Best PhD Degree Programs for Postgraduate Students

Looking forward to enrolling in a PhD programme? Money and career growth will probably be the two most important factors impacting your decision if you choose a field to pursue your doctorate in. Apart from considering your interest, you should also see which field will help you land the highest paying job and growth opportunities. In this post, we will talk about the fifteen highest paying PhD degrees you can pursue in 2022:

15 Highest Paying PhD Degree Programmes

Here are the doctorate fields you should consider if you want to have a high-paying career path:

1. Physics

If you want to build a formidable career as a Physicist, you should pursue a PhD degree in physics. Doctors of physics can work as senior researchers, physicists, or professors. Most students who are passionate about Physics and like teaching can get a job in schools or universities. There’s always a demand for postdoctoral physics researchers as well. After gaining experience, you can earn up to £50,000 annually. There are a large variety of branches you can specialise in.

2. Chemical Engineering

Chemical engineering is a field which is a combination of physical and chemical sciences. This field involves researching and solving problems regarding food, chemicals, fuel, and drugs. This is probably the only field in chemistry which requires expertise in mathematics. This field offers highly steady career growth, and you’ll land high-paying jobs right after graduating. Doctors of chemical engineering normally work in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. They earn up to £60,000 annually. You can also work as a researcher.

3. Electrical Engineering

Electrical Engineering is one of those fields which will always remain in demand. You will find openings for electrical engineers in various industries, from textile to power generation. This is why Electrical Engineering is one of the safest career options one could go for when it comes to doctorate. After completing your PhD degree, you can either work as a professor or as an on-field electrical engineer. You can also specialise in branches of electrical engineering, like electronics, computer hardware, etc. You can also land managerial and research-based jobs offering up to £60,000 per annum.

4. Psychology

There’s a lot of awareness regarding mental health these days. People are less sceptical about visiting psychiatrists these days. Psychology might be a very complex subject to master, but it is one of the highest-paid professions in the UK. You can land a nice job even if you have a bachelor’s or a master’s degree in psychology. However, once you’ve achieved a PhD degree in this field, you’ll qualify for higher-paying positions, offering up to £65,000 per year. If you’re more interested in researching, you can work as a psychology researcher or a professor. We don’t recommend you enrol in a Psychology PhD degree programme if you don’t have a bachelor’s or master’s degree.

5. Aerospace Engineering

If you have a master’s degree in aeronautical or aerospace engineering, you should also go for its doctorate programme. This field mostly focuses on researching different aerospace technologies and concepts. You can also pursue this field if you have a master’s degree in physics, natural sciences, and related engineering fields and also have to study different sensors and hardware equipment used in aerospace machinery. You can earn up to £65,000 annually in this field after graduation.

6. Pharmacology

Pharmacology is a booming industry these days, and there are many job openings. Most pharmaceutical companies prefer hiring PhD qualified pharmacists. A doctorate in pharmacology can help you earn up to £72,000 annually. If you want to enrol in a PhD programme for pharmacology, you should have a strong background in this field. Most universities only enrol those students in their Pharmacology doctorate programme who have a Master’s degree in the same field. If you meet the degree requirements, enrolling in this programme can lead to many high-paying opportunities.

7. Business Administration

Business Administration is one of the most popular undergraduate and postgraduate fields. Moreover, if you choose to get a doctorate in this field, you can access multiple high-paying job opportunities. Business Administration is a pretty diverse field, and people who have a PhD degree in it end up in crucial corporate positions like chief executive, financial advisor, and chief business officer. Business Administration can be the perfect field to pursue if you are an entrepreneur looking to get a PhD degree. You can land jobs that offer a salary of up to £75,000 per year.

8. Cyber Security

Cyber security is one of the biggest concerns for every company these days. They can’t risk the safety of their data. Therefore, they hire highly qualified cyber security experts to keep their systems safe from potential security threats. As a field, cyber security is growing at an exponential rate, and now, it’s one of the highest paying fields in the world. There are many certifications and degree programs that focus on this subject. There’s also a lot of growth in this field. Getting a PhD degree in cyber security can prove monumental for your career. After graduating, you can go for positions like Head of IT and cyber security and earn up to £80,000 per annum.

9. Organic Chemistry

Organic chemistry is one of the most important branches of chemistry. Many students who want to make a career in chemistry choose this doctorate programme. This PhD degree is great for both academic and research roles. You can also work in pharmaceutical companies, as they always look for organic chemistry experts for their senior-level research and testing roles. However, if you have studied organic chemistry in high school, you might know how difficult and technical this subject can get. So, enrol at your own risk. You can make an income of up to £112,000, which is quite nice.

10. Statistics

If you don’t want to follow the Data Science career path, you can pursue a PhD degree in Statistics. This is a very versatile data-centric field. With a PhD degree in Statistics, you can work in literally any industry you want. Every company deals with a lot of data and wants to hire professionals who can analyse and visualise it. This career path is only for those individuals who have a Master’s degree in either Math, Statistics, or Business. You can work as a statistical analyst for any company in the UK after graduating. The annual salary of a senior statistical analyst can go up to £120,000.

11. Data Science

Data Science is a massive field, including branches like deep learning, machine learning, reinforcement learning, and artificial intelligence. After graduation, most PhD holders in data science either go for research-based jobs or opt for the position of data specialists. Both positions are high paying, and the growth margin is huge. It’s also a very diverse field as you can choose whichever career path you want. You can also work as a software engineer who specialises in data science. After a few years of experience, you can earn up to £132,000.

12. Biomedical Engineering

Biomedical Engineering has always been one of the highest paying doctorate fields. After achieving this degree, you can apply for senior or managerial level research-based jobs. This industry is developing rapidly, and due to its exponential rate of advancement, there are many high-paying job openings in the UK. A PhD in Biomedical Engineering can help you get a job in a hospital or pharmaceutical company. With experience, PhD-qualified biomedical engineers can make up to £136,000 per year.

13. Biochemistry

Biochemistry is a field which involves the study of chemistry and its relationship with living organisms. A specialist in this field with a PhD degree can easily land senior-level research positions. Doctors of biochemistry can earn up to £136,000 annually. This doctorate programme is good for anyone with a master’s degree in chemistry, biology, or related sciences.

14. Education

Many students who want to pursue a career in teaching or research opt for a PhD degree in education. This field allows you to apply for senior-level research jobs. You can also work as a professor in any of the UK’s universities or apply for the position of principal in a school. This degree also allows you to specialise in a certain subject. If you hate writing dissertations, we have some good news for you. Some doctor of education programmes doesn’t require students to write dissertations. It’s a big relief, as doctorate dissertations can be around 70,000 – 100,000 words long. Doctors of education earn up to £160,000 annually.

15. Information Technology/Computer Science

IT is the most profitable industry in the world right now – and it’s constantly growing. Many software houses and IT firms are looking to hire computer science experts and engineers in the UK. For PhD-qualified experts, they are willing to offer annual salaries as high as £165,000. Therefore, if you have a computer science or IT background, you should enrol in this doctorate programme. There are various skills and languages you can specialise in. After graduating, you can land managerial and executive-level jobs. There’s also a very high demand for research-based roles.

Verdict

No matter what doctorate programme you enrol in, you will have to research on complex topics and write lengthy dissertations and theses on them. However, if you’ve always struggled with academic writing, we recommend you to opt for PhD dissertation service. We provide the best thesis writing services in UK.