Research opportunities

Getting started with your research job search

Career Discovery provides a range of resources for researchers which give information on finding PhD positions or other opportunities aimed at PhDs and early career researchers including our article on:

• PhD applications and interviews

Additionally, whether you are looking to start a PhD, or are considering your options after your studies, search for PhD to discover a broad range of resources. Alternatively, search for research or academia to gain an understanding of these sectors and the entry routes.

For sector specific research opportunities, search for UCL to view our range of sector articles with details of employer directories, key job sites, sample graduate schemes, internships and volunteering, opportunities for under-represented groups, and specialist recruitment agencies.

Opportunities on myUCLCareers

myUCLCareers is the main site that employers and PhD providers are encouraged to use when recruiting UCL students, recent graduates and research staff. There will also be opportunities specifically aimed at PhDs and postdocs advertised, which have been proactively sourced by the UCL Careers team.

• Use the ‘Vacancy Type’, ‘Business Area’ or other filters to search for specific vacancies in areas such as ‘Academic research and higher education’ or other areas that you’re interested in or use the ‘Quick search’ to find opportunities using keywords such as ‘PhD’.
• You’ll also find a ‘Researchers filter’ in the left menu as many jobs on our site have been flagged as being more suitable to those with a PhD or research experience.
• Save your search criteria to speed things up next time you log in.
• Through your account profile, register to receive daily or weekly vacancy updates by email based on these preferences and never miss a new posting. (For students only).
• Your myUCLCareers home screen will then also highlight new vacancies that match your chosen preferences each time you log in.

UCL Talent Bank

Our exclusive shortlisting service is designed to put you directly in touch with small-to-medium sized organisations - we have set up a shortlisting service connecting UCL PhD researchers and postdocs with opportunities in organisations in a range of industries.

We actively source relevant opportunities for potential UCL candidates and present shortlisted applications to employers.

Talent Bank opportunities

UCL HR

If you’re looking for research positions at UCL specifically, visit the UCL Human Resources page where you can view and apply for current vacancies as well as sign-up for email alerts to be updated on new opportunities as soon as they’re advertised.

Job hunting globally

Many of the sites above primarily focus on UK-based opportunities. For those planning research overseas, more specific resources are available below.

However, overseas recruiters do target UCL and will advertise opportunities through us. Log in to your myUCLCareers account as above and use the ‘Country’ filter or ‘Quick search’ to find opportunities in specific countries/regions.

GoinGlobal

UCL Careers subscribes to this online resource to give you direct access to country-specific resources including:

• ‘Career guides’ which will list local job search resources
• A ‘jobs’ vacancy search engine (use keywords like PhD to find research opportunities)
• An ‘employer directory’

Log in to GoinGlobal

Global resources on our Online Careers Library

If you are considering a research career outside the UK, Career Discovery can provide you with a range of useful resources.

Search for working abroad to discover guides on working outside the UK. Alternatively, to find information about working in a specific country, search for ‘working in [country name]’. Examples include, working in Asia, working in Europe, and working in the US. 

Come to an event

We organise a wide range of events where you can find out more about specific job opportunities or learn more about where to find them and improve your job hunting techniques.

• Researchers Employability Programme (Repeated throughout the whole calendar year): A series of Careers Consultant led talks and employer-led networking/recruitment/skills development events aimed at recent PhD students and postdoctoral research staff which includes talks on successful academic job hunting amongst other topics plus opportunities to network with professionals from a range of sectors to find out more about job hunting, key vacancy sites and routes in to different sectors for those with a research background.
• Career Essentials Programme (Repeated throughout the whole academic year): A series of Careers Consultant led talks aimed at all students and recent graduates which includes sessions on finding, funding and applying for PhDs amongst other topics.