What is a successful career in science?
Interestingly, most young and often more mature researchers can not easily define what success in science means. This question is highly relevant – for example, when looking for a new position, joining a scientific community, or hiring staff members. What is your idea of a successful career in science?
Indicators of success in science
There are many potential indicators of success in science, for example, impactful scientific findings, papers with high impact factors, a lot of grant money, or a tenured professorship at a prestigious university. However, every single factor is debatable, and only a few are easily measurable.
Why is it important to reflect on the idea of a “successful career in science”?
The answer to the question “What does a success in science mean to me?” reflects your (probably unconscious) opinion about a vast number of personal and societal aspects, including the following:
- How do we measure and evaluate performance and success in science?
- Which of these parameters are essential for my *own* career?
- Where should I work?
- Which of these parameters are critical for my institution/company?
- Which persons do I consider as successful in science?
- Who should be hired?
- Who should lead a specific science institution?
- Which elements are vital for society?
- How should we train scientists?
- What should be funded?
Therefore, discussing these parameters with your peers and becoming aware of the unspoken rules and beliefs within your institution/company is particularly useful for planning your career and building a community.
What does “a successful career in science” mean to me?
To start thinking about those parameters that are essential for my concept of career success in science, I love to do a little ranking exercise:
Copy the list of indicators into a Word file and rank the relevance of these factors for your own life and career. Distinguish between external factors such as “a high hierarchical position” or “an impressive publication list” and internal/emotional factors such as “Doing what I really like.”
Start with the first group of factors:
- Producing exciting results
- Having a high number of citations
- Having publications in journals with high impact factors
- Having a high h factor, m factor, or other bibliometric markers of scientific success
- Having many/excellent patents
Now, rank the factors according to your very personal evaluation. You might think, “For me and my career stage, the most important factor for career success in science is “Having publications in journals with high impact factors.”
In contrast, for your feeling of fulfillment, it might be most important to do exciting research.
Now compare the next factor with your number 1, “High impact factors.” You might realize that no other factor is important as this one – or you might realize, “Oops, patents are much more important than high impact factors.”
The ranking depends on your career stage and your emotional maturity.
At an early career stage (PhD, postdoc), your two lists might start like that:
| Successful career in science | Happiness/Fulfillment | |
| Ranked success factors | High impact factors Postdoc abroad Working for a famous researcher … | Being ambitious Exciting results Making a lot of different experiences … |
For another person, the list might look completely different:
| Successful career in science | Happiness/Fulfillment | |
| Ranked success factors | Industry contacts Learning leadership skills Postdoc in a pharmaceutical company … | Financial security Being smart Taking care of the family … |
At a later stage in your career (professor), the first three factors in the two columns might look completely different:
| Successful career in science | Happiness/Fulfillment | |
| Ranked success factors | Lots of grant money Being an expert Being an inspiration for the next generation of scientists … | Healthy family life Being part of an inspiring community Doing what I really like … |
For another person, it might look like this:
| Successful career in science | Happiness/Fulfillment | |
| Ranked success factors | Being head of a department Shaping the science policy in my field Being visible in the media … | Being independent Being economically safe Having impact … |
All these versions of the ranking lists have the same value. Each factor is debatable and depends on your personality traits, career stage, community, and country.
Why should I make the effort to rank my values?
After you have ranked all factors on the list (and maybe added a few more), you get a glimpse of what drives you to create the career and life you have. You might also realize that your highest priorities are not the best choice.
For example, you might realize that high impact factors are not the most critical factor for your current career and life. Getting a high-paying industry job, having a child, or working in another part of the world might be more important.
You might find it helpful to do this exercise once a year to see how your perspective has changed over the years.
Acknowledgments
I have used AI systems, including Grammarly and ChatGPT, to enhance the English and comprehensiveness of this article.
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