PhD Job Trends in Surrey

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil, EngD, Doctorate)
South East > Surrey

The table below provides summary statistics for permanent job vacancies advertised in Surrey with a requirement for PhD qualifications. It includes a benchmarking guide to the salaries offered over the 6 months leading up to 10 July 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
10 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 98 83 119
Rank change year-on-year -15 +36 -18
Permanent jobs citing PhD 21 12 31
As % of all permanent jobs in Surrey 0.98% 1.10% 1.25%
As % of the Qualifications category 5.82% 3.30% 3.34%
Number of salaries quoted 20 11 24
10th Percentile £56,853 £62,500 £32,500
25th Percentile £70,000 £65,000 £36,563
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £100,000 £75,000 £45,750
Median % change year-on-year +33.33% +63.93% -29.62%
75th Percentile - £90,000 £60,000
90th Percentile £101,500 £106,250 £67,625
South East median annual salary £62,500 £65,810 £58,000
% change year-on-year -5.03% +13.47% -3.33%

All Academic and Professional Certifications
Surrey

PhD falls under the Academic Qualifications and Professional Certifications category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications in Surrey.

Permanent vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications 361 364 929
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in Surrey 16.85% 33.33% 37.43%
Number of salaries quoted 224 228 509
10th Percentile £31,250 £30,500 £29,000
25th Percentile £42,188 £36,250 £37,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £59,745 £50,000 £48,400
Median % change year-on-year +19.49% +3.31% -15.83%
75th Percentile £77,500 £65,000 £66,250
90th Percentile £95,000 £77,500 £86,500
South East median annual salary £60,000 £52,500 £51,020
% change year-on-year +14.29% +2.90% -1.89%

PhD
Job Vacancy Trend in Surrey

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings citing PhD relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in Surrey.

PhD job vacancy trend in Surrey

PhD
Salary Trend in Surrey

Salary distribution trend for jobs in Surrey citing PhD.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in Surrey citing PhD

PhD
Salary Histogram in Surrey

Salary distribution for jobs citing PhD in Surrey over the 6 months to 10 July 2026.

Salary histogram for PhD in Surrey

PhD
Job Locations in Surrey

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing PhD within the Surrey region over the 6 months to 10 July 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
Permanent
IT Job Ads
Median Salary
Past 6 Months
Median Salary
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
Guildford -15 17 £100,000 +33.33% 2
Redhill - 3 £62,500 -
Leatherhead - 1 - -
PhD
South East

PhD
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Surrey by Category

The following tables expand on the one above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. They cover the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each category:

Applications
1 3 (14.29%) Microsoft Office
1 3 (14.29%) Microsoft Project
Business Applications
1 3 (14.29%) Primavera
General
1 1 (4.76%) Aerospace
1 1 (4.76%) Inclusion and Diversity
1 1 (4.76%) Presentation Skills
1 1 (4.76%) Social Skills
Job Titles
1 16 (76.19%) Software Engineer
2 15 (71.43%) C++ Software Engineer
2 15 (71.43%) Python Engineer
2 15 (71.43%) Python Software Engineer
3 8 (38.10%) Senior
4 6 (28.57%) Artificial Intelligence Engineer
5 5 (23.81%) C# Software Engineer
5 5 (23.81%) Senior C# Software Engineer
5 5 (23.81%) Senior C++ Software Engineer
5 5 (23.81%) Senior Software Engineer
6 3 (14.29%) Project Planner
6 3 (14.29%) Senior Project Planner
7 1 (4.76%) Architect
7 1 (4.76%) Coordinator
7 1 (4.76%) Research Engineer
7 1 (4.76%) Research Software Engineer
7 1 (4.76%) Solutions Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 1 (4.76%) EDI
Miscellaneous
1 2 (9.52%) Algorithms
2 1 (4.76%) BBC
2 1 (4.76%) Digital Media
Processes & Methodologies
1 17 (80.95%) AI
2 16 (76.19%) Machine Learning
2 16 (76.19%) Software Engineering
3 3 (14.29%) Earned Value Management
3 3 (14.29%) Project Delivery
3 3 (14.29%) Project Management
3 3 (14.29%) Project Planning
4 2 (9.52%) Code Quality
4 2 (9.52%) Data Science
4 2 (9.52%) Decision-Making
4 2 (9.52%) Digital Twin
4 2 (9.52%) Probabilistic Modelling
4 2 (9.52%) Prototyping
4 2 (9.52%) Reinforcement Learning
4 2 (9.52%) Technical Leadership
5 1 (4.76%) Collaborative Working
5 1 (4.76%) Computer Vision
5 1 (4.76%) Deep Learning
5 1 (4.76%) Signal Processing
5 1 (4.76%) Systems Thinking
Programming Languages
1 15 (71.43%) C++
1 15 (71.43%) Python
2 7 (33.33%) C#
3 4 (19.05%) Julia
Qualifications
1 21 (100.00%) Degree
2 19 (90.48%) Master's Degree
3 10 (47.62%) Computer Science Degree
4 1 (4.76%) Security Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 3 (14.29%) PMO