis topic and a doctoral degree in archaeology.

Tools for identifying and transposing your skills

Recruitment firms specialising in hiring PhD holders can support early-career PhD holders, as well as the companies seeking them out, in this exercise of transposing skills.

But the most effective approach is for early-career PhD holders to identify their own transferable and cross-cutting skills themselves, extract them from their thesis topic, and picture themselves in other contexts.

To help with this, doctoral schools and doctoral colleges generally offer training or support. Several skills frameworks and tools aimed at doctoral candidates are available, including

• the doctorate entry in the national directory of professional qualifications (RNCP), published by France Compétences,
• Doc Pro: an overview of the skills a PhD holder develops at different stages of their career, published by ABG, France Universités and Medef,
• No Limits: a toolkit developed by Euraxess for early-career researchers, to take stock of their skills, review their motivations and prepare for what comes next,
• The Vitae (RDF 2025): the UK reference model defining researchers' skills.