Supporting Doctorate Holders: Career Preferences and the Way Forward for Creating Career Opportunities

Abstract

This research aimed to explore the experiences of doctorate holders who are unemployed and how their experiences are addressed by the stakeholders in Pakistan. The perspectives, emotions, attitudes, and experiences of unemployed doctorate holders were studied qualitatively, who were selected through purposive sampling including four females and eight males. To gather data, the participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide with open-ended questions. Purposive phone calls, text messages, and personal meetings were undertaken to schedule interviews with the selected participants. The collected data were analyzed using the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach. The emergent themes include institutional support and placement, the relevance of HEC policy, response from organizations, subject importance, PhD desperation, and unfairness. The study revealed that doctorate holders were unable to find employment due to a lack of institutional guidance and support, fewer job opportunities in their fields, and the production of ‘unskilled’ graduates, and desperately, some of them left the country. By offering a solid mechanism to support unemployed Pakistani doctorate holders, the conditions of higher education and the graduates can be improved in the country.