Abstract
The aim of the paper is to describe the PhD study and after graduation situation of graduates of Czech universities who completed their programme between 2010 - 2017. The first phase of the investigation was a quantitative study of a representative sample of Czech PhD graduates that aimed at revealing details of their study and after-graduation opportunities and careers. The second phase of the investigation was a qualitative study of a small sample aimed at understanding the reasons of young people to pursue a PhD programme at a university, to reveal academic, social and personal factors that influenced their decision to complete the PhD study and start an employment at a university.