Pre-PhD professional identities of PhD holders in non-tenure-track careers in the Czech Republic: research field and gender specifics

Purpose The study aims to contribute to scholarly discussion about the goals and content of doctoral education through the retrospective investigation of the pre-PhD professional identities of PhD graduates who did not pursue a tenure-track career. The findings offer an understanding of the role of PhD study in the lives of PhD graduates with reflection of research field and gender specifics and implications for designing PhD programmes. Design/methodology/approach The study used a qualitative research design. Biographical narrative interviews were conducted with PhD graduates from various research fields in non-tenure-track careers up to five years after PhD completion. All the research participants earned their PhD degree in the Czech Republic. The analysis used the principles of thematic analysis and constant comparative analysis to capture the dimension of gender and research field. Findings The findings indicate that the design of PhD programmes should be flexible and not closely tied to the expected career paths of graduates, as the meaning they attach to their studies is not necessarily linked to specific career plans, especially in the case of women and PhD students in social sciences and humanities fields. Thus, the study offers a correction to the interpretation of the findings from surveys implying that a majority of PhD students are interested in a tenure-track career. Originality/value The study approaches the topic of PhD training from the perspective of professional identity and, unusually, pays attention to the specifics of research field and gender.