Dutch PhD graduates face heavy workloads but secure strong job prospects
More than two in five PhD graduates work as doctors or in education
A total of 5,600 people obtained a PhD at a Dutch university in the 2023/'24 academic year, with roughly equal numbers of women and men. The number of people who obtain a PhD is increasing; in 2016/'17, the number was 4,700. The knowledge and skills of PhD graduates contribute to the Netherlands as a knowledge economy. This article looks at the labour market position of PhD graduates, based on the PhD Graduates Survey carried out by Statistics Netherlands (our website).
Labour force participation among PhD graduates aged under 70 is relatively high. In 2025, 95 percent were in paid employment, compared to an average of 78 percent for this age group. People with a PhD are more likely than average to work as lecturers in higher education or as doctors (both 21 percent).
Female PhD graduates are more likely to work as doctors than male PhD graduates: 25 percent compared to 15 percent. This is linked to the field in which they obtained their PhD. Almost all doctors with a PhD obtained their degree in the field of health care and wellbeing, and more men than women study for a doctorate in this area. The percentage of PhD graduates working as lecturers is the same for men and women, and PhD graduates from various fields work in this profession.
Men more likely to work in research than women
People doing a PhD programme are trained as researchers. A total of 70 percent of PhD graduates say that they are engaged in research in their current job. This could include running research projects or working on new knowledge, products, processes, methods or systems.
Among those engaged in research work, 22 percent work at a university, 12 percent at a university medical centre, 5 percent in non-university higher education and 4 percent in public administration. Men are more likely than women to be engaged in research work: 75 percent compared to 63 percent. This difference is linked to the field in which people have obtained their PhD. For instance, in engineering and computer science, PhD graduates are more likely to say that their work is research-related, and a relatively high share of men obtain their PhD in these areas. Among PhD graduates in health and social care, a field in which a relatively high share of women obtain their PhD, only 59 percent indicate they are engaged in research.
Satisfied despite high workload and inappropriate behaviour
Nine out of ten PhD graduates look back on their PhD journey with a sense of satisfaction. Of those who had completed their PhD programme in the previous ten years, 68 percent report a (very) high workload during that period. In addition, 35 percent encountered inappropriate behaviour during their PhD programme, particularly bullying and discrimination. Women were more likely than men to experience a high workload and some form of inappropriate behaviour.
Despite these negative experiences, 8 out of 10 PhD graduates say that they would still choose to pursue a PhD if they were doing it all over again.
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