11

I am currently a graduate student and a member of an organization in my field. In my organization, there is this Early-career group composed of young scientists who already earned their Ph.D.'s, taking post-docs, and running their own research groups. In the case of graduate students, does early-career or the term applicable? and what is the difference between the terms early-career scientist, a budding scientist, young-scientist?

Improve this question
  • 2
    In life sciences it usually means either young PIs or postdocs (but not students), in my experience. – Bitwise Aug 8 '17 at 13:36
  • 1
    My recollection is that some funding agencies consider you early career if you are <= 10 years post phd. – HEITZ Aug 9 '17 at 21:52
11

"Early-career" can mean any number of things, depending on who you ask and in what context (from just PhD students, to everybody except tenured professors). Usually, it is just a label and hence matters little.

Where it actually can and does matter is in the context of grant applications, as many funding agencies have special calls for early-career researchers. However, in these cases, the agency will specify exactly what the boundaries of eligibility are. For instance, the Swedish Research Council (VR) has a Startup Grant that is available between 2 years and 7 years after getting a PhD.

Improve this answer
6

Exactly what any particular organization means by "early-career" is determined by the organization. The main point is that the term "young" is condescending and ageist. If you get a PhD at 50, are you a "young" scientist?

Improve this answer
  • 1
    Really, "young" is ageist? No, it's simply not informative when talking about someone's career stage, since there are young tenured professors and much older graduate students. But I don't see how the word "young" can be considered ageist by anyone, if used in accordance with its actual meaning. – Dan Romik Aug 9 '17 at 3:32
  • 2
    It's ageist if it is used as a synonym for career stage, as was usually the case in the bad old days and is still often the case even now. – Elizabeth Henning Aug 9 '17 at 3:52

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.