[thomasjames]

It is actually very common to go to a research facility after a PhD. Anyone with a doctorate from a reputable program will have a list of publications that demonstrate a clearly defined interest and quite possibly even grants. For those that aren't at the level of a research scientist, there are often post-doctoral fellowships. If the companies are large enough, grants are less of an issue because there is a built-in R&D budget. There is less of the panhandling you see in academia.

[arethuza]

I did know some colleagues who went to work for large corporates in research labs - but they seemed pretty rare in the UK. Most stayed in academia or left to work in finance - and some even left to found startups (like me!).

Out of interest, what are some examples of the "research facilities" you are talking about?

[thomasjames]

IBM T.J. Watson, IBM Dublin, Oracle Labs, Google Mountain View, PARC Inc.,... there are some other ones that are more specific to HPC.