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 18 September 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.
| 6 months to 18 Sep 2025 |
Same period 2024 | Same period 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 502 | 504 | 550 |
| Rank change year-on-year | +2 | +46 | +110 |
| Contract jobs citing PhD | 66 | 55 | 101 |
| As % of all contract jobs advertised in the UK | 0.20% | 0.14% | 0.21% |
| As % of the Qualifications category | 0.64% | 0.49% | 0.73% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 27 | 25 | 80 |
| 10th Percentile | £450 | £455 | £438 |
| 25th Percentile | £495 | £540 | £624 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £575 | £650 | £750 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -11.54% | -13.33% | +20.00% |
| 75th Percentile | £669 | £825 | £1,000 |
| 90th Percentile | £710 | £863 | - |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £503 | £600 | £579 |
| % change year-on-year | -16.25% | +3.63% | +15.80% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 5 | 11 | 0 |
| 10th Percentile | - | - | - |
| 25th Percentile | £30.29 | £20.12 | - |
| Median hourly rate | £82.50 | £20.24 | - |
| Median % change year-on-year | +307.71% | - | - |
| 75th Percentile | £86.25 | £21.81 | - |
| 90th Percentile | £90.00 | £63.75 | - |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £30.29 | £20.24 | - |
| % change year-on-year | +49.69% | - | - |
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.
| Contract vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications | 10,329 | 11,269 | 13,846 |
| As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK | 31.35% | 29.26% | 28.12% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 6,453 | 6,946 | 8,930 |
| 10th Percentile | £300 | £313 | £325 |
| 25th Percentile | £413 | £425 | £440 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £525 | £525 | £550 |
| Median % change year-on-year | - | -4.55% | - |
| 75th Percentile | £625 | £638 | £650 |
| 90th Percentile | £711 | £731 | £738 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £500 | £525 | £525 |
| % change year-on-year | -4.76% | - | +2.44% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 835 | 654 | 722 |
| 10th Percentile | £17.91 | £17.00 | £16.55 |
| 25th Percentile | £18.87 | £24.18 | £26.00 |
| Median hourly rate | £25.15 | £49.50 | £54.53 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -49.19% | -9.22% | +21.18% |
| 75th Percentile | £45.40 | £68.00 | £70.00 |
| 90th Percentile | £71.00 | £76.00 | £78.36 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £25.15 | £52.50 | £52.50 |
| % change year-on-year | -52.10% | - | +16.67% |
PhD
Job Vacancy Trend
Job postings citing PhD as a proportion of all 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 18 September 2025.
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 18 September 2025.
PhD
Top 11 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 18 September 2025. 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 | +23 | 55 | £566 | -12.92% | 321 |
| London | +30 | 40 | £575 | -17.86% | 179 |
| Work from Home | +48 | 28 | £537 | -0.56% | 140 |
| UK excluding London | -11 | 15 | £503 | -16.25% | 192 |
| East of England | +8 | 10 | £456 | - | 34 |
| South East | +17 | 2 | £500 | -16.67% | 86 |
| West Midlands | - | 1 | - | - | 10 |
| Yorkshire | - | 1 | - | - | 11 |
| Midlands | - | 1 | - | - | 13 |
| Scotland | - | 1 | £600 | - | 17 |
| North of England | - | 1 | - | - | 31 |
PhD
Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities by Category
The follow tables expand on the table above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. The same employment type, locality and period is covered with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each of the following categories:
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