Hybrid/Remote PhD Job Trends

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil, EngD, Doctorate)
UK > Work from Home

The table below provides summary statistics for remote or hybrid work with a requirement for PhD qualifications. It includes a benchmarking guide to the salaries offered over the 6 months leading up to 15 October 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
15 Oct 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 401 30 369
Rank change year-on-year -371 +339 +69
Permanent jobs citing PhD 61 1,204 101
As % of all permanent jobs with remote/hybrid work options 0.24% 7.28% 0.48%
As % of the Qualifications category 1.17% 19.45% 1.82%
Number of salaries quoted 34 32 26
10th Percentile £53,000 £41,250 £34,750
25th Percentile £55,000 £51,609 £51,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £58,000 £80,000 £78,750
Median % change year-on-year -27.50% +1.59% +14.55%
75th Percentile £66,000 £115,000 £97,500
90th Percentile £87,500 £124,000 £100,000
UK median annual salary £56,000 £90,000 £80,000
% change year-on-year -37.78% +12.50% +12.87%

All Academic and Professional Certifications
Work from Home

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 with remote or hybrid options requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications.

Permanent vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications 5,216 6,191 5,541
As % of all permanent jobs with a WFH option 20.75% 37.45% 26.61%
Number of salaries quoted 3,193 2,279 2,738
10th Percentile £33,550 £30,915 £34,750
25th Percentile £46,250 £42,500 £45,750
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £62,500 £60,000 £60,000
Median % change year-on-year +4.17% - -
75th Percentile £80,000 £77,500 £76,500
90th Percentile £95,000 £92,500 £87,500
UK median annual salary £60,000 £55,000 £57,500
% change year-on-year +9.09% -4.35% -

PhD
Job Vacancy Trend for Remote/Hybrid Jobs

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings citing PhD and offering remote or hybrid work options relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised.

PhD job vacancy trend for remote/hybrid jobs

PhD
Salary Trend for Remote/Hybrid Jobs

Salary distribution trend for jobs with remote/hybrid work options citing PhD.

Salary distribution trend for jobs with remote/hybrid work options citing PhD

PhD
Salary Histogram for Remote/Hybrid Jobs

Salary distribution for jobs with remote/hybrid work options citing PhD over the 6 months to 15 October 2026.

PhD salary histogram for jobs with remote/hybrid work options

PhD
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Remote/Hybrid Jobs 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:

Application Platforms
1 1 (1.64%) Kinematics
Applications
1 13 (21.31%) Simulink
2 4 (6.56%) Mathcad
3 1 (1.64%) Microsoft Office
3 1 (1.64%) SOLIDWORKS
3 1 (1.64%) Stata
3 1 (1.64%) Zemax
Business Applications
1 1 (1.64%) Dynamics GP
1 1 (1.64%) HFM
Cloud Services
1 2 (3.28%) Cloud Computing
2 1 (1.64%) OCI
2 1 (1.64%) SaaS
2 1 (1.64%) Stripe
Communications & Networking
1 4 (6.56%) Ethernet
Database & Business Intelligence
1 2 (3.28%) MongoDB
1 2 (3.28%) PostgreSQL
2 1 (1.64%) Data Lake
2 1 (1.64%) Metadata
Development Applications
1 12 (19.67%) LabVIEW
2 4 (6.56%) Rational DOORS
General
1 31 (50.82%) Inclusion and Diversity
2 25 (40.98%) Electronics
3 17 (27.87%) Aerospace
3 17 (27.87%) Finance
4 16 (26.23%) Social Skills
5 8 (13.11%) Analytical Skills
5 8 (13.11%) Organisational Skills
6 4 (6.56%) Manufacturing
7 3 (4.92%) Publishing
8 2 (3.28%) Retail
8 2 (3.28%) Telecoms
9 1 (1.64%) Banking
9 1 (1.64%) Games
9 1 (1.64%) Marketing
9 1 (1.64%) Presentation Skills
9 1 (1.64%) Public Sector
Job Titles
1 28 (45.90%) Senior
2 12 (19.67%) Systems Engineer
3 11 (18.03%) Research Scientist
4 9 (14.75%) Research Engineer
4 9 (14.75%) Senior Software Engineer
4 9 (14.75%) Software Engineer
5 8 (13.11%) Principal Engineer
5 8 (13.11%) Senior Systems Engineer
6 6 (9.84%) Lead
7 4 (6.56%) Data Engineer
7 4 (6.56%) Data Scientist
7 4 (6.56%) Electronics Engineer
7 4 (6.56%) Principal Systems Engineer
7 4 (6.56%) Research Software Engineer
7 4 (6.56%) Senior Data Engineer
7 4 (6.56%) Senior Data Scientist
7 4 (6.56%) Technical Specialist
8 3 (4.92%) C++ Software Engineer
8 3 (4.92%) Consultant
8 3 (4.92%) Senior Consultant
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 2 (3.28%) OpenTofu
1 2 (3.28%) PyTorch
1 2 (3.28%) REST
2 1 (1.64%) EDI
2 1 (1.64%) Google JAX
2 1 (1.64%) JAX
2 1 (1.64%) Keras
2 1 (1.64%) NumPy
2 1 (1.64%) Pandas
2 1 (1.64%) scikit-learn
2 1 (1.64%) TensorFlow
Miscellaneous
1 14 (22.95%) Algorithms
1 14 (22.95%) FPGA
2 8 (13.11%) Fibre Optics
3 7 (11.48%) VHDL
4 6 (9.84%) Blog
4 6 (9.84%) Verilog
5 3 (4.92%) Data Structures
5 3 (4.92%) Robotics
6 2 (3.28%) AI Agents
6 2 (3.28%) Distributed Architecture
6 2 (3.28%) Distributed Systems
6 2 (3.28%) PCIe
6 2 (3.28%) Podcast
Operating Systems
1 5 (8.20%) Linux
2 3 (4.92%) Windows
Processes & Methodologies
1 24 (39.34%) Physics
2 22 (36.07%) AI
3 15 (24.59%) Data Science
3 15 (24.59%) Software Engineering
3 15 (24.59%) Validation
4 13 (21.31%) Roadmaps
5 11 (18.03%) Prototyping
6 10 (16.39%) Computer Science
6 10 (16.39%) Mathematics
6 10 (16.39%) Technical Leadership
6 10 (16.39%) Technology Strategy
7 9 (14.75%) Motion Control
7 9 (14.75%) Signal Processing
7 9 (14.75%) Technology Roadmap
8 8 (13.11%) Customer Engagement
8 8 (13.11%) Fault Analysis
8 8 (13.11%) Machine Learning
8 8 (13.11%) Microscopy
8 8 (13.11%) Project Planning
8 8 (13.11%) Regulatory Compliance
Programming Languages
1 22 (36.07%) Python
2 21 (34.43%) MATLAB
3 6 (9.84%) C
3 6 (9.84%) C++
4 5 (8.20%) SystemVerilog
5 3 (4.92%) Embedded C
5 3 (4.92%) R
5 3 (4.92%) Rust
6 2 (3.28%) Bash
6 2 (3.28%) Java
6 2 (3.28%) SQL
7 1 (1.64%) Embedded C++
Qualifications
1 61 (100.00%) Degree
2 33 (54.10%) Master's Degree
3 21 (34.43%) Security Cleared
4 19 (31.15%) SC Cleared
5 13 (21.31%) BPSS Clearance
5 13 (21.31%) DV Cleared
6 4 (6.56%) Postgraduate
7 1 (1.64%) Oracle Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 13 (21.31%) Accessibility
2 2 (3.28%) MISRA
2 2 (3.28%) QA
System Software
1 7 (11.48%) Firmware
2 1 (1.64%) Docker
Systems Management
1 2 (3.28%) Ansible
Vendors
1 8 (13.11%) Siemens
2 4 (6.56%) Xilinx
3 2 (3.28%) EMC
3 2 (3.28%) Thales
4 1 (1.64%) Altera
4 1 (1.64%) Hyperion
4 1 (1.64%) IBM
4 1 (1.64%) MathWorks
4 1 (1.64%) Microsoft
4 1 (1.64%) Oracle