Doctorate holders earn €33,000 salary on average

The survey results reveal that four out of five doctorate holders in 2009 were men, while a third were over 54 years of age.

More than half were specialised in social sciences and humanities – 28.9 and 28.0 per cent respectively. Natural and medical and health sciences were less common, with shares of 15.9 and 14.6 per cent respectively.

A significant share of doctorate holders obtained their degree from abroad, in particular the United Kingdom and Italy. A smaller segment of doctorate holders (6.2 per cent) obtained their degree in North America, namely in the United States and Canada. Only 18.3 per cent of doctorate holders received their degree from Malta.

Nine out of ten doctorate holders were in employment and more than 90 per cent were employed on a full-time basis. Only 3.2 per cent of doctorate holders were found to be self-employed, while 8.5 per cent were engaged in temporary employment contracts. Over two-thirds of doctorate holders were employed as teaching professionals in the higher education sector. 12.7 per cent were employed as managers or directors.

Doctorate holders who obtained their PhD in 2008 and 2009 achieved this level at an average age of 40. The majority took an average of five years to complete their studies, which varied from four years for those who studied natural sciences to over six years for those specialising in medical sciences.

Nine in ten doctorate holders reported that they were satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their job.

Most doctorate holders reported that their qualification was related to their current job and that they were satisfied (16 per cent) or somewhat satisfied (56 per cent) with their salary.

Many holders managed to obtain funding to support them during their studies. The primary source of funding of half the doctorate holders was a fellowship, a scholarship, or a grant from an institution in Malta or abroad.

On the other hand, nearly a quarter of doctorate holders had to resort to a loan, personal savings, spouse's, partner's or family support to complete their studies.

The gross annual earnings of employed doctorate holders were estimated to be around €33,000. Those in the field of medical sciences were found to have the highest earnings. Nearly a third of doctorate holders have studied, worked or carried out research outside Malta for more than three months in the ten years preceding the survey. Many of these went abroad to complete their doctorate, or for academic purposes.