Lyon survey finds 92% of humanities PhD graduates consider their work socially useful

A survey conducted by ComUE Université de Lyon has examined the career paths of doctoral graduates, looking at where they work, the sectors that employ them and how they assess their professional lives after completing their degrees.

The findings point to positive perceptions of employment among respondents across different academic disciplines. As many as 92% of graduates from humanities and social sciences who participated in the survey considered their jobs useful to other people and society.

The survey also highlighted satisfaction with the relationship between doctoral qualifications and employment. Among respondents from life sciences, 84% said they were satisfied with how well their doctorate matched their current job.

In exact sciences, 90% of respondents reported satisfaction with their professional situation. The findings offer a discipline-wise view of how doctoral graduates assess their careers, rather than relying on a single measure of employment satisfaction across all fields.

Survey looks beyond academic employment

The ComUE Université de Lyon survey examines several aspects of doctoral graduates' professional trajectories, including their occupations, employers, employment sectors and salaries.

This broader approach is significant because doctoral qualifications can lead to careers in different professional settings. Looking at employers and sectors alongside occupations helps provide a picture of the range of career paths followed by graduates after completing their research degrees.

The survey also considers how graduates view the usefulness of their work and the relationship between their doctoral training and current employment. These aspects provide a perspective on career outcomes beyond simply whether graduates have found jobs.

Differences across academic disciplines

The findings show that graduates' assessments of their professional lives vary depending on their academic discipline and the measure being considered.

Humanities and social sciences respondents reported a high level of perceived social usefulness of their work, with 92% saying their jobs benefited others and society. In life sciences, the focus was on how closely current employment matched doctoral training, with 84% expressing satisfaction on this measure.

Meanwhile, 90% of exact sciences respondents said they were satisfied with their professional situation.

The percentages measure different aspects of graduates' experiences and should not be treated as a direct ranking of disciplines. Together, however, they provide insight into how doctoral alumni evaluate the relevance of their training, their work and their professional circumstances.