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04/14/2015 | Pressemitteilung

Doctorate increases income

Doing a doctorate pays - even for non-scientists. According to a study by the International Center for Higher Education Research INCHER at the University of Kassel, men and women with a doctorate earn on average almost 40 percent more than graduates with a master's degree as their highest qualification one and a half years after earning their doctorate. There are significant differences in income depending on the subject in which the doctorate was earned. Only two percent of doctoral graduates are unemployed.

The study contradicts the widespread view that doctorates are primarily useful for an academic career. Only 30 percent of respondents work at a university or non-university research institution for a year and a half after earning their doctorate. 17 percent work in research and development outside academia, such as in R&E departments of large companies. More than half, 52 percent, are employed in a non-scientific field.

As a rule, doctoral graduates earn more in the private sector than in academia: On average, they have an income of 4722 euros one and a half years after graduation (compared to 3340 euros in universities and research institutions). There are also significant differences depending on the subject: for example, linguists and cultural scientists earn an average of 3841 euros in the private sector and 2559 euros at universities and research institutions. Mechanical engineers with a doctorate, on the other hand, earn 5496 euros in the private sector and 3792 euros in academia.

On average across all employment groups, the income of doctoral graduates one and a half years after graduation is 4357 euros. For academics with a master's degree, the income is 3144 euros, and 2632 euros for a bachelor's degree.

"The results show that the professional situation of graduates with a doctorate is clearly better compared to graduates without a doctorate," said Dr. Choni Flöther, author of the study. "Unemployment is an exception, and precarious employment is less common - even in the higher education sector - with a doctorate than without."

The study is based in part on data from the Graduate Studies Cooperation Project (KOAB) of the International Centre for Higher Education Research (INCHER) at the University of Kassel and was published in the just-released volume "Generation Hochschulabschluss." Within the framework of KOAB, approximately 70,000 university graduates are surveyed annually about their studies and career paths approximately 1.5 years after graduation. In addition, 1266 doctoral graduates were surveyed for this study.

INCHER is a scientific center of the University of Kassel and is one of Europe's leading institutions in higher education research. Educational research and higher education research are among the research foci of the university in North Hesse.

 

Choni Flöther, Georg Krücken (eds.) Generation Hochschulabschluss: Vielfältige Perspektiven auf Studium und Berufseinstieg. Analyses from graduate research. Münster and New York: Waxmann 2015.

 

Contact:

Choni Flöther

University of Kassel

International Centre for Higher Education Research (INCHER).

Tel: 0561 804-2408

Email: c.floether[at]incher.uni-kassel[dot]de