Matt - stop being a patronising baby. You just love to complain how things aren't perfect. Wake up, that happens in every profession amongst the reactive and lazy.

This page gives an overview of the destinations of PhDs in 2006 when they had finished their PhD. At the bottom is a set of links providing more detail about what PhDs in particular subjects did on completion of their PhD.

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/What_do_postgraduates_do_/What_do_doctoral_graduates_do__2006/p!eigLlfL

I do think it's important to think through clearly the topic/precise discipline of the PhD you want to do and think how this relates to your post PhD career aspirations.

Maybe O Stoll is off being hypnotised by Paul McKenna.

I said "a number" in fact.

I offer you genuine options that require a PhD/a PhD helps you and you dont like them, so I have to assume you don't do those subjects, hence I thought your PhD may relate to golf. What subject do you do?

Half the level of unemployment that should read of undergraduates that should read.

I've still not heard an answer from O Stoll the great management consultant about what the best career options are for PhDs (probably because he doesn't think further than his own favoured option of management consulting).

I did. Just because you don't do those subjects that can lead to those options does not make them invalid options. I'm not going to search out all the weblinks for you, but they are all genuine options I have seen advertised where you actually require a phd (a necessary characteristic) or a PhD is a desirable characteristic (you will be chosen over thsoe who dont have a PhD).

Read Campus CEO by Pinkett for how you can translate your PhD knowledge into a profitable consultancy.

This forum is full of people who prefer to argue and react to things rather than actually take positive steps to solve a problem. They prefer to moan. Hence why I'm commonsense.

Don't you realise how beneficial it is to your career as a scientist to have a PhD if you want to work in industry at an oil company?

I said ASK YOUR CAREERS ADVISOR. I'm not here to tell you every job under the sun that you could do with a PhD. You're supposed to be a researcher, so find out yourself!

You're gonna be a right help to your clients - arguing with them instead of coming up with practical solutions.

I didn't agree with your advice that the prestige of the university isn't important either on the other thread. I think your basing your posts on your own personal experience rather than broader experience. What you actually need is a strong experienced supervisor in a top university if you want the most opportunities when you finish your PhD.

O Stoll - I think you just look for an argument. They are the best examples - and the destinations of many PhDs from elite universities.

Get on with your management consulting, or otherwise tell us what are the key destinations for top PhDs?

Obviously big management consulting firms and cetain quantitative city jobs look for PhDs.

Golf pro - ask your careers advisor for golfing opportunities with a PhD. I think 5 opportunities is sufficient to give you a flavour.

Develop appropriate knowledge in any subject - a niche consultancy business.
Maths/physics - intelligence services.
Science - major science companies - BP, Shell etc.
Economics - government economist.
Sociology - commercial research consultancy.
Ask your careers advisor for more options.

Matt - a PhD in the appropriate subject can lead to a number of exciting and high level career options in all sorts of companies, that you would not be able to get into without one. However, if you are saying that some ivory tower academics would make more impact on the world as a high level PA, then I quite agree with you! It's up to you to make use of your PhD to develop high level skills beyond the administrative. The ESRC for a start offers opportunities to its funded students to spend time working in government departments and to learn how to translate their PhD knowledge into a business.