
Advancing Australia’s Knowledge Economy: Who are the top PhD employers?
The Australian PhD space has suffered from a persistent lack of data on graduate aims and outcomes. CSIRO Data61’s Ribit.net, Australia’s leading job-matching platform for university students, has partnered with AMSI to uncover where our PhD graduates are – and where they want to be.
The results are striking: no longer the sole domain of academia, Australia’s PhD graduates are ambitious and ready to work in innovative industries.
- There are significant opportunities for Australia’s PhDs to work with startups and innovative Australian high‐growth employers. Programs like APR Intern and marketplaces like Ribit are opening the talent pipeline – helping more PhD talent translate into growing businesses, creating more Australian jobs and boosting economic prosperity.
- More than 50% of Australian PhD students aim to work in business or the public sector once they graduate.
- And nearly half of PhD graduates are succeeding – finding employment in businesses, government and the non‐profit sector.
- This is meeting increasing demand right across Australian industry, with some of Australia’s most competitive firms recruiting from a wide range of disciplines.
- 19 out of the 20 largest ASX listed companies now have PhD graduates among their senior executive teams.
- And while employment in existing growth sectors including finance and mining is strong, PhD skills are also helping grow emerging sectors – including media and the green economy – which are employing significant numbers.



Employers, post a job for free on Ribit.net and hire talented students.
For media enquiries please contact:
Paul McCarthy – Paul.Mccarthy@data61.csiro.au
Check out some of the media coverage:
The Australian: ‘Digital disrupters snapping up PhDs’
The Australian Financial Review: ‘PhD students want jobs in business, not universities’