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French PhDs have trouble entering the labour market. Their unemployment rate is higher than those of other graduates with at least five years of higher education. Nevertheless, the low rate of PhD hirings in the private sector is not a specifically French feature but is common to almost all developed countries. Based on an econometric analysis, we conclude that the productivity of PhDs in private-sector research does not differ significantly from that of engineering-school graduates. There is no advantage to holding both diplomas versus holding only one. Moreover, a PhD working in private-sector research earns as much as an engineering-school graduate with the same seniority and position. Engineers thus do not seem advantaged relative to PhDs.