The Ph.D. has great transversal characteristics, with occupational outlets in almost all productive sectors, in particular: the sector of manufacturing industries or service delivery, both for technological and design aspects or for aspects of organization, control and management of production processes.
Given the managerial connotation of the curriculum, another area of great interest is economics and finance, with skills and insights in this area combined with legal expertise. Banks, foundations, insurance companies, strategic and financial planning departments of large corporations, public administrations and nongovernmental entities are seen as potential job outlets. These sectors today have a great demand for innovation, prompting them to introduce highly skilled personnel with sensitivity to sustainability into their workforce.
Another sector is that of small and very small technology-intensive companies, typically spin-offs from academia or research institutions, which require very high-skilled personnel to be employed in the design, technological, economic-management and social aspects, as a driver of innovation, which constitutes the very reason to be of the company. Direct business creation actions by Ph.D. students are also part of this framework, providing an additional employment opportunity.