Schroeder Kristen, Fernández-Rodríguez Julia, Jenmalm-Jensen Annika, Lundgren-Gawell Josefin, Sandin Sara, Stadler Charlotte, Lindvall Jessica M
Science for Life Laboratory, Training Hub, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
Science for Life Laboratory, Centre for Cellular Imaging, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
F1000Res. 2025 Jul 4;14:652. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.164794.1. eCollection 2025.
There is an ongoing need to develop diverse career paths that support the vital contributions of staff scientists, research engineers, scientific officers, and other knowledge professionals in scientific discovery. Research infrastructures and core facilities have a particular need to support sustainable and diverse careers, as they either employ - if being a legal entity - or daily manage research professionals in a broad variety of roles to enable resources, services, and innovation.
In 2019, a survey of the facility staff at SciLifeLab, a large national research infrastructure in Sweden, led to a recommendation for universities to develop career paths for their staff scientists. Five years later, we have conducted a survey and workshop to determine current views of infrastructure staff on career path diversity in Sweden.
Our results indicate there is a strong need for clarity and communication about planning and implementation of career path structures at Swedish universities, as well as opportunities to foster excellence in infrastructure staff. While the workshop participants ranked Sweden as a stable and attractive place to work and reported continuous development of their technical and service skills, the lack of recognition of this expertise presents a barrier to a sustainable career.
We conclude that there is a need to continue advocating for increased clarity and diversity in career paths for staff scientists in Sweden, and raise the views presented by infrastructure staff on the challenges and opportunities unique to their roles.
持续需要开发多样化的职业发展路径，以支持科研人员、研究工程师、科学官员及其他知识专业人员在科学发现中做出的重要贡献。研究基础设施和核心设施尤其需要支持可持续且多样化的职业发展，因为它们要么作为法人实体雇佣，要么日常管理各种角色的研究专业人员，以实现资源、服务和创新。
2019年，对瑞典大型国家研究基础设施SciLifeLab的设施工作人员进行的一项调查，促成了一项建议，即大学应为其科研人员制定职业发展路径。五年后，我们进行了一项调查和研讨会，以确定瑞典基础设施工作人员目前对职业发展路径多样性的看法。
我们的结果表明，瑞典大学在职业发展路径结构的规划和实施方面，非常需要明确性和沟通，以及培养基础设施工作人员卓越能力的机会。虽然研讨会参与者将瑞典列为一个稳定且有吸引力的工作地点，并报告称他们的技术和服务技能在不断发展，但这种专业知识缺乏认可成为了可持续职业发展的障碍。
我们得出结论，有必要继续倡导瑞典科研人员职业发展路径提高清晰度和多样性，并提出基础设施工作人员对其角色所特有的挑战和机遇的看法。
