Career Perspectives
The Ph.D. degree in Science, technology, and Policy for Sustainable Change paves the way for the highest levels of scientific research in global change and related areas. Depending on their interests and personal inclinations, students who have achieved a Ph.D. degree may head for a career in academia or in industry, in Italy or abroad. The advanced research skills, the practice of communicating and working in English, as well as the knowledge of the academic and industrial world acquired during visits and study periods, qualify the Ph.D. graduate for positions offered by the best universities, research centres, and innovative companies worldwide. Ph.D. graduates may also opt for an entrepreneurial career and start up their own company with the support of PoliHub.
Ph.D. Employment Data
The 2022 official employment survey of Politecnico di Milano targeted the 2019-2020 Ph.D. graduates. Overall, there were 386 Ph.D. graduates from the Ph.D. School in the two years considered.
Almost al Ph. Ds interviewed were employed within 1-2 years from degree completion (95%) and about 40% were already working before the end of the Ph.D program. The main job market is Italy, while 37%chose to go abroad. Ph.Ds find their first employment in both the university sector and the private sector (50% against 44%). Over 90% of the sample hold an employment contract.
The Career Service
The Career Service of the Politecnico di Milano has developed a specific route for Ph.D. students in their last year, supporting and advising them regarding the job market in Italy and abroad, and pointing them towards career choices most suitable to their personal ambitions and their chosen Ph.D. route.
The Career Service provides support in building an effective CV, improving the interview technique, and other services.
The Career Service also organizes events where top companies can meet Ph.D. candidates who are about to conclude their studies.
Career opportunities after the Ph.D.
A Ph.D. graduate may pursue a career in academia or in research centers. Each year, Politecnico di Milano and neighboring universities award post-doctorate research scholarships, as well as junior researcher positions oriented towards research and teaching.
Ph.D. students interested in pursuing an entrepreneurial career, exploiting their research ideas and results and transforming them into companies, can find various means of support at Politecnico di Milano, particularly from the Technological Transfer Office and the PoliHub Innovation Park & Startup Accelerator.
Ph.D. students aiming for a research career in industry should consider that economy globalization has led to industrial research centres often being established in other countries and organized into intercontinental research structures that impose great mobility on the researchers themselves. Openings are also available outside industry, in the services compartment, in important engineering firms, in technical services of government and EU bodies, and in international institutions.