PhD Contract Job Trends
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil, EngD, Doctorate)
UK
The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies with a requirement for PhD qualifications. It includes a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered over the 6 months leading up to 17 October 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.
| 6 months to 17 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 626 | 482 | 505 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -144 | +23 | +41 |
| Contract jobs citing PhD | 65 | 86 | 55 |
| As % of all contract jobs in the UK | 0.12% | 0.26% | 0.15% |
| As % of the Qualifications category | 0.37% | 0.81% | 0.50% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 24 | 38 | 24 |
| 10th Percentile | £337 | £427 | £448 |
| 25th Percentile | £424 | £493 | £566 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £658 | £575 | £700 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +14.35% | -17.86% | -5.41% |
| 75th Percentile | £719 | £675 | £853 |
| 90th Percentile | £784 | £923 | £959 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £425 | £505 | £513 |
| % change year-on-year | -15.84% | -1.46% | -16.12% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 10 | 13 | 12 |
| 10th Percentile | £23.72 | - | - |
| 25th Percentile | £36.00 | - | £20.12 |
| Median hourly rate | £42.74 | £29.61 | £20.87 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +44.34% | +41.90% | - |
| 75th Percentile | £46.05 | £43.75 | £22.77 |
| 90th Percentile | £50.66 | £86.25 | £59.93 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £42.98 | £29.61 | £20.24 |
| % change year-on-year | +45.15% | +46.33% | - |
All Academic and Professional Certifications
UK
PhD falls under the Academic Qualifications and Professional Certifications category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications.
| 6 months to 17 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications | 17,711 | 10,627 | 11,009 |
| As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK | 32.04% | 31.92% | 29.38% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 11,670 | 6,674 | 6,664 |
| 10th Percentile | £352 | £289 | £310 |
| 25th Percentile | £447 | £413 | £415 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £534 | £525 | £525 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +1.62% | - | -4.55% |
| 75th Percentile | £631 | £625 | £635 |
| 90th Percentile | £713 | £711 | £725 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £525 | £500 | £519 |
| % change year-on-year | +5.00% | -3.66% | -3.44% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 1,543 | 895 | 566 |
| 10th Percentile | £16.50 | £17.38 | £18.13 |
| 25th Percentile | £24.72 | £18.87 | £25.28 |
| Median hourly rate | £43.96 | £25.15 | £47.84 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +74.79% | -47.43% | -10.85% |
| 75th Percentile | £72.25 | £40.25 | £68.61 |
| 90th Percentile | £89.08 | £70.16 | £75.00 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £43.96 | £25.15 | £50.00 |
| % change year-on-year | +74.79% | -49.70% | -3.64% |
PhD Job Vacancy Trend
Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing PhD relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.
PhD Daily Rate Trend
Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing PhD.
PhD Daily Rate Histogram
Daily rate distribution for jobs citing PhD over the 6 months to 17 October 2026.
PhD Hourly Rate Trend
Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing PhD.
PhD Hourly Rate Histogram
Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing PhD over the 6 months to 17 October 2026.
PhD Top 12 Contract Job Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing PhD within the UK over the 6 months to 17 October 2026. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.
| Location | Rank Change on Same Period Last Year |
Matching Contract IT Job Ads |
Median Daily Rate Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | -143 | 62 | £658 | +14.35% | 1,004 |
| London | -101 | 39 | £675 | +3.85% | 509 |
| UK excluding London | -115 | 26 | £425 | -15.84% | 503 |
| Work from Home | -86 | 17 | £625 | +16.39% | 291 |
| South East | -60 | 11 | £555 | +11.00% | 134 |
| East of England | -24 | 9 | £186 | -59.23% | 132 |
| Scotland | -21 | 3 | - | - | 50 |
| Midlands | -39 | 2 | - | - | 51 |
| West Midlands | -41 | 1 | - | - | 32 |
| North of England | -81 | 1 | - | - | 81 |
| North West | - | 1 | - | - | 57 |
| East Midlands | - | 1 | - | - | 19 |
PhD Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities by Category
The table below expands on the one above by listing co-occurrences one category at a time. It covers the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences in each category.
Qualifications
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Degree | 95.4% | 62 |
| 2 | Master's Degree | 66.2% | 43 |
| 3 | Computer Science Degree | 12.3% | 8 |
| 4 | BPSS Clearance | 9.2% | 6 |
| 5 | DBS Check | 7.7% | 5 |
| 6 | Postgraduate | 4.6% | 3 |
| 6 | SC Cleared | 4.6% | 3 |
| 6 | Security Cleared | 4.6% | 3 |
| 9 | Microsoft Certified Professional | 1.5% | 1 |
| 9 | Numerate Degree | 1.5% | 1 |